Movie Review Thread: The Remake

[Reply #320 on:]

okay, I'm sorry, but I thought Star Wars: III was boring. Everyone said there was a lot of action, and especially towards the end, the scene cuts came faster and faster... but I checked my watch about every 20 minutes. It was longer than it needed to be.

My favorite part was when Mace was fighting Palpatine. The cutest part was when Yoda scampered up the Wookie (aw!).

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I don't see the point of twirling two light sabers over your head if you're going to stop that technique as soon as the other person takes a swing at you.

Jedi Masters sure are stupid and easy to kill.

Anakin sure is slow to pick up on Palpatine being on the dark side.

I'm sure I read this somewhere already, but Anakin still sucks and is not convincing. "Oh no you killed him! What have I don-- okay I'll join you!" He never wanted to obey the Jedi, but he goes along with the Sith at the break of a window. And if he loves Padme so much, why is he hardly ever with her? And why the heck didn't anyone raise eyebrows about them living together, especially with her being knocked up? That didn't seem like a very well kept secret. Luke and Leia were some gigantic newborns. Ouch, no wonder Padme died.

[Reply #321 on:]

Revenge of the Sith

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I'd just like to say I had a real blast watching this. The opening battle scene was simply great to watch, like watching a little man fly out of one of the destroyed Republic Fighters, and I actually gritted my teeth during the elevator scene. Personally, I think Ian McDiarmid and Ewan McGregor steal the show, one being seductively evil even during his "nice old man" routine, and the other being a smartarse to everyone on a legendary scale. The only problem with Palpatine was occasional attempts to make him funny (he's the most evil bastard in the galaxy, he's not supposed to make funny faces and trip over chairs)
I felt a bit sorry for Grievous (being my new favourite character from the new trilogy), but I suppose it's his own fault he got killed. Running and hiding like a coward seemed to work pretty well for him in the past, and the instant he tries to stay and fight, he gets set on fire.
The end fight between Anakin and Obi Wan was really a killer, Mace was pretty bad-arse in fighting Palpatine (was it just me or did he put up a better fight than Yoda? I couldn't tell if Mace cornering Palpatine and preparing to kill him was all for Anakin or whether Mace could have actually done it)
There was a bit of an over-reliance towards scenary towards the end and it got a little bit tiring, but overall a great use of the CG.
A nice touch was when Obi Wan was running out of Utapeh (sp?) into Grievous' ship, you can still see Grievous' dead body lying nearby. The Republic can't even be bothered cleaning up the remains of the frickin' leader of the enemy who they were after for the last three years.
Favourite scene: Grievous and Obi Wan slapfight.
Least favourite scene: Anything with Padme in it. Especially if she's crying.
A

[Reply #322 on:]

ROTS:

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Greivous kicked the shit out of lots of Jedi (Plo Koon, Aayla Secura, Shaak Ti, killed others) that's where he got his saber trophies, Mace gave him that coughing splutter he had when he grabbed Palpatine in Clone Wars ep 25 (Mace force crushed his chest  ), I've no sympathy for the cyborgy divil!

Yoda smashing the Emporers bodyguards when when he walks through the door: YES!! Haha, you have fancy helmets and you suck! HA! 

I know he wasn't going to, but I'm pissed off that Mace didn't just saber that damned mutant bastard on the window ledge, aghhh, he just murdered 3 other Jedi right beside you! 
And Anakin should have done it too once he dropped the old man "I am too weak!" routine and fried Mace!

The conversation between Palpy and Anakin at that concert dealie: brilliant.
Obi Wans last words to Anakin: also brilliant.

I thought battles on Kashyyk would have more of part of the plot and Yoda would chat with Tarfful and Chewie a bit more, ah well...

No Qui Gonn appearing, no teaching of how to do the fade away trick, I can only hope for a deleted scene.

What did Padme say to Obi before she died?
At her funeral, she should have also been holding Anakins Padawan ponytail thing she got in Clone Wars, would have been a nice tie-in.

Dang, I missed Mon Mothma.
Dang, there was no bit of the soundtrack that had that huge emotianal sting like in the trailer (right about the bit you see Yoda dodging the senate flying chair thing), now that was powerful. 

VF:

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"I don't see the point of twirling two light sabers over your head if you're going to stop that technique as soon as the other person takes a swing at you."
-Scare tactics, aieee!
Dooku trained Grievous to use intimidation and fear to beat Jedi.

"Jedi Masters sure are stupid and easy to kill."
-Shot in the back!

"Anakin sure is slow to pick up on Palpatine being on the dark side."
-Yeah I agree, sort of, but the darkside is all cloudy and hard to see through and stuff.

"And if he loves Padme so much, why is he hardly ever with her?"
1. He shouldn't be, they have to hide thier love.
2. He's mostly away to the BIG FREAKIN' GALACTIC WAR!
See Clone Wars episodes 21-25.

A+, with a slight depressed feeling because it's all over. 

[Reply #323 on:]

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"What did Padme say to Obi before she died?"

"There is still good in him."  Her best line, and only because of the later implications of Luke saying it in Jedi.  Other than that, I agree with whoever said the worst parts were any that involved her.  Except for when she was dead.  That scene was pretty good.

[Reply #324 on:]

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I'm the only person left on the internet that can't highlight the blue boxes yet.

[Reply #325 on:]

I thought Padmes scenes were ok, much better than "I've been dying a little inside every day since you came back...", I just wanted to punch the movie screen when she said that in AOTC.

[Reply #326 on:]

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What's the point of spoilerising reviews in a review thread..?

I saw Ep 3 on the weekend. I thought the whole thing resembled a fan fiction, and that's never good. I mean, I'd hate to watch the whole six from 1 through 6 in order, because basically episode three is just two and a half hours of 'spot-the-OT-reference'. Natalie Portman was better in this one than in the other two, and Ian McDiarmid had his moments, but the acting was still wooden at best and cringe-worthy in the worst bits. Still, there are parts of 'Jedi' that are the same (that's why it's the worst of the first three.)

When I try to recall the cinematography, all I think of is a big fluro green and orange mess (it's the same with all of the prequels) - throwing billions of polygons on screen doesn't prove anything in 2005. Watch some films coming out of Asia at the moment if you need to be reminded how CG can be used tastefully.

All in all though, the story lines and themes that had to be dealt with in the prequels were far more complex and difficult than those addressed in the original trilogy - which was basically a to-the-letter Campbellian 'hero's journey' formula set against a 'goodies vs. baddies' scenario. It was a big ask for Anakin's story to be dealt with in a way that would make for the same mass-appeal as the more simplistic original trilogy. Having someone like a Kershner to wring convincing performances from the actors would have been a big help, as I think the prequels had much more potential to deal up some great character acting than the OT material.

Perhaps the best thing would have been if 'Empire' had never been made as well as it was. Perhaps then we wouldn't be expecting so much from the franchise and could see it for the dumb fun it is supposed to be.

Edit: Oh yeah, did I mention that I didn't like the film?

[Reply #327 on:]

Back to the reviews

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Ending up buying this a while back and Watched it i would have to say its heaps better then the reamake although the remake did have some good parts overall i like the Original

A-
 

[Reply #328 on:]

Ben, you don't like anything, so we don't care. 

[Reply #329 on:]

 

Originally posted by SlackJawedMoron:
Revenge of the Sith
 Darth Vader's "NOOoooooooo!" scream is just a little too silly,

That "NOOOooo!" made my frickin' day when I saw ROTS on Friday night. My friends and I walked outta the theatre shouting it and have not stopped since.
Also, who decided Hayden Christenson could act? He has the skills of driftwood, and couldn't emote if he was really on fire. I love Natalie Portman, but, c'mon. There's no way she's gonna get any good reviews if she has to work off of the living statue.

[Reply #330 on:]

 

Originally posted by Ben:Edit: Oh yeah, did I mention that I didn't like the film?

I agree with you on that and everythong else you said.

I'm a fan of the first 3 original movies and enjoyed the first 2 prequils, I've even read a couple of the books.

EP 3 ROTS
It was quite good at the begining but got BAD fast and even WORSE at the end, I'm just glad I didn't have to pay to see this.

 

Originally posted by Shaucker:
  That "NOOOooo!" made my frickin' day when I saw ROTS on Friday night. My friends and I walked outta the theatre shouting it and have not stopped since.

Same here, as the credits came in, my mates and me just let out this "NOOOOoooooo!" and started laughing, people were looking at us with puzzlement written all over their faces. What MORONS!

[Reply #331 on:]

Aaw, c'mon, it was a fun movie. They could have improved it a bit by changing the ending a bit.
Anakin beats Obi Wan, Obi Wan runs away, and R2-D2 sets Anakin on fire the way he set the two droids on fire. That's much more humiliating than being beaten by his mentor.
Oh, and Viceroy Gunray died. He was cool.

[Reply #332 on:]

 

Originally posted by Shaucker:
Also, who decided Hayden Christenson could act? He has the skills of driftwood, and couldn't emote if he was really on fire.

He was on CGI fire, but it didn't help the acting, so you're right.  They could have chosen someone better.  I'm thinking someone along the lines of Lorezo Lamas.

[Reply #333 on:]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so here's my short review, in asterisk format.

*I thought the first word in the opening scrolling was kind of stupid. "War!" We already knew there was going to be a war, and there could have been better ways to state the obvious.

*A bit overboard with the CG. When Dooku flipped over the railing, the CG was so obvious, it killed the moment.

*The romantic scenes were kind of pathetic, but thankfully they weren't long.

*General Grevious' lightsaber fight with Obi-Wan was pretty cool.

*The ending had the best scenes in all Star Wars. That one kid who was fighting the clones before he got shot was pretty cool. (He should be bragging to his friends about that for a while.)

*I still couldn't believe Anakin would choke his own love.

*If I was Mace Windu, I would've killed Palpatine immediately. After all, it was Palpatine who told Darth Maul never hesitate in killing your enemies.

*Great setup to A New Hope. When ROTS comes out on DVD, I'm going to be watching all six films in a row, if I remember and have the time.

[Reply #334 on:]

I think there were actually a lot of callbacks to the original trilogy in it, too.
Aside from the ending scene with the sunset, I thought that when Palpatine was electrocuting Windu, it reminded me a lot of Palpatine electrocuting Luke in Return of the Jedi. Both times:
- Anakin looked from one to the other
- Pleading for help
- Electricity
- Um... Palpatine was there

[Reply #335 on:]

I heard somewhere apparantly there was a whole another plot for EP 3 something to do with the begin of the rebal alliance

[Reply #336 on:]

These newer Star Wars movies kind of ruin 4,5, and 6, don't they? It seems that all the "surprise twists" are taken out. If you watch them in order, you already know that Luke and Leia are related and that Darth Vader is their father.

[Reply #337 on:]

yea but if you really think about it every story has a beginning and end

[Reply #338 on:]

...

That's possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

[Reply #339 on:]

Anyway are we going to get back to the movie reviews ?

[Reply #340 on:]

 

Originally posted by Eyedol7513:
*I thought the first word in the opening scrolling was kind of stupid. "War!" We already knew there was going to be a war, and there could have been better ways to state the obvious.

I started singing "Huh!  Good god!  What is it good for?  Absolutely nothing!" when I read that.

When I read the opening crawl, not eye's post.

[Reply #341 on:]

Ong Bak
Not in the cinema, but still an awesome movie, Tai Fist is really cool, and Tony Jaa knees and elbows ass!
The story ain't too interesting, some bad dudes rob a simple spiritual village of their Ong Bak statues head and Ting (Jaa), the local could-kick-the-shit-out-of-you simple guy who's never been to the big city volunteers to get it back, and off he goes.
He meets a naughty guy (Dirty Balls!) who moved from the village a while ago who has also gotten mixed up with some bad dudes and they look for the statue head. Ting flying-knee-to-the-chest's his way up the bad dude hierarchy to get the head.
The fact that they did all the stuff with no wires or anything like that is the hook, and I said "ooooh! (that must have hurt!)" many times.

A, is for action.

[Reply #342 on:]

   

Originally posted by SlackJawedMoron:
Revenge of the Sith


Darth Vader's "NOOoooooooo!" scream is just a little too silly, and it feels a little rushed towards the end.

A-

Yeah Darth Vader's "NOOoooooooo!" scream was kinda gay i think he should of just screamed AAAHhhhhhhhhh.

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My favourite part in the movie is when Obi-Wan Kenobi chops up Anakin Skywalker  and when Anakin Skywalker kills the baby jedis.I know it was wrong but its funny that he kills the baby jedis.When one of the baby jedis says what should we do Anakin they've surrounded.then his lightsaber comes out and then it skips to them on the ground dead.The dumb thing is that there was no marks on them did Anakin rap them and leave there dead bodies.The part i don't like in the movie is when Mace Windu dies.He was going to kill him but then out of no where Anakin chops his hand off.He didn't even know it was coming.If Mace Windu killed Supreme Chancellor Palpatine then all the jedis would be alive.

The best Star wars movie.

A

[Reply #343 on:]

Do people still notice the "Wilhelm scream" in all kinds of movies (including Ep.III)? I think movie-makers have some kind of bet going where they're testing the limits of how many times they can cram it into a movie without it seeming phony and ridiculous. So far, that limit is zero. They're still trying, though.
What is it with Hollywood and their standard noises? First and foremost, we have the Wilhelm scream. Then there's the swooshing wound that occurs when something catches on fire. And also, there's this really annoying door sound that sounds nothing like any door in the whole wide world. Are they mocking us?

[Reply #344 on:]

Don't forget children-laughing-giggle sound, I hate that one the most. *shakes fist* 

[Reply #345 on:]

Lost in Translation (2003)

I saw “Lost in Translation” this Monday night on 23 May 2005 from a DVD I recorded on my digital channel I have been subscribing.

This story is about two Americans who came to Tokyo to live and become bored living in the foreign city because they cannot really relate to the locals due to cultural differences and poor communications between the locals and themselves.

Bill Murray’s Character Bob Harris is an American film actor, far past his prime. He has been offered a job to shoot commercials of whiskey in Japan. You can see in the film he would like to interact more and communicate more with the people he works for but finds that difficult because of poor translation and cultural barrier between himself and the Japanese. He would like to know what else did the director said besides the one line the translator gave to him for him to work with for the commercial.

When those communications and the cultural differences he hopes to overcome are lost in the translations he becomes bored and seeks solace in the bar where he finds another American, Charlotte (played by Scarlet Johansson) in the same strange city (Tokyo). She also suffers both confusion and the feeling of isolation in a crowded environment due to the cultural and language barriers between herself and the Japanese. However unlike him who came to Japan for a job, she came to Japan to support her newlywed husband on his job as a photographer. She just graduated majoring in philosophy, and is not sure what she is going to do with her life here.

They become close because they are both lonely; they are both searching the meaning of their life here. Both feeling bored and distant from the cultural and language difference, they are happy to be able to find each other and share that loneliness together, knowing they are not alone. Their relationship is not lustful but more of a psychological support for each other’s “life crisis.” Both of them feel left out, and frustrated by their spouses. So, they talk, drink, sing karaoke and hang out in the hotel bar and they both found friendship and inspiration in the most unlikely of places.

I personally find this movie Hilarious and enlightening to watch. The experience of going to another country with language barriers is something I have experienced and continue to experience many times in my life, I get out much more than most people I think. I have immigrated, I have travelled to many countries and have experienced many cultural shocks than most people I think. In a way I can relate to this movie, and I don’t think it has poorly portrayed a foreign country in this case Japan.

A-

[Reply #346 on:]

Everyone I know hates Lost in Translation. And when I say hate, I mean a "I fell asleep 20 minutes into the movie because this is quite possibly the worst movie ever made in the history of the universe" kind of hate.

I also finally saw The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou recently. Brilliant. With a couple more viewing it may reach "modern masterpiese" status. This one, in my opinion, is the culmination of all the themes that Anderson has explored in all his previous films. Now, even though I love all his movies, I'm glad that he's exploring other stuff in his future movies.

[Reply #347 on:]

 

Do people still notice the "Wilhelm scream" in all kinds of movies (including Ep.III)?

Oh lordy, yes. I make it my business to shout "Wilhelm Scream!" everytime one occurs. Kill Bill v1 had two in the same fight scene. I think that was intentional. I can't take the Wilhelm scream seriously.

 

Don't forget children-laughing-giggle sound, I hate that one the most.

It's like razor wire scratching over my teeth.

[Reply #348 on:]

There's also the "small child laughing/screaming in background"-sound (reminiscent of Tomas the Cat screaming when his feet are set alight by Jerry). Gawd, I hate that. But seriously, do any of you peoples think the movie makers think to themselves "yes, this sound is very plausible- I'll use it"? Because I really think/hope that they're yanking our proverbial chains.

[Reply #349 on:]

Star Wars : Fit The Third

In which everything goes to hell......

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Basic summary of my review:

Story : Best so far
CGI : Best so far
Acting : Atrocious

I don't know what it is, but there's three parts of the movie where I had to laugh out loud because the whole thing was so ludicrous:

#1: Unlimited Powaaaaaaaaaaah!
#2: Master Skywalker, what shall we do?
#3: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

It even seemed to partially infect Samuel L Jackson and especially Ian McDiarmid (both as the Chancellor and the Emperor). Portman was a lot better, though.

A lot of it comes down to, as mentioned, poor dialogue. It's just not natural and doesn't flow as such, partially because it feels like every single line has to be weighed down by some symbolism. ("I have the high ground!" ).

However, as I said, I think the overall story is the best so far in the series. There aren't any desperate prods of the story to keep it moving along ala Episode I.

The whole "death of the Jedi" sequence was very well done, and although I just couldn't avoid smirking at the "youngling's" performance, the fact they didn't gloss over what happened to the young Jedi did suprise me. What also suprised me is that Yoda did have a showdown with the Emperor, although in hindsight it does make a lot of sense.

One thing that I think has been very well done during the prequels is the gradual transition towards the Star Destroyer type ships seen in the last sequence (although, Star Destroyers must have one heck of a short lifespan if they're completely redesigned every 20 years or so).

Overall ranking of the episodes:

#1: The Empire Strikes Back
#2: Return of the Jedi
#3: A New Hope
#4: Revenge of the Sith
#5: Attack of the Clones
#6: The Phantom Menace

B

Also, what the hell happened to the Droid Army's voices?

[Reply #350 on:]

The new Star Wars movie was really good and I enjoyed it. It was a very interesting story on how Anakin becomes Vader.

[Reply #351 on:]

@CybahKnigget: How is "I have the higher ground" weighed down by symbolism? It's a perfectly normal term in melee combat, including swordfighting.

[Reply #352 on:]

He means moral high ground.
Silly Obi Wan should have finished the job, a quick saber stabbing through the head would have saved the galaxy a whole lot of trouble.

[Reply #353 on:]

 

Originally posted by Pikka Bird:
Do people still notice the "Wilhelm scream" in all kinds of movies (including Ep.III)?

I ::heart:: the Wilhelm scream.

[Reply #354 on:]

Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself

I liked it. I'm really into the movies that have ironic vibes within them, so I thoroughly enjoyed myself. And the music in the beginning is just so...ear pleasing. It's just a stupid little tune but it's like crack. I also found that it had a really good overall message of "love what you have." Aah, good times with suicide.

A-

[Reply #355 on:]

~Faze~: But then there would only be one good Star Wars film instead of four.  Also, even good guys are allowed to have "No one could have survived that" moments, to help counter villain incompetency.

[Reply #356 on:]

CK: I forgot to mention how funny that little Cockney kid was. I nearly shit myself when he said that.

[Reply #357 on:]

 

Originally posted by Jeremy:
Crash
This movie is all kinds of awesome.
Racism? Check.
Tony Danza? Check.
Jennifer Esposito's nipples? Check. Check. (Or maybe just check. I can only remember the left one. hmm.)

A+

Watched it again. It's only her left one. All these Star Wars reviews and none of you are seeing this movie. So sad. You can't tell from anything I've said, but it really is great. And if there are stupid people sitting around you, you might hear this question during the movie: "What is flatulence?" I guarantee you won't hear that during Star Wars!
BTW, this person's friend didn't know either. So they didn't get a joke later on in the movie.
 
Way to go, Jeremy, make everyone think this is one great big boob/fart joke/Tony Danza movie. Only you. *shakes head*

[Reply #358 on:]

 

Originally posted by ~FazeShift~:
He means moral high ground.

Come on, you don't actually mean thatr, do you. That's pretty far-fetched. I mean, telescopic arms style. Just because you can stuff lame-arsed symbolism into a sentence doesn't mean it was meant that way. Higher ground is a very common expression.

[Reply #359 on:]

 

Originally posted by Mr Fuzzywuvems:
It's also the best superhero movie ever!
[/b]

Basically what your saying is its better then all the Movies Based on any Marvel comic yea right you have to be kidding me