Ebert Gave This Movie Reviews Thread 3 of 4 Stars!

[Reply #320 on:]

Bridge to Terrabithia

Like a cross between Peter Jackson's heavenly creatures, Terry Gilliam's Tideland and Lars von Trier's Antichrist.

Failsafe to Where the Wild Things Are's Dr Strangelove.

B+

[Reply #321 on:]

Bridge to terrabithia sucked.

[Reply #322 on:]

Pfft; kiddie movies...

The Right Stuff

This film documents the beginning of NASA and the US space program.  Beginning just after World War II, it shows the political climate that spawned the creation of NASA ("We gotta beat them Russkies into outer space!"), the culture of Test Pilots as "Cowboys" or "Fighter Jocks" and the unbelievable story of the Gemini Astronauts & what they had to endure to make the program a success.  It's a long film (3 & 1/2 hours), but the story is very strong & keeps you guessing.  What makes it more incredible is this (with the exception of a few condensed timelines) is a true story.  Truth is stranger than fiction; here's the proof.

9/10

[Reply #323 on:]

I like kid's films, and Bridge is a very good kid's film. Up there with Elf, Zathura, Time Bandits and lower-tier Pixar 

[Reply #324 on:]

Bridge to terrabithia sucked.

Second.

The best kids movie I;ve seen recently was Up.

[Reply #325 on:]

Unless you're talking about Alvin and the Chipmunks or the Pokemon movie or something, I don't think there's any need to seperate films into kid films and adult film. Most kids think of themselves as adults anyway, so they want to watch "adult" films (my favourite film when I was 11 was 2001) and alot of adults will dismiss great films like Up and Bridge to Terrabithia because they don't like "kid's" films. You should enjoy films on their own terms and not pay any attention to who they're marketed to.

[Reply #326 on:]

Wow, stellar inputs from Books and Bianca.
Syke! You both suck!

The Princess and The Frog
Yeah I know, kids movie, but I had to watch it after The Road (whichwastotallygreat) to balance out the sad, Michael.
It's pretty standard cheesy Disney stuff but it made me laugh a few times and the animation was great.
B+

[Reply #327 on:]

The Men Who Stare At Goats
That was awesome.

The end.

9/10 (Could have had more goats)

[Reply #328 on:]

Silent Hill

Before giving my views on this film I must point out that I have never played the game on which it is based so can't say how it compared or how close it stayed to the original plot. After an introduction where we learn that Rose's adopted daughter Sharon is prone to sleep walking and while asleep keeps referring to Silent Hill; the town of her birth. Rose decides she must go to Silent Hill with Sharon if she is to discover what is the matter with her. Silent Hill isn't a normal town; it was abandoned after the coal seem under the town caught fire about the time of Sharon's birth. Shortly before getting there Rose is pulled over by a police woman, called Cybil, however as the officer approaches she accelerates off and drives at high speed to Silent Hill with the officer in pursuit. On arrival she crashes and when she regains consciousness there is no sign of Sharon.

Show spoiler

There is something not quite right about the town; it appears to be snowing at first put it soon becomes apparent that it is ash from the still burning fire. Seeing a child she thinks is her daughter she runs after her but is confronted by strange creatures. Returning to her car she meets the police woman who handcuffs her and tries to take her out of town; they can't get out though as the road inexplicably ends in a precipice which wasn't there when they arrived. Trapped in the town Rose is determined to continue the search for her daughter and sets about searching for her, starting at the school as she remembered a picture she drew. Each place she goes gives a clue as to where she should look next... after she has survived the threat in that location of course. Eventually she finds a girl that looks just like her daughter but she claims her name is Alessa. Strangely she disappears soon after they meet and Rose and Cybil are taken to the church where a strange cult hides from what they call "The Darkness". These people tell Rose where she can find this Darkness, when she gets there we learn just what her daughter's connection to Alessa is and just what happened to the town all those years ago. While Rose is looking for her daughter her husband comes looking for her. Here we learn that she isn't in the real world as we see them in the same place at the same time but the weather is different and they don't see each other however he get a sense of her presence when he smells her perfume.

For a film adapted from a game I never got the feeling I was watching somebody playing a game as I have with other adaptations although the progressive encounters did have a sense of advancing game levels where a clue must be found to go to the next location. The atmosphere was delightfully creepy early on and the faceless creatures were quite chilling. Unfortunately the final confrontation between Alessa and the townspeople wasn't frightening, it was just CGI gore. I was pleased that even though the end suggests that all is not as it should be there wasn't the cliché of having one more attack after we thing the threat is over. Radha Mitchell did a good job as Rose making the character believable in an unbelievable situation and young Jodelle Ferland stole the scenes she was in as Sharon and her counterpart Alessa. I don't think this was a great film but it is worth watching if it is on late night television, it was certainly better than some game adaptations I've seen.

6/10

[Reply #329 on:]

Flirting with Disaster

Anyone seen this? I watched it last night because I was in a bad mood and it's one of my go-to cheer-myself-up-movies (along with Wayne's World, Office Space, Raising Arizona and Wet Hot American Summer). It's a modern (mid 90s) screw-ball comedy starring Ben Stiller (pre-there's something about mary) and Patricia Arquette. It also has George Segal and Mary Tyler Moore as Stiller's adoptive parents, Alan Alda and Lilly Tomlin as his real parents, and Josh Brolin and Richard Jenkins as two gay cops who are married to each other. It's directed by David O'Russell of Three Kings/I Heart Huckabees/youtube vid of him being a dick fame.

A 

[Reply #330 on:]

Harry Brown
Michael Caine does his own Gran Torino type old-dude-vengeance movie, yay!
He lives in a violent drug ridden council block area and some thugs attack and kill his friend, so using his Marines training he tracks them down and goes all shootey burney killey on their asses.
Emily Mortimer, Liam Cunningham and that annoying chap from Skins also appear.
Pretty good stuff.
A-

[Reply #331 on:]

Solaris (Solyaris)

In soviet Russia Twilight Zone watches you.

It pretty much like if the movies 2001, Easerhead and an episode of the Twilight Zone had a child. It was better than the US movie anyway.

B-

[Reply #332 on:]

Othello

Did you know that Orson Welles made a film of Othello and that it has the best cinematography I've ever seen?

A

[Reply #333 on:]

Get Carter (1971)

Jack Carter, a London gangster, finds out that his brother has died, and sets out to investigate what happened.  He's told that nobody knows why his brother died, but, as he investigates further, layer upon layer of lies & deceipt is ripped away, exposing the truth.  He then begins his brutally violent campaign of retribution.

Michael Caine is excellent as Jack Carter; he shows a side to his acting ability that we seldom get to see.  This film is considered by most critics to be one of the greatest crime films of the 70's, and still packs the house when shown at midnight matinees in art movie theatres.  It was remade (with much less skill and success) in 2000, with Sylvester Stallone taking over the Michael Caine role.  The original is much better, and is a great rental.

8/10

[Reply #334 on:]

   Did you know that Orson Welles made a film of Othello and that it has the best cinematography I've ever seen?

No, I can't say that I did.

[Reply #335 on:]

I heard mixed reviews on Alice In Wonderland and don't know if I wanted to see it. Has anyboy seen Ilove you Philp Morris yet? Any good?

[Reply #336 on:]

The Princess and the Frog
It's good to see another animated Disney movie, it feels like a long time! It's up to the usual extremely high quality you expect from Disney, and while it probably isn't the absolute greatest of their oeuvre, the distinction between an amazing Disney movie and a fantastic one is so small there's not much point in making one, you pedantic bastard.

• Keith David and Jennifer Cody were the standout performances of the bunch!
• It dipped a little bit during the swamp sections (either despite or because of the Rescuers flashbacks)
  
• Until Disney reminds me, I always forgot myself and buy into the common misconception that fat people can have any dignity whatsoever.
• Disney should be saluted for the first (and for good reason, last) ever recorded attempt at making a snake cute and lovable.

Rating: /()\

The Stuff
I'll never look at yoghurt the same way again!

*eating some right now*

Not the subtlest horror satire, but subtlely would ruin a movie like this anyway. The tone really suits it, it's dated extremely well (not just the theme message, either), and most of the characters are a pretty memorable bunch.

Rating: /()\

B

Zombieland
It would be easy to call this the American answer to Shaun of the Dead (it fits all the stereotypes) but while they both share the zombie theme, they aren't trying to fit the same genre: so the comparison isn't really fair. It's a pretty strong zombie movie as it is, with a lot of amusing moments: you could do worse.

Rating: /( )\


Under Milkwood
Probably could have been much better (given the cast), but it was a pretty serviceable adaption. The location scout did a fantastic job.

Rating: /()\

[Reply #337 on:]

Birdemic - Shock and Horror

The best film I ever saw.  I'm sorry, I meant the worst film I ever saw.  You see, on a regular scale of film quality, it goes from Good, Mediocre, Bad, So Bad It's Good, So Bad It Is a Crime Against Humanity and then there is this.

The problem with this film beyond its infinite list of flaws is whether to laugh or cry.  Because you cannot help but feel the urge to burst out laughing, but at the same time feel your humanity fading away.

How bad can the film be, though?  Well, for starters you can check out the trailer.  Now you may feel the trailer is a parody, it is not or that it just contains the worst parts, it doesn't; the film itself is far more horrendous.

There are commonly parts of film making you don't notice, because they are done decently enough to be unnoticeable.  They are usually quite easy to find someone good enough to handle them.  But apparently, not for this film.  Audio mixing?  Props?  Locations?  Customs?  Music?  Those are usually not things I notice too much, because they are good enough to remain unnoticeable, but sometimes, they are so brilliant, that you cannot help but notice.  Unfortunately, the reverse is true for this film.

The only thing decent in this film is the extras.  And that is a problem, when the extras stands out in a film for being believable, when the rest is just horrendous.

As for the plot, it is pretty much the simplest plot in the book; boy meets girl, bad stuff happens.  Bad stuff being a terrible terrible attempt to copy the famous classic, The Birds.

The rating is simple; there is no rating system currently in existence that can rate the terribleness of this film, so I won't bother.  But the real question is whether you should bother watching this film.  But that depends on what you like.  If you like watching a film that takes itself seriously, while being more terrible than you can imagine, then this is for you.  Otherwise; stay the fuck away.

[Reply #338 on:]

...how did I mistake this thread with the Dead Celebrity one?

Inglorious Basterds

Just a good movie all around, some scenes went on too long but I can't complain because each scene just builds and really puts you into the period in which the story takes place. I thought it was great, I wanted Christopher Waltz's character to suffer horribly and he did. Brad Pitt, I continue to admire his range of acting abilities, though he was accompanied by a great cast. Lots of flat out action and violence. And as my brother put it, "If only the war had ended like that". Couldn't agree more.

A

And just for funnsies, here's another Brad Pitt movie:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

We watched this in Psychology after studying the aging process a few weeks ago. It was like the Forest Gump of the early 20th century honestly, but instead of him being retarded he was aging backwards. Interesting none the less, had it's moments, and it kept me intrigued most of the time. There were a few minor things that irked me but overall a fairly solid movie.

B+

[Reply #339 on:]

Shutter Island
A bit of drag in the middle but generally a good film. I used to hate Leonardo DiCaprio (awful performances in Titanic and The Beach) but have come to like him since Catch Me If You Can, so was quite looking forward to his performance. Which was brilliant. As were Mark Ruffalo and Ben Kingsley (congratulations, sir, you've exorcised the ghosts of Thunderbirds). The art direction and cinematography were incredible (guaranteed Oscar winner Robert Richardson), especially in Teddy's first dream scene.

The story itself was a big drag. I saw the twist involving Teddy as soon as he found Rachel's note. The campfire scene, probably the biggest cliché in the history of cinema, went on for too long, as did the Ward C "uh-oh, the partner's not around; time for some secret revelations" scene. The lighthouse scene though was excellent, and the ambiguous final scene was chilling. The whole film bears repeat viewing though, just to catch the things you might have missed.

Show spoiler

Was Bridget's imaginary glass of water a goof or a crack in Teddy's delusions?

7.5/10

Green Zone
"Jason Bourne in Iraq"? Largely. But the first 30 minutes of this film was closer to Paul Greengrass's Bloody Sunday, with documentary/shakycam scenes and people under fire on the ground with as much idea of what's going on as the audience. Then Miller decides to split his team and go it alone, and suddenly it's moving toward Bourne territory. The two characters merge the second Miller starts tapping away on a laptop.

So, Millourne believes that there are no WMD in Iraq (buuuuuuh) and allies himself with CIA chap Brendan Gleeson (all Millourne wants to know is his real name. Why won't you tell him?). Greg Kinnear (who is fading away) and Jason Isaacs with some stupid facial hair get in the way and then everyone shoots each other. Pretty much. Was there are story? Oh, a little bit. But mostly people shooting each other and saying "The government has lied to us. Let's just wave our arms around and gurn." What the hell?

6/10 for the popcorn flick factor.

[Reply #340 on:]

Inglorious Basterds

Words.  Words.  Words.  Words.  Nazis.  Torture.  Blood.  Words.  Words.  Words.  Gunfire.  Actual fire.  Words.  Words.  Words.  LOL, History.

...And awesome music.

C+

[Reply #341 on:]

A dialogue-heavy Tarantino film. Who woulda thunk it…

[Reply #342 on:]

Up in the Air

Good story, good acting really good cameo roles by Zach Galifianakis, JK Simmons, and Sam Elliott

B

[Reply #343 on:]

Inglorious Basterds-this was actually pretty good, in that I could watch it without all the gory bits making me look away- B+

I've also seen Tom Ford's A Single Man, which was very avant-garde, but it was well done and the soundtrack was excellent. B+

Also-Alice In Wonderland-excellent visuals, but somewhat disneyish. I don't know-I just didn't understand Depp sliding into Scottish, didn't get it at all. B+

Obviously I am in a B+ mood.

[Reply #344 on:]

Basterds gets an A from me. Best tarrantino since Pulp Fiction

[Reply #345 on:]

Extract

I don't think I laughed once

D+/C-

[Reply #346 on:]

Scanners
I wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. The ending was almost like an ending to a loony tunes cartoon. Videodrome is much better!

Just watch this for this part:



C-

[Reply #347 on:]

The Sting
Newman and Redford tagteam Robert Shaw in a confidence game, probably because of his awful Oirish accent, they pretend it's because he killed his grifter buddy, but it was totally the bad accent, they couldn't let him get away with that.
Decent con film for an oldie.

C+

[Reply #348 on:]

I'll see your Sting, and raise you...

The Sting 2

Awful, just awful.  The first movie, The Sting, was at least original.  This movie is a rehash of the first film; it adds nothing of interest, and is made with a lesser cast.  Totally formulaic, a major disappointment.

2/10

[Reply #349 on:]

The Sting 3

So bad it doesn't even exist!

C-

[Reply #350 on:]

I've lately watched a ton of really old movies from around the 1900s to the 1920s.
The best of those were definitely:

Frankenstein (1910) - only 12 minutes long and of course completely outdated effects for todays standards. But for that time it was really great and is still nice to watch these days.

Le Voyage dans la Lune (1902) - even shorter at 8 minutes running time, but everyone who saw the Smashing Pumpkins video to Tonight Tonight basically knows this movie. It's very nice to watch and has a lovely soundtrack.
I dunno if it's the oldest movie about people flying to the moon, but considering it's release date it surely is one of the very first.

The Haunted House (1921) - Buster Keaton at what he does best, physical comedy. Some really great skits in it, especially the scene with the staircase. Sadly the picture quality of the version I saw was rather bad at times, but that's a problem a lot of old movies face these days.

The Kid (1921) - From the same year as the last movie Charlie Chaplin is in the role be became famous for The Tramp. It's a nice serious movie yet still has a lot of comecial moments in it just like all the great stuff Chaplin has done in his feature films. Along to the lovely movie it also has a fantastic soundtrack that is definitely way better than many of today's movies.

[Reply #351 on:]

Teeth

If you like to see a man's happy fun stick getting bitten off by a woman's funny hole, this is the movie for you. They did an ok job on the gore. That's about it, I give it a:

D

[Reply #352 on:]

How to drain your flagon
How to refrain from nagging
How to paint you wagon
How to Train Your Dragon

Most of the reviews for this movie are astounding and while I agree that it was good I'm undecided as to whether or not I'd call it 'great'.

It's hard to single out any particular aspect of this film where it lets itself down but perhaps it's just that, despite how well it has been handled, it seems to cover so much of the same Disapproving father/Misunderstood son ground as movies like Chicken Little and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

I intend to go back and see it again in a day or two because I've often found that a second viewing helps to clarify my opinion but for now I'll say that, while I really enjoyed it, it doesn't quite reach the level of Kung Fu Panda and the aforementioned Cloudy….

Rating: A

[Reply #353 on:]

How to Train Your Dragon

Not too bad, I haven't read any reviews on the movie so I can't comment on them.
It was handled well, unlike Up it's a movie that kids will actually understand somewhat.
It was actually good seeing a happy ending that wasn't 100% happy, I won't mention spoilers.

Solid: A

[Reply #354 on:]

Are you two secretly dating and going to movies together and making out after?

Busted!

Not a movie but still interesting:
National Geographics Incredible Human Machine
Informative!
I also liked the bit of the Japanese scientists who found a way to remote control the walking of some test subjects using wireless headphones that disrupt their inner ear balance, making them involuntarily swerve around like crazy.

B

[Reply #355 on:]

How to Train Your Dragon

Not too bad, I haven't read any reviews on the movie so I can't comment on them.
It was handled well, unlike Up it's a movie that kids will actually understand somewhat.
It was actually good seeing a happy ending that wasn't 100% happy, I won't mention spoilers.

Solid: A

I'm watching that tomorrow! I can't wait

[Reply #356 on:]

It looks great in trailers, and the reviews have been totally positive.  Let us know what you think, Morgan.

In honor of Robert Culp's death, it's time to review one of his better (and lesser known) films.

Spectre

Written by Gene Roddenberry (originally as a post Star Trek TV pilot and subsequently released into theatres), this film details the exploits of world famous criminologist & occult expert William Sebastian (Robert Culp), as he investigates the strange goings on in a British mansion.  Sebastian, who reunites with his old friend Dr. Hamilton (played by Gig Young; they're an homage to Holmes & Watson), discovers that the home was built on ancient druid firepits, and recent excavations may have released something evil that was purposely locked away for eternity.

This film was made in the mid 70's, and is a little dated.  However, like many of Roddenberry's other works (Star Trek, for example), once you get past the silly special effects & the costuming, you find a very interesting story.  It's intelligent, well written and downright creepy.  I've always said that this would be a perfect film to be remade today; with the advances of special effects & with the great storyline, it could be a blockbuster.  Regardless, the original film is definitely worth watching.

8/10

[Reply #357 on:]

Teeth

If you like to see a man's happy fun stick getting bitten off by a woman's funny hole, this is the movie for you. They did an ok job on the gore. That's about it, I give it a:

D

HAHA

I would less than three hojew if she didn't scare me.

[Reply #358 on:]

   Are you two secretly dating and going to movies together and making out after?

   Busted!

Hey, sometimes a guy gets lonely.

[Reply #359 on:]

How to Train Your Dragon

Just got back from the movie and it was awesome! I like the story and the animation was great! I feel like riding a dragon now!

Wheeee....

Awesome. Awesome to the A.