I Found Tihs Movie To Be Rather Pedestrian...

[Reply #400 on:]

Surf's Up

I had to leave before the end, so somebody tell me, quick, re: winning: it turns out it's everything, right? RIGHT!?!

I like closure that support my preconceived beliefs! And preferably in a way that is heart-warming and entertaining for both children and the adults accompanying them, because that is the great theme the rest of the film had.

This is probably one of the best animated movies out there featuring John DiMaggio as the antagonist - much better than Cars! I QUESTION THE EXISTENCE OF GOD IN A WORLD BUILT FOR HUMANS BUT POPULATED BY CARS.

A

[Reply #401 on:]

You're like 12 years old. 

No...

[Reply #402 on:]

Oh my...I watched Jumper last night.

D

Waaay to "jumpy" (no pun intended) on the cuts, going from action shot to action shot without transition and between different locations. You had no idea what you were following. Also no explanation whatsoever until near the end for why the "bad guys" were doing what they were doing. Also, very corny at times. The characters were underdeveloped, the romance flitting and unreealistic, taking gigantic leaps at unnatural moments.

It got a D just for the good idea and for the cool (at times) effects.

[Reply #403 on:]

Been watching a few classics online as of late...
Nosferatu (1922)
Ah, the granddaddy of all horror movies in it's silent glory. Previously, I had only seen snippets of this, so any opportunity to see the rest is one worth taking advantage of. Basically, a German interpretation of Bam Stoker's Dracula, with different character names and a much creepier villain. As with any old movie, especially ones of the silent variety, I base alot of my criticism on whether or not the movie holds up after all this time. In Nosferatu's case, the 86-year old film is still incredibly creepy. Max Shreck's portrayal of Count Orlok is one of the reasons this movie is so great.
Alot of people I know write off movies like this because they're silent, but one of the real pleasures of this film was the soundtrack, comprised of mostly pipe organ compositions, which set the tone of the movie perfectly.
Anyone who's interested in seeing it for themselves, here's a Youtube link to the entire movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEOsb6CRvNU

I I have never seen it before, but was planning on going on the 31st, a local theater was going to show it on Halloween with the Alloy Orchestra providing live soundtrack. Unfortunately it was changed, but I can still go see Lon Chaney play the Phantom of the Opera with live music, so I will prolly pass judgment on that in a few weeks....
I need to watch The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari again, speaking of old creepy movies. Have you gotten a chance to see it? I recommend it if you have put it off (like I have put off seeing Nosferatu )

[Reply #404 on:]

No, I have not gotten the opportunity to watch it. But your recommendation prompted a search on youtube for it, and I found the original movie in it's entirety, so expect a review sooner rather than later.

[Reply #405 on:]

Nice! Thanks for the Nosferatu link btw, I'll watch that soon too....

[Reply #406 on:]

Donnie Darko
Wow.
A+

[Reply #407 on:]

The Quiet Earth

Wow! Plus naked old fart.

Thank you Books for telling me about this movie.

A

[Reply #408 on:]

OMFG BOOKS HAS AN AWESOME SIGUR ROS AVATAR

Children of Men
I have a newly found respect for Clive Owen and his stoner, rebel, farting friend.

A

[Reply #409 on:]

Hi MrBlonde 

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Finally saw this after waiting ages to. Not disappointed. Fantastic cinematography. Effective and emotional story, but not overly so.

8.5/10 

[Reply #410 on:]

It wasn't as incredibly depressing as I thought it would be, the bit with the guys installing the speaker phone was hilarious.

[Reply #411 on:]

Donnie Darko
Wow.
A+

That movie is mind-blowing, I loved it too~

I have been passing The diving Bell for a few weeks now, not ready to grapple with the depressing material, so it is nice to hear that it comes off lighter than I first assumed. The story behind it is incredible, so I imagine the movie should be quite good.

OMFG BOOKS HAS AN AWESOME SIGUR ROS AVATAR

Second- it kicks ass, Books (although I liked your cat/man avy from TDTESS best )

[Reply #412 on:]

Yeah, I was actually talking to a friend about Donnie Darko the other day. I don't know what it is about Frank's rabbit costume, but they sure nailed the creepiness factor with that thing. I wish I could find something like it for Halloween

[Reply #413 on:]

Taken
The only thing wrong with this movie was the obvious (to me) ADR, I don't like it when it doesn't sound like the voices are coming out of their mouths, Liam Neeson is the man. Luc Besson should still totally make Matilda (Leon 2).
A

Journey To The Centre of the Earth
Didn't suck!

B-

[Reply #414 on:]

Taken
The only thing wrong with this movie was the obvious (to me) ADR, I don't like it when it doesn't sound like the voices are coming out of their mouths, Liam Neeson is the man. Luc Besson should still totally make Matilda (Leon 2).
A

Really? I totally didn't notice, mind you the copy i had was dodgy, so hard to distinguish anything in it.

Show spoiler

Still thinking about he guy with the spikes in his leg? He's probably still there getting electrocuted!

[Reply #415 on:]

WALL-E
Pretty hard to fault, really, even considering the whole "unthinkable repercussions for humanity" moral. Yawn.

My favourite scenes were the Presto! short at the start and the closing credits! They were really great! That stuff in between was alright, too, but all of the best parts had been already shown in the previews!

A

Rear Window
Alfred Hitchcock, you’ll never work in this town again!

A compelling tale of a bored man’s paranoid fantasies that just might turn out to be correct... or do they?!

Yes, they do. They definitely do. Fulfilling closure was had by all!

A+

[Reply #416 on:]

Really? I totally didn't notice, mind you the copy i had was dodgy, so hard to distinguish anything in it.

Show spoiler

Still thinking about he guy with the spikes in his leg? He's probably still there getting electrocuted!

He's tough, tough on meanie kidnappers.

It could have been my copy was dodgy too (R5 PUKKA?) these encoders sometimes take audio from other sauces and add them to the video so it's possible it was ever so slightly out of sync.
But I still detect ADR some times, it's because it's recorded in a studio with the guy right up against the microphone and they're too lazy to mix it or whatever.

"I told you I would find you..."
*apocalyptic death!*

[Reply #417 on:]

Finally saw The Darjeeling Limited
I believe I will need to buy this and watch it some more, but it may have taken the honor of "favorite Wes Anderson movie". Beautifully shot in India, I would recommend a large screen to watch it and fully absorb the details. Strong writing and acting (as always), and a story that is more straightforward and serious than past projects, although different also from Life Aquatic. This is not a shortcoming, and there are still ample humorous moments (although subtle or dark they may be...). Also an outstanding cameo by Bill Murray
A with no hesitation.

Luc Besson should still totally make Matilda (Leon 2).

I would love to see more of The Professional but it doesn't seem likely...haven't seen jack about it since '02

[Reply #418 on:]

Seriously? Darjeeling Limited your favourite? Now, I'm the biggest Wes Anderson fan you'll find, but I thought it was his weakest movie. It was still good, it just didn't reach that level the others did...
For the record my fav is Life Aquatic and I've yet to see Bottle Rocket. His next film is animated, in which I'm optimistic yet cautious about.

[Reply #419 on:]

Books...

[Reply #420 on:]

Seriously? Darjeeling Limited your favourite? Now, I'm the biggest Wes Anderson fan you'll find, but I thought it was his weakest movie. It was still good, it just didn't reach that level the others did...
For the record my fav is Life Aquatic and I've yet to see Bottle Rocket. His next film is animated, in which I'm optimistic yet cautious about.

Well, I need to watch it some more- I didn't like Life Aquatic as much at first, but it grew on my very quickly, and is my current favorite. One thing I found appealing about Darjeeling is the shedding of some Anderson customs- the incidence of quirky non-sequitor moments was minimized, which lent to a more serious atmosphere; the backdrop of India was much more real to me as well;  really let's just say the movie was less dreamy and felt more mature to me. Perhaps it was missing some of the elements that I found quite enjoyable in the previous films, but they extra space gave much more room for introspection and reflection which enhanced the movie. IMO.
An animated film next? Wow, I can just imagine the possibilities.... I need to check that out

[Reply #421 on:]

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Umm...I watched the first 10 minutes... and then Keanu Reeves starting talking.

Potentinally an A film but the fact that I had to listen to him talk just totally made me want to pour acid in my ears. It was like listening to Kevin Costner's obnoxious Boston accent all over again.

Bottom line: Shut the hell up Reeves go back to the fucking Matrix!

[Reply #422 on:]

The House Bunny

I like this movie better then Clueless. It is a really good teen chick movie.

[Reply #423 on:]

Max Payne

Started off slow but it got better.  Basically it was another action-packed, shoot out movie with slow motion bullet scenes.  I never played the video game so I don't know how much the movie follow the story.  Anyways the most entertaining thing about the movie for me was the cast.  Marky Mark, Mulia Kunis, Nelly Furtado, Marlo from The Wire, Chris O'Donnell,  and fucking Ludacris?  Its not that Ludacris can't act, its just that I don't see him as a detective.  I barely recognized O'Donnell, I told myself "Man, Robin got old."  The best thing about this movie was Milia Kunis.

B-

[Reply #424 on:]

Neat, The Wire cast are getting around, Stringer in American Gangsta and Marlo & Bubbles in Heroes, I finally finished the series, deserves it's own thread TBH, best show evar!

12 Angry Men
Not bad for oldskool, but M0le would feel cheated, only 4 of them get really angry, the rest of them are slightly miffed and some are just plain nice!
It's all shot in one room and a bathroom, so there's lots of guys getting up, moving around and sitting down again, but it works ok in it's old-timey way.

B-

and!
Dead Mans Shoes
Oh, that guy from Bourne 3 and Hot Fuzz was under the beard, he was good, Paddy Considine. Creepy and compelling revenge film.

B+

[Reply #425 on:]

Donnie Darko
And the moral here is: always remember who your true friends are.

It wasn't? Let me try again: don't listen to people dressed as rabbits that only you can see... it just doesn't help.

Pretty entertaining stuff, but I thought the time travel was a bit simplistic. Butterfly Effect did a much more thorough and elagaic job of it!

B-

Cloverfield
The battlelines have already been drawn for this film, but I quite liked it. Pretty tense, and I didn't have high expectations anyway!

I fast-forwarded it through the first twenty minutes or so, though. Who wants to feel any empathy for the main characters in the first place? JEEZ.

B+

Citizen Kane
That twist was amazing! I had no idea

Show spoiler

she was a man and it was Earth all along!

Talk about dyno-mite!

A

[Reply #426 on:]

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

Chihuahua's DO NOT bring down caves by barking! D

I cant wait for twilight to come out on the other hand 

[Reply #427 on:]

Into The Wild
A really fine film about a real guy who gives all his money away and leaves his family to live in the wilderness of Alaska, meeting lots of people along the way and discovering himself.
Emile Hirsch is good in it.

A-

[Reply #428 on:]

and!
Dead Mans Shoes
Oh, that guy from Bourne 3 and Hot Fuzz was under the beard, he was good, Paddy Considine. Creepy and compelling revenge film.
B+

Fricken love this film!  Considine is awesome in it. 

[Reply #429 on:]

I watched Max Payne.  It was a movie.

[Reply #430 on:]

I forgot I watched this in English a week ago:

Life is Beautiful

A film that made being in a concentration camp not...horribly terrifying...
It reminded me of my boyfriend's idea for Holocaust Homecoming. But this didn't make me laugh in an evil way.

Ima going to Hell.

A

[Reply #431 on:]

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

What?! You PAID to see this movie!? You are so banned from Australia.

[Reply #432 on:]

W.
Made me a little sympathetic towards Bush. Then again, doesn't mean that I agree with his decision making skills.
B+

[Reply #433 on:]

Taken
The only thing wrong with this movie was the obvious (to me) ADR, I don't like it when it doesn't sound like the voices are coming out of their mouths, Liam Neeson is the man. Luc Besson should still totally make Matilda (Leon 2).
A

Nice to see a movie where the protagonist doesn't show any hesitation when offing the bad guys.  Neeson is suitably tense and vicious too.  Loved it.

A

[Reply #434 on:]

i did <3 Taken very very much too.

I was intereste to see W. but it just doesn't seem to be coming out here...

[Reply #435 on:]

12 Angry Men
Not bad for oldskool, but M0le would feel cheated, only 4 of them get really angry, the rest of them are slightly miffed and some are just plain nice!

You can't tell me how to feel!

See? I bet you expected !

W.
Made me a little sympathetic towards Bush. Then again, doesn't mean that I agree with his decision making skills.
B+

You cast doubt on the decision making capabilities of the man who nicknames himself "the Decider"?!

[Reply #436 on:]

I don't think anyone questions his ability to make decisions. Good decisions is an entirely different matter, but he doesn't seem to hesitate to make them regardless.

[Reply #437 on:]

Shoot 'Em Up

Ridiculously entertaining.

B+

[Reply #438 on:]

God yes!

He fucking kills people with carrots?!?! So very entertaining. I've seen quite a few of those kinds of movies, stories are relatively average, but the action is more than awesome enough to make up for it. Then again, i've also seen some shockers that should've worked with the same "lame story/Good action" formula. See (Rather don't) Wanted and Mummy 3...

[Reply #439 on:]

I couldn't even sit through the opening sequence of that movie. It's VERY rare I turn off a movie because it's so bad/ridiculous. He cuts the umbilical cord by shooting it with his gun?? lol, fucking ridiculous...