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

[Diego440]

*Facepalm*

I agree... completely. But the concept of it was at least new and well executed for the genre. Let's face it, most horror movies made after 1980 have all followed the same BS route of psycho killer who's avenging some far-fetched trauma from childhood/previous life... there have been a few exceptions, but they haven't been succesful. Saw was succesful, and while having all the plot holes that are typical in horror films, I couldn't help but to think the first one was quite alright.

I'm usually very patient with horror movies... I generally don't get scared at them and don't get grossed out easily (except for that 2 girls 1 cup bit ) but I can determine that scary parts, and to be honest Saw IV didn't have these... not in the way the original Saw did, and none of the sequels carried. There was no suspense in it... if pressed, I'd even give the movie a 4... for Saw 4... get it? Ahh nevermind.

Granted, the sequels were complete crap... the gimmick of Saw were the gadgets and the whole "cherish your life" slogan. Putting myself in the mindset of considering the first one not that bad, I'd have to say the 4th one was the best they could do. Or rather, it could've been so much worse... it could've been like II and III Would I recommend it? Probably not. Would I see yet another sequel? Absolutely not... unless it was free. And I sure as hell don't want to see it again.

 

[555]

Flashpoint - Donnie Yen in a slight let down here. The last film i watched of his was an import of a film called SPL (or Sha Pa Long), which was absolutely brilliant. So i was expecting quite alot. But it didn't deliver. Good action, but not great. Passable fun.
6/10

All the Saw movies got stedily worse. But i like them all. And the 1st movie is still brilliant. Not for its budget (although that is an amazing feet), the whole thing is, the acting ain't that bad (apart from Cary Elwes) and people always go on about these plot holes, but i've never noticed any. Not in the 1st Saw anyways, i think i found a few in Saw IV.
Saw IV was better 2nd time, but its definately the worst. Mainly due to its dumb unrealistic nature of the torture. eg, surely her hair would rip out, not her scalp!
But i really like the Saws and as long as they keep making 'em i'll keep watching 'em

 

[Appie]

Hostage - I enjoyed watching the movie, and i really liked it. But there is always one thing that i don't understand. Why do they always use excessive blood in Bruce Willis movies. If someone dies he always bleeds like an cow and still talks happily for 5 mins

7.5/10 cuz of the blood thing.

 

[Delphic Reason]

I agree... completely. But the concept of it was at least new and well executed for the genre. Let's face it, most horror movies made after 1980 have all followed the same BS route of psycho killer who's avenging some far-fetched trauma from childhood/previous life... there have been a few exceptions, but they haven't been succesful. Saw was succesful, and while having all the plot holes that are typical in horror films, I couldn't help but to think the first one was quite alright.

I'm usually very patient with horror movies... I generally don't get scared at them and don't get grossed out easily (except for that 2 girls 1 cup bit ) but I can determine that scary parts, and to be honest Saw IV didn't have these... not in the way the original Saw did, and none of the sequels carried. There was no suspense in it... if pressed, I'd even give the movie a 4... for Saw 4... get it? Ahh nevermind.

Granted, the sequels were complete crap... the gimmick of Saw were the gadgets and the whole "cherish your life" slogan. Putting myself in the mindset of considering the first one not that bad, I'd have to say the 4th one was the best they could do. Or rather, it could've been so much worse... it could've been like II and III Would I recommend it? Probably not. Would I see yet another sequel? Absolutely not... unless it was free. And I sure as hell don't want to see it again.

Well said. I can see where you're coming from.

You had me scared for a minute. I thought you'd gone a bit daft.

 

[a6m5]

Would've been even better if the diamond dealer got run over as he was walking across the street...

Totally agreed.

 

[555]

Shoot Em Up - 10/10. Most entertaining film ever. FACT!!!

 

[Diego440]

Shock Corridor (1963) -- Underrated movie about a journalist who enters a psych ward to investigate a crime, only to become a psycho himself. You know when you're watching a movie on TV and the volume is set at 4, and then the commercials re set at 25? Same happens with this one... I spent the whole movie alternating between higher and lower volumes whenever someone screamed... and there's a lot of screams in it. All in all, the movie ia quite good. Documents that old Euripides saying of "those whom God wishes to destroy he first makes mad"... centered around how your own greed and self importance can make you go mad with your goals. The patient's psych hallucinations are very well done and some are a bit funny. Heavy use of the N word, though. 7/10

Silent Running (1972) -- Looks like a made for TV movie... I have a hard time taking Bruce Dern seriously, but the theme although overused nowadays, was pretty new and visionary back then. In the future, the earth has run out of forests, so they're forced to have them in outer space, on spaceships. The movie gets a bit stupid when they're trying to give box-like robots personalities and being over-optimistic on the possibilities of manmade objects. Also annoying is the soundtrack; in the days after the hippie revolution, the music suffers a lot thanks to the lyrics of Joan Baez and her "ecologic" music, although I can see her being the logical choice for such a movie at the time. 6/10

 

[toyota_gt1]

Blade Trinity.

 

[Diego440]

Blade Trinity.

wow, now I really want to see it... thanks for such a thought-out review!

 

[Delphic Reason]

Shock Corridor (1963) -- Underrated movie about a journalist who enters a psych ward to investigate a crime, only to become a psycho himself. You know when you're watching a movie on TV and the volume is set at 4, and then the commercials re set at 25? Same happens with this one... I spent the whole movie alternating between higher and lower volumes whenever someone screamed... and there's a lot of screams in it. All in all, the movie ia quite good. Documents that old Euripides saying of "those whom God wishes to destroy he first makes mad"... centered around how your own greed and self importance can make you go mad with your goals. The patient's psych hallucinations are very well done and some are a bit funny. Heavy use of the N word, though. 7/10

Hmmmmmm.....

That sounds like my kind of film.

I'll put it on the list.

I really need to find some time to watch some films. I spend a lot of time commenting in here, and not nearly enough time reviewing. I have some films that I have been meaning to sit down and watch, so hopefully I'll get to some of those my next couple days off .

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

wow, now I really want to see it... thanks for such a thought-out review!

Well make sure to tell us when you watch it so we know when you watch it 👍

 

[Diego440]

I really need to find some time to watch some films. I spend a lot of time commenting in here, and not nearly enough time reviewing. I have some films that I have been meaning to sit down and watch, so hopefully I'll get to some of those my next couple days off .

I'm currently unemployed, so my movie per week ratio is quite high at the moment.

Well make sure to tell us when you watch it so we know when you watch it

I'll be sure to include the same extensive review

 

[Joey D]

Saw Thank You for Smoking last night, it was great. Pretty funny and the acting wasn't to bad. I'd be curious to read the book now to see how much the movie differs from it. I've read other Christopher Buckley books and loved them, mostly Boomsday.

 

[notsofast]

Saw Semi Pro on the weekend
8/10
Quite enjoyed this movie, lots of laughs. If you like Will Ferrell then you'll probably like this movie. 'Its like the Titanic but full of bears'. Ha ha

 

[Diego440]

Suchîmubôi (Steamboy) (2004) -- Katsuhiro Otomo directed Akira in 1988, and since then he only participated in two short film projects, until 2004 when he made Steamboy. Now, while the movie is definitely not as good as Akira, it's probably one of the best animated films ever made. Not relying on future technology but on past (hence the Steam part), the movie's set in the 1860s. As happens with Akira, the ending sequence takes up half of the movie. The English dub includes Anna Paquin and Patrick Stewart. 8.5/10

 

[Delphic Reason]

Suchîmubôi (Steamboy) (2004) -- Katsuhiro Otomo directed Akira in 1988, and since then he only participated in two short film projects, until 2004 when he made Steamboy. Now, while the movie is definitely not as good as Akira, it's probably one of the best animated films ever made. Not relying on future technology but on past (hence the Steam part), the movie's set in the 1860s. As happens with Akira, the ending sequence takes up half of the movie. The English dub includes Anna Paquin and Patrick Stewart. 8.5/10

We need to get together and have some kind of movie night. Of course I mean that in a completely and unequivocally non homosexual way.....

Seriously though, I completely agree with your assessment of Steamboy. I wasn't sure what to expect going into it, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's on my "Must Buy Movie List". However, while the English dubbing is better than most, Ann Paquin's voice made me want to jab corkscrews in my ears. The Original Japanese voice cast did a better job, in my opinion (as is usually the case).

 

[Lee]

The Nines - 9/10

So, a film that's split into three, each with three different main characters acted by the same person, Ryan Reynolds, not the best of starts eh?

Wrong, this film is certainly original, it's made of 3 short films (About 30 minutes long) each consistant of the same cast:

Part 1: "The Prisoner" - Reynolds plays a troubled actor who is placed under house arrest after DUI, his agent (Played by Melissa McCarthy) keeps a watchful eye on him whilst the next door neighbour (Hope Davis) has a on/off intrest in him.

Part 2: "Reality Television" - This time Reynolds plays a Writer/Director of a TV show he's hoping to get onto a network. McCarthy plays an actress staring in the show whilst Davis is a Television Exec. The story is shown whilst the program's Pilot is being produced and the 'Upfronts' week with the Networks.

Part 3: "Knowing" - Finally Reynolds plays the part of a Game Designer, McCarthy is his wife whilst Ellie Fanning (Yep, Dakota's younger sister) plays a daughter. In this scene the family are taking a hike through a forest, they return to their car to find the battery has died. Whilst looking for help, Reynolds comes accross a hitchhiker (Davis).

I really don't want to give much away but about 2/3rds of the way through the film, the picture is pretty much set and basically the 3rd part is more of a recovery for a character.

Reynolds is really starting to get somewhere in his career, over the past couple of years he's put in some stellar performances such as Smokin' Aces. If I'm honest, I had never heard of the supporting cast before but Hope Davis was solid, McCarthy showed a wide range of emotion going from anger to sorrow, meeting panic inbetween.

It's a really brilliant film that echos the likes of The Butterfly Effect and Donnie Darko. For his directing debut, John August couldn't have done much better.

 

[Diego440]

We need to get together and have some kind of movie night. Of course I mean that in a completely and unequivocally non homosexual way.....

'tis alright man... don't worry, I'm married and happy to be. But you gotta stop with the winking.

However, while the English dubbing is better than most, Ann Paquin's voice made me want to jab corkscrews in my ears. The Original Japanese voice cast did a better job, in my opinion (as is usually the case).

I agree. Although I noticed it when I was checking out the credits on IMDb.. I mean, I was a bit ticked off that the male dubbing was made by a woman, and at certain times it was a bit off, but my options were watching it in Japanese with Spanish subtitles, or English dub. Hence, that.


And staying with the anime theme, I watched:

Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (Spirited Away) (2001) -- Wow... just wow. I've never been much of an anime fan, so I'd never heard of this movie before, although I saw in in the IMDb Top 250 (it's #58) and was quite intrigued. I thought the best anime movie was Akira, but this one is higher. Anyhow, the movie has so many different things that you can't understand at first, but instead of going through it, explaining it all, it just is. The plot reveals it all in time. And it thankfully doesn't have all those trademark anime things that tend to annoy me (overly stupid characters, submissive women, intensely voluptuous bodies)... the story is very magical but not illogical... and quite original. I saw it dubbed in English since it was the only version I could come across, and none of the voices sounded too bad.

Despite being over 2 hours, at no moment did I feel it dragged on. In fact, when it was over, I didn't want it to be. It's a fantastic movie. 10/10

 

[Delphic Reason]

And staying with the anime theme, I watched:

Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (Spirited Away) (2001) -- Wow... just wow. I've never been much of an anime fan, so I'd never heard of this movie before, although I saw in in the IMDb Top 250 (it's #58) and was quite intrigued. I thought the best anime movie was Akira, but this one is higher. Anyhow, the movie has so many different things that you can't understand at first, but instead of going through it, explaining it all, it just is. The plot reveals it all in time. And it thankfully doesn't have all those trademark anime things that tend to annoy me (overly stupid characters, submissive women, intensely voluptuous bodies)... the story is very magical but not illogical... and quite original. I saw it dubbed in English since it was the only version I could come across, and none of the voices sounded too bad.

Despite being over 2 hours, at no moment did I feel it dragged on. In fact, when it was over, I didn't want it to be. It's a fantastic movie. 10/10

Ahhh... Hayao Miyazaki.

He is one of the Anime legends.

If you loved "Spirited Away", you should check out "Howl's Moving Castle", and "Princess Mononoke".

The Studio Ghibli films tend to have some of the best English dubbing in the business, so I'm not surprised you were satisfied with them.

 

[Appie]

Samurai Wolf I & II(1966)(Watched them both at the same time)- Really good good Asian movie about an Samurai that wanders the land. Really good stuff and personally for me was the 2nd part better than the first.

Part I - 8.0/10
Part II - 9.0/10

 

[Diego440]

@DR: yeah, those two or on the 'To Get? list already

@Appie: Those two are really good, even if you're not a samurai film fan... I'm in the process of dowloading them at the moment.

 

[Appie]

@DR: yeah, those two or on the 'To Get? list already

@Appie: Those two are really good, even if you're not a samurai film fan... I'm in the process of dowloading them at the moment.

Cool Diego, i actually found the films by accident and i will watch them soon again. Do you maybe happen to know good movies like these?

 

[Diego440]

there's the Once Upon a Time in China trilogy which is very good, although a bit more epic. And the Samurai trilogy, by Hiroshi Inagaki. I can't remember any more at the moment.

 

[Touring Mars]

Watched Monster last night and was mightily impressed. Charlize Theron was incredible as Aileen Wournos, the female serial killer executed in 2002 for the murder of several men, and richly deserved her Oscar for the role. After having seen footage/documentaries about the real Wournos, Theron's portrayal of her is nothing short of breathtakingly accurate. The make-up artists deserved an Oscar as well for transforming Theron into an utterly convincing Wournos (see below)..

​

The film itself tells the story of Wournos from a sympathetic perspective, illustrating how her tragic and disturbing childhood and adolescence led to her becoming a desperate prostitute and later a mass murderer... highly recommended, even just to watch Theron's perfect performance.

 

[Danoff]

Shoot Em Up - 10/10. Most entertaining film ever. FACT!!!

Remind me to never take a movie suggestion from you ever. FACT!!!

Cowboy Bebop - The Movie
👍:tdown:meh

I watched this because I loved the musical scores from the Cowboy Bebop series. Turns out it was the TV score that I loved so much, and the movie music was horrific. Still, not a bad film. Though I don't recommend going out of your way to see it.

 

[V1P3R]

NeXT - 3/10

I have a feeling if I had seen Jumper it would've been similar to this sorry ass movie. First of all, Cage as a person that sees into the future? uh... no. Second, Cage and Biel as a love interest? uh... no. eww. It'd be kinda stupid if I said this movie was "predictable" but it was.

 

[Sprite]

The Darjeeling Limited:

All I can say about this film, if you are a Wes Anderson fan, then this is a must watch, if your not then avoid like the plague and if you have no Idea then this is a great starting point to get to know his work. I originally started my love for Wes Anderson films back with The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. This movie is like your first beer after a hot days work, totally refreshing and you wonder how you have managed all day without one. After all the gross out, slapstick and down right crude comedy tripe that has filled the last 12 months of my life, it really was a breath of fresh air to watch this film, not only is it an intelligent film but the laughs don't come at the expense of your childish lust for a penis joke or painful accident, the laughs come with such wit and understated play that they really are very funny. Don't expect to see this movie and be greeted with a roller-coaster ride of jokes, but sit back relax and soak up the film as its visual style and music are lush and interesting, and the acting is fantastic, with small cameos from Bill Murray and Anjelica Huston.

*****/*****

Five star all the way for me.

 

[Azuremen]

Jumper

6/10

Could have developed the characters more so we actually cared about them before going straight onto blowing things up and jumping all over. Still, the jumping was cool and some of the ideas are quite neat for Sci-Fi style stuff. Over all I did enjoy it but can see why many people had problems with it.

 

[Diego440]

Sunset Boulevard (1950) -- Classic film noir directed by Billy Wilder. So many things going on in this movie that I'm not going to go into detail. It's amazing how there's so many key elements of the time and of the past in this movie. One of the best ever. 10/10

 

[555]

The Final Cut - STV (in England at least) film with Robbin Williams doing his serious thing. Good enough, a bit strange, but watchable once.
6/10

Danoff - dito