Movie Thread

[vitiis]

Watched Insidious last night. Pretty good.

[Invader]

Watched Insidious last night. Pretty good.

It's on DVD already?

[vitiis]

This week, yep.

[Grathius22]

Watched Insidious last night. Pretty good.

That's weird... so did I.

[Grathius22]

I think it's one of the best movies ever made. Hard to believe some people haven't seen it. Good call!

Perfect movie. I'm also awed by this fact. The soundtrack was fantastic, the story was good, Brandon Lee toying with the gang before he kills each one. I laughed so much when he gets shot in the hand and starts freaking out and then turns around and laughs.

R.I.P Brandon Lee.

[RevanJJ]

Perfect movie. I'm also awed by this fact. The soundtrack was fantastic, the story was good, Brandon Lee toying with the gang before he kills each one. I laughed so much when he gets shot in the hand and starts freaking out and then turns around and laughs.

R.I.P Brandon Lee.

DEAD souls by NIN was one of the best songs, but The cure Burn and many others were great as well. :)

RIP Brandon Lee as well. they could make 100 sequels and never match his acting, he was made for that role!

[Epstein_The_Swami]

Trailer for the next Sherlock Holmes movie. Not a fan of the trailer, but I really liked the first one, so fingers crossed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxRKax35rns&feature=feedu

[themaster]

Has anyone here seen My Cousin Vinny?
Just asking.

[RevanJJ]

Has anyone here seen My Cousin Vinny?
Just asking.

Oh yeah. classic. right up there with Spaceballs

[themaster]

It's a million times better than Spaceballs.

[themaster]

OK, just been to see Harry Potter.
Ralph Fiennes and Alan Rickman killed it, especially the former.
yeah, they killed it, then they got killed....

Has anyone else seen it yet?

[Vito_Lucente]

OK, just been to see Harry Potter.
Ralph Fiennes and Alan Rickman killed it, especially the former.
yeah, they killed it, then they got killed....

Has anyone else seen it yet?
I saw the midnight showing with a couple of friends.

[Grathius22]

I watched Hot Rod again. Hilarious movie. I would suggest it. Some scenes that appear out of nowhere and blow your mind away such as the infamous 'Cool Beans' techno scene or this scene here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zObrBPhWUtg. Yes, that is a scene from the movie but relates to the plot in no way at all. :D

I wish more movies were this funny.

[IllusionOfLife]

WARNING: Typically I try to keep my reviews relatively spoiler free, but seeing as most of the world is well aware of the story of Harry Potter, and because I'm going to be contrasting the film with the book, this review will likely contain SPOILERS.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 picks up right where Part 1 left off, with Voldemort defiling Dumbledore's grave in order to obtain the Elder Wand, one of the three legendary Deathly Hallows. From there we go straight to Harry, Ron, and Hermione making preparations to break into Gringotts bank in order to steal the Horcrux hidden in Bellatirx Lestrange's vault. After this brief detour, Harry and company return to Hogwarts to find the last Horcrux and defend the school from a final onslaught from Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

The problem I had with this film is, in a way, the same problem I had with Deathly Hallows - Part 1, and that is that the book, rather than being split in half, was divided with two-thirds of the story being covered in Part 1 and the remaining third being covered in Part 2. I understand the reasoning for this, because they needed to go a bit further with the first movie in order to have some sort of definitive climax to it, however, that leaves this film with nothing to show except climax, and in terms of pacing that just doesn't work for a movie. The first act of this film struggles a bit to strike an appropriate balance of remaining true to the book, while also allowing the events to play as rising action rather than climax straight from the word "go." The scene at Gringotts and some of the action early on at Hogwarts feels a bit uneven, like it's being slightly restrained in order to create some form of rising action for the events that are happening. Having just read the book, there's really not a perfect place to divide it in two without hampering some of its impact in the process, and while I'm appreciative of the decision to split the story over two films as to not lose any important details, the awkward pacing that it causes for both films is an unfortunate side effect of that necessity.

That being said, that is my one and only serious complaint about the movie, and aside from that I have nothing but good things to say. In a year of movies that has left me very underwhelmed, Deathly Hallows - Part 2 is an absolute breath of fresh air. It's the first film of the year that I can truly say is great without reservation. Aside from my previous complaints, David Yates takes everything about this series that has worked in the past and turns it up to eleven. I'm not even sure where to begin describing how excellent most of this movie is.

When the film hits its stride shortly after the start of Act II it had me completely absorbed in its world and left me in awe. Many times people complain with film adaptations of books that what was shown on screen didn't live up to what they had imagined in the book, but in this case, much like the Ministry of Magic climax from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the Battle of Hogwarts as portrayed by David Yates and company was better by far than what I had ever imagined reading the books. I'm not sure what Mr. Yates plans on doing after Harry Potter, but I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for his future works, because he's definitely secured a spot on my list of great directors.

Also, I complained in Part 1 that in order to cover that much ground story wise that the film may have sacrificed a bit of the compelling character drama that was so prevalent in Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, but David Yates more than makes up for that with Deathly Hallows - Part 2. The perfect cast which has been assembled over the last ten years absolutely takes this to a level I never expected. The actors have truly become these characters in a way I don't think I've ever seen before, and the weight of ten years of character development coming to a head in this film is something I've never experienced. I can't remember where, but I heard Daniel Radcliffe joking that he was actually Harry Potter and that Daniel was really the character he was playing, and in a way that's not too far off from the truth. All of these actors have done such a remarkable job portraying these characters that they are, at this point, completely inseparable. Even Alan Rickman who has been in many other great films and portrayed many other great characters, I suspect will always be most well remembered for being Severus Snape. If Warner Bros. or any other studio is ever foolish enough to remake or re-adapt the Harry Potter series... lets just say, I would not want to be the casting director trying to find actors who are anywhere near as perfect for these characters as the ones present in this series.

This film also, far and away, had the most emotional weight of any film in the series. There were several times in this film when I was fighting back tears, and I did actually lose it during Snape's memories in the Pensieve. I know I must sound like a broken record at this point, but Yates was the perfect man to finish the series, and I shudder to think what might have been had this been directed by Chris Columbus as was originally intended.

As disappointing as it was that John Williams was unable to return to score the final two films, Alexandre Desplat pays wonderful tribute to Williams' original scores in this film and it features more of his cue's than any of the films since Prisoner of Azkaban. Hearing the original Hedwig's Theme over the end credits gave me chills, and having the epilogue scored with "Leaving Hogwarts" from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone gave that scene emotion, and a feeling of culmination that I never got from that chapter of the book. I never particularly liked the epilogue in the book, and always considered it slightly anti-climatic, but the film elevates it to a truly satisfying final moment of the series.

This film is a perfect culmination of the series, and David Yates takes 10 years of story told by four different directors and concludes them in a way that not only stands tall on its own but actually retroactively benefits all of the previous films. In many regards, this is, by far, the best Harry Potter film, and if it weren't for the awkward pacing at the beginning I'd give it a perfect score. As it is though, I still consider it at least in the top three of the series (along side Order of the Phoenix and Prisoner of Azkaban) and I'm still deciding whether it tops Year Three to make it into second place. I highly recommend not only this film, but the entire Harry Potter film series, because as good as this film is, it's greatness comes from the culmination of a decade of storytelling. There's definitely a few missteps and some of the films are certainly better than others, but I would still put the Harry Potter film series along side the likes of Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings as one of the best film series of all time.

A

As a bonus, I also thought I'd give a score of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2, as one film. Again, this is tricky, because by structuring it into two films, some of the pacing is awkward, and it's slightly lopsided by having the third Act nearly as long as the first two combined. However, this story definitely was intended to function as a single whole, and the films do a nice job of building into each other. I would personally love to see a cut of the film that puts both Parts together as a whole, not just two movies back to back, but recut in a way to make them a seamless one. As they are now, though, I would have to put the single score of Deathly Hallows right in between the scores I gave Part 1 and Part 2.

A-

[Vito_Lucente]

WARNING: Typically I try to keep my reviews relatively spoiler free, but seeing as most of the world is well aware of the story of Harry Potter, and because I'm going to be contrasting the film with the book, this review will likely contain SPOILERS.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 picks up right where Part 1 left off, with Voldemort defiling Dumbledore's grave in order to obtain the Elder Wand, one of the three legendary Deathly Hallows. From there we go straight to Harry, Ron, and Hermione making preparations to break into Gringotts bank in order to steal the Horcrux hidden in Bellatirx Lestrange's vault. After this brief detour, Harry and company return to Hogwarts to find the last Horcrux and defend the school from a final onslaught from Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

The problem I had with this film is, in a way, the same problem I had with Deathly Hallows - Part 1, and that is that the book, rather than being split in half, was divided with two-thirds of the story being covered in Part 1 and the remaining third being covered in Part 2. I understand the reasoning for this, because they needed to go a bit further with the first movie in order to have some sort of definitive climax to it, however, that leaves this film with nothing to show except climax, and in terms of pacing that just doesn't work for a movie. The first act of this film struggles a bit to strike an appropriate balance of remaining true to the book, while also allowing the events to play as rising action rather than climax straight from the word "go." The scene at Gringotts and some of the action early on at Hogwarts feels a bit uneven, like it's being slightly restrained in order to create some form of rising action for the events that are happening. Having just read the book, there's really not a perfect place to divide it in two without hampering some of its impact in the process, and while I'm appreciative of the decision to split the story over two films as to not lose any important details, the awkward pacing that it causes for both films is an unfortunate side effect of that necessity.

That being said, that is my one and only serious complaint about the movie, and aside from that I have nothing but good things to say. In a year of movies that has left me very underwhelmed, Deathly Hallows - Part 2 is an absolute breath of fresh air. It's the first film of the year that I can truly say is great without reservation. Aside from my previous complaints, David Yates takes everything about this series that has worked in the past and turns it up to eleven. I'm not even sure where to begin describing how excellent most of this movie is.

When the film hits its stride shortly after the start of Act II it had me completely absorbed in its world and left me in awe. Many times people complain with film adaptations of books that what was shown on screen didn't live up to what they had imagined in the book, but in this case, much like the Ministry of Magic climax from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the Battle of Hogwarts as portrayed by David Yates and company was better by far than what I had ever imagined reading the books. I'm not sure what Mr. Yates plans on doing after Harry Potter, but I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for his future works, because he's definitely secured a spot on my list of great directors.

Also, I complained in Part 1 that in order to cover that much ground story wise that the film may have sacrificed a bit of the compelling character drama that was so prevalent in Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, but David Yates more than makes up for that with Deathly Hallows - Part 2. The perfect cast which has been assembled over the last ten years absolutely takes this to a level I never expected. The actors have truly become these characters in a way I don't think I've ever seen before, and the weight of ten years of character development coming to a head in this film is something I've never experienced. I can't remember where, but I heard Daniel Radcliffe joking that he was actually Harry Potter and that Daniel was really the character he was playing, and in a way that's not too far off from the truth. All of these actors have done such a remarkable job portraying these characters that they are, at this point, completely inseparable. Even Alan Rickman who has been in many other great films and portrayed many other great characters, I suspect will always be most well remembered for being Severus Snape. If Warner Bros. or any other studio is ever foolish enough to remake or re-adapt the Harry Potter series... lets just say, I would not want to be the casting director trying to find actors who are anywhere near as perfect for these characters as the ones present in this series.

This film also, far and away, had the most emotional weight of any film in the series. There were several times in this film when I was fighting back tears, and I did actually lose it during Snape's memories in the Pensieve. I know I must sound like a broken record at this point, but Yates was the perfect man to finish the series, and I shudder to think what might have been had this been directed by Chris Columbus as was originally intended.

As disappointing as it was that John Williams was unable to return to score the final two films, Alexandre Desplat pays wonderful tribute to Williams' original scores in this film and it features more of his cue's than any of the films since Prisoner of Azkaban. Hearing the original Hedwig's Theme over the end credits gave me chills, and having the epilogue scored with "Leaving Hogwarts" from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone gave that scene emotion, and a feeling of culmination that I never got from that chapter of the book. I never particularly liked the epilogue in the book, and always considered it slightly anti-climatic, but the film elevates it to a truly satisfying final moment of the series.

This film is a perfect culmination of the series, and David Yates takes 10 years of story told by four different directors and concludes them in a way that not only stands tall on its own but actually retroactively benefits all of the previous films. In many regards, this is, by far, the best Harry Potter film, and if it weren't for the awkward pacing at the beginning I'd give it a perfect score. As it is though, I still consider it at least in the top three of the series (along side Order of the Phoenix and Prisoner of Azkaban) and I'm still deciding whether it tops Year Three to make it into second place. I highly recommend not only this film, but the entire Harry Potter film series, because as good as this film is, it's greatness comes from the culmination of a decade of storytelling. There's definitely a few missteps and some of the films are certainly better than others, but I would still put the Harry Potter film series along side the likes of Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings as one of the best film series of all time.

A

As a bonus, I also thought I'd give a score of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2, as one film. Again, this is tricky, because by structuring it into two films, some of the pacing is awkward, and it's slightly lopsided by having the third Act nearly as long as the first two combined. However, this story definitely was intended to function as a single whole, and the films do a nice job of building into each other. I would personally love to see a cut of the film that puts both Parts together as a whole, not just two movies back to back, but recut in a way to make them a seamless one. As they are now, though, I would have to put the single score of Deathly Hallows right in between the scores I gave Part 1 and Part 2.

A-

I went to see the midnight showing with some friends, and I couldn't agree more. I lol'd when Voldemort hugged Malfoy.

[X1 BLACKOUT 1X]

Currently planning a Saw movie marathon with the guys. They'll come over about nine in the morning and, allowing each movie an estimated two hour run time, be finished around three am - including a couple of breaks between the movies.

[themaster]

Voldemort was so funny in that movie. He was casted perfectly.
Snape was excellent too. Props to the actors.

[Vito_Lucente]

Voldemort was so funny in that movie. He was casted perfectly.
Snape was excellent too. Props to the actors.

When Snape said Harry had his mother's eyes, I said "You're like a swan, I could stare at you for hours."

[themaster]

When Snape said Harry had his mother's eyes, I said "You're like a swan, I could stare at you for hours."

Um, you'd stare at Snape for hours?

Snape is cool, but Alan Rickman is just as good in the very funny movie Galaxy Quest, which roasts my favourite genre, SCIENCE FICTION (in a good way). If you haven't watched, you need to see it. Funniest bit in that movie, imo is when Rickman saves a room of aliens from something or other, and he's all pleased because he finally saved someone without the help of his Captain, Captain Taggart (Tim Allen, I think). The aliens proceed to react with "Captain Taggart has saved us! Rejoice!" and the look on Rickman's face is one of pure exasperation. LOL gets me every time.

[brxbrx]

Anybody like John Waters?
I liked Pecker, I liked Hairspray, I liked Serial Mom, so I thought Pink Flamingos might be fun...

Oh dear was I unprepared.

[IllusionOfLife]

The Dark Knight Rises Teaser Trailer:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2054374751994&oid=225034700870481&comments

[Vito_Lucente]

It rained alot. We had all types of rain in Vietnam, big old fat rain, rain that flew in sideways, and rain that seemed to jump up at you from underneath....

Forrest Gump

[RevanJJ]

Going to see Harry Potter tomorrow! I missed the opening thanks to my sickness, but I don't care if my arms fall off, I am still going tomorrow! LOL I want to rent Insidious. Heard that was very good

[themaster]

Going to see Harry Potter tomorrow! I missed the opening thanks to my sickness, but I don't care if my arms fall off, I am still going tomorrow! LOL I want to rent Insidious. Heard that was very good

Make sure you notice Voldemort's awkward hug. That got me so good.
Fiennes killed it in that film, quite literally.

Alan Rickman did an awesome job too. If I'm going to miss any actor/character in HP the most, it'd be him.

[Vito_Lucente]

Make sure you notice Voldemort's awkward hug. That got me so good.
Fiennes killed it in that film, quite literally.

Alan Rickman did an awesome job too. If I'm going to miss any actor/character in HP the most, it'd be him.

I laughed so much when he hugged him. Also, this is the best movie in the series, you'll like it.

[RevanJJ]

Make sure you notice Voldemort's awkward hug. That got me so good.
Fiennes killed it in that film, quite literally.

Alan Rickman did an awesome job too. If I'm going to miss any actor/character in HP the most, it'd be him.

Wow Ive gotta see that! LOL. That DEFINITELY wasnt in the book! LOL

[X1 BLACKOUT 1X]

I wanna see Cowboys and Aliens. Me and my friends are gunna dress up as cowboys and aliens :D

[RevanJJ]

I wanna see Cowboys and Aliens. Me and my friends are gunna dress up as cowboys and aliens :D

LOL. Cool. I want to see that as well. Im still trying to get over that stink bomb called Transformers 3.

[brxbrx]

So no John Waters fans here, huh...

How about Werner Herzog? Anybody seen Stroczek?

Anybody into Spike Lee? I liked Bamboozled and Do the Right Thing.

How about Jude Law? I love me some movies with Jude Law. I think I first saw him in Gattaca (a must). After that I watched a bunch of movies by him. Alfie, Breaking and Entering, The Holiday...
Speaking of Jude Law makes me miss Heath Ledger... They had such great chemistry!

And lest you all think I'm an elitist snob, let me say that I absolutely LOVED The Hangover. I'm waiting for a decent rip of part two to emerge on the scene, though, because I don't feel like leaving the house to go see it in theaters.

And I liked the Potter films. I loved the Potter books.

[Mr.Plum]

Saw Deathly Hallows Part Two the other day and while it's by far the best thing I've seen this year, I was still slightly disappointed. I felt the battle scene tried to be too epic which made if feel out of place. Most of the effects were great, but every so often there would be just horrendously done effects. This movie also jammed a lot of characters into this movie and their conclusions weren't as satisfying as a result. Harry and Voledmort's duel was too short and not that exciting considering how the entire series built to that battle. The film felt rushed near the end.

Snape's reveal was the best part of the movie in my opinion.

[IllusionOfLife]

Full Disclosure: I have yet to see Thor, so when I say Captain America: The First Avenger is, in my opinion, the best Marvel Studios film to date, it is without Thor being taken into consideration. That being said, with all I've heard about Thor, I'm not inclined to believe it tops Captain America.

So yes, Captain America is the best Marvel Studios film to date (and by Marvel Studios I'm specifically referring to everything after Iron Man, although, this film is better than 90% of the Marvel films that came out prior to 2008 as well). It's a wonderfully old-school action film that tonally feels akin to the likes of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Last Crusade, the performances are top notch, and it's just loads of fun from beginning to end.

One of the things that most impressed me about this film was the character of Captain America himself. The character can essentially be summed up in two words: good guy. In many cases having a lead character with such a one-note personality could be a detriment to the film and could come off as corny or boring (much like Superman in Superman Returns), but here, it miraculously works. And it doesn't just work, Steve Rogers, despite his lack of dimensionality is really the driving force of the whole film who you root for and empathize with. He never comes across as anything less than believable, and I think a large part of this stems from the way that Joe Johnston and company portray him from the get go. As the film starts, Steve Rogers is the epitome of underdog; he is scrawny, down on his luck, and unable to accomplish the thing he most desires. The film sets the character up in such a way that the audience connects with him as the underdog and that connection lasts even after he becomes Captain America, the biggest, toughest, guy on the battlefield. He still reads as the same character because his core goodness doesn't change. It's the rare case where a character without any kind of traditional arc is actually the right choice for the film, and Chris Evans' performance absolutely makes this character.

The first half of the movie, by itself, is better than just about everything else that has come out this year (excluding Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows). After that point though, the film starts to hit a minor case of the Second Act sag, where I started to feel a bit of action overload with no real pressing plot issues. However, this is resolved fairly quickly and the climax of the film works really well, and leads ultimately to a fantastic ending.

Another element of this film that works very well is the integration of the Avengers continuity. Many people have complained that since the Avengers initiative was announced at the end of the first Iron Man that many of the Marvel films have suffered, to an extent, by trying to force continuity between the different characters into every film, Iron Man 2 was the worst example of this. However, Captain America works wonderfully in that none of the Avengers continuity elements feel intrusive or forced, it all fits very naturally into the narrative, and, in fact, would have actually hurt the movie if it had not been present. This is the way I wish the rest of the films had been handled, because this film, more than any other, has made me excited for seeing The Avengers next May.

There's also some fantastic fan-service in this film, and even though I've never really been a comic book nerd (I'm a nerd, by all accounts, but I've never fit into that variety) it still had me grinning from ear to ear.

My biggest complaint with this film, aside from the aforementioned Second Act sag, would be the character of Red Skull. Like Captain America, Red Skull is very two-dimensional, but it doesn't play as well as it does for our hero. Red Skull just was not a particularly compelling villain, and while it's not necessarily damaging to the film, it's one of the few dull elements that, when compared to everything else, stands out a bit.

We may have had to wait a while, but 2011 has finally started to turn up in terms of excellent movies this month. Captain America is an amazing summer blockbuster with great talent both in front of and behind the camera. The cast from Chris Evans to Tommy Lee Jones to Hayley Atwell give great performances, the writing from Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely is great, and it's all headed with wonderful direction from Joe Johnston. I definitely recommend this film.

A-

[GunGraveTZA]

I love all kinds of movies, but I lean towards Action/Adventure and Horror.

I watched The Shining when I was 11.

Never again.

[brxbrx]

I love all kinds of movies, but I lean towards Action/Adventure and Horror.

I watched The Shining when I was 11.

Never again.
I saw Mars Attacks when I was six or something. I walked out of the theater crying.
I had recurring nightmares about a comedy film for years afterwards.

[Vito_Lucente]

I love all kinds of movies, but I lean towards Action/Adventure and Horror.

I watched The Shining when I was 11.

Never again.

When I first saw the Shining I literally couldn't sleep for 3 days, and was afraid to go to hotels for a time.

Also, I saw Captain America last night, and it was great!!

[IllusionOfLife]

I finally got a chance to see Winnie the Pooh which I've been dying to see and I loved it. It was not anything particularly profound or extraordinary, but Winnie the Pooh doesn't need to be that. It was absolutely perfect in the sense that it's the best Winnie the Pooh movie anyone could possibly make. It is the perfect example of beauty in simplicity, and as a long-time animation nerd, and Disney fanboy, I loved every minute of it.

A-

[RevanJJ]

Watched Red Riding Hood and Insidious today. Both were good. Now time for some Spaceballs, lol.

[Invader]

Watched Knowing yesterday. Awesome movie IMO.

[Vito_Lucente]

I finally got a chance to see Winnie the Pooh which I've been dying to see and I loved it. It was not anything particularly profound or extraordinary, but Winnie the Pooh doesn't need to be that. It was absolutely perfect in the sense that it's the best Winnie the Pooh movie anyone could possibly make. It is the perfect example of beauty in simplicity, and as a long-time animation nerd, and Disney fanboy, I loved every minute of it.

A-
I want to see it. Like really bad.

[IllusionOfLife]

Ugh, this is one of those reviews I hate writing; critiquing something that's neither very good, nor particularly bad is hard, and that's where Cowboys & Aliens stands.

The film starts off well enough, there's some really great build up to both the mystery and to the central conflict; the opening scenes are everything I was hoping from this film. There are some great performances by Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and several other actors, and the classic Western vibe with a strange sci-fi twist works really well here. However, after the first act things start to slowly lose momentum.

The narrative is fairly straight forward, and doesn't really have too many interesting twists and turns, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. On the same token, none of the characters really connected with me and the film never gave me a reason to care about them or their motivations. Again, neither of these things are particularly fatal in their own right, I've seen plenty of enjoyable movies that have either a simple narrative or characters who aren't properly fleshed out, but the problem here is that you have both issues simultaneously. It's hard to get caught up in the story because it's mostly straight forward and predictable, and it's hard to get emotionally invested in the characters because the film never gives them the time to connect with each other, much less the audience. As a result things just happen on screen for about two hours, and none of it is necessarily bad in any way, in fact it's sometimes quite entertaining, but as a viewer I was never given any reason to care about any of it and so it just ended up feeling hollow.

And that's about all I really have to say. I know this is shorter than my first weekend reviews typically are, but I really don't have a lot to say about this movie, because I really don't feel like it gave me a lot. With the exception of the First Act nothing made me intrigued or emotionally invested or even particularly excited. I had high hopes for this movie, between a great cast, a great director, and an interesting and unique concept I thought this was sure to be one of the surefire home runs of the summer, but instead it's just severely underwhelming. Not bad, but not particularly good either, go see Captain America or Harry Potter instead (or Winnie the Pooh, if you can find a theater that's still playing it, I can't get over how clueless Disney was with the release date on that one, but I digress).

C+

[amyotaku]

Action and Adventure and a little Horror.

[I-ChooseTheImpossible]

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is amazing, everyone simply must watch it.

[Grathius22]

My recent obsession has been with the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. It's a film about the final week of Jesus starting with his entry into Jerusalem and ending with the crucifixion. It really is fantastic, with and outstanding cast including Ted Neely as Jesus, who has played that roll on stage for thirty years, and Carl Anderson as Judas, the man who betrays Christ.

I find the film to be very fantastic. The visual display beautiful (Filmed in Israel), and colorful. The music is good, catchy, upbeat and sung by good singers. The references to the Vietnam war are vibrant and often used, tanks chasing down Judas, fighter jets going to find Christ, military rifles sold at the market place, Romans with submachine guns, etc.

The movie is mostly from Judas' point of view, telling how he thinks Jesus is getting out of hand and is only going to get himself and others hurt. Judas warns Jesus multiple times to no avail, and tries to tell his followers that Jesus is not as important as the things he teaches. The subplot being the high priests of Jerusalem plotting how to stop Jesus from tipping the power balance in a different angle. Meanwhile, Jesus tries to deal with knowing that his followers will betray and forget him.

The two main characters, Judas and Jesus being the most vibrant and fantastic of the singers.

The film is very emotional and moving. Some of the scenes are even chilling, a bit frightening, such as Judas' suicide scene and the crucifixion where Jesus is nailed onto the cross and people look up and laugh at him as he bleeds out. Then Jesus proceeds to ask God to forgive them all, for they did not know what they did and what their actions would lead to.


I give the movie an A.

To get a good taste of it, I'd suggest watching the videos linked below. They are songs from the film.

Heaven on Their Minds sung by Judas (Carl Anderson). (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDzxn66W3uM)

Judas' Death sung by Judas (Carl Anderson), Caiaphas (Bob Bingham), and Annas (Kurt Yaghijan) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1xL6vtLM9U&feature=related)

The Temple and The Lepers sung by Jesus (Ted Neely).
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FJ1LP4HysQ)

Trial Before Pilate and 39 Lashes sung by Jesus (Ted Neely), Pilate (Barry Dennen). (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2HMVjv1nvU&feature=related)

And finally...

Superstar sung by Judas (Carl Anderson).
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_HIXP4e7BI&feature=related)
Keep in mind that there is a modern remake which is called Jesus Christ Superstar 2000 which is also good, but this one is better.

[Zvriel Chkies]

Faster. A wierd film. It was advertised as action in the cinema and trailers.
And it is action. Just very odd action.

[Supr49er]

I like historical dramas like Elizabeth.

[BloodnGlory]

Wheres my favroite submarine movie Das Boot? That or The Hunt for Red October.

[Daddy Is Strong!]

I recently saw Mary and Max.. Jesus, this thing was a masterpiece.

[Vito_Lucente]

Wheres my favroite submarine movie Das Boot? That or The Hunt for Red October.

What about Yellow Submarine???

I like how Das Boot is told from the point of view of the Germans rather than the Allies. And Sean Connery was awesome in Red October.

[Invader]

What about Yellow Submarine???

I like how Das Boot is told from the point of view of the Germans rather than the Allies. And Sean Connery was awesome in Red October.

I've only read the book version of Red October, but I really liked it. Never seen Das Boot, though. I've always wanted to.

[Vito_Lucente]

I've only read the book version of Red October, but I really liked it. Never seen Das Boot, though. I've always wanted to.

Das Boot is really good. So is Red October.

[Invader]

Das Boot is really good. So is Red October.

I might look Das Boot up on Netflix.

Also, it just occured to me that Jack from Bioshock is a reference to Red October. I hadn't really thought about that. Should've caught on sooner... >_>

[BloodnGlory]

I might look Das Boot up on Netflix.

Also, it just occured to me that Jack from Bioshock is a reference to Red October. I hadn't really thought about that. Should've caught on sooner... >_>

Wow, diddo...

[Vito_Lucente]

Last night I saw a wonderful movie called "Hobo With a Shotgun". It was the most amazing movie ever. :D

Has anyone else on here seen Hobo With a Shotgun???

[BloodnGlory]

No but now I want too...

[Vito_Lucente]

It was the best thing ever.
"When life gives you razor blades, you make a baseball bat covered with razor blades."
"I want to cut off my d**k and rub it all over your titties!"

Those are a couple of memorable quotes from the movie.

[Vito_Lucente]

I just got back from seeing Kung Fu Panda 2. It was better than the first one, IMO.

[BloodnGlory]

Saw 28 weeks later....again, ok I atmit it im adicted

[Vito_Lucente]

I liked 28 Days Later more, personally.

[BloodnGlory]

True It was beter but I like the 28 Weeks Later soundtrack soo much!!!!

[Grathius22]

Going to watch Heavy Metal again at some point.

Fantastic movie. Fantastic soundtrack.

[BloodnGlory]

True Grit was great! Now I need to know the name of the song in the trallier

[FallenVamphyre]

Watched Repo: The Genetic Opera for the 40th time.

If you've never seen it, watch it: NOW.

[Theta-Sigma]

Watched Repo: The Genetic Opera for the 40th time.

If you've never seen it, watch it: NOW.

☺☺☺☺ing awesome movie! :D

[X1 BLACKOUT 1X]

Don't be Afraid of the Dark was actually really good. Not scary in the least, but it was awesome. I love the take on the tooth fairy they went with :D

[Vito_Lucente]

Don't be Afraid of the Dark was actually really good. Not scary in the least, but it was awesome. I love the take on the tooth fairy they went with :D

Guillermo del Toro is a pretty good director. Y'know he's coming out with a game soon?

Repo! The Genetic Opera is amazing by the way.

[IllusionOfLife]

True Grit was great! Now I need to know the name of the song in the trallier

Johnny Cash – God's Gonna Cut You Down

[X1 BLACKOUT 1X]

Guillermo del Toro is a pretty good director. Y'know he's coming out with a game soon?

Repo! The Genetic Opera is amazing by the way.

Is it a scary game 0.o?

[Vito_Lucente]

Is it a scary game 0.o?

Well he said it's a horror game, somewhat like Silent Hill. It hasn't come out yet, so we'll see. It's called Insanity.

[BloodnGlory]

True Grit was verry good!

[RaptureWillBeReborn]

Watched Repo: The Genetic Opera for the 40th time.

If you've never seen it, watch it: NOW.
I like the part where the guy I forgot his name starts tearing out the other guy's intestines while signing, and then his heart gets pulled out.

I barfed, but it was awesome.

☺☺☺☺ing awesome movie! :D
Agreed.

Well he said it's a horror game, somewhat like Silent Hill. It hasn't come out yet, so we'll see. It's called Insanity.

*squint*

Toro... Y U STEAL MY (dead) GAME?!?!?!?!?!

Also, i'm watching Pendragon's version of War of the Worlds.

OHGODMYEYES!

But my ears are loving it.

[BloodnGlory]

Im sitting here whaching The yellow submarine....Also ive got a hole in mi pocket.

[Simas1330]

Watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes last night and I gotta say it was a pretty cool movie. I went there expecting another Conan the Barbarian fiasco and it turned out great. :)

[Vito_Lucente]

I just saw the trailer for the Hunger Games movie. I'm so looking forward to it!

[IllusionOfLife]

The Muppets is essentially flawless. I know this is a weird way to start a review, but I feel I should just forego formalities and cut to the chase. This year has been a fairly disappointing year for movies, but The Muppets just about makes up for it all by itself. It's an absolutely life-affirming tribute to beloved characters and memories that should have never been allowed to fade into obscurity, and if you care at all about movies you need to see this, as soon as possible.

Jason Segel, along with co-writer Nicholas Stoller and director James Bobin have made a film that is just absolutely bursting at the seams with affection towards the Muppets, and that love and passion has instantly rocketed this movie to the very top of the list when it comes to long history of Muppet shows, movies, and even viral videos. The film is one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time and accomplishes this without being crass or cynical; it's smart, witty, and most importantly, completely heartfelt. Jason Segel with his obvious and undying love for the Muppets is, by all accounts, the most deserving person to be given creative control of the Muppets since Jim Henson himself.

The original Muppet Movie will always be a timeless classic, and it's charm and legacy will likely never be topped by another Muppet movie. However, The Muppets is the closest it has ever come, and, due to the timeliness and poignancy of the story, I would argue that right at this moment it is more relevant and moving than even the 1979 classic. I was unable to stop smiling during the entire running time of the movie, even while tears were coming to my eyes.

I know I'm not really reviewing the movie right now, and I'm more just beaming about how much I loved it, but really, I feel it would be a disservice to go into details about this movie. Simply put, you need to see it, and if you don't you're robbing yourself of a truly extraordinary film experience. This is the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational movie of the year. Go see it. Right now. I mean it, go buy tickets for this weekend, and you can thank me later.

A+

[Vito_Lucente]

The Muppets is essentially flawless. I know this is a weird way to start a review, but I feel I should just forego formalities and cut to the chase. This year has been a fairly disappointing year for movies, but The Muppets just about makes up for it all by itself. It's an absolutely life-affirming tribute to beloved characters and memories that should have never been allowed to fade into obscurity, and if you care at all about movies you need to see this, as soon as possible.

Jason Segel, along with co-writer Nicholas Stoller and director James Bobin have made a film that is just absolutely bursting at the seams with affection towards the Muppets, and that love and passion has instantly rocketed this movie to the very top of the list when it comes to long history of Muppet shows, movies, and even viral videos. The film is one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time and accomplishes this without being crass or cynical; it's smart, witty, and most importantly, completely heartfelt. Jason Segel with his obvious and undying love for the Muppets is, by all accounts, the most deserving person to be given creative control of the Muppets since Jim Henson himself.

The original Muppet Movie will always be a timeless classic, and it's charm and legacy will likely never be topped by another Muppet movie. However, The Muppets is the closest it has ever come, and, due to the timeliness and poignancy of the story, I would argue that right at this moment it is more relevant and moving than even the 1979 classic. I was unable to stop smiling during the entire running time of the movie, even while tears were coming to my eyes.

I know I'm not really reviewing the movie right now, and I'm more just beaming about how much I loved it, but really, I feel it would be a disservice to go into details about this movie. Simply put, you need to see it, and if you don't you're robbing yourself of a truly extraordinary film experience. This is the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational movie of the year. Go see it. Right now. I mean it, go buy tickets for this weekend, and you can thank me later.

A+

I want to see it so much.

[Atlas-]

I film that suprised me recently is source code. It was far better than I thought it would be. I'll post a proper review lateer but for now, Watch It.

[IllusionOfLife]

I film that suprised me recently is source code. It was far better than I thought it would be. I'll post a proper review lateer but for now, Watch It.

I was impressed by it too, but I found the ending a little disappointing. I won't go into spoilers, but it felt like the director had a certain ending in mind, but wasn't allowed to do it because of the studio.

[Fugue]

Source Code is a great film, thought the ending was good.

one that did surprise me was Rise of the Planet of the Apes, saw trailers at the cinema and it just looked a bit ****, only watched it a few days ago and was actually very good.

[Simas1330]

I watched "Cannibal Holocaust" last night. I'm not proud of it.

Should I watch "A Serbian Film"? We'll see.

[Vito_Lucente]

I watched "Cannibal Holocaust" last night. I'm not proud of it.

Should I watch "A Serbian Film"? We'll see.

Dear god. I saw Cannibal Holocaust once. I've regretted it for the rest of my life.

[Simas1330]

Dear god. I saw Cannibal Holocaust once. I've regretted it for the rest of my life.

It's like 2 girls 1 cup all over again....
Except it's 90 minutes long, and in italian.

Anyway, I heard "A Serbian Film" is much, much worse. And I mean it.

[Vito_Lucente]

It's like 2 girls 1 cup all over again....
Except it's 90 minutes long, and in italian.

Anyway, I heard "A Serbian Film" is much, much worse. And I mean it.
I saw a couple of scenes from A Serbian Film. I nearly puked. I probably shouldn't tell what happens in those scenes or I'll get an infraction.

[Fugue]

don't really understand the appeal of torture porn, am a big horror fan but most of those sort of films since Saw have just tried to out gross each other, it's that just or endless remakes :(

[Simas1330]

don't really understand the appeal of torture porn, am a big horror fan but most of those sort of films since Saw have just tried to out gross each other, it's that just or endless remakes :(

Cannibal Holocaust is from 1980, I think.

Some people like being grossed out....

[Fugue]

not seen CH, know of it as it one of the most notorious horror films but Cannibal films don't appeal to me either, are still some good low budget/indi and euro films around but mainstream is getting very dull, trouble with horror has always been that a theme takes over then is done to death (sorry!) often only getting worse.

have just watched the remake of Fright Night, normally I avoid remakes but it was actually quite good :eek:

[Vito_Lucente]

Yeah, Cannibal Holocaust was released in 1980, and banned in 33 (?) countries. It's a terrible, gross film, but did influence horror movies. (ie: The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, [REC])

[IllusionOfLife]

So one of the upcoming films I am most excited for is John Carter. It is Andrew Stanton's (director of Finding Nemo and WALL•E) first live action film. Check out the trailer here (http://youtu.be/nlvYKl1fjBI)

Now sharing the trailer with you is only part of the reason I'm here. The other, much more important reason is I want to do my part to help put a damper on the flood of ignorance that has been associated with this trailer. Now, how many of you, while watching this trailer, thought to yourselves "hey, that looks like Avatar" or "wow, that first scene is just ripping off Attack of the Clones?" *waits for hands to raise* Ah, exactly as I suspected. Well get ready to have your minds blown, because I'm here to tell you that this is not an Avatar/Star Wars rip-off, in fact, it's the other way around.

"But Illusion," I hear you say "Star Wars came out in 1977 and Avatar came out two years ago, how did they rip off a movie that hasn't even come out yet?" Well I'm very glad you asked, and to answer that question we're going to take a trip on the "way back machine" all the way back to 1912. In February of 1912, a young author by the name of Edgar Rice Burroughs had a short serial story published in All-Story Magazine called Under the Moons of Mars. This serial was actually the first part of a novel titled A Princess of Mars which told the story of John Carter, a soldier in the American Civil War, who is transported to Mars and gets caught up in a conflict between warring factions on the planet. Around the same time, Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote what would become his most well-known novel, Tarzan of the Apes.

While Tarzan is still remembered due to the countless retellings and adaptations, A Princess of Mars and the rest of the Barsoom series eventually faded into obscurity, but not before it managed to captivate the minds of many people who love Science Fiction. A Princess of Mars is considered by many to be the origin of modern Science Fiction and its story has been borrowed from (and blatantly ripped-of) by the likes of Star Wars, Avatar, Flash Gordan, and countless other science fiction stories.

For 70 years Hollywood has been trying and failing to produce an adaptation of A Princess of Mars. That was the case until 2007 when Disney acquired the rights and gave Pixar director and life-long fan of the Barsoom series the opportunity to direct the adaptation as his first live action film. The movie is set to come out in March next year, 100 years and one month after Under the Moons of Mars debuted in All-Story Magazine, and I for one fully expect it to be one of the must-see movies of the year.

tl;dr John Carter is coming, it's going to be awesome, and it is NOT a rip-off of Star Wars, Avatar, or anything else.

[Vito_Lucente]

http://www.slendermanfilm.com/

[Henry-Tomasino]

My favourite movies... The blues brothers(1980) and Reservoir dogs(1992)

[Atlas-]

My favourite movies... The blues brothers(1980) and Reservoir dogs(1992)

A man of taste indeed two excellent films.

[IllusionOfLife]

I'll admit it, I've never been hugely passionate about the Mission: Impossible series (in fact, until I re-watched the movies this week I hardly remembered them), and when I first heard that a fourth Mission: Impossible was in the works I couldn't have been less interested. That is until I read the words "Brad Bird has signed to direct." Those six words instantly rocketed this film up to the top of my most anticipated list, and his live action debut does not disappoint. Not one single bit.

The Mission: Impossible series has had a bit of a rocky past. The first film is a decent spy thriller with a clever twist, the second movie is borderline self-parody with it's over-the-top antics, and the third movie was the previous high point of the series with exciting action blended with strong characterization. With each new installment a new director has brought a new element to the series, and the element that Brad Bird brings to M:I-GP is scope. Massive, exciting, jaw-dropping scope. This is easily the biggest, boldest, and most ambitious Mission: Impossible film to date, and as far as I can recall at the moment, the biggest, boldest, most ambitious action film in general since Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

Brad Bird handles his first live action film like an old pro and puts many other "veteran" action directors to shame. The pacing is impeccable, moving seamlessly from massive action spectacles to more downplayed character moments without ever losing momentum; the action is big without being silly; and the action sequences are breathtakingly shot and choreographed and constantly leave you picking your jaw up off the ground. The marketing has really played up the scene in Dubai in which Ethan Hunt scales the Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world) from the outside, and I began to worry that the scene wouldn't live up to all the hype. It does. Especially in the expanded IMAX aspect ratio, this scene is an absolute masterwork in tension, and while this may be the high point of the action in the film, the other sequences stand nearly as tall. From a chase scene during a sandstorm, to a fist fight dodging loading and unloading cars in a parking garage the action is fast-paced, hard-hitting, and fun.

This is Brad Bird we're talking about, though, and so he's not content with putting contemporary action directors to shame, he also makes sure that the story and characters get their proper focus and time to shine. The story of this movie never reaches the emotional heights of Bird's previous works like Ratatouille or The Iron Giant, but this type of movie really doesn't call for that. The story hearkens back to Cold War tensions and old-school spy scenarios while still feeling modern and fresh. It's the perfect pairing of classic storytelling with modern polish and style. As for the cast of characters, everyone in this movie is great. The previous movies have all focussed the attention on Ethan Hunt, and while Hunt is definitely still the "lead" in this movie, the ensemble cast is much more important than they've ever been before with each member of the team getting almost equal screen time and a strong sense of purpose propelling the story. Simon Pegg steals the show with his brilliant comedic timing, but Paula Patton and Jeremy Renner both give strong, multi-faceted performances, and their characters are invaluable to the film. The villain this time around is not quite as memorable as Philip Seymour Hoffman's character from M:i:III, but the story is much more focussed on the IMF team this time around and having a major heavy like that probably would have made the focus of the film uneven.

Brad Bird has already proven himself to be a brilliant filmmaker with three of the best films of the last decade, but for anyone foolish enough to think he couldn't handle live action just as well Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol should drive the point home. Bird handles the movie with the grace and assuredness of someone who has been making films like this for years. This is one of the year's best films and one of the best action movies I've seen in quite a while. I definitely recommend this movie, and also encourage you to see it in IMAX. While nothing I have seen in the format so far has quite matched the level of awesome that was The Dark Knight in IMAX, M:I-GP uses the format very well and the action scenes that take advantage of the full aspect ratio are incredible to behold.

Now, let's just hope the execs at Warner Bros. take note of this and give Brad Bird the budget he needs to make 1906. That's a movie that I cannot wait to see green lit.

A

P.S. The Dark Knight Rises trailer… Holy ☺☺☺☺!

[IllusionOfLife]

Apologies for the double post, but I have a new review here and I don't necessarily want to tack it on to the previous post so… here we go.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was a bit of a disappointment. While by no means a bad movie, it just didn't have the spark of the original.

The point of Sherlock Holmes has always been the fact that he really doesn't care about much other than solving his latest mystery. That's why he has no friends aside from Watson, what few romantic relations he's had have always been a bit screwed up, and he's addicted to drugs. While the first movie didn't quite capture those elements to the degree that they could have been (see the TV series House if you want the best version of Sherlock Holmes ever put to screen) they were still present and the film understood Holme's character. This movie doesn't understand Holmes. It tries to play him off as a heroic figure, which was never the point. Holmes doesn't solve crime out of moral obligation or a sense of heroism, he does it for the thrill of solving a new mystery, it's a game for him and one of the few things he truly enjoys.

The story this time around was solemn and heavy-handed and didn't allow itself to be fun like the first film was; the mystery was not very compelling and, in fact, hard to follow for most of the movie; but perhaps the biggest issue in the film was the wasted presence of one of literature's most well-known villains. Professor Moriarty, while played very well by Jared Harris, was a let down as a villain. Until the end of the movie, his conflict with Holmes didn't feel like two of the greatest minds of all time locked in a battle of wits, instead you weren't even really sure why this guy was supposed to be a villain outside of the fact that the movie told you he is.

I noticed that this time around there was a different writing team for the film which makes sense because the flaws in the movie felt like they came from the screenplay. The cast was just as good as last time, the direction was fine, but the focus of the story just wasn't there. I would definitely give this film another watch and suspect I'll appreciate it more the second time, but I can't recommend seeing it in theaters. Pick it up at redbox when it comes out on Blu-Ray. In the mean time, go see Mission: Impossible or The Muppets again.

C+

[Vito_Lucente]

I watched Monty Python and The Holy Grail, and Monty Python's Life of Brian today. lulz

EDIT: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/#lb-vi1699192345 YES!! YESSSS!!!

[Incinerator]

Did anyone mention Contaigen? I can't be bothered to check.

[Fugue]

I watched Monty Python and The Holy Grail, and Monty Python's Life of Brian today. lulz

EDIT: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/#lb-vi1699192345 YES!! YESSSS!!!

not impressed by the Hobbit trailer, gutted Del Toro didn't do it :( am sure his vision would have been better, the Batman & Prometheus trailers cheered me up, though I'm still not sure if it's an Alien film without Aliens.....

[Atlas-]

I watched Hugo recently and I have to say it's a weird film. I'm not good with long reviews so I'll keep it snappy. The plot was a strangely simple yet moving exploration of the magic of movie's, it told the story of an orphaned clock maker working the clocks in the Paris station trying to repair the automaton left to him by his father after his death. But this is just the means to tell the story. The story of a man and his purpose without revealing too much it is a man's discovery of his purpose and his 'place within the machine.' The simplicity of the story allows a focus on the characters and message while the backdrop adds to the film without distracting from it.

The film carry's itself very much on the shoulders of it's cast. The mark of a good production is not the dialogue but the silence and in Hugo this has been refined to a Tee. The boy who plays Hugo has a few moments where the actions felt a little wooden but the majority of the time he held himself perfectly for the role, that being a confident but lonely boy, one with a purpose. The girl (his companion) plays the role of a posh English girl perfectly, it's just a shame that I hate the posh English stereotype. Special mention must go to Count duko the librarian who though has relatively few lines delivers all of them with such grace and purpose that any more words would be redundant. The other mention must go to the actor who plays the old man. Quite simply he is superb. Despite having to show almost every emotion during the film he shows them flawlessly and yet manages to give a coherent feel to his character.

In summary the film is not at all what I expected it is simple at yet lovely, it is a work of art but will not be everyone's cup of tea as it lacks any big bangs but if you are looking for a well acted film that is something a little different you will love it.

A-

[Fugue]

I really wanted to like Hugo, I like films where not much happens but it was just sooooooo boring, about 2 hours too long :p and apart from Ben Kingsley full of terrible actors, Sacha Baron Cohen :eek: Ray Winstone :eek: :eek: the kid that played Hugo was just wrong. Hit Girls accent was all over the place.

didn't help that I hate 3D ;) thought it was art for arts sake, Scorsese hasn't made a great film since Goodfellas imo, if I had been on my own think I would have walked out. Should have been charming & magical, just thought it was was pretentious.

[Atlas-]

I would have to disagree with you. The performance of almost all the actors was exemplary, as an amateur actor myself I understand that to hold a scene together like they do is incredibly hard work and they did a brilliant job of working with the dialogue. I'm don't know the name of the actors but I could not say that any of them stuck out as bad.

I didn't see mine in 3D and I'm glad as I can't see 3D adding anything to most films. I did like godfellas that was incredible. I thought it was magical and charming in it's own way but I can see why others wouldn't find it. It does help that I love clockwork.

[Vito_Lucente]

Goodfellas is an amazing movie.

[Fugue]

as soon as Sacha Baron Cohen appeared I expected him to say good moaning :o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGNVU5ZjlgA

[IllusionOfLife]

I just got back from War Horse. I won't write a review this time, but I'll just say it was a sub-par Spielberg film which still means it's better than most movies that came out this year. It had kind of a rocky first half, but then found it's footing and got really good.

B+

[Epstein_The_Swami]

Illusion, your reviews can sometimes really influence whether or not I go and see something. Very thorough and objective. :)

[IllusionOfLife]

Illusion, your reviews can sometimes really influence whether or not I go and see something. Very thorough and objective. :)

Why thank you, I'm glad they're doing some good :)

[mandrin]

I like action Movies.I am always excited About action crime movies

[Vito_Lucente]

I just picked up the Great Gatsby movie from the library. I'm looking forward to it.

[BloodnGlory]

I enjoyed watching U-571 the other night. Think Americans stuck in Das Boot. I really loved it & it is a favorite for me..... I might watch Das Boot tomorrow! :D

[Vito_Lucente]

I saw a film called Escape From Sobibor the other day. It was a Holocaust movie starring Alan Arkin and Rutger Hauer. It was pretty good, but as with all Holocaust movies, depressing.

[Atlas-]

There was a film I saw awhile ago about two snipers during the second world war. I think it was called "Enemy at the gates". Incredible film following a German and Russian sniper both experts, both out to kill each other. It looks at the gruelling conditions of urban warfare and is incredibly gripping.

[BloodnGlory]

There was a film I saw awhile ago about two snipers during the second world war. I think it was called "Enemy at the gates". Incredible film following a German and Russian sniper both experts, both out to kill each other. It looks at the gruelling conditions of urban warfare and is incredibly gripping.

Sounds al little like The Big Red one. But there not snipers

[laurennn_420]

I just picked up the Great Gatsby movie from the library. I'm looking forward to it.

W/ mia farrow? Good movie. One of the few I was made to watch in school & actually enjoyed.



while on the subject of war/holocaust movies, has any1 seen the boy in the striped pajamas? It made me bawl

[BloodnGlory]

W/ mia farrow? Good movie. One of the few I was made to watch in school & actually enjoyed.



while on the subject of war/holocaust movies, has any1 seen the boy in the striped pajamas? It made me bawl

It was the only movie that made me cry. I NEVER cry. I cant say I loved that movie * it was too sad* BUT it is a GREAT movie!

[Simas1330]

I dislike most Holocaust movies since they mostly try to make money trying to make the saddest story they can come up with. Sometimes they don't even bother to be historically correct.

[IllusionOfLife]

I dislike most Holocaust movies since they mostly try to make money trying to make the saddest story they can come up with. Sometimes they don't even bother to be historically correct.

That was my issue with The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Unlike films such as Life is Beautiful or Schindler's List it did not try to paint an accurate portrayal of the Holocaust as much as it tried to make you cry with cinematic cheap shots. This is not a perfect analogy, but it's kind of like the difference between a horror movie that creates a sense of lingering dread and paranoia that sticks with you after you leave the theater vs. one that simply says "BOO" a lot and makes you jump and is all but forgotten by the next day. Just as certainly as a cheap scare will make you jump, certain scenes in The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas will make you sad, but there's no craft to it. It's artificial.

[Fugue]

It was the only movie that made me cry. I NEVER cry.

have you never seen Field of Dreams? gets me every time :o

saw this on AICN, original Alien trailer remade Prometheus style, just brilliant :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ6SUTI1j9M

[IllusionOfLife]

saw this on AICN, original Alien trailer remade Prometheus style, just brilliant :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ6SUTI1j9M

An Alien trailer based on the Prometheus trailer which was based on the Alien trailer… My mind is doing cartwheels.

[BloodnGlory]

Lol I watched Super Troopers last night. I havent laughed that hard in a LONG time! Its a favorite for me now!

[Fugue]

not a movie, yet, but hopefully something will come of it, amazing work!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB53H3-qOWk

saw Underworld Awakening other night, one of my favourite series, is more of an action flick & lacks the good characters of previous films, does feel a bit like they were milking it but is true of most series that run into 3 or 4, Beckinsale still looks great in leather :D

[Vito_Lucente]

not a movie, yet, but hopefully something will come of it, amazing work!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB53H3-qOWk

saw Underworld Awakening other night, one of my favourite series, is more of an action flick & lacks the good characters of previous films, does feel a bit like they were milking it but is true of most series that run into 3 or 4, Beckinsale still looks great in leather :D

Kate Beckinsale is amazing. 'Nuff said.

[Codex]

I just watched The Warriors Way.

Suggestion: don't watch it. It was a big waste of $10. Probably one of the worst things Geoffry Rush has ever been in.

[IllusionOfLife]

I just watched The Warriors Way.

Suggestion: don't watch it. It was a big waste of $10. Probably one of the worst things Geoffry Rush has ever been in.

It made for a pretty awesome Literal Trailer (http://youtu.be/_n-Ps19p_OM), though ;)

[Codex]

It made for a pretty awesome Literal Trailer (http://youtu.be/_n-Ps19p_OM), though ;)

The trailer was the best part of it...

[Fugue]

13 Assassins blu ray arrived today, one of the best samurai films I've seen in a very long time, has a great story & build up and the final battle is just epic :D

[Fugue]

Watched Melancholia yesterday, didn't expect to like it & was spoiled a little by the OTT opening "reveal" scene but was actually very good, K Dunst is excellent.

and Martha Marcy May Marlene, which was weird, about a girl recovering after running away from a cult, someone described it as a horror which it isn't, hard work but kind of creepy.

[TheDutchStig84]

Action/Adventure and Horror :)

[IllusionOfLife]

I just got back from Chronicle and it was surprisingly really good. My advice: don't try to learn anything about this movie. Don't watch trailers, don't read synopses or reviews. Just go into the movie knowing as little as possible.

If you like sci-fi and/or found footage movies this one is worth checking out. That's all I'll say on this one at risk of spoiling it.

A-

[Fugue]

will have to go and see chronicle, looks like a different take on the super hero/power movie.

watched Take Shelter, not bad at all but drags on a bit too long, M Shannon does a great job of playing someone cracking up.

[tempshemps]

I can't believe this poll has two different categories of animated movies to choose from, two different types of comedies, silent movies, and musicals... and yet does not have a "science fiction" or "fantasy" option.

Star Wars? Lord of the Rings? Star Trek? Harry Potter? The Matrix? Terminator? 2001: A Space Odyssey? Blade Runner? Avatar? Firefly? The Twilight Zone? The X-Files? War of the Worlds? E.T.? Minority Report? Total Recall? Close Encounters of the Third Kind? A Clockwork Orange?

I know I'm beating a dead horse. I just have to point out the absurdity of not having sci-fi or fantasy on the list for movie genres.

[Vito_Lucente]

So I just watched Akira (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094625/). It's such a crazy movie, but still really good.

[IllusionOfLife]

So I just watched Akira (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094625/). It's such a crazy movie, but still really good.

I have not seen Akira, but from what I've heard Chronicle is very heavily influenced by Akira.

[Vito_Lucente]

I have not seen Akira, but from what I've heard Chronicle is very heavily influenced by Akira.

Based on what I've seen in the trailers and read about online, it probably is. You should watch Akira, though. It's a really good anime movie.

[IllusionOfLife]

I must admit, I'm doing this a bit differently than normal. Typically I will review a movie immediately after my first viewing, but when I saw John Carter at midnight Friday morning I was not able to put a rating on it, let alone elaborate on my opinions of the work. Now that I've seen it a second time I feel I have a clearer perspective from which I can accurately review the film.

To bring you up to speed (because Disney's marketing department utterly failed in this area) John Carter is based on the novel A Princess of Mars, a book written in 1912 by Edgar Rice Burroughs (author of Tarzan) about an American Civil War soldier named John Carter who is mysteriously transported to Mars (or Barsoom, as its Martian inhabitants refer to it) where he gets caught up in a war between two of Barsoom's cities. Due to the lower gravitational pull on Mars, Carter is granted superhuman strength which Deja Thoris, princess of Helium (one of the warring cities) hopes he'll use to help defend her city from the Zodongans (the other warring city).

A Princess of Mars and the subsequent books in the Barsoom series went on to inspire, directly or indirectly, just about every single work of Science Fiction and Fantasy that has followed it. The movies that George Lucas borrowed from when making Star Wars borrowed heavily from these books, and John Carter is near the top of the laundry list of works James Cameron ripped off while making Avatar. For nearly 100 years people have been trying and failing to make a film based on these stories, then several years back Disney acquired the rights and gave the project to Pixar veteran and life-long John Carter fan Andrew Stanton.

In John Carter, Andrew Stanton crafts a good old-fashioned sci-fi adventure film full of interesting creatures, a deep mythology, and a fascinating world to house it all. Barsoom and its inhabitants are beautifully realized and despite the novel having been ripped off hundreds of times it still manages to feel interesting and unique. Stanton said that his goal in creating Barsoom was to treat it the same way he would treat a movie based on historical fact, recreating something that actually existed as opposed to going crazy with the visual style and I think this method worked really well. Barsoom feels like a very real and grounded place and the effects work is seamlessly integrated in to the environments to the point where it's difficult to tell what elements are practical sets and which are CG enhancements, not to mention the excellent motion capture and animation work done on the Tharks and other alien inhabitants.

There are several stand out action scenes in the film and Stanton proves himself as a more than competent action director, creating gripping and surprisingly brutal battles, and when the movie hits its stride it's a lot of fun. Unfortunately, there's a plot transition in the second act and during this time the film starts to feel a little bit bogged down by exposition, exposition that can be slightly hard to follow as it throws out terms like the Ninth Ray, Issus, Therns, etc. It almost feels as if Andrew Stanton tried to fit as much of the Barsoom mythology into one film as he could in case he did not get the opportunity to direct the two sequels he has planned for this film, and while it improves on a second viewing, the first time around it's a bit much to swallow.

Overall, though, the movie is quite fun and there's not a whole lot I can complain about. The exposition dump in the middle of the film is a bit tough to chew on and Taylor Kitsch's performance is slightly flat, but with a great supporting cast, a terrific female lead in Lynn Collin's Deja Thoris, and a satisfying payoff the movie ends on a high note. I think the reason it took me a second time viewing the film to really appreciate it was that I had set my expectations unrealistically high. Stanton's work at Pixar has made him one of my favorite filmmakers and that first night I wasn't going to be satisfied with anything less than a masterpiece on the level of WALL•E, but what I got was a very fun, if imperfect, sci-fi adventure film. I really do hope that he gets the opportunity to direct the sequels to this movie, because now that I've gotten a taste of it I would love to dive further into the world and mythology of Barsoom, and I don't want anyone else but Stanton as my guide for that journey.

B+

[Vito_Lucente]

I'm excited, I'm being allowed to go to the Hunger Games premier at midnight.

Also, I love your reviews, IllusionOfLife.

[IllusionOfLife]

Typically when there's a movie I'm excited for that is based on a novel I will wait to see the film before I read the book in order to allow the filmmaker to tell me the story rather than get caught up in my own interpretations of it. The thing is, though, I wasn't excited for The Hunger Games. I had heard the book was great, but the marketing material looked as if it was geared mostly towards the Twilight crowd, of which I am most certainly not a member; so I went ahead and read the book. Now the book tells a compelling story with an interesting and timely political parallel, but it is not necessarily the most well-written thing I have ever read. Competent, but not excellent. However, what the book is is cinematic. The novel was absolutely begging to be made into a film and you could almost see author Suzanne Collins sending it off to publication and waiting by her phone for the film studios to start calling. As a filmmaker, and major film nerd, reading the book I started creating my own imaginary screenplay for the film and directing in my mind my version of The Hunger Games. The problem with this movie lies in the fact that it's not IllusionOfLife's The Hunger Games, it's Gary Ross' The Hunger Games.


For those unfamiliar with the story, The Hunger Games is set in a distant dystopian future, a post-post apocalypse, if you will. The nations of the United States and Canada have collapsed and out of the ashes rose the nation of Panem and thirteen outlying districts. At one point, the districts banded together in an attempt to overthrow the tyrannical rule of The Capitol, but were unsuccessful and District 13 was completely destroyed in the process. As punishment for the rebellion, and as a constant reminder of The Capitol's power, every year two children from each district are chosen to fight to the death in the Hunger Games, which is broadcast live to all of Panem and is required viewing for all residents. Katniss Everdeen, a girl from District 12, ends up competing in the games and the rest of the movie plays out from there.


So as I mentioned, my biggest problem with the film was that it was not The Hunger Games movie that I would have directed, and while I know that sounds terribly pretentious of me, give me a second to explain. Due to the cinematic nature of the novel and the fact that as a filmmaker and a film fan I have certain sensibilities, there are things that I would have done differently while adapting the story, but that does not make them inherently better than what is in the film, just more aligned to my personal tastes. I regret now that I read the novel first because I think I would have appreciated the film much more from an objective perspective. That being said, Gary Ross does a great job adapting the material and, despite what the marketing campaign might have indicated, it doesn't fall into the trap of teenage melodrama that so many other similar films do. The love triangle that forms in the story is appropriately handled here and doesn't overtake the more important themes of the narrative.


The film has a very gritty and realistic feeling to it, and I know that those two words are buzz words that get thrown around a lot, often in the wrong context (Snow White and the Huntsman is neither gritty nor realistic, it's a big CG fantasy film that happens to have dark subject matter), here however, I mean it in the most literal sense. There are no big "money shots;" no grand, sweeping moments of spectacle; no massive visual effects set pieces; the whole thing is subdued in a way that I feel is very appropriate for the work. A lot of the camera work is hand held and intimate, and the score never attracts attention to itself and exists only to punctuate certain moments; listening to the score on iTunes would likely be boring, but it works perfectly in the context of the movie, often stepping out of the way in favor of complete silence when appropriate.


The performances were also fairly strong, which is something I was not expecting from this. There's a fairly low bar set for acting in similar films that are aimed at young adults and teenagers, but everyone did a good job in this film; even some of the casting decisions I wasn't sold on right away (Josh Hutcherson most notably) surprised me by taking on the role really well. It doesn't have the brilliance of something like the casting of the Harry Potter films, but few things do.


One thing the movie does cut significantly from the book is the lore and backstory, and I'm sure many fans of the novel will lose their minds over this, but it didn't bother me too much. Having too much of the movie dedicated to explaining the history of Panem would have taken time away from the core story and character development which arguably got trimmed too much already (I'll get to that in a moment). Not only that, but with the popularity of the book it's almost an absolute certainty that anyone seeing the film who hasn't already read the book will know someone who has, and conversations will inevitably be sparked about the lore of this world. There was just enough of the lore included to make sure the story at hand was in the proper context, but not too much that the film gets bogged down in the details.


My one legitimate complaint with this film, is that it rushes through some of the character development in order to keep moving the film along at a brisk pace. At 142 minutes the film is already pushing it for a mainstream blockbuster, but if they had taken some more time to really develop the relationships in the film (like that of Katniss and Rue or the dynamic that shifts between the two leads in the third act) I think it would have made for a stronger film.


The movie is an extremely well-made film and exceeded my expectations in many ways. It's not perfect, but I feel it does a good job of adapting the novel and setting up the trilogy. I also think that it is one that I'll appreciate more on repeat viewings as I'm able to set more and more of my personal vision aside and appreciate it more objectively than I do now.


B

[Shiav]

I thought the film was actually better than the book. In reading it I found Katniss somewhat petulant, I found Jennifer Lawrence portrayed a much more believable and relatable character.

[Codex]

They're neither my favorite books nor was it one of the best movies I've seen this year even. However, I will agree with Shiav that Katniss was slightly less whiney in the movie in comparison to the book. If they can continue that through the rest of them it may save the train wreck that Mockingjay became...

[Vito_Lucente]

Oh, god, I'm not looking forward to Mockingjay. I heard that they're going to break it into two parts, like Deathly Hallows and Eclipse. Is this true?

[IllusionOfLife]

Oh, god, I'm not looking forward to Mockingjay. I heard that they're going to break it into two parts, like Deathly Hallows and Eclipse. Is this true?

I hadn't heard, it's probably too early to definitively say, but it wouldn't surprise me. Deathly Hallows had a legitimate reason to be two movies, not many other books do.

[Codex]

Mockingjay could benefit from being two movies. There was SO much crammed in to one small book that made it almost impossible to take seriously. And Katniss just bothers the heck out of me in it sooooo much.

As far as I know, they haven't even greenlighted Catching Fire yet. However, it is possible given how much it pulled in this weekend. I know the screenwriter was already working on Catching just incase it got pushed through, but I don't know if they've given it the go yet.

[Vito_Lucente]

Mockingjay could benefit from being two movies. There was SO much crammed in to one small book that made it almost impossible to take seriously. And Katniss just bothers the heck out of me in it sooooo much.

As far as I know, they haven't even greenlighted Catching Fire yet. However, it is possible given how much it pulled in this weekend. I know the screenwriter was already working on Catching just incase it got pushed through, but I don't know if they've given it the go yet.
They're scheduled to start filming of Catching Fire in I think two weeks. It's already been confirmed.

[Atlas-]

They're scheduled to start filming of Catching Fire in I think two weeks. It's already been confirmed.

They wanted to start filming in August but the Director has decided not to stay on so that could have put a spanner in the works unless they've already got someone else in mind.

I saw the Hunger Games on Friday and I have to say I loved it. Now I can't write reviews as well as Illusion of Life but here's my thoughts on it. I read the book first and I thought it was one of my favourite books of all time, and I've read quite a few books. The film captured the atmosphere perfectly and really helped bring it alive. The effects where there when needed but weren't overdone, the changes that where made worked with the plot line and some of the new additions where brilliant. The scene in district 11 almost moved me to tears. The acting was brilliant I have to say,all the Tributes fitted their roles and the other characters where either suitably crazy or quietly powerful. Peeta was exactly as I imagined him and I have to say I thought Katniss was so perfect I developed a crush on her. All in all a brilliant film and one of my all time favourites

A

[IllusionOfLife]

Saw The Cabin in the Woods tonight. No full review this time, but it was a very entertaining and clever satire of the horror genre. As someone who is not a fan of horror movies and their countless clichés I really enjoyed the way this movie was simultaneously a generic horror flick while constantly subverting those tropes and looking at the genre with a very meta perspective.

It's pretty violent and gory, so if that's not your thing I'd steer clear, but otherwise I would recommend this to horror fans and non-horror fans alike.

B+

Also, Atlas, I just wanted to encourage you and say keep on writing your reviews. I am personally head-over-heels in love with cinema and writing these critiques is part of my way of expressing that love, and if writing reviews accomplishes the same thing for you than go for it.

[Codex]

So, I've just watched the movie 44 Inch Chest. It's a pretty fantastic film, adapted from a stage play I believe. It discusses the themes of marriage and marriage fidelity against the backdrop of a gangster who's had his wife cheat on him. There's relatively little violence, but there's fantastic acting from everyone involved (including all of Ray Winstone's ex-gangster friends). It's just neat, I enjoyed it a lot.

[X_Hunter]

I thought this thread was supposed to refer to the 'Bioshock Movie' in fact...

Talking about that... Is it officially announced or just a mere rumor?

[Fugue]

Keeps leaking directors which is never a good sign....

[Codex]

I don't think they've ever put together a finished script. And then as Fugue says there's no director that sticks around for six months. I'm not holding out hope that it will come out any time soon.

[Fugue]

watched Dust Devil again last night

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104155/

it's a weird mix of genres, a bit western, horror, supernatural but very underrated imo, really atmospheric with a strange dream like style. Only worth looking for the final cut version as the original is so off the wall it makes little sense at all, not that the final cut makes much sense :D

[BloodnGlory]

I like the idea for the upcoming movie "The Raven" I enjoy allen poe books so this should be intresting

[Fugue]

It does look good but whenever Ravens appear in films etc they don't sound anything like Ravens, I see/hear them a lot at work, trailer for Raven & tv series game of thrones is the same :rolleyes:

Shouldn't annoy me but it does :o

[BloodnGlory]

I want a pet raven on an un related note, Oh wached Doomsday * forgot to mention that*. It was a good movie. Think 28 days later meets road warrior & escape from New York. Has some funny moments but its pretty gorey. Over all a good movie.

[Fugue]

Big fan of Neil Marshall, The Descent is by far his best film, Dog Soldiers is brilliant as well, he's also directing an ep of game of thrones in the current series which I've read is a massive battle scene so it'll hopefully be very bloody :D

[Codex]

Big fan of Neil Marshall, The Descent is by far his best film, Dog Soldiers is brilliant as well, he's also directing an ep of game of thrones in the current series which I've read is a massive battle scene so it'll hopefully be very bloody :D

Is it the Battle of Blackwater? I have no idea how they are going to pull that one off in one episode...

[Fugue]

Yes, the whole ep is supposed to be devoted to the battle.

[IllusionOfLife]

Yet again, I'm not going to do a full review, but I saw The Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists… er– I mean, The Pirates! Band of Misfits today, and here are some brief thoughts.

I've always loved Aardman's work (most notably Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run), but this movie left me a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie, the writing was very clever and I spent the whole movie chuckling, but I think there were only two moments during the movie that caused me to legitimately laugh. I'm not sure exactly why this is, but it wasn't as funny as I expected.

The stop motion animation work was beautiful, the script was very smartly written, and it was awfully clever, but at the same time it left me underwhelmed.

B-

[IllusionOfLife]

Over the last four years Marvel Studios has done something completely unprecedented, they attempted to take the complex and sometimes obtuse method of cross-continuity storytelling that is commonplace in comics and bring it to a series of Hollywood blockbusters. The results were fairly mixed with most of the movies fitting somewhere on the scale of B- to B+ and not a whole lot of ambition to exceed that range (with the exception of Captain America: The First Avenger which I would say is the only one that really seemed to strive for greatness). There were some frustrations along the way, Iron Man 2 getting a bit bogged down in cross-continuity exposition being the worst offender, but the expectation was always that it would all be worth it if the payoff worked. Boy does it ever work.

The Avengers, for my money, probably contains the most fan-service per minute of any movie in the history of cinema. The movie doesn't waste anytime bringing you up to speed on what's gone on before, so the other five movies really are required viewing, but for fans it's an absolute dream come true. Seeing these characters that have been established and developed through five different films come together in one place creates one of the most satisfying feelings I've ever experienced from a movie. As much as I was looking forward to this film I don't think I could have comprehended just how incredible it would be to see Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, and Thor occupy the same screen space.

Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and particularly Robert Downey, Jr. have crafted iconic performances out of these characters and each one has such a firmly rooted sense of character that it's rather remarkable that when they all have to share the spotlight nothing is lost in translation. The chemistry between these characters is impeccable and seeing them riff off of each other, banter, and eventually work together as a cohesive team is truly the joy of this movie, and watching them play off of each other elevates each performance to a whole new level not seen in the previous films. Even Mark Ruffalo's performance as Bruce Banner and Hulk (replacing Edward Norton from The Incredible Hulk) fits seamlessly in with the rest of the cast and almost instantly solidifies his status as an icon alongside these other characters despite this being his first shot at the role.

Speaking of Hulk, Mark Ruffalo's performance is definitely the biggest surprise of the movie. I wasn't sold on him when I first heard about the casting, but he completely owns the part and creates by far the best version of the character ever to be put to film.

It's worth noting that when I say that they share the spotlight, I really mean it. No single Avenger is really the star of the show by themselves, each of the four heroes has a leading role and never feel like supporting cast. Striking this balance between four main characters who each need their own development and moments to shine is an incredibly daunting task and the movie could have easily collapsed under its own weight (in fact, at times the characters almost threaten to overpower the narrative, more on that in a minute) but Joss Whedon's (Creator of Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and general nerd icon) skill as both a writer and director manages to maintain the juggling act without seeming to break a sweat. This film has Whedon's fingerprints all over it, and he is really the glue that holds the whole thing together. Even with all the strong performances, without Whedon directing I don't think this film would have worked.

As I mentioned, though, the film isn't perfect. The point of the movie is to bring these separate characters together into one film and make them feel like they've always belonged together, and on that, the most important element, the movie exceeds every expectation. However, in order to accomplish this the narrative often has to take a back seat to the sheer task of tying these separate threads together. On the merits of the narrative alone this isn't the strongest super hero film, and movies like Spider-Man 2, The Incredibles, The Dark Knight, and even Captain America surpass it. That being said, this doesn't diminish the enjoyment of the film. Assembling the Avengers and having a plot heavy film would likely have made the thing feel bloated and unmanageable, and when you're forced to choose it's almost always better to focus on character over narrative. This is another reason why Joss Whedon was the perfect fit for this film because his work has always been about taking characters and creating a family, and that is exactly what was needed in The Avengers; taking these larger than life characters and making the team more than the sum of its parts.

Marvel already has sequels for Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America in the works (as well as talk about a new Incredible Hulk movie) leading up to The Avengers 2, but I have to wonder, can they ever go back? After seeing these characters all come together in The Avengers will audiences be satisfied with a movie that's just about Captain America or just about Iron Man? All I know is that the greatness of The Avengers is going to be a double edged sword for Marvel. For Phase 2 of The Avengers Initiative B+ movies aren't going to cut it any more, we'll need to see much stronger films leading up to The Avengers 2 if they want to maintain this momentum.

While not the greatest super hero movie ever made, The Avengers' clever script, remarkable performances, and unashamed fan service make it easily one of the best. It's bold, it's ambitious, it's incredibly funny without devolving into self-parody, and it's probably the most fun super hero movie this side of Spider-Man 2.

A-

By the way, I shouldn't even have to tell you at this point, but stay all the way through the credits. There will be a moment part way through when you think it's okay to leave, but it's not. Stay through the entire thing.

[Vito_Lucente]

So, it's May the Fourth. I think I'm gonna go watch a couple of Star Wars movies in celebration of the unofficial "Star Wars Day"

[Fugue]

Channel hopping & find Spinal Tap on, happy days :D

[Reborn in the Ocean]

Last weekend I saw The Devil's Carnival, was a fun little 30 minute drive to where they were showing it at, but it was a good movie, it was made by the same people who made Repo! The Genetic Opera, and quite a lot of stars were there as well, overall it was good. Mainly I liked how they used a fable from Aesop's Fables as the background for the stories, and used the songs to show what happened.

[Fugue]

Neil Marshall's Game of thrones wasn't bad, some suitably OTT hacking of limbs.

wildfire was one of the impressive effects I've seen in a TV series, amazing.

Watched what are probably two of the loudest films I've ever seen recently, The Raid and Battleship, both very dumb fun, Battleship really wasn't as bad as some film snobs made out, The Raid was just insane but one of the best action films I've seen in a long time, but its really just carefully choreographed relentless violence.

[Codex]

Yesssssssssssssss... This (http://kotaku.com/5916474/free-yourself-with-the-first-django-unchained-trailer) trailer just came out. I cannot be more excited for a movie at this very moment.

[Hawk]

Here's a thread on movie theme music: http://forums.2kgames.com/showthread.php?123297-Awesome-Movie-Theme-Music

[IllusionOfLife]

I already posted it in japester's Toughts on Prometheus thread, but since I know there's some of you who follow my reviews here I thought I'd re-post my review for Prometheus:

In 1979 Ridley Scott released a science fiction horror film that would leave a permanent mark on both genres. The eponymous Alien from the film would go down as one of the greatest and most frightening movie monsters in the history of cinema, and the fully realized setting of the commercial vessel Nostromo would be forever iconic amongst sci-fi settings. Despite this, Ridley Scott never gave us another taste of that world; granted we did get sequels from other filmmakers that ranged from pretty good to nearly unwatchable, but none ever were able to match the brilliance of the original. In fact, after Alien, Scott only once returned to the Science Fiction genre and that was for an entirely different property called Blade Runner.

Then, however, we heard that Ridley Scott was working on something that may or may not be a prequel to Alien, and at the time it sounded brilliant. However, it turns out that the "kind-of a prequel, but not really" approach is the fatal flaw that Prometheus simply can't overcome.

It's hard to talk about the story of Prometheus without spoiling too much, but in broad strokes a pair of scientists have discovered ancient pictograms from various civilizations throughout history that indicate contact with extraterrestrial life, as well as depict a star system where these beings might have originated from. The massive Weyland Corporation funds the expedition to uncover the secrets of these extraterrestrial beings, but once the crew of the Prometheus arrives the situation rapidly starts to deteriorate.

As I mentioned, the biggest problem with Prometheus is that it tries to live in the shadow of Alien without ever taking the initiative and paying off that connection. The plot beats of Prometheus follow those of Alien almost verbatim giving the whole thing a very "been there, done that" feel, and it makes a point of recalling classic iconography from the original film, but only in a frustrating way that poses questions which the film has no intention of ever answering. At the same time, though, the new story the film is trying to tell feels overshadowed by the legacy of Alien, and can never quite shine on its own merit without being tied down by fitting into a universe that doesn't quite suit it.

The movie is also overly ambiguous. At every new turn of the plot a new question is raised, but there is no payoff for any of these questions by the end of the film. While many films end with cliffhangers and pose questions that won't be answered until a subsequent film, a movie should still feature a self-contained narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. Prometheus just feels unfinished. It gives you two hours of questions and ends in a way that essentially says "to be continued... maybe." I'm sure some will argue that there's deeper symbology here, that the meaning of life is unknowable and that life only offers questions without ever providing answers, and while I like high-minded stuff as much as the next guy, if the entire point of your movie is to frustrate your audience, you're doing it wrong.

Prometheus is not without it's good aspects, though. The production design and the cinematography are excellent. Scott has always had an excellent eye for creating interesting and compelling worlds and Prometheus is no exception. The locations are simultaneously loving re-creations of Alien sets while also being new, unique, and beautiful. It's all fully realized and completely immersive, and the 3D really showcases the setting in a beautiful way. If you intend to see the movie, I would definitely recommend seeing it in 3D. Also, the performances are strong with an exceptional stand-out performance by Michael Fassbender. Though the Academy likely won't recognize him for a role in a sci-fi summer blockbuster, he really deserves a nomination for best supporting actor. His performance is absolutely chilling and almost worth seeing the movie for all on its own.

Sadly, though, the bad outweighs the good on this one. By connecting this otherwise unique story to the long-established Alien universe, Prometheus is caught underneath a shadow it could never hope to escape from. It's too much like Alien to justify this new and tangental story, and the story is too different from Alien to justify the connection. While Alien is one of the greatest films of all time, Prometheus is just an average film that tried to wear shoes it could never fill.

C+

[IllusionOfLife]

While Pixar has had many many many fantastic successes, and nearly every movie they've made has been a bonafide masterpiece, it seems like most people, critics especially, tend to view the three movies Pixar released from 2007-2009 as being the best in their 26 year, 13 feature history. Those movies were Ratatouille, WALL•E, and Up; and they each featured high concept stories, deep and sophisticated themes, and, in many ways, spoke more to the grown-ups in the audience than they did to the kids while still being great movies for the entire family to enjoy together. These three films, which are arguably as close to perfect as any movie has ever come, combined with Pixar's nearly spotless history, unfortunately may have set the bar so high that no one, not even Pixar could ever hope to top it.

That brings us to Brave. Let me just be upfront in saying that Brave is a *really* good movie. It has fantastic and fully realized characters, it has a strong emotional core, it has great performances, it looks stunning, and it has an absolutely beautiful soundtrack. The story is set in a mythical version of Scotland, where Princess Merida is about to be betrothed to the first born son of one of the three other Lords of the kingdom, however, Merida is not ready for marriage and, in fact, would much rather be free to make her own way in the world than be bound by the traditions of her kingdom. After a heated argument with her mother she flees the kingdom and happens upon a witch who gives her a spell that will allow her to change her fate.

If a lot of this sounds familiar (and not just from the trailers of the film) you shouldn't be surprised as this essential formula is the basis to more fairy tales than you could count. However, where Brave succeeds is not in the creation of groundbreaking new ideas, but rather in the execution of telling a very classic story and bringing a new and fresh voice to it, much in the same way Disney did back in 1989 and 1991 with The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Unlike many fairy tales of recent years, it does not rely on the conventions of the "Disney Fairy Tale Musical" as a crutch, but instead finds a way to make it uniquely their own.

Pixar has always had a knack for creating incredibly endearing and heartfelt characters who, despite being animated, feel just as alive as any other person in the theater, and Brave is certainly no exception. The leap from Belle to Merida is just as significant as the leap from Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) to Ariel. She's a character that I think will resonate not just with young girls, but with many women, especially the ones that are at the threshold of adulthood, and the relationship between her and her mother is very poignant.

The story itself doesn't break any new ground, and if you've ever seen a fairy tale movie before you can call just about every plot beat a few minutes before they arrive, but that doesn't make the film any less effective because the execution is so spot-on. For the same reason you cry when the Beast dies despite the knowledge that, of course, he's going to come back to life you also are completely involved with the emotions and characters of Brave even though you probably already know how it's all going to turn out.

Despite all this, the fact that this isn't an absolute revolution in cinematic history means that it won't live up to the "Pixar legacy" in many people's minds. I, however, have always considered Pixar's legacy to be more about the emphasis on characters and honest emotions than about breaking new ground and doing the unexpected. Sure, that's an important part of what's made many of their past successes great, but in my book that is still secondary to simply telling a solid story with great characters and sincere emotions, and with perhaps the exception of Cars 2, Pixar has never once forsaken that legacy. It may not be the best movie Pixar has ever made, but Brave is still a great film, and in my opinion the best fairy tale that Disney has put their name on since 1991.

A-

[IllusionOfLife]

I just saw Seeking a Friend for the End of the World on a date last night and I enjoyed it. It's not brilliant, it won't change your life, but there's some good humor and great performances. You could definitely do worse.

B

[Vito_Lucente]

I was reading the book "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", and I started thinking, it would make a pretty good movie.

[IllusionOfLife]

In 2002 Sam Raimi and Columbia Pictures made a movie the likes of which no one had ever seen before. While Tim Burton's Batman was a huge hit and Bryan Singer's X-Men was well done, Raimi's Spider-Man, at least in my opinion, was really the first super hero movie since Superman: The Movie to fully embrace and understand its source material in a way that would truly do it justice. It perfectly capture both the joy of being Spider-Man as well as the tragedy of being Peter Parker; the duality of the gift and curse nature of that spider bite. In 2004 Raimi and company topped the first film to make what I would still consider to be one of the greatest super hero movies of all time. Spider-Man 3 had some serious missteps due in no small part to meddling by Sony, but there were still momentary glimmers of what made the first two films great.


So when Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment in 2009 and Sony wanted another Spider-Man movie in order to hold onto the rights to the character for a while longer, they initially went back to Raimi, however the same kind of studio meddling that so severely hampered Spider-Man 3 was back with a vengeance for the proposed Spider-Man 4, and not willing to put up with it again Raimi walked away with Tobey Maguire and several other key cast members following. In the wake of Spider-Man 4 collapsing Sony announced plans to reboot the series, a clearly desperate attempt to prevent the rights from reverting back to Marvel/Disney. So they hired a younger, cheaper cast and a younger, cheaper director to head up the reboot who had less room to argue when Sony started meddling. So here we are with the result of all these shenanigans: The Amazing Spider-Man.


How is the movie? Exactly as bad as you'd expect it to be given its troubled history. It's joyless, heartless, nonsensical, completely devoid of character or personality, and grossly betrays the very identity of its titular hero. Imagine you took the characters from Twilight, the tone from Batman Begins (without any of the compelling characters or interesting narrative), nonsensical plot threads from the Star Wars Prequels, threw it all in a blender and pushed purée and you can start to get an idea of what this movie is like. This is an origin story where almost nothing of consequence happens and every single character in the film ends in exactly the same place they began. There's no character development, there's no compelling narrative to follow, it's just a jumble of forgettable set pieces, empty dialogue, and a love story that is so unrelated to the rest of the film that it has no reason to exist. It's a shame because honestly the love story is the only thing in the movie that even kind of works which I imagine is due to the fact that Marc Webb just so happens to be the director of (500) Days of Summer.


Now the fact that this is a boring, forgettable film wouldn't be so terrible by itself, but it also feels the need to go and betray the very foundation of who Spider-Man is. I'm not sure if this was an ill-advised attempt to differentiate itself from the other films/comics or if the people involved just really really don't understand Spider-Man (possibly a bit of both), but either way, this element is what tips the scale into the territory of the truly awful. I usually try to avoid spoilers, but I can't get into why this movie is so bad without giving a few things away, so while I won't be revealing anything major I'll go ahead and throw up the spoiler tags.


So there's this brand new, completely ham-fisted idea that Peter Parker's parents were involved in some crazy corporate conspiracy and that Peter's dad was friends/partners with Curt Connors (The Lizard). Their research is actually what creates Spider-Man in this film which completely robs the character of the important element of being a regular kid who happened to get these extraordinary powers due to a freak accident. Now Spider-Man is some pre-destined product of a conspiracy. On top of that, they completely throw out the whole "with great power comes great responsibility" lesson that is the entire point of who Spider-Man is! Seriously! This is as bad as doing a Batman story where the Waynes were killed in a freak industrial accident rather than gunned down in cold blood! It betrays the legacy of the character and completely ruins his whole purpose of being.


So on top of completely betraying the character of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, the film also has no idea what to do with any of the other characters. Curt Connors is a nice guy who suddenly does a heel-face turn and becomes a megalomaniacal lunatic bent on world domination for absolutely no logical reason, Police Captain Stacey hates Spider-Man for no real reason other than the fact that they needed people to hate Spider-Man and didn't even want to attempt to recast J. Jonah Jameson (which is actually one of the only smart decisions they made in this film), and Ben Parker never connects on any meaningful level with Peter. The only person who is halfway decent is Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey, but they still can't manage to give her any kind of meaningful character development other than Peter Parker's smart/sassy girlfriend.


It's obvious that Sony wanted to try to capitalize on the success of Nolan's Batman films by making this "dark and gritty" but in the end, all they did was superficially suck all of the joy out of the story without having any kind of mature, contemplative, or emotionally resonant themes to make it worthwhile. Raimi's Spider-Man films were far more mature and emotionally resonant than this and they never sacrificed their sense of fun in order to achieve that. The characters were compelling, the relationships had weight, the story was exciting, and the whole experience was just fun. The Amazing Spider-Man, on the other hand has none of that, it's just a hollow film with hollow characters and a hollow story that has superficial trappings of "dark and gritty" draped over the top. This is a film that had no reason to be made and you as an audience member have no reason to see it. Avoid this one like the plague.


F

[Atlas-]

The Blues Brothers is in the spotlight today. It's an old film and a classic but I've only just got round to watching it. For me it took a while to get going but it's worth sticking with. Loosely it follows the blues brothers, two brothers with numerous driving offences as they try and put there old band back together to raise money to keep the orphanage where they grew up open.

The cast contains some incredibly famous people and some less. All those in the band where well cast and a lot of others who had only minor roles did very well at brining there characters to life. Some did appear flat but the performance of the Blues Brothers themselves (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) more than makes up for it. Though quite dead pan at times there timing and execution work perfectly for the film. A lot of the scenes are really out there including lines such and as well as having some great music numbers it is really funny. It's a film you have to see for yourself to appreciate it and me trying to describe it would probably put you off. I would however thoroughly recommend it.

A

[PachaMinnie]

I was reading the book "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", and I started thinking, it would make a pretty good movie.

There was. It was a documentary made in 1968. You might be able to find it on youtube. If not there are a few movies I could point you to if you are looking for something Nazi. If you are just looking for a good documentary I suggest watching the British History Channel or whatever they have over there. If it is anything like ours it has fallen into a pit of redneck truckers, aliens/bigfoot, and shows about Nazis.

[Fugue]

Glad I avoided the new spidey film, first two were great but the third was terrible :eek: it takes a lot to make me want to walk out of a film but it was a close call.

[Vito_Lucente]

I kinda want to see the new Spiderman now. Just to see how horrible it actually is. :o

[IllusionOfLife]

I kinda want to see the new Spiderman now. Just to see how horrible it actually is. :o

I urge you to wait until it's available for rental. It's not worth paying for a ticket to see it in theaters and I'm really hoping that the box office numbers quickly drop off to discourage Sony from making any more. I think we can all agree that the best possible scenario in this case is that the proposed trilogy of films never comes to fruition and that the film rights to Spider-Man revert back to Marvel Studios allowing them to integrate the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Not a very likely scenario, sure, but I can dream can't I?

[I-ChooseTheImpossible]

I actually enjoyed Spider-man, sure it wasn't as good as the first two, I enjoyed it more than the third (my biggest complaint with the third film was too much Eddie Brock, not enough Venom), though I am constantly disappointed by their choice of villain. Hurry up and give me Carnage already. If you want to make a dark Spider-man movie Carnage is the perfect villain if you ask me.

[Invader]

I was reading the book "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", and I started thinking, it would make a pretty good movie.

I have that book but I've never read it. I guess that's next, after War of the Worlds. (Whose modern movie adaptation I enjoyed, though I'm only just realizing that it barely stayed true to the book.)

[Vito_Lucente]

I have that book but I've never read it. I guess that's next, after War of the Worlds. (Whose modern movie adaptation I enjoyed, though I'm only just realizing that it barely stayed true to the book.)

One of the only major similarities between the book and movie is tripods.

An Alan Wake movie would be pretty awesome. As long as it's not as bad as every video game-based movie ever.

[I-ChooseTheImpossible]

One of the only major similarities between the book and movie is tripods.

An Alan Wake movie would be pretty awesome. As long as it's not as bad as every video game-based movie ever.

The first Mortal Kombat movie was awesome.

[Vito_Lucente]

The first Mortal Kombat movie was awesome.

Oh god I hated that movie.

And then Street Fighter and Super Mario Bros. were both disasters.

[I-ChooseTheImpossible]

Oh god I hated that movie.

And then Street Fighter and Super Mario Bros. were both disasters.

Super Mario Bros. never happened, ok?

[Alyxx]

Love horror flicks, especially obscure ones like Eraserhead or science fiction horror like Event Horizon or Alien.

[Vito_Lucente]

Love horror flicks, especially obscure ones like Eraserhead or science fiction horror like Event Horizon or Alien.

I love Eraserhead!

[Alyxx]

I love Eraserhead!
Me too. It's so scary on such a psychological level. It's unlike anything I've seen before or since. I guess it also taps into a lot of inherent fears, especially around childbirth and parenting. Imagine giving birth to a premature child and knowing it won't likely survive. That's quite a nightmare.

[IllusionOfLife]

If you look at Hollywood's long history of trilogies it seems like ending the series on a no-reservations high note is nearly impossible. The first film may spark interest and build a fan base, the second film may improve upon the first in every aspect, but then, once the third film comes along it seems most trilogies can never quite stick the landing. In fact, the only two trilogies I can think of in which every film is as good or better than the one before are Toy Story and The Lord of the Rings.

So what about The Dark Knight Rises? Does it join Toy Story and The Lord of the Rings or does it fall victim to the third movie curse and join the ranks of Return of the Jedi, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, and Spider-Man 3?

The answer, unfortunately, is the latter. Now let me be clear, this film is not bad, in fact it's actually quite enjoyable and ends up being a rather satisfying conclusion to Nolan's Bat-films, but there are a lot of areas where it fails to recapture the magic of its predecessors, particularly the second film which many people rightly call the best super hero film ever made.

The Dark Knight Rises feels like it's afraid of its own shadow. The legacy of the first two films looms so large over this one that it almost feels as if the film goes out of its way to be "bigger" and "more epic" in every way in order to live up to the incredibly unrealistic expectations people have for it, and its to the film's detriment. It kind of falls into the same trap as Iron Man 2, where there are just so many plates spinning all at the same time that it becomes overwhelming and slightly schizophrenic. At 165 minutes the film is very long, and in reality it probably could have been cut down and streamlined into a more efficient story if they had set aside the goal of being bigger than The Dark Knight. The plot of the movie is actually quite interesting; it has intriguing story beats, a compelling villain, a handful of excellent new heroes, and a great take on the final evolution of Batman's relationship to Gotham. The problem, however, is that the way the film is structured does a disservice to these interesting ideas. Too many characters are introduced early on that are essentially single-use plot devices, and by the time you actually start keeping track of who they are and what their motivations are they've essentially exhausted their usefulness to the plot and are discarded. Certain moments of plot revelation and character growth are handled in ways that are clunky and, in some cases, redundant, and although the basic story is easy enough to follow the details become so muddled and convoluted that it begins to distract from the narrative rather than add texture to it.

The narrative simply is not elegant in the same way that the first two films were. The second film particularly had a lot of ins-and-outs with shifting motivations, betrayals, deceptions, character revelations, etc. but despite these complexities of the plot, the narrative was told in a very elegant way; one thing flowed into another logically, and everything served to enhance the narrative rather than distract from it. Inception is another great example of this; despite all the complexities of the plot, the narrative was told in a way that was intuitive, fun for the audience to follow, and, as I've said, elegant.

Despite this, though, the movie still is a very enjoyable experience, and the things it does well it does *really* well. Anne Hathaway is fantastic as Selina Kyle (Catwoman, although none of the characters in the movie actually call her that) and she completely steals the show every time she's on screen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character, a Gotham City cop who grew up being inspired by the Batman is a great addition to the cast (and, in a lot of ways, is more the main character than Batman himself is this time around), and then you of course have the returning cast who are, as always, excellent. The action set pieces are exciting and the cinematography is great, particularly in the expanded IMAX format. As for arguably the most important thing this film had to do, concluding the story of Christopher Nolan's Batman, it does so in a way that is both fitting and satisfying. The film also, somewhat surprisingly, has more comic book fan service nods than I was expecting given the tone Nolan has gone for with this world. One of them in particular at the end of the film is a little bit too on the nose, but I can forgive it because the overall effect works.

This feels like the kind of movie that my opinion on will evolve with subsequent viewings, and I expect to either warm up to it a bit and forgive it for some of its narrative missteps or perhaps sour to it and see the structural issues as more glaring. At this point, though, I'm going to call it good, but not great. It's still definitely worth seeing, and I would try to catch it while its still playing in IMAX because Nolan and Director of Photography Wally Pfister are currently unmatched when it comes to using that format to its fullest potential. It may not have stuck the landing, but it was an admirable, if flawed attempt that still manages to be entertaining and satisfying as an overall experience.

B

[PachaMinnie]

Moonrise Kingdom. It's good.

[IllusionOfLife]

Moonrise Kingdom. It's good.

I've been really wanting to see this one, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I keep hearing that it's excellent.

[Vito_Lucente]

I just saw The Dark Knight Rises in iMax. IT WAS FANTASTIC.

I personally liked it more than the other two, definitely liked it more than I liked Batman Begins.

[Atlas-]

I just saw The Dark Knight Rises in iMax. IT WAS FANTASTIC.

I personally liked it more than the other two, definitely liked it more than I liked Batman Begins.

I saw it recently too and loved it. I wouldn't give it a review other than another great batman film. It had all the hallmarks, gadgets, heroes, villains and ridiculously complicated plots to destroy Gothom. I have to say though Heath Ledgers Joker is still my Favourite villain.

[LocoGuy]

Love the Street Fighter (http://www.mcgame.com/de/store/game/10550012-street-fighter-x-tekken) Movie. Its Cult !

[Vito_Lucente]

The Street Fighter movie is horrible.

[I-ChooseTheImpossible]

The Street Fighter movie is horrible.

It's a spam bot. Though yea, that movie was terrible.

[Opeth Of Epica]

Has anyone here seen the movie 'Martyrs'? It's not for the faint of heart although it's an amazing movie.

[Vito_Lucente]

Has anyone here seen "Lo"?

[Fugue]

Has anyone here seen the movie 'Martyrs'? It's not for the faint of heart although it's an amazing movie.

Watched that and Inside (l'interieur) on the same night, not really feel good movies :D but thought inside was much better, that was a good if brief spell of great horror movies.

[Opeth Of Epica]

Watched that and Inside (l'interieur) on the same night, not really feel good movies :D but thought inside was much better, that was a good if brief spell of great horror movies.

I enjoyed both, the French like their gore. Like any more gore horror/explotation movies?

[Vito_Lucente]

I enjoyed both, the French like their gore. Like any more gore horror/explotation movies?

Have you heard of High Tension (Haute Tension), Man Bites Dog, or Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer?

[Opeth Of Epica]

Have you heard of High Tension (Haute Tension), Man Bites Dog, or Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer?

I've heard of all of them, the first one really doesn't intrest me.

[Fugue]

I enjoyed both, the French like their gore. Like any more gore horror/explotation movies?

Martrys strayed a bit too much into torture pron territory for me, not really my thing, prefer straight horror/thrillers or comedy horror.

[Opeth Of Epica]

Martrys strayed a bit too much into torture pron territory for me, not really my thing, prefer straight horror/thrillers or comedy horror.

It's not a horror but since your into comedy I recommend 'Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky'. The campest and funnest movie i've ever seen (unrealistic, over the top gore FTW).

[IllusionOfLife]

I came into ParaNorman with a sense of cautious optimism. I absolutely adore stop motion animation, and I genuinely fell in love with Coraline, LAIKA's previous effort, but the trailers for the film didn't capture my interest in the story in the way I hoped they would and this film also didn't have the benefit of being helmed by the brilliant Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, Coraline). That being said, I am extremely happy to report that ParaNorman absolutely delivers on every level you could hope for.

ParaNorman tells a story about a young boy named Norman who has the unusual ability to see and talk to the dead, an ability which has led him to be ostracized by the other members of his community, including his own family. The New England town in which he lives is famous for a historic witch execution, along with the legend of a curse that the witch put upon those who sentenced her to death. It turns out that the legend of the curse is true, and that Norman, with his ability to talk to the dead, is the only one who can prevent the curse from raising the dead. Unfortunately, Norman is unable to act fast enough and the Witch's curse begins to wreak havoc on the town.

ParaNorman is a film with many strengths. Stop motion animation is always a beautiful and fascinating process, and with new technological advances the filmmakers have been able to bring it to a level of detail and expression that are simply astounding. While the scope of the story may be smaller than something like Coraline or Nightmare Before Christmas, the scale of the stop motion sets for this town are truly incredible. They film absolutely immerses you in this world that feels like a living, breathing, place. As beautiful as the animation in Brave was, ParaNorman is easily the most visually impressive film I have seen this year.

As beautiful as the film is, it never falls into the trap of so many other animated films by simply being visual spectacle with no narrative soul. The story of the film is fun, intelligent, and heartfelt, and is supported by a great cast of characters. The odd kid who is misunderstood is a common trope in kids' movies, but what makes Norman stand out is that he's never mopey about it. He is ostracized, bullied, and rejected, but he's come to a kind of acceptance about the whole thing. He's certainly not happy about it, but at this point he's not trying to fit in, he's really just trying to keep his head down and get through the daily grind. This is part of what makes his relationship with the other characters in the film work so well. For instance Niel genuinely accepts Norman for who he is and it's obvious that this throws Norman for a loop and he doesn't really know how to interact with someone who "gets him." This is never spoken, but it plays out naturally through the performances of the characters.

As the narrative progresses it takes some really interesting turns, and at times is genuinely surprising and emotional. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that a large part of the narrative revolves around assumptions and misunderstanding, and it brilliantly uses the audience's assumptions and expectations about the genre and its conventions against them.

It's also worth mentioning that this is one of the rare films which decidedly benefits from the addition of 3D. There's some fun play with perspective, and being able to see the dimension that exists in these sets adds a lot to the experience.

I genuinely loved ParaNorman and it's easily one of my favorite films this year. It's not a movie for everyone, but if any of the trailers gave you even a glimmer of interest I would definitely recommend checking this one out. LAIKA is certainly beginning to make a name for themselves in the animation scene and I'm really looking forward to whatever their next project will be. I think I still prefer Coraline which definitely benefitted from the combination of Niel Gaiman's fantastic story and Henry Selick's experienced hand, but ParaNorman is a truly fantastic film and it's definitely worth a look.

A-

[Fugue]

It's not a horror but since your into comedy I recommend 'Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky'. The campest and funnest movie i've every movie (unrealistic, over the top gore FTW).

Now that is weird :eek:

Paranormal looks great, will definitely be seeing that.

[princysharma1990]

I like all of types except action movie. I don't like action movies much. Rest horror, comedy, animated, I like all such movies.
My favourite movies are:
-Wrong Turn
-Final Destination
-The Ring
-Over The Hedge
-Ratatouille

[IllusionOfLife]

September. This is, along with October, part of that awkward time of the year where nothing really good tends to come out at the movies. The big summer blockbuster season has officially ended and we’re still a bit early for the awards season stuff and the big holiday releases. Typically we get stuck in a glut of cheap horror movies, bad comedies, and usually an awful kids’ movie or two. Sometimes, though, a high concept genre film that wasn’t big enough to hit during the summer will drop in, but the success rate of those tends to be mixed. For example, right around this time last year In Time was released, a film which absolutely squandered its unique and interesting concept with the combination of a shallow narrative and poor execution. Looper, on the other hand, is everything In Time should have been.

Looper, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, and Emily Blunt is set in the year 2044 where time travel has not yet been invented, but 30 years from then it will be. In that future, crime syndicates have gained widespread power, but due to advances in technology, murder and disposal of bodies has become increasingly difficult. The solution they have found to this problem is hiring hit men in the past called Loopers to execute and dispose of the people the mob wants gone; sending them back in time, bound and gagged, to meet with the business end of a Looper’s blunderbuss. The story follows Joe, a Looper who is leading an extravagant, but self-destructive life off the considerable paycheck he gets for his particular line of work. However, that all changes when one day the person who is sent to be killed happens to be himself, 30 years from now.

Let me just cut right to the chase, Looper is incredible. It’s the kind of truly unique, smart, entertaining, well told, and exciting film that reaffirms why we love the movies in the first place. I had been hearing some really high praise for this film so I went in with high expectations yet I was still completely blown away. The film understands its themes, its settings, and its characters, and uses all of these elements to their fullest effect. It never cheats by betraying its own integrity, and because of that is able to craft the best time travel story I’ve seen in years. Time travel is always a tricky thing to tackle. The very nature of it comes prepackaged with messy paradoxes and inconsistencies, but writer/director Rian Johnson establishes very clearly his rules for time travel in a way that doesn’t get bogged down in endless exposition. It trusts is audience to be smart enough to fill in the details and sets up only as much of the mechanics as are necessary for the story. Because of that, though this is the kind of movie that certain types of people will hate (mostly stupid kids on the internet pretending to be smart) because they’ll focus on trying to pick out any logic flaws with the plot and utterly miss the point of the narrative. However, despite being based around a plot device as inherently messy and illogical as time travel it establishes its rules firmly and never deviates. If you dig deep enough you’re sure to find holes in the plot, but the narrative is absolutely rock solid, and that’s what really matters.

Every element of this film helps to sell the story. The future in Looper feels like a real place and each scene is full of little details that, while never highlighted, help ground the film and paint a more vivid picture of this world. The film also boasts a slew of excellent performances. Gordon-Levitt and Willis are the obvious standouts, brilliantly playing the same person separated by 30 years of life experience. It’s somewhat incredible how they have managed to capture the duality of that relationship; the reality that while you may be the same person in the literal sense, age and experience fundamentally changes who you are. It’s an interesting theme and the film handles it masterfully, illustrating how time can change a person’s goals, their priorities, and the things they are willing to sacrifice. I do kind of wish, though, that they hadn’t given Joseph Gordon-Levitt the Bruce Willis makeup, because at times it can be slightly distracting, and the performances are honestly good enough to sell that these two characters are the same person without the need for makeup. It’s a small complaint, but it’s about the most I can find fault with in this film. The performances from the secondary characters also shine quite a bit in their own right. Every character feels real and textured, and it all contributes to the reality of this world.

The film also impressed me by not taking the obvious route concepts like this tend to take; instead it charts its own unique territory, creating a truly memorable experience. In some alternate universe there’s probably a version of this movie that does exactly what you’d expect a film like this to do, and it’s probably a solid and entertaining film. However, by taking the story in a direction that is different and unexpected Looper is so much more effective. There were several times during the film where I marveled at the quality of the story telling, taking seemingly throwaway details and later using them to lead to genuinely smart and surprising developments. Nothing in the film is wasted. Expectations are turned on their heads, and just about every time you think you’ve figured out where the film is going it will either go a different direction or get there in a way that is surprising. Despite this, it still remains absolutely true to itself and every single twist or development has the feeling of unexpected inevitability that is so crucial yet so hard to achieve.

I have seen some others criticize a tonal shift that occurs part way through the film, saying it betrays the character of the movie, but I disagree. Without spoiling anything, I feel the shift in tone is absolutely necessary for a few reasons. First it subverts expectations, and allows the film to explore new territory. It moves things off the course you would expect the film to take and instead creates a different path to the end goal, one that is so much more appropriate for the story. This section of the story is also where the film is allowed to explore in depth a lot of its major themes and deal with most of the character development in a manner that wouldn’t have worked otherwise. Most importantly, though, it is essential for setting up the climax of the film where all the pieces begin to fall into place. The time taken to explore these themes and the characters in a more intimate setting is what allows the payoff of the film to be as strong as it is.

Looper is a fantastic film. It masterfully combines action, suspense, genuinely smart twists, and is all grounded by a compelling setting and a strong element of human emotion. It has jumped to the top of my favorite films of the year list, and is arguably one of the best time travel stories I’ve ever seen. I highly recommend this one. It is an absolute breath of fresh air and the kind of film that makes you fall in love with the movies all over again.

[briangriffin]

Voted for comedy genre i like it so much.

[collinwills]

In all movies genre i like Animation the most, watched so many animated movies so far but like "Rise of Guardiens" the most. I wanna watch this awesome movie again and again.
___________________
Watch Latest Movies Online (http://www.downloadorwatchonline.com/all-movies)

[arketah]

I like "Romance" genre the most and Titanic is my favorite movie of all.

[Jefferey1]

Movies that are based on horror genre i like the most.

[Arcane Enigma]

You forgot science-fiction! 'Blade Runner' FTW

[lasha6]

^ I love the Blues Brothers, it never gets old.

It's true very very good movie I love this to

[lasha6]

I love a racing movies if you know online site where are racing movies replay me to whatch

[Jaydens1]

I like romance genre the most and love to watch "The Notebook" movie again and again.