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

[peeweegary]

Ironman for the fourth time...in a week

 

[a6m5]

Syriana's pretty good, and everybody falls asleep watching that one.

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer - One of the dumbest horror flicks ever....... but I do have to give it a lot of credit. The movie is made to represent the B-horror movie genre, but it's actually pretty well directed unlike the most of straight-to-DVD flicks.

Most characters aren't very well acted, but they aren't boring. I think the only actor I recognized in here was the professor character, who used to be the Freddy Krueger. He was pretty darn good, I thought. There is also this guy who plays the old(ancient, really) parts guy at the hardware store, he was so funny, I thought he really stole the show.

Movie is very short, and it felt very short, which is very rare and a good thing for this type of film. I can't really recommend this movie, unless you have tolerance for 'bad' horror flicks. If you do, it's pretty decent for $1 redbox rental(rental vending service). "D+"

 

[Speedster502]

Finally managed to get a rental of:

Batman Begins

Firstly, I've been trying to persuade my brother to let me rent this for ages. Apparently it would be too scary for him, so I was ecstatic when he finally let me rent it, and on Blu-Ray for that matter. I loved every second of it. The story line was fantastic and for a family who never really followed Batman it really explained how everything fell into place for him. The action was cool, exciting and kept the rest of the family intrested too. My only gripe with the film was the sound at the beginning was far, far too quite we turned the Surround Sound to 45 and still couldn't hear it!

9/10

 

[Danoff]

Forgetting Sara Marshall 👍👍

I wasn't expecting to like this movie. It looked like the standard chick flick cutsy romance blah blah yuck. So I was pleasantly surprised when the funny flowed. Having been through a very painful breakup myself, I can say that it seemed fairly accurate through the various stages of coming to terms - while still doing a good job of poking fun.

I was afraid when the movie started that the breakup comedy would get old, but there are enough colorful supporting characters to keep you laughing. In fact, some of my favorite moments were with supporting characters. The movie only loses minor contrived conflict points near the end.

Definitely a good movie to build up "I watched your chick flick" credits while still enjoying yourself.

 

[Driving Park]

I saw Speed Racer on Wednesday. I thought it was a really good movie, except some parts were just confusing. But the ending was great, the races were really cool, and the movie had some funny parts. 8/10

:-)

 

[Danny]

This may earn some ire, but I finally (12 months after buying the DVD) got round to watching Hitchcock's "The Birds". Have to say, next to Psycho, I found it to be a big disappointment. It felt a lot like watching a ridiculous spin on the Wicker Man. The actual scary (term used in the most loose manner) were few and far between, and the gap between them was filled with the most generic dialogue they could muster. It's creepy, but not the promised scare-factory. 4/10.

 

[a6m5]

12 months!? You bought the darn DVD only 12 months ago!?

"The Birds" is actually my favorite Hitchcock film, but I think it's because it's similar to zombie films(my favorite genre ). Who actually find the Birds scary though?

 

[Christhedude]

Disaster Movie

The Movie name says it all in my opinion. Went yesterday to watch it with friends, and i must say that out of these 90mins i maybe laughed 3-4 times.

We then watched at my friends house Scary Movie 4 which was just hilarious.

I give Disaster Movie 5/10.

Chris

 

[JacoJa]

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

My family and I enjoyed watching the first two movies of the Mummy films, but this one was horrifically bad. They really shouldn't have bothered creating this film.

Firstly, I'm not sure if any of you have seen the Mummy returns (2001), but in that movie, Alex had a perfect (fluent ) English accent. In 'The Dragon Emperor' however, the character was played by an awful Australian actor who was attempting to do an American accent. Who on earth decided on that? Couldn't they find an actual American to play the role?

'Evelyn' was also replaced by another actor who did a bad job of trying to imitate the charachter from the previous two movies.

The actual movie was the worst I've seen all year. Bad story, special effects, comedy... etc. Just stick to the first two films. 👍

 

[CDailey]

Training Day
One of the best movies I've seen in a while. In fact, it's one of my new favorites. It has one of my favorite scenes ever.



9/10 stars

Rain Man
I've heard a lot about how good this movie is. Honestly, I don't understand the hype. The movie was boring to me. The only part I really liked was when they were in Vegas, and all the Lamborghinis in the beginning. Dustin Hoffman is a good actor and I think he did a decent job playing Kim Peek, but after seeing a few documentaries on the real rain man, no one can really compare to that.
Tom Cruise gets on my nerves.
Not to mention, this isn't really me kind of movie.

4/10 stars

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

The Dark Knight

I finally saw it. Overall, I liked it a little less than Batman Begins. I didn't really like Maggie Gyllenhal replacing Katie Holmes.

Spoiler

I guess it won't be much of a problem for the next movie.

But it was still very enjoyable and I hope there are many more Batman movies with Bale still to come.

I guess to be consistent I will give it an 8.0/10. I should probably move it up to an 8.5 and Batman Begins to a 9.

 

[a6m5]

I thought Rain Man was bit overrated as well. I probably had too much expectations going in though. I probably saw the film 10, 15 years after the theatrical release, so the expectation had kind of built up with all the hype.

I watched..... or mostly fastforwarded a straight-to-dvd horror flick called "Brotherhood of Blood". I believe it's part of the "Ghost House Underground" series for this Halloween.

I guess you could say the filmmaker, or at least the plot was ambitious. The film is about vampires, vampire hunters(humans), but also this mysterious third party comes into play. The problem was that the execution was horrible in every way. Horrid acting, direction was as bad as it got, cinematography probably was worse than some family tapes on 8mm film. Avoid at all cost. "F+"

Firstly, I'm not sure if any of you have seen the Mummy returns (2001), but in that movie, Alex had a perfect (fluent ) English accent. In 'The Dragon Emperor' however, the character was played by an awful Australian actor who was attempting to do an American accent. Who on earth decided on that? Couldn't they find an actual American to play the role?

'Evelyn' was also replaced by another actor who did a bad job of trying to imitate the charachter from the previous two movies.

I didn't really like Maggie Gyllenhal replacing Katie Holmes.

This kind of stuff does bother me. I find them a big distraction.

P.S. While I was quoting ROAD DOGG's post, I accidentally read the spoiler. Another distraction when I'll finally get to see the damn film.

 

[Diego440]

I moved last month to a new home... I still have no phone, no internet, no cable TV and my wife is away on a trip. I haven't even hooked up the PS2.

The DVD player is hooked up, though. Look for a massive review soon, or maybe I'll get bored and just post the movies I've seen. Yeah, that sounds better since I also started a new job and don't have that much free time at work.

 

[FoolKiller]

I moved last month to a new home... I still have no phone, no internet, no cable TV and my wife is away on a trip. I haven't even hooked up the PS2.

The DVD player is hooked up, though. Look for a massive review soon, or maybe I'll get bored and just post the movies I've seen. Yeah, that sounds better since I also started a new job and don't have that much free time at work.

Sounds like a good time for RiffTrax. They added Iron Man last week.

 

[Diego440]

Sounds like a good time for RiffTrax. They added Iron Man last week.

Did I mention I use the internet to watch Rifftrax?

Anyhoo...



Miracolo a Milano (a.k.a. MIracle in Milan) (1951) -- Pretty entertaining piece of surreal cinema... by Vittorio de Sica. 7.5/10



Wo de Fu Qin Mu (a.k.a. The Road Home) (1999) -- Kinda very slow, but it has that Ziyi Zhang girl (the younger one from Crouching Tiger...) who is absolutely beautiful, so it made it slightly worth while. The rest of the movie is so so but cinematography and colour usage is amazing. 7/10



Lawrence of Arabia (1962) -- I didn't really know what to expect. I noticed it at #35 in IMDb's top 250 and thought it should be amazing, but it's really just okay. Amazing sceneries and filming it must've been quite a challenge, but the plot didn't really do it for me. Must be because since 1962 a lot has been made to improve plots that until then were pretty superficial, me thinks. 8/10



Il Posto (a.k.a. The Job) (1961) -- Starts out as a kid aiming to get a "lifetime job", develops into a love story and then KLANG! the movie is about the job, not about love... the end had me chuckling. By Ermanno Olmi 8.5/10



Cronos (a.k.a. Chronos) (1993) -- Before Hellboy, before Blade II, Guillermo del Toro directed Cronos. Ron Perlman was already in it and his role is very funny, in a deadly kinda way. The movie is alright, but nothing groundbreaking for Hollywood... except it's not Hollywood. It's Mexico, so it was very big there. 6.5/10



The Conversation (1974) -- Gene Hackman stars in this Coppola classic. It's #184 in IMDb's Top 250, but to me it's a typical 70s American movie... as in very slow, dark, all the plot revolves around some 20-second incident and it's all resolved in a 15-minute chase. Still, it was alright. 7/10



Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (a.k.a. Alphaville, a Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution) (1965) -- Low budget sci-fi from Jean-Luc Godard... the fantasy points are amazing, with female robot slaves, mind-reading gadgets and inner-space radios. The plot is good too, a-la Blade Runner (regarding pursuit) 20 years before. I liked it a lot. 8/10



Los Amantes del Círculo Polar (a.k.a. The Lovers of the Arctic Circle) (1998) -- Spanish cult film from director Julio Médem. It's a mix between impossible love, coming of age and run away from life type of film. Not my cup of tea but I can see it being loved by many people. 7/10



Starting Out in the Evening (2007) -- This is like Finding Forrester but with a romantic plot involved. It's always good to see Frank Langella in a starring role, but this movie falls short of anything beyond it. Existential drama at its most average. 6/10



Youth Without Youth (2007) -- A love story wrapped around a surreal sci-fi setting, directed by F.F. Coppola. The setting it okay, the plot is alright, but something lacks. I'm not sure what it is, could be a conclusion maybe. The movie goes alright until the first hour, then becomes a mess 6/10



Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) -- Probably one of the most underrated movies of the 90s. Good acting, a great indie feel, the theme has been overdone by so many directors, yet this documentary-type has been copied a lot after. Great satire of American life. 8.5/10



Fingerprints (2006) -- After watching this one I asked myself "why did I watch this?"... Complete crap, b-movie, I know what you did last summer redone into I know what you did 50 years ago. Unless you're a fan of old-skool horror-type movies, avoid this one like the plague. 3/10



Manda Bala (a.k.a. Send a Bullet) (2007) -- Documentary on the kidnappings and corruption in Brazil, as well as the social class warfare, specifically the Northern regions and Sao Paulo. Funny how you can relate it to the rest of South America just by changing the names. 7/10



El Maquinista (a.k.a. The Machinist) (2004) -- If you liked Fight Club, this one's for you. The plot if maybe harder, or rather, you don't get a full explanation in the end. It's a movie to watch at least 3 times and get it completely, still I only watched it once. Seemed longer than its actual running time, though. 8/10



Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) -- Directed by George Clooney, it's a look at McCarthy-ism and the censoreship of the media in the US during the 1950s. From a time when everything was Black & White, comes a movie in Black & White about when things were Black & White... copywriting at its best? 7.5/10



Majo no takkyûbin (a.k.a. Kiki's Delivery Service) (1989) -- A good, solid movie by Miyazaki, which was unfortunately dubbed by Disney, making it a movie aimed at 5-year-olds. Still the plot isn't that great when compared to Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke, but it's a very good effort. 7.5/10



Electroma (2006) -- Forget Valium. This is the new sleeping method. Not a word is spoken throughout the film. Follows the history of two robots, the members of Daft Punk, on their quest to become human. I've always liked Daft Punk and was expecting at least a song or video in the movie, but nothing happens. There's even a 10-minute scene of the guys walking... This is the type of movie that makes you say WTF over and over again. The last 20 minutes are entertaining, but only because it's obvious there's an end in sight. 4/10



Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) -- 80s classic... shows you that school shouldn't get in the way of your education... 'nuff said. 8/10



Firefox (1982) -- Who could imagine nowadays that Clint Eastwood was an action hero? Probably one of his last movies as such, though. The movie is basically about flying a really cool plane and it's another of those 80s classics we really like. As a movie itself, if pretty crappy. 6/10

 

[MagpieRacer]

Employee of the Month, great laugh, pretty cool film and Dane Cook rocks.

 

[TheCracker]

Firefox (1982) -- Who could imagine nowadays that Clint Eastwood was an action hero? Probably one of his last movies as such, though. The movie is basically about flying a really cool plane and it's another of those 80s classics we really like. As a movie itself, if pretty crappy. 6/10

I loved Firefox, but it's a real film of two halfs. The first is all fairly slow moving espionage and the second is out and out action.



In Bruges 8.5/10

Assasins, Midgets and weird Belgian-ness - what more could you want from a film?

I never really fancied this, probably put-off by the Colin Farrell factor, but ended up watching it anyway. Glad i did. The acting was really good, even by Colin Farrell but especially by Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. It's a pretty violent film in places but very darkly amusing as well.

 

[FoolKiller]

The Happening - (6.5/10)
My in-laws rented it on Blu-Ray and then let us borrow it last night before taking it back to the store for them. As it started out I was intrigued, something crazy was happening. It was odd and attempting to be scary. Unfortunately, M Night had to rely on old-school scare tactics and blood to make us jump instead of actual suspense. You could almost feel it coming as the music got quiet and you had unobstructed view from the camera angle, and then it turns and the music starts blaring - OH MY GOD, BODIES!!!!!1!!1!!111! - Take away the sudden music change and no one has a reason to jump. Add in to that the fact that this was the worst antagonist ever and some of Wahlberg's worst acting since he did workout videos as Marky Mark and this movie is pants. It only got a 6.5 because it hooked me to start and for about 30 minutes I was enjoying it.

The worst part is that in the Special Features everyone involved acted like this is the Citizen Kane of suspense thrillers.

 

[livemusic]

Last weekend I got a few movies that aren't really that old but that I was planning to watch since they were first released, but kept forgeting to.

Almost Famous - Fictional story, though based on Cameron Crowe's teenage years, of a young journalist writing a story to the Rolling Stone magazine about the band Stillwater, while touring with them during the '70s. The acting isn't great but I liked the story, though it was a bit corny. 7/10.

Frequency - It's a kind of time travel movie, and reminded me of The Butterfly Effect, but I liked Frequency better. It got a bit crazy by the end but overall I liked it. Good acting by Dennis Quaid. 8/10

Enemy At The Gates - Very good war movie. I don't remember watching another WWII movie that showed the perspective of the Russians, especially focusing on snipers. Jude Law and Ed Harris were both good. Made me want to play some sniper shooter games. 8/10

 

[buickgnx88]

Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) -- Probably one of the most underrated movies of the 90s. Good acting, a great indie feel, the theme has been overdone by so many directors, yet this documentary-type has been copied a lot after. Great satire of American life. 8.5/10

Haha I watched this on tv once. Gotta love the stereotypical Minnesota accent!

 

[Patrik]

Quick question: Is The Crow any good? I know, it's a shame I haven't seen it yet.

Thinking of buying it on DVD...

 

[a6m5]

I liked it.

Diego: Thanks for posting the movie posters. That made those reviews more interesting. I haven't seen Cronos in ages. Gotta check that one out again. 👍

I saw the new Indiana Jones, "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". I kept the bar very low, going in. I have no idea how it was accepted crtically, but I liked it. It's another Indiana Jones movie alright, and while it definitely does not have the same magic seen & felt from the first three from the 80's, it still has that familiar feel, familiar style.

Buddy of mine said that they went too far with(without spoiling it) that gigantic thing at the end. I was actually glad that they didn't try to hold anything back. And you gotta admit, and I'm man enough to use the word to describe it, that was one of the cutest ending you've ever seen. "B-", but it would've been higher probably with Sean Connery in it. I did hear that he turned down the movie, but is he doing OK? I haven't seen him in any films in a while.....

 

[FoolKiller]

Quick question: Is The Crow any good? I know, it's a shame I haven't seen it yet.

Thinking of buying it on DVD...

Yes, it is good. Just don't see any of the sequels. They all suck, as did the TV show.

but it would've been higher probably with Sean Connery in it. I did hear that he turned down the movie, but is he doing OK? I haven't seen him in any films in a while.....

He retired and appears to be sticking by that. His last film was........brace yourself........The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

 

[Diego440]

Re-Animator (1985) -- One of the classic 1980s unsequeled (at least not with 4+ parts) horror films. This movie is awesome in its inaneity... a great classic which falls short of anything good nowadays in terms of quality and acting, but is miles ahead of anything in terms of plot and originality. Still, awesome movie. 7.5/10

 

[Touring Mars]

Burn After Reading - Joel & Ethan Coen (2008)

Just got home from seeing this film, and it was generally pretty good - not great, and nowhere near their best - but good nevertheless. The plot/storyline is Big Lebowski-esque - making a big deal out of an otherwise insignificant occurrence, and making a total hash of it too, but with even less complexity, considerably less "point" and a greater reliance on coincidence... the worst you can say about this film is that the Coens are hoping that their target audience are Lebowski fans who will forgive them for a light-hearted, daft story and forget that it really is generally all a bit silly...

The highlight of the film has to be the way the main characters are portrayed - and Brad Pitt is well cast in a very different role to his usual... playing an air-headed physical trainer, he gets the lion's share of the laughs from the audience. John Malkovich is brilliant as the lynchpin of the story, too, and even George Clooney succeeds in bringing out his character's nuances - part lothario, part desperado. All in, the performances are very good throughout, and they do well to shore up an otherwise weak plot.

The end - although I can't say anything specific about it - is weak and disappointing. The whole film is generally pretty lightweight stuff, even when compared to their comedies (it is not a patch on Lebowski) and the whole plot seemed contrived and silly - but it should be taken in the spirit that the film was (presumably) intended, as an easy-going, light-hearted 'thriller' with an absurd plot and plenty of Coen trademark characters and lines.

One for the fans, methinks - but a good night out, and generally very enjoyable 👍

7/10

 

[a6m5]

You are probably right on your take of the film. Big fan of the cast + the film makers. I'll rent it, probably, but I can't wait.

He retired and appears to be sticking by that. His last film was........brace yourself........The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

I do remember hearing about the retirement. I SO did not see the part about the Extraordinary Gentlemen coming though.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

After having a whole host of people work on me to see it, I finally got the opportunity to watch Iron Man. And I was both underwhelmed and disappointed by it; it was nowhere near as good as it had been made out. The first third of the film was largely exposition marked by banter, which while funny to begin with just got boring by the time the middle third came around, which was pretty much the origin story, with more banter. It wasn't until about eighty minutes in that the plot actually began, but I'd been able to guess everything much sooner,

Spoiler

like Stane being the one who ordered the hit and the injunction on Stark, Stark using the dead genrator to power himself, and Stane being unaware of the icing problem.

My best friend told me it was better than Batman Begins, but Christopher Nolan managed to tell Bruce Wayne's origin story much faster and without the use of more CGI than you could poke a stick at. I found Stark to be pretty two-dimensional and alrgely unsympathetic, largely on account of Downey Jr.'s presence, who managed to make him something other than one-dimensional. People say you could cut forty-five minutes from The Dark Knight without affecting it too much, but I think you'd be able to get away with it much easier in Iron Man.

3/10.

 

[Diego440]

The Notorious Bettie Page (2005) -- Not a bad made-for-TV movie... or rather HBO-Movie. Gretchen Mol's acting is great and the story is good. Good take on the censoreship again, from another viewpoint. But nothing groundbreaking, at least by today's standards. Granted, the movie is set in the 1930s-1950s when S&M was a big deal, and even today it is when it's as graphic as in the movie, but it's never serious. 6.5/10



Alone with Her (2006) -- Apparently this movie made it to theaters, although it should've gone straight to video. It's not that bad, but it could certainly benefit from some more production budget. It's the classic take on the stalker topic, but there's a bit more surprises in this one. And despite the pimply face, Ana Claudia Talancón is very hot. 6/10

 

[Delphic Reason]

Do You Race, remember to use "spoiler" tags as to not give the story away to those who have not seen it yet.

 

[buickgnx88]

So Delphic, care to explain what "spolier" tags are?