Movie News, Reviews, and Discussion Super-Thread

[Bildi]

Oh, I saw Following, Christopher Nolan's no-budget B&W flick.

It had an interesting story with some good twists, nice pacing and a good length at 70 minutes.  I've never been to film school but even to me it's kind of like watching an Olympic athlete running around your backyard.  It's pretty hard not to be slapped in the face by how much raw talent they have.

[chronovore]

The Matrix Reloaded.

I've only ever seen the original, never the sequels (mostly because of the horrible things I've heard). It was alright. Story was dumb but the fight sequences were pretty cool - the highway scene was really great, as was Neo fighting the Smiths.

Backup vote for don't bother with Revolutions. Man, what a trainwreck. It's like the W. Bros. just decided to ignore everything that worked in the first movie and pursue stuff nobody can relate to or care about. And what happens to Carrie-Ann Moss in those movies? She goes from semi-goff hottie to sketchy, greasy-haired latex transvestite-lookin' freak. But more than that, the story just ceases to make sense starting with the stunt Neo pulls at the end of Reloaded. Just go to some happy place in your head, imagine something creative about the ending, and avoid 2+ hours of interminable, lesbian-bashing tunnel warfare against giant designer blenders.

But if you liked the "Burly Brawl" sequence in 2, you may like the Even Larger Version for No Good Reason in 3.

Better yet, do like Bildi says and pith yourself to remove memory of Reloaded, and just bask in the bliss of the first one.

[Great Rumbler]

I really liked the highway scene from Reloaded and...well, that's about it.

[Diunx]

Oh, I saw Following, Christopher Nolan's no-budget B&W flick.

It had an interesting story with some good twists, nice pacing and a good length at 70 minutes.  I've never been to film school but even to me it's kind of like watching an Olympic athlete running around your backyard.  It's pretty hard not to be slapped in the face by how much raw talent they have.

One of the apartments they rob has the batman symbol on the door

[The Fake Shemp]

The Matrix sequels tainted the original. Revolutions was so bad that I almost walked out in theaters, and that almost never happens with me. Reloaded has some neat parts, but it's pretty meh.

It was just a bunch of action sequences that The Wachowski Bros. spent a lot of time developing, and then cobbled together an incoherent, convoluted storyline to connect them all.

[Diunx]

I don't like any of the matrix movies, boring characters, distinguished mentally-challenged story and anime action sequences.

[Himu]

JCVD was one of my heroes as a kid. I wish he'd pick up action movies again. And that cover looks absolutely depressing.

[Bildi]

One of the apartments they rob has the batman symbol on the door

That's right.   

I thought that was a pretty freaky.

[Phoenix Dark]

JCVD was one of my heroes as a kid. I wish he'd pick up action movies again. And that cover looks absolutely depressing.

Optimus Prime
Duke

[chronovore]

007- Die Another Day: Possibly the worst James Bond movie evar. The only difference between this and a made-for-video action movie is a sadly misplaced license and the amount of money spent. Nothing, but NOTHING makes any sense in this movie. If I'm going to watch a silly action movie with Halle Berry, I would be better off with Swordfish, where she at least gets her kit off.

I'm fine with the Pierce Brosnan Bond; he's super cool, but the whole level of action is basically a comic book superhero rather than a super spy. The villains are supervillains, not evil masterminds: A blond Korean robocop space laser guy. An albino Korean diamond-tribal-tat guy who has the same toy car as James Bond. Everything about this movie is crap. An ice hotel which they melt to drown the heroine in a room, which apparently remains inexplicably watertight while the rest of the hotel is completely falling apart around her. She gets hypothermia, but Bond suffers nothing similar when he takes a long swim in unarguably worse conditions. I don't mind when a movie ignores physics, but I can't stand it if it's internally inconsistent even to itself. Crap. Crap. Crap.

[Don Flamenco]

yeah, I can't say I care about the first Matrix movie anymore after seeing the second one. 

worst sequels ever.

[Bebpo]

I need to know if where the wild things are IMAX has scenes shot in IMAX like Dark Knight & Trans2? 

[Great Rumbler]

A Serious Man


Went down to the Angelika Film Center in Dallas today to see it and just got back an hour or two ago. I really don't know what to think. The Coens, man, they do love their curve-ball endings and this one is certainly not different. Also, most Jewish movie of the year, by a long shot. You don't HAVE to be Jewish to find it funny and enjoy it, I'm not Jewish and it got a quite a few good laughs out of me, but I think it's probably even funnier if you are.

The acting was universally good, with a great performance from Michael Stuhlbarg as the beleaguered everyman who struggles to find some meaning in the problems and issues that are suddenly plaguing his life. A common phrase he uses is "I haven't done anything!", which can be a double-edged sword. Sometimes suggesting that he has done nothing wrong and is a good man, but other times suggesting that he has no real control on his life or his family.

The music is mostly downbeat and moody and only occasionally appears to help accentuate the mood in certain seats. White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane makes a prominent appearance in a few scenes.

Cinematography was great and really does an amazing job of putting you into the late 60's. It's done by Roger Deakins, who's the director of photography for virtually every Coen Brothers movie. I really loved the shots that look down on the suburban town. It's just a bland, suburban community, but it somehow feels...off. The music really helped in that regard too.

Again, I'm not really sure what to think. I laughed most of the way through and enjoyed some of the poignant moments, but the ending just threw me because I never saw it coming. I understand it, I think, but I still haven't really processed it yet. People that hated No Country's ending will probably suicide if they watch A Serious Man. 

[Bebpo]

Pontypool

The twist is clever, and the philosophical points can bring good discussion, but the film itself was a little weak.  The pacing was far slower than it needed to be, the acting was fairly bad, and like most "horror" films it wasn't scary or suspenseful at all (probably why the pacing feels like it drags).  It got me curious about the book and the movie sequel, but the film itself is just borderline ok IMO.

Where the Wild Things Are

Saw the midnight show.  People were dressed up in face paint and tails and crowns and ummmm....Mario & Luigi & Peach?  Good movie but not great.  It might've been because it was late at night but it felt loooong despite being 90ish mins.  Possible because there was no actual plot and the whole film is simply a collection of LIFE WITH THE CREATURES IN MUSIC VIDEOS SHOT BY SPIKE JONZE.  The direction was good to fantastic; the intro is sooooo good.  The creatures look great, very glad they went with costumes.  The kid did a good job as well.  Overall it was good, but there isn't much substance.  For what was there it feels like it should have been a 45 min movie.  I think kids will be bored tbh.  1 thumb up, 1 neutral.

Seeing A Serious Man today and Paranormal Activity on Sat or Sun.  Hope they will be awesome.

[Bebpo]

A Serious Man

Great film.  Another Cohen Bros classic.  Hilarious 

Loved how they separated this from Burn After Reading which was a totally over the top explicit comedy, by doing a totally subdued, classic, dry humor tale.  The directing was excellent.  Shots were always interesting, pacing/editing was great.  Every minute was great entertainment.  The performance were top-notch as well.  Really happy with how this turned out.  Cohen Brothers >>>>>> Jonze.

Finally as a Jew I was really happy with this film about the great world of Judaism.  There needs to be more films on my fellow brethren.

[muckhole]

Drag Me To Hell: Fun flick. Whoever it was that mentioned "Looney Tunes" in reference pretty much nailed it. I was laughing with sadistic glee through it all. Not really scary, but a perfect, campy gross-out Halloween movie.

Trick or Treat: Again, another fun flick that while light on scares, was entertaining the whole way through. I'll echo the sentiments of suprise that this film was shelved for any length of time, considering the amounts of other lesser crap that has come out in the meantime. My only complaint (not much of a spoiler, but just in case):

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I really wish we didn't see what the Sam character looked like without his mask. He has a pretty cool look, and I would much rather have that part left to the imagination.

[close]

[The Fake Shemp]

That's my only real grievance, as well. I wholeheartedly agree with you.

I think I was the one that called Drag Me to Hell a Chuck Jones-inspired romp, and I always felt it was pretty wacky. Entertaining, but wacky.

Both are great Halloween flicks.

[Joe Molotov]

The Matrix sequels tainted the original. Revolutions was so bad that I almost walked out in theaters, and that almost never happens with me. Reloaded has some neat parts, but it's pretty meh.

Is there any other series of movies where the sequels are SO BAD that they actually taint the original Willco? I cant think of any.

Star Wars prequels.

[The Fake Shemp]

Yeah, I was going to say that Star Wars prequels are so bad that I have not watched either A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back in years. Hayden Christensen has pretty much ruined Darth Vader for me.

What's sad about The Matrix sequels is how easy it should have been to make just a decent sequel. The characters were already developed to a point where you could follow existing arc types, the universe lends itself creative action sequences, etc.

What we got we were a handful of neat concepts, a lot of dumb ones and some really shoddy filmmaking.

I remember catching massive heat on GAF when Reloaded first came out, and I slammed it.

[Great Rumbler]

Star Wars prequels at least didn't come out until 16 years after the last of the original movies. The Matrix sequels came out so fast, both in 2003, that by the time they were done you couldn't even remember if the original movie was even all that good to begin with.

[The Fake Shemp]

I don't really agree with that. The distance from the original Star Wars flicks have not done the prequels any favors.

I will say that the rapid fire succession of awful Matrix sequels, along with supplemental material (The Animatrix), merchandising and video games (Enter the Matrix) pretty much oversaturated the market.

Not only did we get shafted by awful sequels and games, we were just sick of the entire universe by the time Revolutions ended its theatrical release.

[Great Rumbler]

I don't really agree with that. The distance from the original Star Wars flicks have not done the prequels any favors.

No, I meant because the Matrix sequels came out so fast that the original didn't have enough time to become situated as a great movie. The sequels came out just four years later, both in the same year, and just steamrolled the whole franchise.

The original Star Wars movies had plenty of time to situate themselves as a great franchise long before the prequel series rolled around to mess things up.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Watched Anvil! The Story of Anvil last night for the second time.  Awesome.  If you like documentaries like American Movie, you should love this.  It's a real life Spinal Tap.

[youtube=560,345]dKB8if7YnmA[/youtube]

[brawndolicious]

Heavy Metal in Baghdad

I saw it on Sundance channel and it was surprisingly really good.  That was mainly because the band that they were following was a fucking muslim heavy metal band in Baghdad.  Gives a pretty good overview of what life is like for the young people and how the security and journalism works over there.  I definitely recommend it.

Kingpin/White Men Can't Jump

Decided to watch both of these and they actually should be reviewed together.  They're both the best sports movies (well the only good ones) that I've seen and they're both the best Woody Harrelson comedies I've ever seen.  It's sad that we won't see other movies like this considering Woody became a hippy, Snipes is going to prison, and Bill Murray is just getting boring now.

[Phoenix Dark]

Rosie Perez 

[fistfulofmetal]

I've never seen all of Lethal Weapon.

Gibson just put a dude in a fuckin' triangle choke. wtf!!!!!!!

[Diunx]

TOMBSTONE

holy shit what an awesome movie, Val Kilmer= ultimate badass, the movie has an amazing cast and some great lines.

"Are you gonna do something? or just stand there and bleed?"

"You are so drunk you are probably seing double" takes out another gun " I have two guns, one for each of you"

Westerns

[brawndolicious]

I FUCKING HATED TOMBSTONE.  It was the most boring ass stupid piece of shit western I have ever seen.  They totally bullshit what Wyatt Earp was really like and ham it up with ridiculous garbage one-liners.  It was so fucking bad, that I enjoyed motherfucking Kevin Costner's Wyatt Earp movie even more if only because it was more about the history and less about the gayness.

For the record, both of those Wyatt Earp movies aren't that good though.

[Himu]

Yeah. I hated the Star Wars prequels so much I couldn't watch the originals for years. But then I watched them on Spike again recently and I felt like a kid again.

[Himu]

JCVD was one of my heroes as a kid. I wish he'd pick up action movies again. And that cover looks absolutely depressing.

Optimus Prime
Duke

What?

JVCD was one of my favorite stars as a kid. He was on par with Stallone and Arnold to me.

[youtube=560,345]k0YDuSLXcX8[/youtube]

[Bebpo]

The Boat That Rocked

The feel good story of a group of rebels sticking it at the government with loosely based on reality facts has never been my kind of moive.  But I was surprised and this was a great film.  Really enjoyed it from start to finish.  The directing and stylistic choices were far more interesting than I ever expected going in; the acting was great, especially Phillip Seymour Hoffman & Kenneth Branagh, the music selections were great; Definitely enjoyed it.

I think I would have enjoyed living in the 60s.  Sex, Drugs, Laid-back lifestyle.  I would've made a good hippie.   

[chronovore]

I've never seen all of Lethal Weapon.

Gibson just put a dude in a fuckin' triangle choke. wtf!!!!!!!

They actually trained with the Gracies for the first movie; I dunno about the 2nd. The Gracies had been assisting with our self-defense class when this came out, so several friends from class went out to see it together. When he and Busey get into it in the front yard, our whole row was screaming, "GO FOR THE TRIANGLE!" -- good times.

(snip) and Bill Murray is just getting boring now.

I'd argue he's getting more interesting. This, as opposed to other members from his era of SNL, who are either boring or dead.

[Cormacaroni]

Watched Anvil! The Story of Anvil last night for the second time.  Awesome.  If you like documentaries like American Movie, you should love this.  It's a real life Spinal Tap.

[youtube=560,345]dKB8if7YnmA[/youtube]

I just watched this. It was METAL ON METAL

spoiler (click to show/hide)

i cried like a baby

[close]

[Mr. Gundam]

I saw Where the Wild Things Are last night. I enjoyed it. The cinematography was beautiful, and I thought that it respected the much loved children's book, but I know that many are torn on this.

The Boat That Rocked

The feel good story of a group of rebels sticking it at the government with loosely based on reality facts has never been my kind of moive.  But I was surprised and this was a great film.  Really enjoyed it from start to finish.  The directing and stylistic choices were far more interesting than I ever expected going in; the acting was great, especially Phillip Seymour Hoffman & Kenneth Branagh, the music selections were great; Definitely enjoyed it.

I think I would have enjoyed living in the 60s.  Sex, Drugs, Laid-back lifestyle.  I would've made a good hippie.   

This still hasn't been released in North America. I saw a poster for it last night at the theatre, it's been retitled Pirate Radio for us Yanks and Canucks. I see that the Blu-ray is out in the UK, do you know it it's region free?

[Bebpo]

Region Free but importing is pricey:
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Boat-That-Rocked-Blu-ray-Review/5839/

[fistfulofmetal]

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is out there on the webs.

It's pretty awesome. I didn't know what it was going to be about. Basically it's a retelling of the events of the show up to a point from the Cylon point of view. It kind of does explain what "The Plan" means.


Really helps if you still have the events of the show fresh in your memory.

If Cavil was your favorite character on the show then you'll fuckin' love this movie.

Also there's a surprising amount of nudity.


Awesome awesome. 9/10

[The Fake Shemp]

His name is Cavil.

[fistfulofmetal]

whatevs

[Mr. Gundam]

Region Free but importing is pricey:
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Boat-That-Rocked-Blu-ray-Review/5839/

I've imported a bunch of Blus from Amazon UK in the past, so price is not a big deal.

edit: Only $25 from Amazon UK, not bad at all for a film that we'd spend only a little less on seeing in the theater.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

how exactly does ordering from Amazon UK work for us Yanks?  There's a couple of imports I'd just love to bring over.

[Beezy]

  IT'S HERE!!!

[Bebpo]

how exactly does ordering from Amazon UK work for us Yanks?  There's a couple of imports I'd just love to bring over.

I second this question.  How much is shipping and how long does it take?

[Mr. Gundam]

how exactly does ordering from Amazon UK work for us Yanks?  There's a couple of imports I'd just love to bring over.

I second this question.  How much is shipping and how long does it take?

I order CDs and Blu-rays from Amazon UK every once in a while (Manic Street Preachers albums, Almost Famous, Ashes of Time Redux, etc.). The shipping cost was like three or four bucks, and their shipping is extremely fast. I typically get items from Amazon UK in less than a week.

[Bildi]

Speaking of Bill Murray I saw Groundhog Day on the weekend.

It's still good.

Bill Murray

[TakingBackSunday]

Just saw Away We Go.  I'm not one for long-winded reviews on forums, so I'll just say a few things.  It's a very down-to-Earth, real movie with great performances for the leading roles.  Both Krasinski and Rudolph were fantastic and had great chemistry together.  Some of the side characters were a little flat but the last two segments and the characters involved were very touching.

All in all, one of the most genuine, heartfelt love stories I've ever had the pleasure to watch.  Thanks, jarosh, for the recommendation.

[brawndolicious]

Scarface

I never actually watched it from beginning to end before.  The plot was more than a bit ridonkulous, the dialogue was pretty cheesy imo, plus there was not nearly as much action as I imagined.  I would also like to complain about the shitty synthesizer music but that was probably mandatory in any 80's movie.  I really don't get why every guy on Cribs loved this movie.

[twerd]

i don't think anyone really takes scarface seriously. it's a fun movie, though.

[Phoenix Dark]

I love how the people who idolize the movie/Montana seem to forget he dies at the end

[Diunx]

That just made him more awesome, it took like 200 bullets to kill that motherfucker.

[tiesto]

Rosie Perez 

OMG I had the biggest crush on her and that annoying-ass accent when I was a kid...

[Mr. Gundam]

Just saw Away We Go.  I'm not one for long-winded reviews on forums, so I'll just say a few things.  It's a very down-to-Earth, real movie with great performances for the leading roles.  Both Krasinski and Rudolph were fantastic and had great chemistry together.  Some of the side characters were a little flat but the last two segments and the characters involved were very touching.

All in all, one of the most genuine, heartfelt love stories I've ever had the pleasure to watch.  Thanks, jarosh, for the recommendation.

Saw it in the theater when it first came out. Thought it was enjoyable, even though the hipster hate is strong on the internet.

[Himu]

Scarface is a classic. Fuck the haters.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Watched Drag Me to Hell....or is it Drag You to Hell?  Whatever.  The movie stunk.  Neither funny or scary.  Kinda scratching my head here trying to figure out just how this film got so many good reviews.

[CajoleJuice]

*flashes Willco signal*

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Uh oh.

[CajoleJuice]

It's Raimi, would you expect anything else?

[Great Rumbler]

You guys SUCK. Drag Me To Hell was hilarious and awesome. This isn't even up for dispute, really. If you say otherwise, you're just plain wrong. And damned to an eternity of torment in the fires of Gehenna as well.

[CajoleJuice]

I didn't even see it.

[The Fake Shemp]

Even border liked Drag Me to Hell. If that's not vindication, I don't know what is.

[Diunx]

Drag me to hell was great one of my favorites this year but haters are gonna hate I suppose.