Movie News, Reviews, and Discussion Super-Thread

[Rahxephon91]

Returns is a better movie over Man of Steel

I don't care how dumb MoS is, but Returns is possibly the most un-entertaining Superhero movie out there. I can't remember a single cool thing that happen. Superhero movies aren't high art, I come to them to see dudes do shit and in Returns Superman lifts up a rock. Oh boy. Kate Bonsworth as Lois Lane is not nice to look at and just seems to be so uptight that any scene with her is boarding on annoying. Everyone else in the movie is pretty terrible and the only one with seemingly any life in them is well Kevin Spacy.

Returns sucked.

[Tasty]

Saw Pacific Rim a second time, this time in IMAX and 3D. The 3D was actually pretty good.

Mako's acting was more horrible than I remember though. Even Kid Mako was a better actress.

[Tasty]

You should watch Oblivion, Chrono. I was skeptical about it too, but it's a fun little movie that's worth seeing at least once.

I agree with this, although I probably dig Oblivion more than most other people. Solid B+ in my book.

[Steve Contra]

Much Ado About Nothing

Basically Josh Whedon gets his old cast members together at his house and does Shakespeare.  It's good, although Alexis Denisof can't handle Shakespeare for shit.

[Verdigris Murder]

You should watch Oblivion, Chrono. I was skeptical about it too, but it's a fun little movie that's worth seeing at least once.

I agree with this, although I probably dig Oblivion more than most other people. Solid B+ in my book.

Make a mobile version then.

[Verdigris Murder]

I skipped ahead abit there!

[Madrun Badrun]

I just rewatched xmen 3 for the first time since it came out.  Wasn't as bad as I remember.  The last big fight still stinks though.

[Yeti]

In all fairness to Superman Returns, it did have a REALLY good scene at the beginning where he stops a plane crash. I wish the whole move was that good, but after that it was pretty much snoozeville.

[Phoenix Dark]

Superman treats the character as he should be treated: a super powerful guy with personal issues. I don't want to see Superman beating the shit out of people because I know he'll always win. I'd much rather see Superman dealing with the stuff brought up in SR, but that's just me. I can't stand the character in general and like seeing something "different" done with him.

[fistfulofmetal]

Watched Europa Report

This is a found footage style faux-documentary movie about a future maned space mission to Europa, a moon of Jupiter.

I enjoyed it. It handles it's subject with as much realism as I can identify and treats the subject matter seriously. It is a suspense film and includes quite a few tropes, but since it's framed in such a non-hollywood manner, it's easier to swallow.

A movie you can compare it to is Apollo 18, but if that movie was actually good and well made.

[Eric P]

Byzantium - Neil Jordan's new vampire film.  More a meditation on motherhood and such than a horror film.  Good drama about two female vampires living in a seaside irish town with extensive flashbacks to the time in their lives which turned them into vampires.  The "younger" vampire is enrolled in school where her nonfiction story of her past disguised as fiction catches the attention of some of the residents of the town leading to their downfall.  Not breathtakingly original by any means, but a fairly good drama.  Certainly worse ways to waste two hours.

[Tasty]

You should watch Oblivion, Chrono. I was skeptical about it too, but it's a fun little movie that's worth seeing at least once.

I agree with this, although I probably dig Oblivion more than most other people. Solid B+ in my book.

Make a mobile version then.

...

[Eric P]

I'm currently watching French horror film Inside and it's just goofy as fuck.
I understand Martyrs is much better, but of the French Horror New Wave, none of the films have really been any good.

[chronovore]

Superman Returns is pretty poor, but why do you say it affected X-Men 3?

'cause Singer bailed on X3 to do it?

also, actor who played cyclops left with him and I think that's why cyclops was killed off early in the movie.

 

I just bought the X-Men movies, having never seen 3, and just finished watching the first two this morning.

:WAAHHHH!

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Superman Returns is pretty poor, but why do you say it affected X-Men 3?

'cause Singer bailed on X3 to do it?

also, actor who played cyclops left with him and I think that's why cyclops was killed off early in the movie.

 

I just bought the X-Men movies, having never seen 3, and just finished watching the first two this morning.

:WAAHHHH!

don't worry, that sentence has more gravitas than the actual scene in the movie

[Raban]

goddamn X2 is so good

[cool breeze]

Superman Returns is pretty poor, but why do you say it affected X-Men 3?

'cause Singer bailed on X3 to do it?

also, actor who played cyclops left with him and I think that's why cyclops was killed off early in the movie.

 

I just bought the X-Men movies, having never seen 3, and just finished watching the first two this morning.

:WAAHHHH!

I apologize if that spoiled it for you.  I thought it was common knowledge as an example of how badly Fox handled the movie; not just because it's an old movie.  Singer flat out says Days of Future Past will 'fix' what Xmen 3's mess.  "Fuck Brett Ratner" was the tagline on the comic con posters.

other stupid actor bits about Xmen 3

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Nightcrawler is gone and no one mentions him despite being one of the bigger Xmen 2 characters.  And Storm suddenly becomes a very important character because Hallie Berry.

[close]

[Himu]

X3 is shit

[Joe Molotov]

Smurfs 2 getting aborted at the box office brings some small measure of joy to my soul.

[Joe Molotov]

X3 is shit

This is very true.

[Tasty]

ASM2 leaked trailer:







At least the costume looks pretty good.

[Junpei the Tracer!]

  at the second clip. Looks neat.

[chronovore]

goddamn X2 is so good

Yeah, re-watching it, I was surprised at how good it was, how much of an improvement it was over the original. It hits ALL the right notes for a movie, a superhero movie, an X-Men movie... Stryker is such a loathsome villain. Magneto was handled perfectly, too.

[chronovore]

 

I just bought the X-Men movies, having never seen 3, and just finished watching the first two this morning.

:WAAHHHH!

Stop watching now.  It's better that way.

Also, HOPEFULLY they can bring back Janssen and Marsden after Days of Future Past... it's a good excuse to retcon the shit out of X3, just have them be alive in a cameo at the end or something.  I don't even care if they actually make an X4.  Apparently they're using Bishop and just fucking with time travel and changing things.

They can just do the 60s-70s cast at that point if they want.

Oh em effing gee, this is SO BAD.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Xavier is a dick. And abusive and manipulative dick. Wtf? Then they piss all over what Phoenix was, actually... They discard Phoenix and just use Dark Phoenix. Magneto is a dick -- he abandons Mystique moments after staging a huge rescue. The rescue itself, though not directly displaying it, looks like it caused the wholesale slaughter of every human in the prison caravan (contrast this with the restrained THREAT of violence against police shown in X1 and X2).

[close]

[Phoenix Dark]

I saw X3 in the theater 

The only good thing about it:

spoiler

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Cyclops dies within the first 5 minutes. Fuck that guy

[close]

[chronovore]

And what is all this "class 3" and "class 5" horsecrap? Everyone is throwing ratings around in this movie like stats on baseball cards.

HOLY SHIT, XAVIER.

And then Magneto is all, "Hay, cum wif me, JEAN. YOU SEEM OKAY"

THIS MOVIE. SO BAD.

"Storm told us to stay in our rooms WITH OUR ISOLATED AND LONELY GRIEF."

Ffffffuuuuuu

[Joe Molotov]

Yeah, X3 was just a kick right, square in the nuts.

[Tucah]

I still haven't seen more than like five minutes of X3 and I plan on keeping it that way.

[cool breeze]

I saw X3 in theaters with a group.  When

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Juggernaut said "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch," the crowd cheering for an internet meme in a big budget movie was one of the most isolating experiences I've had at the theater.  More than when the audience cried during the Pokemon movie.  More than being the only white guy in a packed theater for Friday After Next.  More than a few weeks ago when me and a friend were the only two people in the theater for a Pacific Rim matinee.

[close]

[chronovore]

Yeah, that line ... Guess how well it holds up now?

The whole movie too, start to finish, is about us vs. them. Every scene is about are you human, or mutant, with us, or with them? It is probably trying to make a point about how we can't fight racism by turning everyone the same color, or fight homosexuality by "curing" gayness. But instead of the message of tolerance from them previous films, everyone sits in their bubble, expecting everything to go their way.

Phoenix's change to wholesale slaughter of everything, everywhere, it just makes no sense. Even if she starts taking apart soldiers, there is no rationale for also taking apart mutants.

And Magneto's "What have I done?" Line was read with all the passion of an actor who is desperately hoping the line will end up on the cutting room floor.

Other bullshit:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

• Xavier basically blaming Wolverine for Jean waking up and leaving. Why?
• The whole "Phoenix is Jean's other personality from her MPD - which I did to her on purpose" change to her backstory. Why not say, "Jean has been different since she tried on Cerebro" or "maybe Jean activated a second stage of her powers while pushing them so hard at the dam"?
• Magneto stages a rescue for Mystique, then abandons her for being human moments after she saves his life. This is in line with the stupid us vs. them theme, and out of alignment with EVERY OTHER MAGNETO/MYSTIQUE MOMENT IN THE PREVIOUS MOVIES.
• Storm asks Wolverine if he'll be able to do what he has to when it comes. Ororo, telling Wolvie he might have to kill someone?
• Did I mention the killing? All the killing?
• Hank is introduced as a longtime friend of the school, but there is no way for anyone to buy into this without comic knowledge. And we've gone from a fearful government in X2 and X1 to having a mutant in the President's cabinet? And he becomes the USA ambassador to the UN and the world?
• What happened to the President from X2? He was implied to be a mutant when the humans were being killed by Xavier in X2. Is his mutant power the ability to turn into Old, Balding President?

[close]

[Madrun Badrun]

The best part was Magneto's Shakespearean hand flopping when he gets stuck with the anti-mutant stuff.  Hi9s hand is a fish out of water.  Bet it makes the girls happy though.

[Himu]

I saw X3 in theaters with a group.  When

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Juggernaut said "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch," the crowd cheering for an internet meme in a big budget movie was one of the most isolating experiences I've had at the theater.  More than when the audience cried during the Pokemon movie.  More than being the only white guy in a packed theater for Friday After Next.  More than a few weeks ago when me and a friend were the only two people in the theater for a Pacific Rim matinee.

[close]

I thought you were Persian. You're white now?

[Joe Molotov]

Yeah, that line ... Guess how well it holds up now?

About as well as "Do you know what happens when a toad gets hit by lightning?" I would assume.

[cool breeze]

I saw X3 in theaters with a group.  When

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Juggernaut said "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch," the crowd cheering for an internet meme in a big budget movie was one of the most isolating experiences I've had at the theater.  More than when the audience cried during the Pokemon movie.  More than being the only white guy in a packed theater for Friday After Next.  More than a few weeks ago when me and a friend were the only two people in the theater for a Pacific Rim matinee.

[close]

I thought you were Persian. You're white now?

only trying to create the image.  but to put things in perspective, I once defended Jake Gyllenhaal's casting in the Prince of Persia movie and he's several shades darker than me 

Iranians were the first Arians himumum

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I neither know nor care about fryinghigh's race. I'll just keep making fun of him for his past username.

[close]

You know you're getting old when you realize that username is 16 years old...back when zelda.com was a porn site or something. 

[Madrun Badrun]

Iranians were the first Arians himumum

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I neither know nor care about fryinghigh's race. I'll just keep making fun of him for his past username.

[close]

Iranians were heretics?

[Phoenix Dark]

I saw X3 in theaters with a group.  When

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Juggernaut said "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch," the crowd cheering for an internet meme in a big budget movie was one of the most isolating experiences I've had at the theater.  More than when the audience cried during the Pokemon movie.  More than being the only white guy in a packed theater for Friday After Next.  More than a few weeks ago when me and a friend were the only two people in the theater for a Pacific Rim matinee.

[close]

only thing I'm taking from this post is that you paid to see a Pokemon film in a theater.

[Madrun Badrun]

Watching Taken right now,  Very good. 

[Madrun Badrun]

Also no one liked my spelling joke. I guess you guys take your trinity very seriously.

[Momo]

Watching Taken right now,  Very good. 

It thought it was pretty lackluster, the sequel is just that bit worse for being an unnecessary sequel 

[cool breeze]

I saw X3 in theaters with a group.  When

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Juggernaut said "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch," the crowd cheering for an internet meme in a big budget movie was one of the most isolating experiences I've had at the theater.  More than when the audience cried during the Pokemon movie.  More than being the only white guy in a packed theater for Friday After Next.  More than a few weeks ago when me and a friend were the only two people in the theater for a Pacific Rim matinee.

[close]

only thing I'm taking from this post is that you paid to see a Pokemon film in a theater.

technically my friend's mom paid for my ticket.  gosh, that makes it worse, I should just say yes.

[Rahxephon91]

Watching Taken right now,  Very good.

It's fucking awesome.

The sequel not so much.

[Madrun Badrun]

watching 2 now. A realistic action movie is a nice change.

[Bebpo]

Upstream Color

Everyone loves this and it's like 90% at RT but I don't get the love.  I get the story, but it felt like the most boring soulless movie I'd seen in a while and was a chore to get through it.  I had no empathy or connection with any of the characters so it was just like watching a couple of people do stuff and I don't care about any of them or what is going on since for most of the movie, not a whole lot is going on!  I can enjoy abstract films like Malick stuff, but this just came off boring to me.  I still need to watch Primer, hopefully I like that more.

[chronovore]

Yeah, that line ... Guess how well it holds up now?

About as well as "Do you know what happens when a toad gets hit by lightning?" I would assume.

Yeah, that was super flat. Joss Whedon has apparently stated that the line was intended to be read in a Buffy-esque tone, like a revelation with a shrug. But, you know: Halle Berry.

I just can't get it out of my head, how badly the characters are messed with.

And, yeah, missing Nightcrawler with no mention is weird.

Days of Future Past casual, throwaway Danger Room sequence.

The stupid, Chekov's Gun of a brain dead vegetable and morality question thrown in...

Gah! Horrible! I want to bleach my brain.

[Eric P]

i can't believe they still do this shit

Once news broke that The Weinstein Company had acquired international rights to Bong Joon-ho's hotly anticipated Snowpiercer, it was perhaps inevitable that the film wouldn't make it to Western screens unscathed. It has now been revealed that Harvey Weinstein has ordered the revered Korean cineaste to cut a whopping 20 minutes from his film before it will see the light of day in North America, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand or the UK.

According to film critic and programmer Tony Rayns "TWC people have told Bong that their aim is to make sure the film 'will be understood by audiences in Iowa ... and Oklahoma.'" Effectively, the notorious Hollywood executive believes the American mid-west is too stupid for Snowpiercer, a movie which essentially chronicles the journey of a few people at the back of a train who stage a revolt and proceed, in a straight line, towards the front.

Rayns continued "Leaving aside the issue of what Weinstein thinks of its audience, it seems to say the least anomalous that the rest of the English-speaking world has to be dragged down to the presumed level of American mid-west hicks." The film critic attend the July 29th Seoul premiere of the film and after speaking with Bong, revealed that most of the cuts would come in the form of character detail, effectively turning this rich Sci-Fi thriller into a straightforward action film. Adding further insult to injury, voiceovers will now be added to the opening and closing of the film.

Weinstein (or Harvey Scissorhands as he's known in some quarters) is well known for cutting and dumbing down foreign films for the US market, such as Princess Mononoke (1997) and Shaolin Soccer (2001). Snowpiercer, though 126 minutes long, doesn't have a great deal of flab which could easily be cut out. However, it is a very dark film, which may explain why the demanded cuts are so significant. If they happen where I think they will, much of what makes this film so special will be lost.

According to Rayns, the UK will be protesting TWC's proposed cuts and he hopes that Australia will follow suit. Sadly though, American audiences are likely to be presented with a substantially different version of Bong's bold and ambitious film, and will probably have to wait for an uncut "director's cut" to appear on DVD/Blu-Ray before they can see the real thing.

[Joe Molotov]

Harvey Scissorhands strikes again.  How someone can claim to love cinema and then pull this crap is beyond me. Is middle-America really just setting on the sidelines, waiting for someone to trim 20 minutes out of their dark Korean sci-fi thrillers before they swarm the box office?

[Eric P]

watched The Last Stand last night and aside from the final fight on the bridge where Arnold effectively MMAs a dude to submission, I found it worth a watch. thanks to the 90s there's that fear that Asian directors working in the Hollywood system lose whatever deft touch made their films worth viewing in the first place.  however he was able to leverage the hyperkinetic action scenes he's done in his previous films to a major budget and make something kind of cool.

totally fucking tanked though.  45m budget and it made 37m (12m domestic) world wide. 

[Rufus]

Pre-emptive obedience to censorship instituations (out of fear or practicality) is the wost. In Germany we call that the 'scissor in your head'.

[chronovore]

In German, is that just one long word?

[chronovore]

I think it played for less than a week in Japan. Schwa-chan's reign here is done.

[Eric P]

what's worse is that it's not out of any concern about content's offending people, it's just to try to find a wider audience.
the worst part about the weinsteins is that they never release uncut stuff on home video either and will actively suppress people trying to sell foreign imports in america or even TO america.
it took a LOT of work to see Infernal Affairs because they would threaten sue HK companies selling HK DVDs being shipped to American addresses YEARS before the departed.

utter cockgoblins.

[Rufus]

That's just distinguished mentally-challenged.

In German, is that just one long word?

You could say "Kopfschere", but that implies beheading, rather than censorship. The actual phrase is "die Schere im Kopf".

[Verdigris Murder]

I'm currently watching French horror film Inside and it's just goofy as fuck.
I understand Martyrs is much better, but of the French Horror New Wave, none of the films have really been any good.

Have you seen Haute Tension? As that's probably the best of the bunch, Martyrs is ok, but does layer on the sadism pretty thick at some parts. The pay off is good though.
There's also a ghostly frog flick, about ballerinas and such, that's also ok.

I've heard mixed things about You're Next, apropos of nothing in particular.

[Eric P]

Haute Tension was ok until the twist which made everything that came before it stupid

[Tasty]

Kevin Smith ragged pretty hard on Harvey and did a mildly funny impression of him a bit ago.

[Verdigris Murder]

Sure, but the initial scene in the cottage was tremendous. Have you seen Maniac? I found it pretty hard going, for no discernible reason.

[Polari]

Watched Snabba Cash. It was OK. A bit like the Pusher trilogy but not as good.

[Eric P]

Sure, but the initial scene in the cottage was tremendous. Have you seen Maniac? I found it pretty hard going, for no discernible reason.

I haven't seen the remake yet

did see A Field in England and I didn't really like it as much as his previous films.  The seizure inducing editing was damn cool through

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

the last Asian release the Weinstien company did (Dragon) was also cut for English speaking peoples.  By about 17 minutes, it was all character building and light comedy stuff, it did not improve the movie (obviously), but having seen both cuts it was just an incredibly pointless action to take.  It made the film faster paced at the expense of making it more flavorless, and considering its a period mystery/martial arts movie, making it less interesting is almost an achievement.  Its a dang good movie, like a more fun redo of A History of Violence.

the American cut is a good movie, it wasn't fatally wounded, the international cut is a better one.  It also took about a year and a half to make it to a legit American release, and was given a generic English title, to be fair, the Chinese title is equally generic (Wu Xia vs Dragon).  The original title would be akin to releasing Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven as 'Western'.

<--- Better Than --->

[Great Rumbler]

Once news broke that The Weinstein Company had acquired international rights to Bong Joon-ho's hotly anticipated Snowpiercer, it was perhaps inevitable that the film wouldn't make it to Western screens unscathed. It has now been revealed that Harvey Weinstein has ordered the revered Korean cineaste to cut a whopping 20 minutes from his film before it will see the light of day in North America, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand or the UK.

According to film critic and programmer Tony Rayns "TWC people have told Bong that their aim is to make sure the film 'will be understood by audiences in Iowa ... and Oklahoma.'" Effectively, the notorious Hollywood executive believes the American mid-west is too stupid for Snowpiercer, a movie which essentially chronicles the journey of a few people at the back of a train who stage a revolt and proceed, in a straight line, towards the front.

Rayns continued "Leaving aside the issue of what Weinstein thinks of its audience, it seems to say the least anomalous that the rest of the English-speaking world has to be dragged down to the presumed level of American mid-west hicks." The film critic attend the July 29th Seoul premiere of the film and after speaking with Bong, revealed that most of the cuts would come in the form of character detail, effectively turning this rich Sci-Fi thriller into a straightforward action film. Adding further insult to injury, voiceovers will now be added to the opening and closing of the film.

Weinstein (or Harvey Scissorhands as he's known in some quarters) is well known for cutting and dumbing down foreign films for the US market, such as Princess Mononoke (1997) and Shaolin Soccer (2001). Snowpiercer, though 126 minutes long, doesn't have a great deal of flab which could easily be cut out. However, it is a very dark film, which may explain why the demanded cuts are so significant. If they happen where I think they will, much of what makes this film so special will be lost.

According to Rayns, the UK will be protesting TWC's proposed cuts and he hopes that Australia will follow suit. Sadly though, American audiences are likely to be presented with a substantially different version of Bong's bold and ambitious film, and will probably have to wait for an uncut "director's cut" to appear on DVD/Blu-Ray before they can see the real thing.