Movie News, Reviews, and Discussion Super-Thread

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

The Box.

My thoughts:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

[Robo]

Come on, man, I'm trying to eat lunch here.

[muckhole]

Moon: Watched this last night with the gf, we both really enjoyed it. My man-crush on Sam Rockwell continues. 

Very slight semi-spoiler:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'd love to know which scenes the body-double was used in, more specifically if he was used for any of the character's interaction scenes, as opposed to just when he's laying in the infirmary.

[close]

[Great Rumbler]

Moon: Watched this last night with the gf, we both really enjoyed it. My man-crush on Sam Rockwell continues. 

Very slight semi-spoiler:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'd love to know which scenes the body-double was used in, more specifically if he was used for any of the character's interaction scenes, as opposed to just when he's laying in the infirmary.

[close]

There's a special feature on the DVD where it talks about this.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

The scenes with the two Sams talking to each other were composites of the same scene done twice with Rockwell alternating which Sam he was playing. He used an iPod with an audio recording of the previous scene playing through an ear piece to help him get the right timing. The body double was mainly used in scenes where the two Sams had to physically interact, like during the fight.

[close]

[fistfulofmetal]

Edge of Darkness


Pretty good! I knew nothing about the plot beyond "cop trying to avenge dead daughter" so how the movie unfolded was quite surprising. The only thing that jumped out as a glaring flaw was Ray Winstone's character. He was kinda just there not nearly as fleshed out as it could have been.


Also, I just now realized I don't know any of the characters names. Except for Kraven, which is the dudes last name.

[Bildi]

About just-over-halfway through Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd adaptation.

I've had this sitting on the shelf for months waiting to be watched.  Going to try to get to it this weekend.

Please post your impressions if you do. I'm still not sure if I liked it beyond the visuals and theme; I'll likely pick up the soundtrack at some point since I have a soft spot for musicals.

I started, but oh god it's not just based on a musical, it IS a musical!  I had no idea!  There are very few stage musicals that I actually like, and I pretty much always find movie-musicals boring.  I stopped altogether because after 20 minutes I started fast forwarding through songs - I'm going to have to reshape my frame of mind totally before tackling it again.

[Joe Molotov]

The Box.

My thoughts:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

I had read the short story before, and I was wondering how they could possibly turn that into a movie. The answer? Very poorly.

[fistfulofmetal]

Book of Eli


eh. coulda been better if it wasn't so silly. the twist is dumb because there's no hints to point towards it during the movie. in fact the entire movie is evidence that

spoiler (click to show/hide)

he's not in fact, blind. The many times he looks directly at things, moves with precision towards things (like doors, or cover). I mean there's one night scene where he clearly looks towards the moon. If he had kept his glasses on the entire movie the movie could have avoided all of that.

[close]

clearly written by a person with a hard-on for video games and comic books.

[Bebpo]

Book of Eli
clearly written by a person with a hard-on for video games and comic books.

not sure if sarcastic 

[Great Rumbler]

Unforgiven

A modern western that forgoes the epic grandeur and romanticism of Leone's finest and replaces it with a dark and moody plot. There aren't really any heroes here, just a man who can't escape his violent past and another that relishes the act of reliving it [even while propping himself up as a symbol of justice]. It's definitely a different sort of western than most, particularly from America, but far from being just a great western, it's also a great movie.

[The Fake Shemp]

But is it better than Forrest Gump?

[Great Rumbler]

But is it better than Forrest Gump?

I've never seen Forrest Gump. 

[Bildi]

No way!  Really?

[Great Rumbler]

No way!  Really?

Really! Like Titanic, it's one of those movies that just EVERYONE has to see, but I just really don't have any desire to see it.

[Bildi]

I think there's a pretty good chance you'd enjoy it, it's worth a look.

[Great Rumbler]

I think there's a pretty good chance you'd enjoy it, it's worth a look.

Maybe one of these days I will, but it's not liking I'm lacking for movies that I think I'll enjoy.

[Mr. Gundam]

I saw The Ghost Writer today. Regardless of the fact that he's a dirty man who likes to buttrape little girls, Polanski has made a fantastic film.

[Joe Molotov]

The Man With the Golden Gun

I'd never seen this one before, but it was pretty awesome. It had Christopher Lee being all suave and badass on his secret island hideout, it had the midget from Fantasy Island committing coitus interuptus with a knife, it had James Bond pwning a little kid, it has James Bond pwning a midget, it has asian schoolgirls pwning an entire kung-fu school, it has the racist hick cop from Live and Let Die, it had James Bond having sex with one girl while he hid another girl that he was about to have sex with in a closet (then later has sex with her too), it had a plane-car, it had the hot, naked chick from Wicker Man as a stupid blonde secret agent who almost screws everything up by hitting buttons with her butt and then gets pwned sexually by James Bond, and had James Bond blowing up a green energy power plant. 5 Stars.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

The Box.

My thoughts:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

I had read the short story before, and I was wondering how they could possibly turn that into a movie. The answer? Very poorly.

The Box is the M. Night Shyamalan movie that he never made.  Seriously, Richard Kelly and Shyamalan must have had a cage fight over who could make a film out of that shitty script.

[Bebpo]

Up in the Air

Sooooooo good.  Only movie from 2009 that I'd put up there with Inglorious Bastards as A+ film.  The script is EXCELLENT and it's delivered so well.  Great direction too.  A lot of nice camera work and framed shots.  Very funny, very good at human drama.  Loved it. 

[Bebpo]

Hurt Locker was quite good, same with A Serious Man, but they didn't have me with a smile on my face from start to finish like those two.

[Green Shinobi]

  at the post above mine.

Anyway, I liked Up in the Air quite a bit, but I feel like it's a bit overrated. It had great acting, and it's extremely culturally relevant right now, but I felt that there were at least six major films last year that were better.

[CajoleJuice]

And the Oscar for Most Smiling Induced goes to...

[Green Shinobi]

The Hangover, for sure.

[brawndolicious]

Hurt Locker was quite good, same with A Serious Man, but they didn't have me with a smile on my face from start to finish like those two.

Up in the Air was really witty/charming at times but A Serious Man was fucking hilarious 99% of the time.  Every line makes you like the main character more.  I don't know exactly what you mean though by "smile on your face" like maybe the ending made you feel down.

And Inglorious Bastards was just trash.  It had the fucking most unlikable dildo-sniffers ever playing revenge fantasies (meaning I thought it was well-produced, but too emotionally exploitative and morally ambiguous considering the subject matter).

[bud]

''too emotionally exploitative?''

did we even watch the same movie

moty.

[Green Shinobi]

Crazy Heart

Jeff Bridges is the man. He carries this film, and absolutely deserves every award he gets for this role. Maggie G somehow looks at least five years younger than she did in The Dark Knight. She was actually pretty cute at times. This kind of film lives or dies by how well it sells you on the main character, and it succeeded admirably in that regard. I was really rooting for Bad Blake the whole time, even at his lowest moments. Even though Bridges is at least 25 years older than Maggie G, I felt that their romance seemed pretty natural. It's the kind of film that makes you realize that older people are just young people with a few more years packed on.

9/10, would recommend to everyone.

[Mupepe]

I can't wait to see Crazy Heart.

and man, IB is too emotionally exploitative?  really??  how so?  morally ambiguous?  I can maybe see that but then I'd just end up calling you way too uptight.  And it has one of the most badass Nazi characters ever.  And the incredible production just elevates absolutely everything about the movie that is already spectacular. 

[Eric P]

Lars Von Teir's Antichrist is available to watch instantly on netflix.  I think i'm going to check it out.

[The Fake Shemp]

pass

[Mupepe]

Hellboy 2 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> TDK

[Great Rumbler]

Hellboy 2 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> TDK

Hellboy 2 wasn't quite as good as the first movie.

[Mupepe]

I prefer the first.  But the sequel is still tons better TDK.  Especially if we're talking about how rewatchable they are.

[Mupepe]

oh no you di'n't!

I haven't seen the MK movie in forever but I bet you're wrong.  I bet.

Wanna make a bet?  Let's wager something good

[Raban]

homovonio is 100% right on this one, Mupes, and we have the same opinions, right?

Mortal Kombat is like supreme popcorn movie material.

[Mupepe]

homovonio is 100% right on this one, Mupes, and we have the same opinions, right?

Mortal Kombat is like supreme popcorn movie material.

I'll trust you then.  I remember it being pretty awesome.  But my nostalgia glasses have just failed me way too many times.

[Raban]

Ok, ignore everything you hear about MK:A, Mupepe. It's literally the worst movie ever made.

MK at least has a lot of polish and really good fight coreo, MK:A is just a trash heap.

[Mupepe]

Ok, ignore everything you hear about MK:A, Mupepe. It's literally the worst movie ever made.

MK at least has a lot of polish and really good fight coreo, MK:A is just a trash heap.

Does MK:A really pick up like the first one ends?  I remember the end of the first one is they're getting off a ship or something and then someone yells something and they all strike a pose and the music hits.

wait, i think I've seen the second one.  Doesn't Raiden die right at the beginning?  Or am I just imagining that?  That's all I remember if that's true so I don't know.

[Raban]

Ok, ignore everything you hear about MK:A, Mupepe. It's literally the worst movie ever made.

MK at least has a lot of polish and really good fight coreo, MK:A is just a trash heap.

Does MK:A really pick up like the first one ends?  I remember the end of the first one is they're getting off a ship or something and then someone yells something and they all strike a pose and the music hits.

wait, i think I've seen the second one.  Doesn't Raiden die right at the beginning?  Or am I just imagining that?  That's all I remember if that's true so I don't know.

Johnny Cage dies right at the beginning. Most of the cast was completely traded out except Robin Shou for Liu Kang.

[Mupepe]

Ok, ignore everything you hear about MK:A, Mupepe. It's literally the worst movie ever made.

MK at least has a lot of polish and really good fight coreo, MK:A is just a trash heap.

Does MK:A really pick up like the first one ends?  I remember the end of the first one is they're getting off a ship or something and then someone yells something and they all strike a pose and the music hits.

wait, i think I've seen the second one.  Doesn't Raiden die right at the beginning?  Or am I just imagining that?  That's all I remember if that's true so I don't know.

Johnny Cage dies right at the beginning. Most of the cast was completely traded out except Robin Shou for Liu Kang.

Oh.  I don't know then.  I may have seen it, may have not.  I don't remember much from the first but I know for sure I've seen it.

[Powerslave]

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation has an accurate title, it annihilated Mortal Kombat.

[Raban]

[youtube=560,345]Dibxi2ZH4zM[/youtube]

It's so bad my browser won't even let me play it

[Bebpo]

Is it worth watching 2012 to see the earth blow up? 

[Mupepe]

Is it worth watching 2012 to see the earth blow up? 

Are you paying for it?  If so, then no.  If no, then go nuts.  You can pretty much stop watching after the first 40 minutes though.

[brawndolicious]

I can't wait to see Crazy Heart.

and man, IB is too emotionally exploitative?  really??  how so?  morally ambiguous?  I can maybe see that but then I'd just end up calling you way too uptight.  And it has one of the most badass Nazi characters ever.  And the incredible production just elevates absolutely everything about the movie that is already spectacular. 

Exploitative as in revenge fantasies against Hitler...

It's morally ambiguous because you can't write an alternate history about Hitler, Nazi propoganda, and the holocaust.  There's a lot to explore there emotionally since those are all things that greatly influenced morality and politics in this century but this movie just basically devolved away from the reality of it and just threw kitschy little revenge fantasy up your ass.  I think I would have liked this movie A LOT more if they dropped every single thing that had to do with the French-Jewish cinema owner.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Some guy at work made me watch Frailty, the one with Matthew McConaughey and Bill Paxton.  I think I'm going to smash my balls with a hammer now.

Why do I let these guys that I know have extremely bad taste hand me movies?  And why am I stupid enough to watch them?  Jesus fucking christ.

[Mupepe]

I can't wait to see Crazy Heart.

and man, IB is too emotionally exploitative?  really??  how so?  morally ambiguous?  I can maybe see that but then I'd just end up calling you way too uptight.  And it has one of the most badass Nazi characters ever.  And the incredible production just elevates absolutely everything about the movie that is already spectacular. 

Exploitative as in revenge fantasies against Hitler...

It's morally ambiguous because you can't write an alternate history about Hitler, Nazi propoganda, and the holocaust.  There's a lot to explore there emotionally since those are all things that greatly influenced morality and politics in this century but this movie just basically devolved away from the reality of it and just threw kitschy little revenge fantasy up your ass.  I think I would have liked this movie A LOT more if they dropped every single thing that had to do with the French-Jewish cinema owner.

Yeah, like I said I'd just end up saying you're way too uptight about it.  Especially the "you can't write an alternate history about Hitler, Nazi propoganda, and the holocaust".  I mean I saw your reasons and I still have to ask "why not?"  He's not cheapening the memory of those who died in any way.  At what point is it okay?  Did you feel the same way about the movie Pearl Harbor?  I actually thought that did cheapen the whole thing.  It was revisionist history too in many ways and cheapened an actual historical event by emphasizing on a love story.  

In short, IB is a movie set in a certain time period.  It doesn't use actual real events as some sort of cheap ploy.  It's not like they rode into Auschwitz and shit.  WW2 and the holocaust was more a background for a completely fictional story.

There are plenty of movies that use real events in history and even WW2 and change important pieces to put a Hollywood spin on it and actually cheapen it (Pearl Harbor again!).

In the end I guess I just gotta say lighten up a bit, dude.

[Mupepe]

Some guy at work made me watch Frailty, the one with Matthew McConaughey and Bill Paxton.  I think I'm going to smash my balls with a hammer now.

Why do I let these guys that I know have extremely bad taste hand me movies?  And why am I stupid enough to watch them?  Jesus fucking christ.

YES!

I saw the other day on facebook some guy saying he was bored so he asked people to recommend him movies.  Someone recommended frailty and he said "already seen it and i love it!"  WHAT THE FUCK.  that movie is fucking godawful.

[Mupepe]

 In short, IB is a movie set in a certain time period.  It doesn't use actual real events as some sort of cheap ploy.  It's not like they rode into Auschwitz and shit.  WW2 and the holocaust was more a background for a completely fictional story.

There are plenty of movies that use real events in history and even WW2 and change important pieces to put a Hollywood spin on it and actually cheapen it (Pearl Harbor again!).

In the end I guess I just gotta say lighten up a bit, dude.

Agree on everything. IB is less offensive then Pearl Harbor or U571 in that regard because the war is only a backstory and is obviously so over the top you can't take it seriously, where the other movies pretend to be historical.

Exactly.  Not only that, but they actually do it to exploit emotion.  IB isn't trying to make you feel terrible or bawl.  It's simply trying to entertain you.

[brawndolicious]

Yeah, like I said I'd just end up saying you're way too uptight about it.  Especially the "you can't write an alternate history about Hitler, Nazi propoganda, and the holocaust".  I mean I saw your reasons and I still have to ask "why not?"  He's not cheapening the memory of those who died in any way.  At what point is it okay?  Did you feel the same way about the movie Pearl Harbor?  I actually thought that did cheapen the whole thing.  It was revisionist history too in many ways and cheapened an actual historical event by emphasizing on a love story.  
In short, IB is a movie set in a certain time period.  It doesn't use actual real events as some sort of cheap ploy.  It's not like they rode into Auschwitz and shit.  WW2 and the holocaust was more a background for a completely fictional story.

I'm saying that it is completely misrepresenting the emotional and political impact of those events/people.  It's like the Bridge on the River Kwai movie where they completely misrepresented the conditions of the pow camps and the attitude of the Japanese, to make a more digestible story.  The problem is that it's not like Pearl Harbor where a love story cheapens everything else, it actually makes the Nazis and the propaganda and everything the central focus but then it takes you through the story with caricatures who's lives you'd actually want to live through (because like I said: revenge fantasies).

If he cut out basically anything about propoganda/cinema, made the violence and the jokes more common and more ridiculous, then there should be a good movie in there.  But as it is, it's just really trashy and kitschy and it really doesn't seem that he thought anything through beyond "Nazis=bad, scalping=funnies".  I mean, I hope that that's a good enough argument/reason (especially since this is the only Tarantino movie I really dislike) but I'm fine with agreeing to disagree.  To me, it feels like the only reason he had to set it in WW2 was to make it feel more real/visceral.

[Green Shinobi]

Some guy at work made me watch Frailty, the one with Matthew McConaughey and Bill Paxton.  I think I'm going to smash my balls with a hammer now.

Why do I let these guys that I know have extremely bad taste hand me movies?  And why am I stupid enough to watch them?  Jesus fucking christ.

What did you dislike most about it?

[Mupepe]

Yeah, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.    I thought everything outside a few pieces of dialogue was pretty over the top and cartoony which got rid of any moral disgust I might have.

[Mupepe]

I have to watch it again I think, but as I remember the first scene was pretty serious and after that it was pretty slapstick stuff.

Yeah, there are a few scenes with the jew hunter that have intense, serious dialogue but not much more than that.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Some guy at work made me watch Frailty, the one with Matthew McConaughey and Bill Paxton.  I think I'm going to smash my balls with a hammer now.

Why do I let these guys that I know have extremely bad taste hand me movies?  And why am I stupid enough to watch them?  Jesus fucking christ.

What did you dislike most about it?

What did I dislike the most.....hmmmm....that's a tough one.  Probably McConaughey and Paxton's "acting".  Both seemed laughably over the top.  Not Dafoe in Boondock Saints bad, but still pretty amateurish.

[The Fake Shemp]

Throw me on the side with those that enjoyed Frailty.

[WrikaWrek]

The Fourth Kind - There's some pretty bad stuff going on in this movie, but some of it....scary shit man.




Yeah, i really liked Frailty.

[Bildi]

Blades of Steel

I've tried a few Will Ferrel movies now, and it seems sadly I just don't find them very funny.  Love him in cameos though like Wedding Crashers, as well as his standup-type things.

National Lampoon's Vacation

Haven't seen one of these for a long time, somehow it's not as great as when I was a kid.  Still enjoyable, and I must admit I crack a nostalgic fat when something a bit naughty happens like the chick in the Ferrari.


edit: Blades of Glory, I thought Blades of Steel sounded awfully videogamey.

[CajoleJuice]

I liked Frailty too. 

[Mupepe]

The best part of National Lampoon's Vacation is...

"This guy taught me something really neat last year."

"oh yeah?  What is it?"

"You ever bop your bologna?"

[ToxicAdam]

A lot of the "great" 80's comedies are pretty bad. Caddyshack, Ferris Buehler, Vacation, Stripes, etc. Some can get by because of the sheer charisma of the actors in it (Trading Places, Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters, etc), but others are just pulled down by long lulls, horrible acting or dated material.