What movies have you seen lately? Now with reviews!Movies 

  • Thread starter scentedsoap
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Three movies:

- Diary of the Dead

- P2

- Fight Club

I can't begin to say how bad Diary of the Dead was. I hate documentary-style horror films, just because they are so badly acted.

P2, instead of a horror film, seemed more like a comedy film to me, or maybe it seemed that way because I watched it with friends. I couldn't help but laughing during the entire film, it was that funny. Too predictable, if you ask me.

Fight Club, oh Fight Club. The beginning was tiresome, but halfway through the film, it seemed it was getting better. Way better if you ask me. The ending, however, is one of the worst endings I have seen.
 
The Hangover - One of the funnier films I've seen in a long time, and while completely exaggerated I really could see something along those lines happening. The even funnier part is that I have friends that fit all of those roles so well. I would recommend seeing if you are looking for something you can shut you brain off for and just be entertained.
 
The 1973 version is much, much better. Though if you found the 2002 version to be slow, don't watch the 1973 one. Besides, it's in Russian, and longer; clocking in at around 130 minutes.

Personally, despite being a slow movie, it's a flick I've watched at least 5 times. I absolutely love the movie. Still, you have to arm yourself with a bit of patience and getting used to older/slower movies is a must. On the other hand, what I really liked about the 2002 version was the music.
 
I've liked both, but yeah, comparing the two would be like comparing the Toyota 2000GT to a Scion tC. I've been hoping to own the original on DVD for a long time, as I've seen it just once, and on a rental VHS. Unfortunately, it's just not high enough on my list, and it is a very expensive DVD. I think it was a Criterion disc(s?).
 
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (7/10)
It's Harry Potter. What more do you expect? Something bad or disturbing happens in the beginning, Harry goes to school and does a lot of ho-hum school stuff while his relationships with his friends gets strained and then worked out again, and then bad stuff happens again and the special effects department gets some OT pay.

What makes this one slightly different is that it has gone out of its way to set you up for the finale(s) and hormones are out of control. Suddenly the hallways are filled with older teens snogging in the dark corners. Apparently Harry's hormones affect the rest of the school. I believe this must be some sort of passive ability he has, much like talking to snakes.

Oh, and the writers/director need to learn the difference between subtle foreshadowing and giving away the final plot twist.
Why do we see Snape come up behind Harry, just before he kills Dumbledore, and hush him? Any audience member, that didn't read the books, who was paying attention could immediately see that Snape is somehow protecting Harry. That ten second scene, combined with Dumbledore's words, will remove any surprise at the discovery that Snape was following Dumbledore's orders.

Anyway, if you like Harry Potter go see it. If you don't care, you still won't.



Robocop (Unrated) (Awesome/10)
No, this is not the first time I have seen this, but I just bought it on Blu-Ray and it is the first time in probably ten years that I haven't seen it cut for TV. It is still bloody by today's standards, although the shock value is lost in light of the gorefests we see today in movies like Saw. But for the mid-80's a blood splattering, meat hanging from lost limbs kind of violence was unheard of and it had to be trimmed to be allowed in theaters.

The irony is that the story itself is something you can only truly enjoy with childish glee. If not for the blood kids would love this. A man turned into a cyborg cop - that is perfect awesome kids sci-fi. From the first moment Robocop walks into the police station until he stops the corrupt corporate executive everything is laid out to make our inner child-geek cheer.

The only thing that really dates it (aside from the cars and clothes) are the special effects for ED-209. Stop-frame animation on a giant robot is a bit too obvious nowadays.

The only truly sad thing about this movie is that all the great one-liners are extreme violations of the AUP.
 
Repo Man - 1984 Comedy/Drama Starring Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton, Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash and Sy Richardson.

An angry, teenage punk rocker, Otto (Estevez), becomes a repo man after being dumped by his criminal, punk rock friends. He gets mixed up with a UFO conspiracy theorist girl who claims to be searching for aliens. He then chases after a '64 Chevy Malibu driven by a mad, government scientist who wants to tell the world about the atomic alien device he has in his trunk.

A classic '80s flick depicting the struggle of '80s society of the urban and moral decay. The film is filled with great alternative '80s music and even has the ska band The Untouchables making an appearance in the film. A film that cannot be missed.

9/10




Motel Hell - 1980 Comedy/Horror Starring Rory Calhoun, Paul Linke, Nancy Parsons, Nina Axelrod, Wolfman Jack and John Ratzenberger

A brother and portly sister run and maintain a hotel and smoked meat enterprise. Yeah, you can guess what it's about. Guests are 'planted' until ready to be mixed with pork and processed into smoke meats.

Not much of a comedy and not much of a horror. Very lame and tame by today's standard. Boring, too. Although, I did see some nipple action...

3/10





They Live - 1988 Drama/Action Staring Rowdy Roddy Piper

Aliens are taking over the world and turning our world into theirs. That old chestnut. A man tries to warn the world of what really is going on with sunglasses that reveal the truth.

Its cheesy factor is very well known and greatly appreciated. One of the best movies of the '80s.

10/10
 
FoolKiller
Robocop (Unrated) (Awesome/10)
No, this is not the first time I have seen this, but I just bought it on Blu-Ray and it is the first time in probably ten years that I haven't seen it cut for TV. It is still bloody by today's standards, although the shock value is lost in light of the gorefests we see today in movies like Saw. But for the mid-80's a blood splattering, meat hanging from lost limbs kind of violence was unheard of and it had to be trimmed to be allowed in theaters.

The irony is that the story itself is something you can only truly enjoy with childish glee. If not for the blood kids would love this. A man turned into a cyborg cop - that is perfect awesome kids sci-fi. From the first moment Robocop walks into the police station until he stops the corrupt corporate executive everything is laid out to make our inner child-geek cheer.

The only thing that really dates it (aside from the cars and clothes) are the special effects for ED-209. Stop-frame animation on a giant robot is a bit too obvious nowadays.

The only truly sad thing about this movie is that all the great one-liners are extreme violations of the AUP.
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I remember catching RoboCop on TV, & I don't remember it being that bloody (of course, that's TV....). Need to see it again.💡
 
McLaren
I remember catching RoboCop on TV, & I don't remember it being that bloody (of course, that's TV....). Need to see it again.💡
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At the time it was supposedly one of the most violent movies made. They had to cut some of it to get an R-rating.

Yeah, TV fails to show things like the graphic detail of his hand, then arm getting blown off by a shotgun. Do keep in mind that it is just somewhat violent by today's standards. The Saw series and House of 1000 Corpses far surpasses what RoboCop does.


Another film that loses a lot when put on TV is Die Hard. I'm almost bored with the TV edit of that.
 
Solid Lifters
They Live - 1988 Drama/Action Staring Rowdy Roddy Piper

Aliens are taking over the world and turning our world into theirs. That old chestnut. A man tries to warn the world of what really is going on with sunglasses that reveal the truth.

Its cheesy factor is very well known and greatly appreciated. One of the best movies of the '80s.

10/10
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I don't know about 10 out of 10, :D but I also enjoyed this movie very much. I look forward to seeing it on HD, when they are available! 👍
 
a6m5
I don't know about 10 out of 10, :D but I also enjoyed this movie very much. I look forward to seeing it on HD, when they are available! 👍
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I only watch movies in HD. So all three of those movies I listed where in HD.

10/10 is a bit of a stretch, but I don't care. :lol:
 
Tom Servo
Personally, despite being a slow movie, it's a flick I've watched at least 5 times. I absolutely love the movie. Still, you have to arm yourself with a bit of patience and getting used to older/slower movies is a must.
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In that case I'd recommend that you go and see Moon, it sounds right up your street 👍
 
[REC] - :crazy: I like horror flicks, and I like zombie-type flicks. This is both. And while I found the acting pretty horrid, it's not that bad of a production for what it is.

My problem was that I've seen "Quarantine", which was pretty faithful to this original, Spanish version. And its Hollywood counterpart, while I thought it was dumber, it had little bit more big budget action, which I liked.

If you haven't seen the Quarantine, I'd actually recommend watching one of the two. But if you tell me that you've liked both, that would be a surprise. I had hard time stomaching this one. "B-", but felt like a "C-"

12 Rounds - Quality of the acting, the action, for a straight-to-video(please tell me that it was), it wasn't that bad. But it was just over the top stupid, as bad as the Transporter flicks. The difference between the Transporters and this one was that, with "the" Transporter, they are winking at you for all the unbelievable actions. With the 12 Rounds, it's like they are delivering this, straight faced. I skipped most of the movie. It looks good, but I just did not care. After seeing the ending, I realized that the skipping was the smartest move I made all day. :) "D"
Solid Lifters
I only watch movies in HD. So all three of those movies I listed where in HD.

10/10 is a bit of a stretch, but I don't care. :lol:
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Not criticizing your scoring system, Solid. If you think it's a "10", it is a "10" to you. :lol:

How do you watch the movies in HD? Is it on cable or something, or on Blu-ray?
 
a6m5
I've liked both, but yeah, comparing the two would be like comparing the Toyota 2000GT to a Scion tC. I've been hoping to own the original on DVD for a long time, as I've seen it just once, and on a rental VHS. Unfortunately, it's just not high enough on my list, and it is a very expensive DVD. I think it was a Criterion disc(s?).
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Yes, Criterion released it a few years back.. It is really well done (as most things from Criterion are). And long!
 
a6m5
[REC] - :crazy: I like horror flicks, and I like zombie-type flicks. This is both. And while I found the acting pretty horrid, it's not that bad of a production for what it is.

My problem was that I've seen "Quarantine", which was pretty faithful to this original, Spanish version. And its Hollywood counterpart, while I thought it was dumber, it had little bit more big budget action, which I liked.

If you haven't seen the Quarantine, I'd actually recommend watching one of the two. But if you tell me that you've liked both, that would be a surprise. I had hard time stomaching this one. "B-", but felt like a "C-"

12 Rounds - Quality of the acting, the action, for a straight-to-video(please tell me that it was), it wasn't that bad. But it was just over the top stupid, as bad as the Transporter flicks. The difference between the Transporters and this one was that, with "the" Transporter, they are winking at you for all the unbelievable actions. With the 12 Rounds, it's like they are delivering this, straight faced. I skipped most of the movie. It looks good, but I just did not care. After seeing the ending, I realized that the skipping was the smartest move I made all day. :) "D"

Not criticizing your scoring system, Solid. If you think it's a "10", it is a "10" to you. :lol:

How do you watch the movies in HD? Is it on cable or something, or on Blu-ray?
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On various HD stations with my DirecTV service. HBO, Showtime, and HDNet, MGMHD, etc.
 
28 Weeks Later
I love the first one (28 Days Later) and the sequel is pretty much up to par. Nothing for the fainthearted, but a great horror movie. And for me, the ending and especially the last 5-10 seconds alone got this movie a higher rating in my books ;)

8.5/10 (people who don't like zombie/horror/gore movies may substract 6-8 points from this score ;) )
 
a6m5
[REC] B-", but felt like a "C-"
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Now that's just wrong. Though I'll give you points on the budget vs. non-budget thing. I watched The Ring prior to watching the Japanese version of it (Ringu, was it?), and though the Japanese version was clearly original, the Americans have much more experience making terroro/horror/supense movies and handled it much better. Whereas the original depended too much on the girl screaming and the occult ambience of it all.

Speedy Samurai
Yes, Criterion released it a few years back.. It is really well done (as most things from Criterion are). And long!
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I'm yet to find a bad Criterion movie. Maybe not to my taste, but not really bad per se.
 
I recently watched "HP and the Half Blood Prince" and I have to say I agree with what has been said already.

I'll be very careful to avoid spoilers (even if we hide their text I guess everyone reads them, at least I do ... always :D ), but here goes:

First, it's in this book we learn how Tom Riddle became Lord Voldemort and the movie has so many information missing about this - mainly from flashbacks - I wonder how people that didn't read the books will understand the last movie.

Second, we miss info on Dumbledore, also critical for the last movie.

Third, we miss info on Snape, same as above.

Fourth, and in a contradictory (sp?) way, we got hints about Snape and Malfoy that shouldn't be given.

Fifth, we miss info on the ministry of magic, also important for the last book (therefore movie also). And I really missed not having in the movie the first chapter of the book, I found it very funny when I read it.

Sixth, we miss info on what Hagrid was doing. Same as above.

I understand you can't put in a movie all the information we get from a several-hundred pages book, but I fear the last movie's faithfulness to the book is severely compromised.
 
Hun200kmh
I understand you can't put in a movie all the information we get from a several-hundred pages book, but I fear the last movie's faithfulness to the book is severely compromised.
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The missing information could be why this movie is setup to go straight into the next and the final book is being split into two movies.

At least I hope so, because two movies about three friends camping in the woods will get very boring very fast.
 


All The King's Men (1949) -- The rise and fall of a corrupt politician, who makes his friends richer and retains power by dint of a populist appeal. Despite being 60 years old, the movie holds itself quite current in most cases, especially in the corruption of power, the sleaziness of the political process, the willingness of people to be used. This is one of those movie which must never be colorized; the black and white ambience of it all is a perfect backdrop against the 'gray' matters of politics, moreso because it exploits the typical newcomer who comes in as a reformer against the current corruption and in the end is just as corrupt. I could've done without the side-story of romance, which had me a bit confused during some time. 7.5/10
 
I like Criterion for the Kurosawa stuff. I'm sure Speedy can agree. :lol: I have most of the B&W Kurosawa films on their DVDs, but one more I really want is the Bad Sleep Well. I liked that one a lot.

On [REC], my take could've been different had I seen the original one, first. Like I said, I think I can recommend both, but it would be a choir to see both.
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Watchmen - I know FoolKiller's a huge fan of the comic, though I don't know how he liked the film. I really liked it. It may be a comic hero type movie, but the struggles in the story was kind of realistic, no? I usually laugh at the so called moral dilemma in films, but this one(the big one), I had to think about it for second. And while I didn't like the acting in it, it had similar style to one of my all time favorite films, "Dark City". Which did make it easier to swallow.

I'm kind of kicking myself, because I had a chance to buy it on Blu-ray for $21 today, but I had already rented the standard DVD for a buck, so I passed on the Blu-ray. I am eventually going to get this one on HD.

I liked the darkness of this film. I'd have graded it higher if it was darker, sexier. "A-" for the design, presentation, and originality. But probably should be a "B+" for covering up the sexiest actress in the world with the old lady make up. :lol:
 
Tom Servo
Sorry, but I refrained from reading your review. I bought it over the weekend and haven't watched it yet. I'll read what you had to say about it after.
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Just so you know, the film is not about the black & white portable TV's SONY created back in the 80's. I just don't want to get your hopes up.......
 
a6m5
Watchmen - I know FoolKiller's a huge fan of the comic, though I don't know how he liked the film. I really liked it. It may be a comic hero type movie, but the struggles in the story was kind of realistic, no? I usually laugh at the so called moral dilemma in films, but this one(the big one), I had to think about it for second. And while I didn't like the acting in it, it had similar style to one of my all time favorite films, "Dark City". Which did make it easier to swallow.

I'm kind of kicking myself, because I had a chance to buy it on Blu-ray for $21 today, but I had already rented the standard DVD for a buck, so I passed on the Blu-ray. I am eventually going to get this one on HD.

I liked the darkness of this film. I'd have graded it higher if it was darker, sexier. "A-" for the design, presentation, and originality. But probably should be a "B+" for covering up the sexiest actress in the world with the old lady make up. :lol:
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Tom Servo
Sorry, but I refrained from reading your review. I bought it over the weekend and haven't watched it yet. I'll read what you had to say about it after.
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Out of curiosity, did you all get the Director's Cut or the theatrical version?

I will skip down a few spaces for those not wishing to read my review yet.





Anyway, I bought the Watchmen Director's Cut on Blu-Ray and watched it last night.

I greatly enjoyed the theatrical cut, but some of the things that really sell the human part of the story, but do not have an overall effect on the plot, had to be cut. There were no Bernies and Hollis Mason was just briefly mentioned.

As for the director's cut: Aside from the actual changes to the plot (squid) it may be impossible to make a more faithful film.

The guy who plays Veidt (Matthew Goode) still can't act though.

Part of why I enjoyed this even more may be that I had the ability to actually sit and catch the small details, like Silk Spectre purposely wanting to get mugged because she was in a bad mood, or Hooded Justice showing obvious affection for Captain Metropolis.

But the end result here is a movie that does the best it can to capture the graphic novel and the character story it creates. Night Owl is fleshed out more as you get to see his relationship with Hollis Mason and how it affects his personality. You get to see that even Hollis Mason, long retired, still imagines himself as a hero, and goes down like it. Tiny details that reveal a lot about each character are given more attention.

The most important effect the extended cut has is that you see the world through more than just Rorshach's eyes. You do not just see the underbelly of the world like he does. You see the human side of things. Spending time with Hollis Mason, or even the two small scenes given to the Bernies, shows you that there is a world that is more than just pedophiles and drug dealers.

If you didn't like the theatrical version at all you won't have your mind changed by this, but if you liked it and just wished it had more of the novel included you will find that in here.



If you want the version with the Black Freighter worked in as well a $10 off coupon was included that confirms it will release in December with all the other materials added in a 5-disc set.
 
Looks like I saw the theatrical versions, and read too much of your post. :lol:

When I'm ready to buy it on Blu ray, I'll make sure to get the Director's cut.
 
I've just pre-ordered it on Amazon here. Oddly it's the same price for the Blu ray version as it is for the DVD version. We don't get the Directors Cut here either until December time, i think.
 
When you guys get the Blu-Ray make sure you don't get the one that has The End is Nigh game (PS3) included. They are charging an extra $20 for that, when they should be paying me to take that horrid game off their hands.
 
Bronson 8/10 Apparently based on a true story about Britain's most notorious prisoner. Very similar to Chopper. Brilliant acting by the lead though. Shame the film was a little on the short side.
 

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