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

[JacoJa]

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.

I watched 'Next' on a plane a few months ago... And I agree with you. The ending of that movie especially, wanted me to jump out of the emergency exit. Dreadful stuff. And the special effects looked as though they were created by a n00b teenager using Autodesk inventor.

 

[Diego440]

Sunshine (2007) -- Not half bad movie about scientists going into space to try to re-ignite the sun because the world is dying. Budget is alright, so you get some nice effects, plot is so-so, being very predictable (yeah, they find another ship, sent years before) and the and the setting is what you'd expect... tried to be a psychological sci-fi suspense flick... barely gets over being just another space movie. 6/10



The Black Hole (1979) -- Keeping with this sci-fi period I seem to be in, this movie was horrible. Trying to cash in on the whole spaceship theme started in the late 70s with Star Wars, this movie was made a few years after, with a Disney-promoted budget and still achieves mid-1950s-styled effects. Plot is much like Flash Gordon and it also has Ernest Borgnine in it, which is something of a b-movie guarantee. Still, the movie is made for kids, so maybe they would enjoy it... if they'd never seen a movie before and were comatose. 4/10

 

[MagpieRacer]

3:10 to Yuma

Not normally a western fan but I thought this was awesome, good acting, brilliant story. 9/10

 

[Diego440]

The Blue Gardenia (1953) -- Film noir type directed by Fritz Lang. Kinda slow and unrelated to the genre at first, but the plot twist in the end makes it worthy. Still, not immensely entertaining as most of the other in the same genre. Worth the watch either way. 7/10

 

[Solid Lifters]

The Cowboys - 10/10 Absolutely fantastic film. Stars John Wayne as a ranch owner who needs to get his cattle to market before Winter comes. All the men in town left for a gold rush leaving only school boys ages 10 through 15 for cattle drivers. But, this film is much more than 'kids goin' on a cattle drive.' Believe me. This is a film about boys becoming men, and every single one of you MUST watch this movie at least once in your life before your dirt nap. It's definitely in my top 10 films, so I'm sure you'll at least like it.

 

[FoolKiller]

The Black Hole (1979) -- Keeping with this sci-fi period I seem to be in, this movie was horrible. Trying to cash in on the whole spaceship theme started in the late 70s with Star Wars, this movie was made a few years after, with a Disney-promoted budget and still achieves mid-1950s-styled effects. Plot is much like Flash Gordon and it also has Ernest Borgnine in it, which is something of a b-movie guarantee. Still, the movie is made for kids, so maybe they would enjoy it... if they'd never seen a movie before and were comatose. 4/10

I need to rewatch this as I last saw it when I was a kid, and thought it was awesome then.

 

[TheCracker]

I need to rewatch this as I last saw it when I was a kid, and thought it was awesome then.

Same here, i loved the robots in it:

 

[Diego440]

I need to rewatch this as I last saw it when I was a kid, and thought it was awesome then.

Yeah, so did I... but seeing what kid's movies have become since then, this one was horrible. I mean, even The Dark Crystal or Labyrinth seem so much better now.

 

[FoolKiller]

Yeah, so did I... but seeing what kid's movies have become since then, this one was horrible. I mean, even The Dark Crystal or Labyrinth seem so much better now.

Well, of course. You can't compare Jim Henson to Disney. Henson wins every time.

I mean, The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth were epically awesome achievements in puppetry. Not to mention they each have a fairly interesting fantasy story.

Often I am finding that my fond childhood memories are not as good as I remember, but I won't sign off on anything until I see it again for myself as an adult.

 

[Solid Lifters]

The Astronaut Farmer 4/10 A family film for the kiddies, who loved it, BTW. They thought it was cool. I thought it was childish and ludicrous. At least I had some fun watching them enjoy it. I have a feeling I'll be watching this one a few more times before it 'accidentally' gets deleted from my hard drive. The Reluctant Astronaut is sooooo much better than this garbage.

 

[Diego440]

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Witch, The Lion and the Closet (2005)... or something like that. I just read the book (in about 3 hours) and the movie was on Disney Channel over the weekend, so I saw it. No big deal, follows the book quite to the T and adds a bit more predictability to a kid's story. Not bad, but not overly good either 6/10



The Day After Tomorrow (2004) ... already seen it, but I downloaded it and watched it again with my wife. Not bad as far as disaster movies go. Medium acting, good effects and so-so premise. 7/10



The Departed (2006) Thought it would be better. I was ultra confused at times, but I guess that's part of the plot. Still, being two men from opposite sides of the law and the whole undercover thing with the within the state police and the mafia, and the moles are dispatched to find out their enemy's identities is something that although done before, I think was executed nicely. Recommended 8/10

 

[CDailey]

The Departed (2006) Thought it would be better. I was ultra confused at times, but I guess that's part of the plot. Still, being two men from opposite sides of the law and the whole undercover thing with the within the state police and the mafia, and the moles are dispatched to find out their enemy's identities is something that although done before, I think was executed nicely. Recommended 8/10

👍 I LOVE The Departed. One of my all time favorite movies. I would give it a 9/10, because I don't think I've seen a 10/10 movie yet.

 

[exigeracer]

Daft Punk's Electroma - 3/10, and that's being generous. Long story short*, save your time and money and keep it for something else. For an art film, it was completely devoid of sociopolitical commentary, lacked any sort of artistic beuaty or interaction, and for a rather revolutionary musical group, it had poor score. Overall, what a waste (and this is coming from someone who regularly listens to DP). Skip it, even if you listen to them and want to see what kind of film a good musical group is making.

*I wish I could've done that with the whole film.

 

[Diego440]

srsly? I downloaded it yesterday and skimmed through it, and although lacking dialogues and much plot, the photography looked nice.



Vanishing Point (1971) -- Holy crap this movie is awesome! It's all about the car... and Kowalski racing from Denver to L.A., high on speed and avoiding the police. That's the whole plot, there's no intricate whys or hows... the guy just blasts through the road meeting random people and making the cops look like idjits. The car is a "souped up to go around 160" 1970 Dodge Challenger. 8/10

 

[ferrari_chris]

I liked Vanishing Point too. Although I never saw the point in the scene where he drives aimlessly in circles in the desert...

 

[Diego440]

Because he was lost? He then encounters the old man who tells him how to get out... innit?

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Serenity, otherwise known as the Big Damn Movie.

Cancelled TV shows do not get made into major motion pictures, especially when they're TV shows that combine science fction and westerns. Unless they're written by God (that's Joss Whedon to you). He has somehow managed to take a ensemble cast of nine actors, believably undo the status quo from the end of the series and translate it into a two-hour film in such a way that it's accessable to new audiences without being redundant to established fans; it's much the same way that he managed to write two pilot episodes to the series without retreading the same ground. Sure, it feels a bit like an extended episode in a few places and some of the characters - two in particular - don't get that much screen time (it's also a little had to explain who they are to newcomers and how they fit in to everything), but I'm not complaining. I've seen it more times than I care to count and every time I watch it, I find something new. It's a tragedy that we were denied our stay in the 'verse; had the show continued it would be in its sixth season by now, and yet we're still getting crap like Star Wars being described as "science fiction". I love Serenity because it offers some closure on a universe far more interesting than anything George Lucas ever came up with, but a part of me loathes it for giving us one last glimpse into what should have been. While the Firefly 'verse still lives on in the form of graphic novels, hopefully we'll get the Big Damn Sequel some day soon (or, once the rights to the show expire next year, a re-ignited series ... it's nice to dream).

Serenity is a wonderful piece of storytelling: funny, dark, deep and so very, very real. Almost every single person I know who has been introduced to the 'verse had renounced their claims to being a Star Wars fan in favour of Whedon's universe.

 

[FoolKiller]

IRON MAN - 8/10
It was good and fun. It was very well done and the effects were good. However, I did find a few nits to pick. Must we always show the characters' faces in the final fight scene in comic book movies now? Superman doesn't put his Clark Kent glasses on and Batman doesn't take off his mask, but Spiderman, Venom, Iron Man, and Iron Man's villain (not going to spoil) must all show their faces. IT IS CALLED A SECRET IDENTITY PEOPLE!!!! Also, it was overly predictable. And of course we had to ensure that Gwyneth Paltrow's character had had an important enough roll to fit the size of her ego/career status.

My couple of other nits are my comic book fanboy complaints that I will leave to a more dedicated discussion.

Overall I do suggest you go see this in the theater. Ranking it with other comic book movies, it is above Fantastic Four and Ghost Rider. Better than Spiderman 3 and X-Men 3, but not quite at X-Men, X-Men 2, Spiderman, or Spiderman 2 status. Close, but not quite. Those movies made it easier to identify with the characters and so you could project better. That may really just be more of a source material issue, as no one can relate to Tony Stark. Well, maybe Bruce Wayne.

 

[TheCracker]

I love Serenity because it offers some closure on a universe far more interesting than anything George Lucas ever came up with

As long as 19th Century America is enough of a universe for you.

I quite enjoyed the film and one or two episodes i've catched, but i've just seen it all before. All the characters or locations will be over familiar to anyone who's seen Star Wars, Star Trek or Alien films in the past.

 

[FoolKiller]

All the characters or locations will be over familiar to anyone who's seen Star Wars, Star Trek or Alien films in the past.

I have to admit, I am a fan of all three and I can't think of very similar characters. Sure, Mal is kind of similar to Han Solo, but then George Lucas told us all that Han Solo doesn't shoot first, which instantly makes Mal cooler.

Besides, it is impossible to look at any science fiction today and then hold it up to those three put together and not find something similar.

Although The 'Verse never had an alien of any kind. It was all just humans on human colonies in one solar system of terraformed planets/moons.

 

[555]

Speed Racer - Really good fun this. Ok its cliche'd like mad, and im pretty sure you will either love or hate the visuals. Oh and the "twist" was just beyond crap. But i loved this film, it went so fast, it was just great fun i thought.
8/10

Serenity/Firefly, both are really good. I think the movie is slightly better than alot of the TV shows. But its the humour that makes its so watchable. Mal is great, Kaylee is cute as hell. And the whole thing is generally brilliant.

 

[Diego440]

Speed Racer - Really good fun this. But i loved this film, it went so fast, it was just great fun i thought.
8/10

srsly? After reading some of the reviews on this movie I'm inclined to saying I'll never follow your reviews.

'Speed Racer' A Wreck On First Lap
Warner Bros.' Speed Racer was barely able to go from zero to 20 -- $20 million, that is -- and could turn out to become one of the biggest box-office wrecks in history. Most analysts low-balled their predictions at around $30-40 million, a conservative figure in itself given industry estimates that it cost as much as $300 million to produce and market. Warner Bros. estimated that it would actually end up with $20.2 million, putting it in second place behind Paramount/Marvel Studio's Iron Man, which grossed $50.5 million in its second week.That extra $200,000 may have been tacked on in a face-saving effort to put it ahead of What Happens in Vegas, which opened with an estimated $20 million to place third. Some box office trackers forecast that Speed Racer might well trade places with Vegas when final figures are released later today (Monday).

'Speed Racer' A Slow Starter Overseas, Too
Speed Racer hit the overseas market with all gaskets blowing. It earned just $12.8 million in 30 countries, to place third at the international box office, behind Iron Man, which remained the top film with a gross of $39 million in its second week. (It has now grossed $165 million overseas. With its domestic gross, its worldwide total has reached $342.1 million after two weekends.) Twentieth Century Fox's What Happens in Vegas actually earned more overseas than it did in the U.S., drawing an estimated $23 million in 36 countries.

Source for both news stories



Anyway,



Yo, Puta (Whore) (2004) -- Starts as a documentary-type movie... showing the intricacies of the world of prostitution... had it stayed that way, it might've been a semi-alright documentary on the subject. But it draws parallels to a Denise Richards who's making doctorate (yeah, I thought the same) and low on cash, so she turns to Daryl Hannah, who's an experienced prostitute who kinda shows her the ropes. Good on the documentary side, crap on the story/fiction part. 3.5/10

 

[prisonermonkeys]

As long as 19th Century America is enough of a universe for you.

I quite enjoyed the film and one or two episodes i've catched, but i've just seen it all before. All the characters or locations will be over familiar to anyone who's seen Star Wars, Star Trek or Alien films in the past.

While I've never seen Star Trek one only one Alien film (Reurrection, because it was written by Whedon), I have to disagree with Star Wars having done it all before. I found Lucas' vision to be pretty limited as each and every planet only have one ecosystem, and they're usually pretty outrageous (the jungle world in Revenge of the Sith, for instance?). While we might only see some parts of worlds in the Whedonverse, and least they're a little more grounded in reality. Stephen Hawking seem to think so; he claims that when humans start colonising the stars, the odds are high that Firefly shows what it's going to be like.

 

[ferrari_chris]

Because he was lost? He then encounters the old man who tells him how to get out... innit?

Nah, that's not how I remember it. If it was like you say, then that would have made sense.

 

[ferrari_chris]

Grizzly Man

OK, so I went into this one knowing about the Grizzly Man - well, knowing that he lived with the bears then they ate him.

I expected this to be the documentary he was making, finished off by his friends or whatever.

But, it's not. It's a documentary about the man.

He's a friggin' lunatic! A real nut job.

For the first half of the movie, I thought it was pretty average. Maybe below average? Timothy is so 'far out', as are some of the people interviewed, I thought this was more like a mocumentary (even though I knew it wasn't - maybe I've just seen too much mocumentary style stuff?)

Past halfway and it started to get better. In the end it didn't wind up too bad. Not great, but it didn't tank like it was heading towards by the halfway point.

And it lead me to the conclusion that Timothy Treadwell was mentally unstable and ultimately, dangerous. As far as I'm concerned, it was only a matter of time before a bear ate him and it was only by dumb luck that it didn't happen sooner.

 

[555]

The Number One girl - some STV crap with Vinnie Jones. This was just terrible. Nothing redeaming except for alot of bikini clad hotties.
2/10

 

[Diego440]

Зеркало (The Mirror) (1975) -- Perhaps the most watchable and easy to follow Tarkovsky movie after Solyaris. The story of a man who is going to die and remembers his past. His childhood, his mother, the war, personal moments but things that also tell the story of all the Russian nation... ties up nicely and keeps you thinking who is the man behind the voice. It gets a bit too poetic at times, but then again Tarkovsky's style is such. 8/10



The Hobbit (1977) -- Made-for-TV animated version of the book. One thing I appreciated about the LOTR movies was that they skipped the songs, something that was in all of the books and seemed a bit cheesy at times. This movie didn't skip them, but rather put music to them and made them horrid. The movie itself isn't that bad, but they made up some parts of the book, skipped others and made whole new scenes in some other way. 6/10



The Thing from Another World (1951) -- Scientists and American Air Force officials fend off a blood-thirsty alien organism while at a remote arctic outpost... remade in the 80s, starring Jeff Bridges. It's a classic sci-fi/horror movie, and despite being so old, they've apparently stayed out of the the crappy SFX and made scenes short. Of course, the creature is more or less what you'd expect from the time, but at least there isn't a zipper in the back of the suit. 7.5/10



The Third Man (1949) -- Film Noir type starring Orson Welles (although his part is almost a cameo). A movie waaaaay ahead of its time, it looks and feels not like a movie of the 40s, but like a neo-noir of the late 60s/early 70s. This wonderful example of classic noir is one of the all time greatest films. It combines amazing visuals, sounds, dialogue, and acting to tell a thrilling story and comment about the atmosphere after WWII. Great mystery movie and also #46 in IMDb's top 250. 8.5/10

 

[<_Spike_>]

AvP:R - Aliens Vs Predator Requiem - Well, I'm not going to bother writing a mini-review, I've learnt that it starts too many arguments because many can't accept someone likes the movie... 7 out of 10

Black Sheep - I was sort of looking forward to this, but Severance had made me think ill of this particular genre, bar Shaun of The Dead. Wish I hadn't, it's just plain stupid, and not even stupidly funny either...the activist chick makes it worth watching if you're that bored and drunk. 4 of 10

 

[Venari]

Never done this before and since I've been in a DVD watching mood recently... well, here we go:

The Golden Compass - 2 Disc Edition
Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra
Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Coulter
Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel

I'm a sucker for 2 disc editions, so let's set aside the film for a mo. The extras disc is filled full of that guff which us closet film industry fans love. You get Mister Pullman and the surprisingly disarming Miss Dakota Blue Richards having their say, and both acquit themselves well on the small screen, with good insights and heartfelt emotion in their explanations and anecdotes. There's the obligatory "aren't visual affects cool" doc, which in this case is well warranted...

... because the film's effects are fabulous. See past the first thing you see, the not quite perfect walk of Stelmaria - Lord Asriel's snow leopard 'dæmon' - and soon you're rewarded with a polecat poking its tongue out at you in fullscreen amazingness. After this point, you simply forget the effects and gain the filmmakers Holy Grail - suspension of disbelief. They're dæmons, the soul made real, dancing around the screen as (of course) dæmons are wont to do.

Of course, this lets one concentrate on the plot - and you'll need all the help you can get. If you've read the book, then you'll be following along fairly happily, and it will take you twenty minutes to discover what everyone else figured out quicker - this movie shovels along at a heck of a pace. It reminds me of the last three Harry Potter movies. There's so much stuff to cram in, it's like a fairground ride - it just doesn't let up. After watching the film twice, I realised that it is only just over 100 minutes long. I think rounding it up to two hours (or a little more) and letting the film breathe a little would have given it a bit more dramatic tension at the beginning, to let the viewer get a little more deeply drawn in before the real thrill ride gets going; when Lyra joins the gypsy-like Gentian people.

Kidman is very good as the nasty piece of work that is Mrs Coulter. Between her and her Golden Monkey dæmon, you really see conniving, manipulative and just enough vicious to raise your hackles when she appears. Miss Richards is fine as Lyra; although some of the childrens' dialog scenes are a touch painful, when she is with more experiences actors onscreen it rubs off on her. I'd put her one up on Emma Watson, but one down on Daniel Radcliffe for their first bigscreen efforts. Craig is onscreen for too short a time, which is a bit of a shame. He is a good choice for Asriel, although some fans of the book confessed they thought he played it a bit too warm and wimpy. Lord Asriel of the book was, well, a complete double hard bastard. Perhaps Craig has got his Bond and Asriel mixed up?

There is one weak spot - music. Music is incredibly important to a film like this, and you need a strong melodic theme to go with the orchestrations and action. If you can't remember the theme when you leave, you won't remember the film as fondly. In some ways this film is better than the Potter films - but the lack of a really heart pounding theme means you won't spot it immediately.

I noticed the director chose to cut off the end of the book. This could be an error in judgment, it's going to be hard to start the next film the way the book suggests, but I'm sure they'll figure it out.

7/10 - and definitely worth getting the 2-disc, if you like watching that kind of shtuff.

(... and for reference, HP1 = 6.5/10, HP2 = 6.5/10, HP3 = 8/10, HP4 = 7.5/10, HP5 = 7.5/10 from me.)

Sorry, haven't seen the Narnia film, so no comparison there.

If you liked this... then I'll spout some drivel for Run, Fat Boy, Run sometime soon.

Oh, why wait. Run, Fat Boy, Run with Simon Pegg and Thandie Newton - Shaun of the Dead without the zombies or really funny dialog, and with an added annoying American. And IMO, a badly miscast Thandie Newton - who I always remember fondly as Dame Vaaco from The Ridicules of Chroni... Chronicles of Riddick.

5/10

Further proof that average American TV actors can't direct movies... although it might have been a bit more watchable if it was an all American cast.

If you want a funny Pegg movie, watch Hot Fuzz.

Three times.

(No, not one or two or four, but three.)

 

[Solid Lifters]

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 9/10 A very funny dark comedy about an Air Force base commander going, "A little funny in the head" who tries to start a nuclear holocaust with Russia. Including funny, it is also very weird, with odd characters. Like Dr. Strangelove himself, a former Nazi scientist now a US weapons developer and all-around smart guy, who just happens to have a problem with a body part not letting go of the Nazism. Clips below.

For a film that came out in 1964, I say it was pretty ground breaking. It has a very fresh and unique style that I haven't seen before in a film. Though, it is a bit dated, I say it still holds up to today's modern black comedies.