Lord of the Movies: The Return of the Review Thread

[Reply #560 on:]

I Robot

Inevitably, the only good concepts in this film were the ones taken from the works of Isaac Asimov. 'The Fresh Prince' was pathetically miscast as detective Spooner, Will Smith might have worked as the main character, but sadly the writing was as poor as his performance. The product placement i found comic, so obvious it was almost quaint. The special effects for 'Sonny' the robot were exceptional, as was Sonny's performance, the robot easily outshined Smith. The action sequences with Will Smith seemed to have 'borrowed' elements from other films such as The Matrix, especially the highly improbable scene where he leaps off the motorcycle. I did however enjoy the fight scenes between Sonny and the other robots near the end of the film. A clear example of how a film in this genre should have been done is 'Minority Report'.

A mediocre film with high production values, i give it C.

Kill Bill Vol. 2

Although it had a lukewarm reception from the majority of critics, i was blown away by the sequel to Kill Bill. Both eastern and Western elements molded to make an astonishing film both in terms of visuals and dialogue. The Pai Mei chapter is definately my favourite out of both films, both in terms of the style and dialogue. I was genuinely suprised that

Show spoiler

Beatrix Kiddo did in fact Kill Bill at the end of the film, although she did kill him in an extremely cool way.

The storyline was great, and kept me engrossed in the plot till the last second of the movie. The film's is worth seeing if only for the out-take after the credits. It's definately more dialogue driven than the first, but genuine fans should enjoy it.

A*

[Reply #561 on:]

 

Originally posted by boingo2000:
Hero

...my expectations from a kick-ass samuari film...

China =/= Japan

[Reply #562 on:]

While you are correct, the easiet genre I can use to describe the film is "Samuari film."  "Kung Fu movie" doesn't cut it, and "action movie" makes it sound like a Stallone vehicle.  If you can suggest a better one, I'm all ears.

[Reply #563 on:]

I haven't seen the film, and even if I had I wouldn't be privy to what your expectations of it were, so I'm afraid I can't suggest a better description.

Do me a favor, though.  If you're going to lump all Asians together like that, could you at least bother to spell "samurai" correctly?  Thanks.

[Reply #564 on:]

Didn't mean to offend, nor to lump together any group of people, just a group of films.  It now occours to me that "martial arts film" is just as good a term, and shall be editing my post to reflect that.

As for spelling, well, I'm an idiot.  The only reason I came as close to the proper spelling as I did is I remeber teh samurai in Brazil being a bad pun by Terry Gilliam: "Sam You Are I"

[Reply #565 on:]

 

Originally posted by boingo2000:
As for spelling, well, I'm an idiot.  The only reason I came as close to the proper spelling as I did is I remeber teh samurai in Brazil being a bad pun by Terry Gilliam: "Sam You Are I"

That's okay; it's no big deal really.  I gave you the benefit of the doubt and assumed it was just a typo until you misspelled it the same way again.

[Reply #566 on:]

Anaconda 2:

Meh, not as good as the first one.

Thats all i have to say on that movie.

C

[Reply #567 on:]

Not as good as the first one you say? And yet you give it a C?

[Reply #568 on:]

The first one is laughable.

[Reply #569 on:]

 

Originally posted by Mr. Potter:
The first one is laughable.

and it had a great cast. I liked the 1st one.

[Reply #570 on:]

 

Originally posted by Mr.Nintendo:
The film's is worth seeing if only for the out-take after the credits.

Ah shit, I missed that. 

[Reply #571 on:]

 

Originally posted by boingo2000:
While you are correct, the easiet genre I can use to describe the film is "Samuari film."  "Kung Fu movie" doesn't cut it, and "action movie" makes it sound like a Stallone vehicle.  If you can suggest a better one, I'm all ears.

Technically, the genre of mainland Chinese period swordplay movies is called wuxia pien.

Hero is a textbook wuxia film, while Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon draws Cantonese kung fu film elements into a classic wuxia film to form a sort of fusion.

[Reply #572 on:]

 

Originally posted by canned eggs:
 Technically, the genre of mainland Chinese period swordplay movies is called wuxia pien.

Ah, I remember hearing that term once in connection to Crouching Tiger. Shame I couldn't remember it; I was having trouble defining Hero's genre to someone else. I knew it wasn't a samurai flick, but I couldn't come up with an analagous Chinese vocabulary word.

[Reply #573 on:]

 

Originally posted by Nasty Pasty:
Anaconda 2:

Meh, not as good as the first one.

Thats all i have to say on that movie.

C

Enough with these snake movies! Sheesh. Their not 'scary' nor are they ever good. 'Monster films' are pretty much dead, as most people are genuinely not affraid of them anymore. Remember the early 50s Monster Films? Back then people were scared of them, as they've never seen anything like it before on screen. They were common animals, but with a mutated psychical sense or they were from urban legends like The Lochness Monster or The Abdominable Snowman. Today, people are tired of these (though some films are still cool, by my standards). Now we've got killer Snakes, Sharks, Crocodiles - common animals going crazy. Sure, it sounds good in concept, but it simply isnt enough to get to that 'fear factor' in which Monster Films use to be like in the early days of film. I could name films in which killed the genre, but I sure as hell would be flamed for it; "That movie rocked!!!" & "That movie scared the hell out of me, what the hell are you talkin' 'bout" - would be the most common of responses.

In other news; I saw Zombie Holocaust and Zombie Flesh-Eaters sitting at my local video store, so I'll be reviewing them sometime soon. Oh, aswell as my favourite Hitchcock film; The Birds.

[Reply #574 on:]

 

Originally posted by canned eggs:
Hero is a textbook wuxia film,

That's what I was thinking, but I haven't seen the movie, so I wasn't sure.

[Reply #575 on:]

 

Originally posted by ~FazeShift~:
 

Originally posted by Mr.Nintendo:
The film's is worth seeing if only for the out-take after the credits.

Ah shit, I missed that.   

Ha ha! Sucker. You're not borrowing my dvd!

I did see the ending, and the film and both were teh shit. I would write about how great it is, but Mr. Nintendo has summed it up really. 

Garfield:
Bah, I didn't like it. I mean, why was that dog so stinking talented for hopping around on it's back legs? It must take some degree of balance, but it's nowhere near impressive enough to get a tv show... Now if it was a cat maybe... 

Well, anyway, if you're five, or have a mental age of five, (I'm looking at you here faze), you'll love it!

[Reply #576 on:]

Yeah, well...
You have cooties.

And I tried to get Kill Bill 2 on my hard drive but there was some difficulty transferring a 4.5GB file from one HD to another (it says I was out of space but it was an empty 20gig drive, dagnammit)

Show spoiler

Cooties!

[Reply #577 on:]

Without A Paddle
It was cool. I liked the scenes when they where kids, the guys and the dogs getting high and the scenes with the woodsman. A-

[Reply #578 on:]

Election

I finally saw this movie. I had seen About Schmidt about two weeks ago and found it to be rather pointless and uninteresting. Well, this movie is basically the complete opposite. I was entertained by the whole duration of it. The performances were very good (Matthew Broderick should do more movies), the script is very clever and funny, and the directing does an excellent job in delivering the written lines to the screen.

A-

[Reply #579 on:]

I just saw Audition, by Takashi Miike.  I... don't want to talk about it.  Shudder.

[Reply #580 on:]

Ok so here are some movies which I have seen recently.

Kill Bill 2 - Well this was an amazing movie from start to finish. Tarintino is as good as ever and this turns out really well, as well as including exellent George Lucas and Annie Hall references. Win a banana if you know what they were! Also see above in Mr.Nintendos spoiler for something which I actually said to him, bastard. Im not bitter though.
Anyway 10/10

i, robot - Now not quite as great a film. Well ok first off I actually didnt mind it as much as most critics who slammed it did saying it wasn't as deep as say Blade Runner but come on, I mean its a Popcorn-Summer Blockbuster with the Fresh Prince Of Bellaire for God sakes, what did they expect?
Anyway it was a really enjoyable film with some interesting features and nice action pieces.
So I say 7/10

King Arthur - Well ok this is a really interesting film. So its obviously a different take on the story, one I have read about actually and its really quite interesting. Now the film itself is also very good but well, I dunno, while having some really good actors and a couple of amazing fight elements it never quite lives up to the epic proportions it should do.
Anyway still very enjoyable 6.5/10

Hellboy - Now last but by no means least we have Hellboy. Based on the demon comic book by Mike Mignola (some of the best comics in recent years but thats a different story) we have an exellent movie. With exellent characters and a great story Hellboy dosent disapoint and keeps thrilling you from start to finish. My only possible complaint is the end demon, though pretty cool could have done more and more usage of Abe Sapien would have been awesome but what ya gonna do?
Well anyway this was a truely exellent film which is thrilling with great fight scenes as well as having real hilarious moments (most notably where Hellboy is on the kids roof on "a mission" )
9/10

[Reply #581 on:]

 

Originally posted by canned eggs:
I just saw Audition, by Takashi Miike.  I... don't want to talk about it.  Shudder.

Piano wire!!   
No the kind of thing you want to see before going to bed at 3 in the morning...

It was a bit slow otherwise.

[Reply #582 on:]

I don't know whether the piano wire was more disturbing, or the dog bowl.  Either way, I had some idea what was coming, but make sure you do before you watch this movie.  I know people who were taken by surprise, thinking it was going to be some low-key romance.  They still can't sleep at night.

[Reply #583 on:]

 

Originally posted by Jamesbondcja:

i, robot - Now not quite as great a film. Well ok first off I actually didnt mind it as much as most critics who slammed it did saying it wasn't as deep as say Blade Runner but come on,

Yeah, and you'd know having not seen Blade Runner and all...unless you did actually see it since last time we spoke, which i doubt
  .

And that Kill Bill 2 thing, yeah you wish you had said that  .

[Reply #584 on:]

And here I was thinking I was the only person I knew to be traumatized by Audition! But yeah.. Agreed with Mr. Nintendo. Sonny was the best thing to come out of I, Robot...
[smameless plug] http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/10218622/
[/shameless plug]
..And the eyeball gag roxored.

[Reply #585 on:]

Spooky. I saw Audition on a whim last Wednesday. Add me to the mental anguish list. I will forever appreciate Takashi Miike for Happiness of the Katakuris, though. Corpses, flashy musical numbers, and a little claymation monster that runs off with a uvula--what's not to love? Speaking of love, I love the picture, EL.

[Reply #586 on:]

EvilLunch, I adore that picture, along with all your other artwork!  Very, very cute.

[Reply #587 on:]

Ahhh, Katakuris. Some awesome choreography, there! Have you guys seen Ju-On[The Grudge is its American remake]. I love horror movies, but few have deprived me of sleep, few have haunted me for weeks on end. The original TV movie version of Ju On is one of the few.
I can't hear the ceiling creak or pick up a ringing cellphone or glance into the attic without shudering, even now...

[Reply #588 on:]

Some movies I've seen recently:

The Terminal

This one's dissapointing. It was too long, Hanks´ accent annoyed me after some time, some characters were completely unnecesary used only to make the movie longer, the cinematography was not bad but it could have been better, and some of the comedy bits failed. Still, it's fairly charming. I guess it was Spielberg's attempt to do something more quirky and comedic. I think he better stays with his blockbusters.

B-

Black and White

I'll watch anything with Robert Carlyle. This one was good.

B

Live from Baghdad

Also a good one. First movie I've seen with Michael Keaton in a long time. Also, Helena Bonham-Carter can look quite beautiful when she wants to.

B+

[Reply #589 on:]

Helena Bonham-Carter is constantly gorgeous.

[Reply #590 on:]

Open Water
This movie is very short but still manages to be boring. It's boring before they even get into the water and nothing much happens once they do. I thought the suspsense was good and the few moments of fear were well done, but the real life story the movie was based on is extremely interesting and it's a shame the movie didn't explore it more.

Goodbye Lenin!
I had never heard of this movie (it's german). It was nicely made and cute. Like a more German, less adorable "Amelie." It's about a guy who creates a world where the Berlin Wall never fell in order not to fatally shock his mother who has been in a coma during all the changes.

LOTR 3
The third time's still boring. And long

In America
I'm only halfway through it, but it's really good. About a young Irish family who come to live in NYC so they can be poor and struggle while the father tries to make it as an actor. Also their son is dead.

[Reply #591 on:]

Goddamn you Jaguar. Stop using "Battle Without Honor Or Humanity" in your commercials.
ANYWAY.
Thoughts on.. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
It LOOKS gorgeous. You can't deny it. Say anything you like about the story and the plot holes[Does Totenkopf have motivation at all?! This is a misuse of Lord Olivier.] and the substandard acting. BUT. IT. LOOKS. GORGEOUS.
Go see it and like.. Wear headphones and listen to a John Williams score or something. Lose yourself in its beauty. Near flawless CG, shiny soft focus, impressionistic backgrounds.. :RAMBLE:
The 'last shot in the camera' subplot was pretty predictable but the last line in the movie had me in stitches. Mysterious Woman and Dex are awesome.
Angelina Jolie is barely in it so don't let her prescence stop you from seeing it.
[It's even more lovely than Hero in my opinion but Hero wins because it had a story to match.]
So. To recap.
Looks: A+++
Story: C at best.

<plug> Yay, Mysterious Woman!  </plug>

[Reply #592 on:]

 

Originally posted by EvilLunch:
Helena Bonham-Carter is constantly gorgeous.

Dr Zaius Dr Zaius!

[Reply #593 on:]

Collateral

There's something about Michael Mann's movies, which makes them beautifully shot.  LA at night never looked so good (except in Heat).

Tom Cruise's performance as bad-guy Vincent at least take the attention away from the hair (it's not that bad, but it seems like Mann'd prefer William Peterson (specifically in Manhunter) in the role, as Cruise is made to look like him.

Jamie Foxx is also pretty good as the cabbie, roped-in to Vincent's overnight killing-list.

The plot is let down by dumb-ass FBI and cops, but the tension and is kept up by the principles.

All in all, pretty good.

[Reply #594 on:]

Where are all the reviews of AvP?
I've only seen one or two so far!

[Reply #595 on:]

 

Originally posted by Nixorbo:
 Dr Zaius Dr Zaius!

That so makes me want to jerk off and throw feces.

[Reply #596 on:]

Anchorman

Well I thought that this movie going to be funny with excellent story line but unfortunately this movie was really weak. Will Ferrell was ok in that movie. I thought his character was interesting but he is not funny. There were a few good scenes in that movie such as playing with his flute and singing with his other anchorman.

I think the best part about the movie is the special appearance of from Vince Vaughn, Jack Black and Ben Stiller

[Reply #597 on:]

I saw Anchorman last night...I didn't genuinely have a good laugh but only twice...I kept hearing how funny it was and it turned out to be a major disappointment   

edit: I liked the appearances too Juliet 

[Reply #598 on:]

I'm still gaping that Sky Captain and the World of Tommorrow is just a PG movie. Also, I love Angelina Jolie, but god lose the stupid eye patch.

I, Robot
I, didn't like it. It was too confusing. And it was boring. D-

Without a Paddle
I laughed so hard! And while we were waiting for the movie to start, I was trying to read my Futurama comic I had just gotten in the dark.
A-

[Reply #599 on:]

I got tricked into seeing Catwoman tonight....it was horrible  I agree with the Two Thumbs Down rating it got...the acting was poor aside from Halle Berry and the lines were ever so cheesy.