Movie News, Reviews, and Discussion Super-Thread

[chronovore]

Watched Green Zone last night.

Someone here, I think, said it was Matt Damon being Jason Bourne but without the spy stuff. That's pretty far off the mark. Sure, there's plenty of action, and more shaky-cam than I'd like, and there are a few scenes of people in tiny cars being chased and shot at in far-off lands... but the love story between Damon and Kilborne is entirely undeveloped, and the corrupt officials do not sit on the end of righteous anger by the end of the film.

In seriousness, Greengrass brings enough of a different sensibility to the visuals that I didn't feel like I was watching a Bourne flick. I was impressed with the clarity with which a complex story and situation was conveyed, without an excess of unnatural exposition. It is hard to know for whom to root or cheer, as we realize that even maintaining stability requires cooperating with oppressive monsters.

Great movie, entertaining and suspenseful from start to finish, ultimately a little depressing.

[etiolate]

I do love pastel Burton more than Hot Topic Burton. Even Edward Scissorhands is really one of his pastel movies despite creating the genesis of the Burton Goth Empire.

[ManaByte]

GAME ON COCKSUCKERS!

[G The Resurrected]

Found one NICE!

[Great Rumbler]

Watch this Iron Man movie instead:

[chronovore]

I agree that Scissorhands is of the "pastel" era -- it was the transitional moment though. Pee Wee's Big Adventure was great.

I love, love, love Nightmare Before Christmas, but it is down to stuff which Burton does not appear to directly affect: Danny Elfman making a musical, and the character designs and animation from Selick.

Decided to grab two Marvel movies.

Captain America, surprisingly, did not need to be seen on the big screen to be enjoyed. I'd watched it on a plane, and assumed it would be even better with the sound up and splashed across a wall. It was still good, plenty of fun, altogether fluffy; worth a second viewing, but not likely to enjoy a third.

The Punisher with Tom Jane. This movie didn't know what it wanted to be. It's a superhero movie from a comic based on exploitation revenge flicks. Why not just make a revenge flick, instead of trying to figure out how to cram comic sensibilities into it? It is poorly paced, and lacks sufficient visceral thrills, and tries for humor in strange places.

I had much more fun re-watching Dirty Laundry immediately afterward, for a real fix of Punisher-like action.

[Phoenix Dark]

Burton didn't direct Nightmare Before Christmas. He directed Corpse Bride. Tells you all you need to know.

I love Edward Scissorhands. In hindsight I gravitated to Burton's films a lot as a kid in part because they didn't look like anything I had seen before.

[Cerveza mas fina]

It's just like everything else, the effect his movies have have diminishing returns.

It's fun and unique the first time, the second time, but at some point you had enough.

If every show was like Twin Peaks, X-Files or the Wire I would grow tired of the tropes too.

[Great Rumbler]

Burton didn't direct Nightmare Before Christmas. He directed Corpse Bride. Tells you all you need to know.

And the guy who directed Nightmare Before Christmas also directed Coraline and James and the Giant Peach.

[Joe Molotov]

Burton didn't direct Nightmare Before Christmas. He directed Corpse Bride. Tells you all you need to know.

And the guy who directed Nightmare Before Christmas also directed Coraline and James and the Giant Peach.

Both of which were better than Corpse Bride.

[Phoenix Dark]

Burton didn't direct Nightmare Before Christmas. He directed Corpse Bride. Tells you all you need to know.

And the guy who directed Nightmare Before Christmas also directed Coraline and James and the Giant Peach.

Which were also great films

[Great Rumbler]

James and the Giant Peach got put on Netflix streaming recently and I still haven't [re]watched it yet, makes me feel like an awful person who deserves nothing but derision and scorn. So, maybe I'll start watching it tonight.

[ManaByte]

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines: Aside from the T-X inexplicably being able to create remote control functionality in police cars and fire engines, I liked this movie quite a bit. It is at least true to The Terminator and T2, unlike Terminator 4, which was just utter crap.  I liked Nick Stahl in Carnivâle, but he appears to be playing more or less the same character here. Claire Danes does alright, and I've always thought Arnie is at his best when playing an emotionless machine with a faulty speech processor. Fantastic ending to the film. For me, I should probably consider it the end of the series.

Even Cameron ended up liking T3 and basically said that if he were to have done a third one that's pretty much how the story would've went.

I don't think he ever commented on T4. I have it in the Best Buy exclusive Anthology set and never watched the R-rated cut. I think all they added to that were some tits.

[ManaByte]

Saw Jurassic Park 3D on IMAX 3D. Conversion is much better than the one done on Star Wars or Titanic.

[Eric P]

back in my day we did our own 3d conversion by dropping acid before watching it.

highly entertaining except for one friend who literally hid behind a seat whenever the raptors showed up

[chronovore]

 

I watched a weird movie called 12:01 last night. It was supposedly a comedy in the vein of Groundhog Day, but there were zero laughs. Jonathan Silverman,  Jeremy Piven, Martin Landau, and Helen Slater starred. I am reminded that Helen Slater cannot act at all.

Turned it off and went back to Curb Your Enthusiasm.

[BobFromPikeCreek]

Thank you! Been trying to remember the name of that movie for ages. It's awful.

[Junpei the Tracer!]

I really enjoyed Stoker. Very well shot, some of the scenes had the camera rotating around the characters, I love shit like that. Felt some parts were kinda slow though.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

can't wait to see Stoker, I loves me some Chan Wook Park.

rewatched The Master last night, still my favorite movie of 2012, in a walk, but it loses some impact not seeing it in a theater.  Still dang great though.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Ruby Sparks

6.5/10, charming but lacks substance.

[chronovore]

Thank you! Been trying to remember the name of that movie for ages. It's awful.

Happy to hear my pain, lost time, and single incidence of Amazon's "You might also like" Feature being wrong as fuck-all has lent you some relief!
 

[ManaByte]

[Groogrux]

Might as well remove it.  It took me 5 tries after trying to watch that video to find a working one.  I went back 10 minutes later and even the footage on that site had been removed.

[Joe Molotov]

Watched The Hobbit: A Hobbit's Tale on blu-ghey. It was still just as awesome, even in 2D and 24fps. I was going to watch a bit of it while playing Atelier Totori, but in the end I watched all of it and I didn't even play any Totori. And the best part about it is, you don't have to worry about missing anything when you get up to go to the bathroom because nothing actually happens. That's some god-tier film making right there.

[Groogrux]

Haters gonna hate.  I think it looks fan-fucking-tastic.

[Momo]

If I knew this is what star trek would become, I would have slapped young me at told him to focus solely on dune

[ManaByte]

[Great Rumbler]

Forget about Star Trek, THIS is where it's at.

[ManaByte]

This one is Pitch Black 2 (low budget, hard-R), the next one will be Chronicles 2 (big budget, PG-13)

[Rahxephon91]

Man I really hope this is good. Chronicles is like half of a good film, so I know they have it in them.

[Steve Contra]

Good things about the Riddick movies:

[Phoenix Dark]

Good things about the Riddick movies:

I watched Pitch Black after a bunch of people begged me to, saying it was the best thing ever. Meh

[Verdigris Murder]

His nostrils are too big.

[Steve Contra]

Good things about the Riddick movies:

I watched Pitch Black after a bunch of people begged me to, saying it was the best thing ever. Meh

Yup.  Meh.

[ManaByte]

This one is Pitch Black 2 (low budget, hard-R), the next one will be Chronicles 2 (big budget, PG-13)

There wont be another Riddick film after this as much as I'll try to make it happen by seeing this OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

I really wish Vin actually did stuff with his games studio and made Riddick games and other Vin Diesel staring video games.

Universal wants to make Furya and The Underverse ASAP. Diesel and Twohy weren't even finished with Riddick and Universal asked them how quickly they could do the next two after it.

[TEEEPO]

Good things about the Riddick movies:

I watched Pitch Black after a bunch of people begged me to, saying it was the best thing ever. Meh

Yup.  Meh.

too much truth.

[Great Rumbler]

Good things about the Riddick movies:

 

[Bebpo]

Good things about the Riddick movies:

I watched Pitch Black after a bunch of people begged me to, saying it was the best thing ever. Meh

He's a fun anti-hero and the best character Diesel's acted.  He's a badass dude who doesn't give a fuck but has a heart of gold, fun special powers, and a cool diesel voice.

Pitch Black is a B movie but Riddick's character is likeable and makes it a lot of fun.  Chronicles is a TERRIBLE cheesy sci-fi movie, but Riddick's character is great and makes it still watchable.  Butcher Bay is probably the best "entry" in the franchise. 


Just hope the script is a lot better than Chronicles. 

[Boogie]

Haters gonna hate.  I think it looks fan-fucking-tastic.

Space Adventure Movie, IN SPACE, II.

[Great Rumbler]

Butcher Bay is probably the best "entry" in the franchise. 

Not quite:

[Mandark]

Hey hey.  Iron Giant.

[Rahxephon91]

Pitch Black is the sort of movie I like watching when it's on TV but I'd never go out of my way to buy it or download it to watch it. It's just a cool flick for what it is.

Chronicles really sucked, like awfully sucked. Yet I know people who are really into it cause....I'm not sure. No one's been able to explain it to me.

The stuff on the pirsion Planet is pretty cool. I mean at least in a fun "look this character is badass" kind of way. Everything involving the Necros is pretty stupid though. People want Riddick doing badass stuff in a sci fi setting, not bad ass sci-fi stuff.

[Momo]

Riddick

[Rahxephon91]

Well then why not just say that you like Vin Diesel? That seems to be always avoided by Riddick fanboys cause they hate Fast and Furious and XXX and shit. I have no problem saying I like Commando cause Ahnold, Or Cobra cause Stallone. Stop trying to make these movies into epics and just make it cool, that's why I like Pitch Black and not the forced shitty mythological crappy epic that was Chronicles.

Because Riddick isn't like Terreto. Or well I've never thought about it. I enjoyed the 1st and 4th one and loved the 5th one. But not because of anything to do with the characters. They are just really fun action movies and with Fast Five it really was everyone outside of Paul Walker and Vin that made it great.

Terreto is a pretty much 100% serious action dude. That's not Riddick. Riddick is kind of a ruthless dude. In Fast Five, Terreto keeps the door open for a friend who betrayed him because the dude is a family man, it's whats been important to him since the 1st one. He'll deliver some hard lessons, but in the end he's the dude you can trust and go to for help. He looks out for his friends. While in Chronicles Riddick does go to save one of his own, the character is still kind of a big anti-hero. He's got morals, yeah, but not the most noble runs really. Plus Riddick is a bit more of a playful killer, something, Terreto isn't. Riddick smiles, can have fun sometimes, and even well troll. He's still not evil, but not 100% good. I'm not saying he's a deep character, but he's got a lot more going on with him then Terreto.

In conclusion they are two different characters and I think Vin is much better as Riddick. He actually has to act. In the FaF movies he just has to be serious action dude.

But yeah I also really like Vin. I also like the Rock. Fast Five was amazing. I also hate the more epic stuff of Chronicles. And I love Commando. Best Theme song ever.

[Eric P]

hey so this fun kung fu movie is on netflix

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Tai_Chi_Zero/70242525

it's kind of goofy crazy and goes way over the top but i found it to be quite enjoyable

[Rahxephon91]

Well then why not just say that you like Vin Diesel? That seems to be always avoided by Riddick fanboys cause they hate Fast and Furious and XXX and shit. I have no problem saying I like Commando cause Ahnold, Or Cobra cause Stallone. Stop trying to make these movies into epics and just make it cool, that's why I like Pitch Black and not the forced shitty mythological crappy epic that was Chronicles.

Because Riddick isn't like Terreto. Or well I've never thought about it. I enjoyed the 1st and 4th one and loved the 5th one. But not because of anything to do with the characters. They are just really fun action movies and with Fast Five it really was everyone outside of Paul Walker and Vin that made it great.

Terreto is a pretty much 100% serious action dude. That's not Riddick. Riddick is kind of a ruthless dude. In Fast Five, Terreto keeps the door open for a friend who betrayed him because the dude is a family man, it's whats been important to him since the 1st one. He'll deliver some hard lessons, but in the end he's the dude you can trust and go to for help. He looks out for his friends. While in Chronicles Riddick does go to save one of his own, the character is still kind of a big anti-hero. He's got morals, yeah, but not the most noble runs really. Plus Riddick is a bit more of a playful killer, something, Terreto isn't. Riddick smiles, can have fun sometimes, and even well troll. He's still not evil, but not 100% good. I'm not saying he's a deep character, but he's got a lot more going on with him then Terreto.

In conclusion they are two different characters and I think Vin is much better as Riddick. He actually has to act. In the FaF movies he just has to be serious action dude.

But yeah I also really like Vin. I also like the Rock. Fast Five was amazing. I also hate the more epic stuff of Chronicles. And I love Commando. Best Theme song ever.

Yep, that's a long way of saying you like Vin Diesel.

Well....yeah Thats what I said. And I like him as Riddick.

[Steve Contra]

"the best character Diesel's acted" is a bit like "the best marathon willco's ever run", isn't it?

[chronovore]

Good things about the Riddick movies:

They rule, bro.

SPACE CONAN.

Butcher Bay is probably the best "entry" in the franchise. 

Not quite:

High fives all around. That Chung style was perfect for Riddick.

[chronovore]

Watched The Hobbit: A Hobbit's Tale on blu-ghey. It was still just as awesome, even in 2D and 24fps. I was going to watch a bit of it while playing Atelier Totori, but in the end I watched all of it and I didn't even play any Totori. And the best part about it is, you don't have to worry about missing anything when you get up to go to the bathroom because nothing actually happens. That's some god-tier film making right there.

I rented this the other night. I fell asleep repeatedly during it. In the end, we turned it off after two hours. So much disappointment.

[Eric P]

watched Jackie Chan's CZ12 the third film following his Armor of God, Operation Condor treasure hunter.

It's......not good.

There are two good fights; one involving Jackie Chan and a henchman where neither of them can leave the couch which is fun and inventive the other involving a female antagonist and a member of Jackie's team.  There is way too much CGI in just normal shots giving everything a sheen of unreality which makes it look really comic-booky, and as it's filled with Cantonese Komedy it get kind of grating fairly quickly.  Also it doesn't help that this is a "message" movie where we are given several long scenes and speeches about the post-colonial repatriation of artifacts to their counties of origin.

[ManaByte]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2013/03/25/planes-dane-cook/1998599/

The first Pixar movie that isn't actually made by Pixar is now being released to theaters. So what do they do? Remove Pixar from the logo.

It's Pixar Canada's first movie and was going to be straight-to-DVD (like Toy Story 2). Now it's being released in theaters, Disney Toon Studios is taking the credit, and Pixar has been wiped from the logo.

[ManaByte]

Going to GI Joe Retaliation tonight. I know it won't be as awesome as this, but everyone is saying it's better than the first one:

[Great Rumbler]

It was mentioned as far back as two years ago that Pixar Canada wasn't making that movie, Mana.

[Joe Molotov]

They should have credited Cars 1 & 2 to DisneyToon too while they were at it.

[Beezy]

Well duh. The Rock is in it.

[CajoleJuice]

Well duh. The Rock is in it.

exactly

[Dickie Dee]

[Great Rumbler]

[ManaByte]

There's a rumor of a test screening of Pacific Rim in Anaheim this Saturday night to coincide with del Toro's Wondercon panel for the movie...

[Beezy]

 :babylawd