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

[Solid Lifters]

The Great Gatsby - 9/10 1974 movie of the American classic novel. A poor nobody masses a large fortune through illegal means to woo a whore he fell in love with several years earlier, only to be murdered by a nitwit who mistakes him for his wife's killer. A tragic tale of a man who tries to live in the past when he hadn't noticed it past him by years earlier. A man who fell in love with a woman who doesn't even know the meaning of the word.

 

[McLaren]

The Great Gatsby - 9/10 1974 movie of the American classic novel. A poor nobody masses a large fortune through illegal means to woo a whore he fell in love with several years earlier, only to be murdered by a nitwit who mistakes him for his wife's killer. A tragic tale of a man who tries to live in the past when he hadn't noticed it past him by years earlier. A man who fell in love with a woman who doesn't even know the meaning of the word.

Thank god someone had made a movie of it. I, personally, got bored & tired reading the book.

The man who played Gatsby though, always eluded me. All I know is that he was in A Bridge Too Far a few years later. And I think Mia Farrow (Be Kind Rewind) was Daisy.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Thank god someone had made a movie of it. I, personally, got bored & tired reading the book.

The man who played Gatsby though, always eluded me. All I know is that he was in A Bridge Too Far a few years later. And I think Mia Farrow (Be Kind Rewind) was Daisy.

Robert Redford played Gatsby (Gatz).

 

[Diego440]

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) -- The original movie behind Rat Race (2001) and a score of other scavenger-hunt-type remakes, featuring many cameos and a lot fo forced comedy. I guess it's the fact that I've seen many of the remakes before this one, and that today movies tend to be more PC, but I found this one particularly boring at times and despite being a comedy, it still features the woman-object. Still, it's quite enjoyable and has its moments, although clocking at 192 minutes, it's just too damn long. 6.5/10



The Bridge Over the River Kwai (1957) -- Set in a prisoner of war camp during WWII, this movie is just amazing. Guinness acts superbly, although he looks odd when he's not Obi-Wan. But this movie is a classic in every sense of the word, it exemplifies the magic of the movies. It's #63 on IMDb's Top 250. I rate this one 8.5/10.

 

[DRIFT4EVA]

Batman - The Dark Knight

WOW! Not what I expected, but cudos. It was awesome. A lot more realistic than when George Clooney was batman. Long movie though..... Means you get your moneys worth lol. I'm so buying it when it comes out on DVD

 

[Diego440]

Bon Voyage (1944) -- A Short by Alfred Hitchcock, clocking at just over 26 minutes. The story behind the story is quite interesting, as it was made in Britain and it's a story anout the French resistance during WWII, but the movie is filmed during WWII, so there's a bunch of intricate spying, counterspying and counter-counter-spying going on in the great Hitchcok fashion. In fact, the French actors aren't credited, to protect their identities from the Nazis. 6.5/10



Take the Money and Run (1969) -- Woody Allen's first movie as a director; and very funny in pure Allen form. Filmed as a semi-documentary. A Must watch if you enjoyed Raising Arizona. 7/10

 

[Driving Park]

Let's see...

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo - liked it, saw it on TV (Turner Classic Movies channel)
Live Free or Die Hard - loved it, saw it in theaters, bought it
Transformers - loved it, saw it in theaters, bought it
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - thought it was ok, saw it in theaters
Sozin's Comet (the Avatar movie) - liked it, saw it on TV
National Treasure: Book of Secrets - liked it, although it was basically the same plot as the first one, saw it in theaters
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - thought it was funny, saw it on TV
Iron Man - loved it, saw it in theaters
Supersize Me - made me want to go to McDonalds, had to watch it for health class in school
Indiana Jones 3: The Last Crusade - liked it, except for the fact that I couldn't understand it since it was in German (we watched it for German class in school)
TMNT - thought it was ok, not as good as I expected, saw it in theaters
Cars - loved it, recorded it to a DVD, saw it in theaters

I'm going to see Wall-E soon.

:-)

 

[Rainmaster]

I liked Doomsday. It's fun!

 

[V1P3R]

TRON - 8/10
I watched it again since I don't remember seeing all of it because I was so young. It was ahead of it's time and still great. Geeks can relate to it.

Flash Point - 4/10
I saw the trailer for this Asian action film and thought it would be good, but in the end it was just too outrageous with too much bad acting along with a bad script.

Stargate Ark of Truth - 8/10
Pretty epic, great extended show to make it more of a movie.

Stargate Continnum - 9/10
Seem like the grand grand finale of the SG1 series with the world really ending this time, but they manage to get some pretty big breaks. I'd say just as EPIC as Ark of Truth.

 

[Brett]

I would definitely recommend against watching Stargate - The Ark of Truth unless you have watched a good majority of Stargate SG-1, or at least the last couple of seasons, as it wraps up the Ori story arc. Without knowing the back story, I can imagine the movie would be a bit difficult to understand. With that said, for the fans of SG-1, The Ark of Truth is absolutely wonderful. It feels a bit like an extended episode; though with the larger movie, it feels much more epic. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 👍

I have yet to watch Stargate - Continuum, as it has yet to be released. I am probably going to pick it up tomorrow on Blu-ray on my way home from work. I am really looking forward to watching it in the near future.

 

[Diego440]

Flatliners (1990) -- Just in case you've never heard of it: Five medical students decide to embark on a dangerous experiment to pierce the veil between life and death in an attempt to learn more about the afterlife. Under their temporary deaths they experience strange visions, and memories long since forgotten. However, what they hadn't bargained for is that when they pierced the veil of life and death, they'd each bring something back with them, something from their past that will not only haunt them, but is also fully capable of hurting them as well.

With that said, this is a great 80s movie, despite being done in 1990. It figured great actors of the time (Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Oliver Platt, William Baldwin and Kevin Bacon), and the subject is a bit out there as far as younger audiences went. Nevertheless, I've found that recently watching the movies I grew up with is an excercise in futility. At the time I thought they were awesome, but now they don't quite live up to it, in many cases. Still, 6.5/10



Pickpocket (1959) -- This movie is not so much a movie but more of a reflection on the moralities of crime. Still, there's one thing I really don't like much about European films from the 50s and 60s and it's that they lack emotion. Actors just recite the lines with as little facial and voice gestures as possible, which makes the lines sound very mechanic. Other than that, the overall meaning of the movie is quite deep and in general it's a very good film by Robert Bresson. 7/10

 

[V1P3R]

I would definitely recommend against watching Stargate - The Ark of Truth unless you have watched a good majority of Stargate SG-1, or at least the last couple of seasons, as it wraps up the Ori story arc. Without knowing the back story, I can imagine the movie would be a bit difficult to understand. With that said, for the fans of SG-1, The Ark of Truth is absolutely wonderful. It feels a bit like an extended episode; though with the larger movie, it feels much more epic. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 👍

Even WITH knowing most of what happen in the past seasons I still felt like I missed something after watching Ark of Truth. lol

 

[Driving Park]

I'm definitely going to watch The Ark of Truth and Continuum as soon as I get the chance, seeing as SG-1 is my favorite show of all time. (Just look at my avatar)

:-)

 

[Diego440]

Jamaica Inn (1939) -- And here I was thinking that all of Hitchcock's movies were awesome... well, not true, I also didn't think Family Plot was any good. This one isn't necessarily bad, but it's miles away from Rear Window, Psycho or North by Northwest. Set in 1819, it's about a gang of pirates who trap ships by taking out a lighthouse... the setting isn't very original and the plot doesn't have as many twists as you'd expect from Hitchcock. It's part-good fudge. Charles Laughton makes the movie much more enjoyable, though. 6.5/10

 

[Brett]

Even WITH knowing most of what happen in the past seasons I still felt like I missed something after watching Ark of Truth. lol

And that gives people more reason to not watch Stargate - The Ark of Truth if they have not followed Stargate SG-1, as they will not understand anything going on in the movie. The Ark of Truth is really for the fans of the series and all that happens in the movie really shows that.

I'm definitely going to watch The Ark of Truth and Continuum as soon as I get the chance, seeing as SG-1 is my favorite show of all time. (Just look at my avatar)

:-)

I would definitely recommend watching Stargate - The Ark of Truth. It nicely wraps up the Ori storyline that was left hanging at the end of the series. The studio had a bigger budget for The Ark of Truth and it shows. As a huge fan of SG-1, I really enjoyed it and I am sure you will also.

On the topic of Continuum, I first went to Best Buy to buy it on Blu-ray, but it was a few more dollars expensive than what Amazon is selling it for and I decided to not buy it there. Then I went to Wal-Mart to see if they had it. Well, Wal-Mart has it on DVD, but does not sell it on Blu-ray in store. I was a bit disappointed by that, but I will be picking it up on Blu-ray from Amazon. For consolation though, I did buy Stargate on Blu-ray from Wal-Mart.

 

[Driving Park]

Have you seen it before? I have it on DVD and it's very good.

:-)

 

[Brett]

The Ark of Truth or Continuum? Right now, I just have The Ark of Truth. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have not picked up Continuum just yet. I am going to buy it on Blu-ray whenever I get around to buying.

 

[Driving Park]

No, I mean the original Stargate movie.

:-)

 

[Brett]

Oh! Of course I have seen the original movie. I have seen it a few times, but really need to re-watch it. I am looking forward to my first Blu-ray experience, though it will be a bit on the non-dramatic side since I do not have a HDTV.

 

[Driving Park]

Someday, I'll get an HDTV and Blu-ray. Someday.

But yeah, I need to watch it again as well. Actually, I didn't start liking the Stargate series (both) because of the movie, I saw them on TV, liked them, then discovered the first movie.

:-)

 

[buickgnx88]

I just watched the original movie on VHS

 

[Scaff]

In Bruges

Watched this a few nights ago having missed it at the cinema (it got a short theatre release in the UK) and have to say it's a damn good film.

Following the path of two hitmen laying low in Bruges after a hit in London, it encompasses a strange tale of a racist dwarf, a film shoot, churches, beer, prostitutes and a LOT of swearing.

Its actually got a lot more going on than the trailers suggested, its well filmed with a great script and good solid performances from all involved, particularly Ralph Fiennes as gang boss Harry (has to be one of the funniest 'sweary nutter's' on film).

All round a very good film, far better than I had hoped for, one of the best I have seen this year.

8/10


Regards

Scaff

 

[Famine]

The Golden Compass

I've never read the books (I don't have the time amongst Pratchett and Rankin), so I have no preconceptions. However, I hope that the books are different, given the multiple laudings they receive.

I can only describe the movie by comparing it to an ADHD child with a length of string. The story has a definite start and a definite end, and a single thread connects them in a single progression. But the things that happen along that thread seem to do so with scant regard for logic or even storytelling. Look, there's bears fighting! Look, there's some witches flying! And now they're fighting too!

It kept a 7 year old amused though.

 

[Diego440]

In Bruges

Watched this a few nights ago having missed it at the cinema (it got a short theatre release in the UK) and have to say it's a damn good film.

I got it the other day and was scanning through it... got a really good laugh at the scene in the restaurant, with the American guy.





Lolita (1962) -- A middle-aged college professor becomes infatuated with a 14-year-old nymphet... doesn't sound like that much of a risquè plot. Then again, go back and see the year it was released. I heard that when the movie was released, they had to say the girl was 18 years old so they could pass censors... she was 16; however, in the book she was supposed to be 12, and in the movie they made her 14... kinda complicated, but when you think of the censors in the 1950s and 60s, it all makes sense. Also, a lot of the stronger scenes are left to the viewer's imagination, so as not to upset the censors.

I wasn't sure what to expect before watching this. The oldest Kubrick film I'd seen was A Clockwork Orange, and this one is nothing similar. Still, the movie is very funny, very obscure and everything in between. Peter Sellers is funny as hell in it too. 8/10



The Boston Strangler (1968) -- Based on the real Boston Strangler, who terrorised said city in 1963, serial killer Albert Desalvo... The movie itself is pretty good, though it has a made-for-tv aura in it. The editing is top-notch and I was reminded of the beginning of Grand Prix, with all the different angles coming to place in the same shot. Despite including a Hollywood Fantasy element to it (they picture Desalvo as being a schizophrenic, which he was not), though he was in a mental institution. The movie is kinda slow at times, especially what seems to be the first hour, and in reality is the first 25 minutes. Tony Curtis was great in it, as was George Kennedy. Very underrated film, though it's not a masterpiece either. 7/10

 

[Danoff]

The Golden Compass

I've never read the books (I don't have the time amongst Pratchett and Rankin), so I have no preconceptions. However, I hope that the books are different, given the multiple laudings they receive.

I'm trudging through the book now, and your criticisms apply there as well. Actually, it's a fairly good adaptation of the book. I think it's a very imaginative and creative world - definitely something we're not used to seeing. But not so much for adults, so I may not make it through the book. That's the same reason I had to put down the Potter books... not that I'm putting the two in the same category. Compass has much more to offer from a creativity point of view.

 

[Famine]

I'd agree there. My views on the origins of Potter are possibly well-known, but from the viewing of the Compass film (I'm vaguely aware that the books are called something different) I can see a lot more original thought and, if not truly new concepts, at least not ideas lifted en masse from others' works.

 

[Brett]

I just watched the original movie on VHS

What is this VHS thing you speak of?

And, I just got back from viewing Step Brothers. There was some really funny stuff in the movie. Really, that is all the movie is, funny. It is a comedy and nothing else. It is nice to see John C. Reilly on screen with Will Ferrell again, as they really compliment one another nicely and it takes focus off of Ferrell some.

 

[ferrari_chris]

When The Levees Broke

What can I say? The best documenatry I've every seen? Quite possibly.

Directed by Spike Lee, I think it's the best thing he's ever done. And a friend of mine suggests it'll be what he's remember for.

Spanned over four acts, with an extra fifth act on the DVD, it's epic. Never boring though.

For me it was a great insight into what actually during and after Hurricane Katrina. It's excellent to hear the stories an opnions of people who were on the ground, suffering. Some still suffering. It also bought up a whole lot of new facts that I never knew before, and put an end to what were just rumours - the horrific stories of lawlessness in The Superdome for example.

With a very small touch of "sensationalism" by a couple of the interviewees easily looked passed the stories left me, and will leave you, in awe.

I have a huge respect for the post production team. There are so many people interviewed they must have hundreds of hours of footage. And to condense that down into just 4 hours. Wow.

Probably my most recommended film of this thread for anyone with more than half-a-brain.

You know I rate hard, so this has to be earnt:

 

[Driving Park]

I just saw Wall-E yesterday. It was an excellent movie, with things going on throughout. There were no big boring spots, like a lot of films. I would probably buy it given the chance, if the price was cheap enough.

:-)

 

[Famine]

I enjoyed The Ark of Truth but, frankly, if anyone would it's me

The Dark Knight

Crikey!

It's definitely a 15 rather than a 12A - watching the kids in the foyer afterwards throwing coins at each other made me chuckle in a despairing way. I'm just glad they didn't have any pencils to hand.

I feel a Famine's Review coming on, for the first time in a while. Suffice to say that, unless you specifically dislike Batman (or rather Batman Begins) or films that involve fighting, explosions and an absolute fruitloop in a nurse costume, you really ought to love this.