Ebert Gave This Movie Reviews Thread 3 of 4 Stars!

[Reply #80 on:]

At least Books could understand the film; when I saw it in the theatre, they mistakenly showed a copy without subtitles.  There's nothing quite like trying to figure out what the characters are saying when they're speaking in Aramaic with no translation.  Needless to say, they stopped the film, apologized profusely & gave us our money back (along with free passes).

[Reply #81 on:]

You were indeed lucky. You saw the directors cut. Mel shot the film in Aramaic and the critics scratched their heads. I think Aramaic is a dead or nearly dead language.
Poor Caviezel I think he had to learn it.

[Reply #82 on:]

i loved apocalypto. I think mel gibson is both an ubelievably great director and an unbelievable dick

[Reply #83 on:]

I guess it's partially due to his drinking problem. But that only breaks down his inhibitions so you can see the real person inside.
But you're right. He is probably, along with Eastwood, the most versatile actor in Hollywood.

[Reply #84 on:]

Le Pacte Des Loups (Brotherhood of the Wolf)
Odd mix of genres French movie with no major actors I knew (maybe Mark Dacascos).
The plot didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, basically a loose premise to have aristocratic French guys and Native American guy doing kung fu on some Wolf worshipping secret society who (and bear with me) want to scare the King of France by using an armored wild wolf thingy to attack a provence to scare him into their strong Christian beliefs.... right.

The action was ok I guess, well choreographed but it didn't seem to fit well together on a whole, The Count of Monte Christo + Jackie Chan + The Wolfman = this.

C-

[Reply #85 on:]

[Reply #86 on:]

In Bruges

The idea of a film about a couple of foul-mouthed Irish hit men laying low in Bruges after one of them has accidentally killed a child in a church doesn't sound like a barrel of laughs but there are plenty of laugh out loud moments in this black comedy.

The two men are Ken, the older of the two who loves the culture and history in the ancient town and Ray who thinks two weeks stuck in Bruges is like purgatory. Ray is having difficulty coming to terms with the fact that he killed a child to such an extent that he is contemplating suicide... he might not have to do it however as Ken gets a call from Harry, their employer, telling him he is to kill Ray. Of course nothing goes quite as expected, Ray falls in love with a local con-woman and ends up dealing with her less than competent ex-boyfriend who threatens him with a revolver, a dwarf who has some strange views about race when on drugs and some large American tourists who don't like being told they are too big to go up a church tower.

The Martin McDonagh wrote a great script the brilliantly directed a cast of talented actors; Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell were great as Ken and Ray, they are able supported by Clémence Poésy as Ray's new girlfriend Chloe, Thekla Reuten as pregnant hotel owner Marie and Ralph Fiennes as the two killers' employer who had a strict rule about never hurting a child.

If you are offended by swearing give this film a wide birth as it contains almost non-stop bad language, it also contains some bloody violence that might bother some viewers, however if these things don't bother you then I'd strongly recommend this, a laughed out loud many times and won't deny that I also shed a few tears.

10/10

[Reply #87 on:]

I didn't know what to expect with In Bruges. It was a really pleasant surprise when I got into the story. The ending is very bleak

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with most characters being shot and killed

, but Bruges is a very beautiful city. And a possible tourist destination for me.
I had a friend who absolutely loved the city and several of his relatives were from there.

[Reply #88 on:]

Yes ^
You guys should check out Intermission too.

[Reply #89 on:]

(500) Days of Summer

Awesome movie, but then again I knew I'd like it when I first saw the trailer however long ago. It was a bit cloying at times--and kind of too wink-wink for my tastes--but Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character was so damn charming and cute and sympathetic that I couldn't really fault the film for some of the quasi-pretentious tropes. Zooey Deschanel was good, too--although is it just me, or does she essentially play the same character in every movie she's in?

A-

[Reply #90 on:]

Well she was different in the Happening. But Zooey and her acting style has been discussed in this thread before.

[Reply #91 on:]

Star Trek

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Yeah, well that escape pod just happened to land in a cave where FUTURE! Spock was hiding out, and they happened to be within walking distance of Montgomerry Scott.  This is the first time I've ever knocked a movie down so hard for failing to suspend my disbelief.  On the plus side, I loved the inclusion of the sexy miniskirt costumes from the 60's series.  Characters were well portrayed.  I also love the score which clearly had that TOS feel of trumpets and punchy phrases rather than a cut and paste orchestral score that Hollywood churns out.  Still, the plot is monstrously contrived and there's too much fanboy service and deus ex machina in this movie to get it above warp 2.

C+

[Reply #92 on:]

Rach's Pixar binge:

Up
(Finally - sheesh.)
Hello, movie. I think I love you. Your storyline is sweet and concise, your arcs perfect and the montage at the beginning made me tear up for the first time in years (I am usually black and charred inside). Your visuals worked with the characters and plot rather than detracting and screaming for attention. I might go watch you again tomorrow.
A

Ratatouille
Brilliant. A food based, animal centric, endearing film set in Paris with a strong female character and witty commentary? That, along with the fact that Thomas Keller consulted, is the way to my heart. I was frigging starving through the whole thing.
A

The Incredibles
Can't remember if I've mentioned this already, but I rewatched it a while ago to see if I was wrong about being totally unimpressed by it. Turns out, I was right. Not even Edna, who is obviously based on Rei Kawakubo (designer for Comme Des Garcons, and I love her) could save it. I haven't seen Cars, but this remains to be my least favourite Pixar film ever.
C-

[Reply #93 on:]

I'm sorry Rach but as per IMDb the character of Edna is based on Edith Head who was costume creator par excellance. She had 30 Oscar Nominations and 8 wins.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Head

The Incredibles felt like a B to me.

[Reply #94 on:]

Everyone says the beginning of Up is tear jerky, but I didn't find it so at all, it's like I thought "I should be feeling sad" but I just wasn't.
ratatoulle is the most overrated Pixar movie

[Reply #95 on:]

My mistake. Now I like it even less.

Books: I didn't know anything about Up aside from the fact there was a talking dog, and as far as I'm concerned, nobody really rates Ratatouille so it's difficult for it to be overrated.

[Reply #96 on:]

   Ratatouille
   A

   The Incredibles
   C-

Well, it's obviously not just a Brad Bird thing.

While I appreciate that Ratatouille is very good, it's the Pixar movie that I re-watch least frequently. (Possibly because, when it comes to fine food, I'm too much like Emile (Remy's older brother).)

Am I the only one in the world who actually _likes_ Cars?

[Reply #97 on:]

It was probably a hit with the troublingly influential NASCAR-fan/anyone-under-the-age-of-twelve demographic.

Speaking for seven eighths of myself: I manage to live without having seen Larry the Cable Guy's layered performance, but it's my burden to bear.

[Reply #98 on:]

Am I the only one in the world who actually _likes_ Cars?

I liked Cars. I didn't think it was gonna be that great at the start but it ended up being really enjoyable even though I'm not really into cars... Why do people hate Cars so?

[Reply #99 on:]

I didn't hate it, but I really don't think it deserves a sequel.

[Reply #100 on:]

Least fav pixar movies for me are, in order,

1. Ratatouille
2. Cars
3. Finding Nemo

I actually rank The Incredibles up the top.

[Reply #101 on:]

it goes

1.incredibles
2.walle
3.ratatoille
4.up
...
...
27. bugs life
28. cars

[Reply #102 on:]

That's all very well and good but it doesn't quite answer my initial question of "Why do people hate Cars so?"

[Reply #103 on:]

i don't hate cars, i think it's beautifully designed and has an awesome cast. the story's just a tad more derivative and predictable than the other films on that list

[Reply #104 on:]

Ghibli > Pixar, anyways...

[Reply #105 on:]

true that

[Reply #106 on:]

Unforgiven
This film bookends Clint Eastwood's Western films.  Whereas his early westerns (with Sergio Leone) tended to glorify violence & murder, Unforgiven is a statement of how essentially degradating they are.  The story centers around the character of William Munny, a former gunfighter & murderer, who got married, had kids & became a pig farmer.  In very lean times, after his wife has died, he's approached by an old riding partner, to avenge (for money) a prostitute who was beat up and mutilated by several drunk cowboys; he's to kill the cowboys involved for $1,000.  Along the way, we learn that he'd struggled to walk the straight and narrow, and, now that his wife is gone, he has no one to help him avoid his past; we witness his gradual regression into an angry, merciless killer.  The change in his character from the beginning to the end of the film is remarkable.

This is my favorite Clint Eastwood film.  Intelligently acted & crafted with care, this film makes the statement that no one escapes a violent encounter unscathed; everyone, even the murderer, is affected.  A definite rental recommendation.

9/10

[Reply #107 on:]

Pixar => ghibli. Also, they're two completely different things - ghibli is basically miyazaki and his protoges, pixar is a democracy

[Reply #108 on:]

   I didn't hate it, but I really don't think it deserves a sequel.

It could have something to do with the fact that Cars is one of the more (if not the most) merchandizing-friendly movies Pixar (or for that matter, Disney) has done in quite a while.

   it goes

   1.incredibles
   2.walle
   3.ratatoille
   4.up
   ...
   ...
   27. bugs life
   28. cars

Is that including the next 18 moxies [edit] movies [/edit] that Pixar has yet to make?

[Reply #109 on:]

yep, i'm anticipating that pixar will one day start making moxies, and that those moxies win't be as good as up.

[Reply #110 on:]

   Ratatouille
   A

   The Incredibles
   C-

Well, it's obviously not just a Brad Bird thing.

While I appreciate that Ratatouille is very good, it's the Pixar movie that I re-watch least frequently. (Possibly because, when it comes to fine food, I'm too much like Emile (Remy's older brother).)

Am I the only one in the world who actually _likes_ Cars?

I was totally unaware of this disliking of Cars. It's probably one of my favorite Pixar movies. I loved it! Now the Incredibles, while it has grown on me to some extent over the years I still don't really think it's that great. It had an interesting concept, but gosh darn I could so not care about the Incredibles themselves. Finding Nemo I consider to be a little bit better than Ratatoille, but I like them both. I haven't seen Up or Wall-E, it's on my big list of movies to see.

[Reply #111 on:]

Cars was definitely the worst. Mediocre plot, mediocre jokes, mediocre animation. Pixar did far better animation in Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo five and three years earlier. The polt was old and worn out (big city guy goes to the country and finds out that he loves it). I can't remember any good jokes or gags during the movie, or heart felt moments like those in Toy Story, Monsters and Nemo. It was an overall mediocre outing by Pixar.

The Incredibles was a movie that grew on me. The score to it is fantastic, one of the best in Pixar films (most of which have fantastic scores, especially this, WALL-E, and Up). Probably one of my favorite film scores, actually. The story and characters grew on me after a few watches, I noticed gags and jokes that I hadn't before. It's not heartfelt like Monsters and Nemo, both which immediately preceded it, but I felt more for Bob Parr than I did Lightning McQueen. It's one of the lower half of Pixar's films (mostly because the rest are so good) but the score really does bring it up a notch or two.

Nemo is better on the second watch than Ratatouille. Rat was a fantastic film, one of the best (if not the best, which I would argue for) of 2007, whilst Nemo wasn't so much for 2003. Both would've been nominated for Best Picture if there had been 10 nominees like this year (as would have been Toy Story, Monsters Inc., and WALL-E, and soon will be Up). Ratatouille has more layers to it (pun not intended), and I think it has an emotional layer to it not found in Nemo. The struggle between Remy to follow his family's food practices versus Gusteau's motto that "anyone can cook". Marlin's struggle to keep Nemo safe while he grows up is as good, but Nemo resorts to too many silly characters and gags. Nemo did have a secondary character for whom I cared (Dory, especially as she progressed through the story to actually remember things) whereas Ratatouille didn't have on as much.

And you must see WALL-E and Up. They are both far superior to any other Pixar film (and that's saying a lot).

[Reply #112 on:]

Antz is a great movie, pixar level.

[Reply #113 on:]

it was pixar level when it came out bu it's very far from modern pixar level (it was as good as bugs life but nowhere near as good as up)

[Reply #114 on:]

I'm terribly behind when it comes to the Pixar catalogue, but I think I may be one of the few people on earth who isn't too keen on Toy Story. Meanwhile, I kind of adore A Bug's Life, have never quite understood the appeal of Finding Nemo or The Incredibles, and have yet to see Ratatouille (which I think I'd really enjoy) or WALL-E (which I could probably go either way on). I never got through Cars in its entirety, which leads me to believe that it's not-so-great.

[Reply #115 on:]

only seen Ratatouille, Wall-E, Cars and last year, alongside with Up

sure are good movies made by Pixar, but i never really feel like i MUST watch them so i often am years behind when it comes to their stuff

[Reply #116 on:]

I'm not even interested in most of their movies, Wall E and Up were the first ones I felt any desire to see.

[Reply #117 on:]

Requiem For a Dream
I missed the very start on TV but I got the gist of it.
Drugs are bad mmmkay, not just the illegal ones, not just drugs, addictions are bad I guess, they give you terrible headaches, like the last act gave me where they all descend into their various madness of hangovers and the scene cuts became exponential, oyy.
Ellen Burstyn was great.

B+

[Reply #118 on:]

I find the fact that all Pixar movies are so critically lauded kind of telling of a certain formula that the studio follows (I read something to this effect in a review of Up, actually). Then again, Disney movies are formulaic, too, and yet I generally love 'em unconditionally. Maybe I'm still just wary of any animation that's not 2D; I'm too damn set in my ways.

EDIT: Faze, is there an orgy in that movie? For some reason, I recall being promised a drug-fueled orgy of some kind when perusing Requiem's article on Wikipedia one day.

[Reply #119 on:]

Yeah

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Lesbian orgy,arm amputation Wayans gets beaten up. Burstyn has electroshock a happy, happy film