Last Movie You Watched V. 1.0

[rowech]

National Treasure 2 -- Much better than I was thinking it would be. I was pleasantly surprised. Takes a bit longer to start going but once it starts clicking, it feels like the original again. If you liked the first one, I would guess you'll like this one. Not quite at the same level but good. 7.5 or 8.0/10

[Buccaneer]

I just watched the extras DVD on OotP and all I can say is that I want to marry Nat Tena (Tonks).

[Lathum]

National Treasure 2 -- Much better than I was thinking it would be. I was pleasantly surprised. Takes a bit longer to start going but once it starts clicking, it feels like the original again. If you liked the first one, I would guess you'll like this one. Not quite at the same level but good. 7.5 or 8.0/10

+1

[path12]

I'm Not There -- I didn't realize going in that it would be so allegorical and also so non-linear, so that took me by surprise. Thought it was about 20 minutes too long, but just fascinating in spots. Cate Blanchett was really good, as was the young boy (can't remember his name). My main thought while watching was that I really need to read a Dylan biography sometime.

7/10.

[flere-imsaho]

Pirates of the Caribbean 3:

Saw this as well a couple of weeks ago on DVD. Good fun, but wouldn't watch it again. The movie seemed mostly to exist as filler between spaces where either Depp or Rush (or both) hammed it up. The first is still the best, in my opinion.

Ocean's 13:

Saw this too a while ago. I'll echo Bucc's comments. It has a bunch of funny and clever setpieces which I can watch over and over.

As for Juno, I liked that movie a lot.

Same. The wife & I saw this in the theater last week. One of the better movies I've seen in years. I know everyone's raving about Ellen Page (and deservedly so) and certainly the addition of Janney & Simmons is really good for the movie, but for my money the best performance is actually Jennifer Garner's. The amount of brittle pathos she puts into her character, and the nuances performance she displays (alternating between scared, desperate, hopeful, happy and angry) is pretty well done.

[Karlifornia]

I'm Not There -- I didn't realize going in that it would be so allegorical and also so non-linear, so that took me by surprise. Thought it was about 20 minutes too long, but just fascinating in spots. Cate Blanchett was really good, as was the young boy (can't remember his name). My main thought while watching was that I really need to read a Dylan biography sometime.

7/10.

Thanks for the thoughts on this movie. I need to check it out.

[MikeVic]

Same. The wife & I saw this in the theater last week. One of the better movies I've seen in years. I know everyone's raving about Ellen Page (and deservedly so) and certainly the addition of Janney & Simmons is really good for the movie, but for my money the best performance is actually Jennifer Garner's. The amount of brittle pathos she puts into her character, and the nuances performance she displays (alternating between scared, desperate, hopeful, happy and angry) is pretty well done.

I think every character was likable. I didn't hate even one character in the whole movie. I can talk a lot about what I liked about the movie, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone.

[Noop]

No Country For Old Men - 9.5/10
This movie was the best in 2007 hands down. Also has some of the best gore scenes every. The bad guy is down right scary and the ending is great.

[Chief Rum]

No Country For Old Men - 9.5/10
This movie was the best in 2007 hands down. Also has some of the best gore scenes every. The bad guy is down right scary and the ending is great.

Why do you think this? Not looking for an opinion to break down, I just honestly want to know what you felt you got from the ending. I have already posted about this movie, that there was a ton I liked about it, but left quite a bit too much for the audience to figure out (from the movie theme/point perspective, I mean). I know this critique has been brought up by plenty of others in the media.

Feel free to answer is spoiler format, of course.

[Groundhog]

I am Legend 7/10

Lathum, curious as to why you think it is so great. The first 2/3 of the flick were very good, but the last 20 minutes or so seemed rushed. The ending was very abrubt. It was entertaining for sure, and i would tell people to see it, but it aint even close to the best thing I've seen this year.

Agree 100%. First 2/3rds I'd give a 9.5/10, but after the super-rushed ending it rates about a 7. They clearly cut a LOT out of that last 3rd of the movie, probably hoping to package it as a nice 90m action movie.


The relationship between Smith and the woman and child made the cuts obvious. Nothing ever developed between them (I don't just mean romantically - I mean, nothing at ALL), yet it was clear that it was supposed to have.

Oh, and I was a little pissed off about the dog, too. I thought that was going to be his first "cure".

[Lathum]

Eight Below- A decent movie that was predictable at points. There were many sad parts and my wife was crying a good portion of it ( we are both dog lovers, do the math). The movie dragged in a few pars and could have been shorter but all in all woth watching it. 7/10

[Noop]

Why do you think this? Not looking for an opinion to break down, I just honestly want to know what you felt you got from the ending. I have already posted about this movie, that there was a ton I liked about it, but left quite a bit too much for the audience to figure out (from the movie theme/point perspective, I mean). I know this critique has been brought up by plenty of others in the media.

Feel free to answer is spoiler format, of course.

Here you go...

I thought the end was very non-traditional because the bad guy wins. Even though they don't show him killing the wife it can be inferred by his eagerness to leave the accident that he did indeed kill her. I thought the way the cowboy was killed was unique because all of a sudden he is waiting for his wife then next thing you know he is dead and not by the hands of Sugar the bad guy. And Sugar being the killer that he is did as Woody H's character said he keep his word because he has a strange way about him.(Paraphrasing) Oh and the coin flip and the speech he gave the gas station attendant was awesome.

[Noop]

I Am Legend - This was a a pretty good movie. Some scenes where very said and you could feel his pain. I thought Will Smith did a good job I don't know about the awards but he should win something for that role or atleast a nomination. 7.5/10

[korme]

The part with the gas station guy might have been my favorite scene of the movie, despite that people have criticized it

[Chief Rum]

Here you go...

I thought the end was very non-traditional because the bad guy wins. Even though they don't show him killing the wife it can be inferred by his eagerness to leave the accident that he did indeed kill her. I thought the way the cowboy was killed was unique because all of a sudden he is waiting for his wife then next thing you know he is dead and not by the hands of Sugar the bad guy. And Sugar being the killer that he is did as Woody H's character said he keep his word because he has a strange way about him.(Paraphrasing) Oh and the coin flip and the speech he gave the gas station attendant was awesome.

Cool, TETO.

I guess I can understand that. I think it's a credit to how good a bad guy he is that I wanted him to get caught, to have some retribution for what he did. I also liked the twist of him still coming after the wife. The specifics of the ending were interesting to me. I think what I didn't like was the way the cowboy died--sorry, the whole movie is set up for the cowboy versus Chiggur (sp?) and you kill him off screen and not by Chiggur? what a copout--and really the whole role of Tommy Lee Jones, which seemed pointless to me. I just didn't feel any sympathy for life passing the sheriff by, and struggled that that would be a major theme point for this movie. IMO, the whole movie could have been done with the sheriff in a reduced role without the introspection and it would have been a much stronger, less convoluted film (especially at the end). Anyway, glad you enjoyed it and thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[Chief Rum]

The part with the gas station guy might have been my favorite scene of the movie, despite that people have criticized it

Yeah, forgot to mention that. It was also one of my favorite scenes, very intriguing intense moment. This movie had tons of great "scenes", but I feel fell short in the "big picture" sense with me.

[Johnny93g]

There Will be Blood 9.5/10

I don't like to give 10/10, but this movie was close. The best movie of 2007. Fantastic. Daniel Day-Lewis is scary good. The oscar should already be in his basement. It's a 150 minute dialouge movie. If you don't like this kind of movie, don't see it. The Cinematography and the Score are sensational.

The story focus' on Daneil Plainview(DDL), an oil man on the west coast during the early 20th century. Daniel and his son dig for oil in a small town after coaxing from a Paul Sunday(Paul Dano). It is an epic story in every sense.

The opening scene is one of the best begginings to a movie I have ever seen. The first 5 minutes are worth the movie addmission, the rest is bonus!!

This is Lewis' 3rd movie in the last 10 years. Watching him act has gotten to be so rare, its a privledge. He is special. I was blown away.

[korme]

Damn Johnny, you inspired me to go see it.

I also wonder why DDL does so few movies.

[RomaGoth]

Clerks II 8.5/10

You have to be a fan of Kevin Smith movies to appreciate this. I love all of his movies except Jersey Girl (didn't see it) and Chasing Amy (chick flick). This one is much better IMO than Clerks.

Also saw Oceans 13 yesterday 8/10. Better than the second one but not as good as the first one.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Damn Johnny, you inspired me to go see it.

I also wonder why DDL does so few movies.

Because he's crazy and has to be "in character" for like years before the movie actually shoots.

[rowech]

Clerks II 8.5/10

You have to be a fan of Kevin Smith movies to appreciate this. I love all of his movies except Jersey Girl (didn't see it) and Chasing Amy (chick flick). This one is much better IMO than Clerks.

Also saw Oceans 13 yesterday 8/10. Better than the second one but not as good as the first one.

Chasing Amy's very much worth watching.

[thealmighty]

Done

[Noop]

The Great Debaters 8.5/10

Very emotional movie. I had water in my eyes during some scenes and felt alot of joy at the end. Denzel Washington is a great actor and a pretty good director.

[Lorena]

The Wire, Season 4 - 10/10

Holy shit, just when I thought the show couldn't get better, it does. This is my first 10 rating and it is well deserved! Lots of changes with characters, and the kids bring a whole different element to the season. It's so easy to get attached to these characters and I couldn't help but to feel sorry for most of them.

[path12]

Chasing Amy's very much worth watching.

+1 That might be my favorite movie of his.

[GrantDawg]

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story-7/10

Fun times! If you're at all a music fan, you should check it out. My favorite parts from the movie: "The wrong kid died!", Jack White as Elvis (esp. the part with the knife at the end), and when he ripped off Bob Dylan.


Agree with ranking, but by far my favorite part was "Let's Duet." Worth going in and of itself.

[rowech]

+1 That might be my favorite movie of his.

I think I'm the only one but I think Mallrats is my favorite. There are just so many great lines in that one.

[Calis]

Cool, TETO.

I guess I can understand that. I think it's a credit to how good a bad guy he is that I wanted him to get caught, to have some retribution for what he did. I also liked the twist of him still coming after the wife. The specifics of the ending were interesting to me. I think what I didn't like was the way the cowboy died--sorry, the whole movie is set up for the cowboy versus Chiggur (sp?) and you kill him off screen and not by Chiggur? what a copout--and really the whole role of Tommy Lee Jones, which seemed pointless to me. I just didn't feel any sympathy for life passing the sheriff by, and struggled that that would be a major theme point for this movie. IMO, the whole movie could have been done with the sheriff in a reduced role without the introspection and it would have been a much stronger, less convoluted film (especially at the end). Anyway, glad you enjoyed it and thanks for sharing your thoughts.


Just to settle this first, it's Chigurh.

Ok, I'm a huge Cormac McCarthy and therefore am biased about this movie. I thought it was excellent though, and was a pretty faithful adaptation with a few things changed.





Personally though, and maybe that's made more clear by the book but I really think Jones' character of the Sheriff is the main character of the story, so I think it's vital that he's prominently displayed. Odd as it sounds Llewelyn is really almost a side character, he's just there to move the story ahead but the theme of the book/movie is very much law enforcement's/good inability to ever stop the criminals/evil, and just how much violence is prevalent in this country and how it isn't some new occurence, we've been like this for a long while.

I'm glad they stuck with the ending from the book, it's really what I thought they'd take liberty with in the movie. I think the thing that makes the book stand out from just being a traditional thriller is the end. The first 2/3rds of the book is very much just an action/thriller, but it gets completely flipped towards the end. I think Moss' quick jarring death out of nowhere worked.

I also love Chigurh's car crash bit, because it's just another kick in the ball's for the good guys. Even bad luck can't stop the evil guy, he keeps right on going by easily corrupting a couple kids with some cash.

Incredibly depressing, but it works.

Loved the movie though. Great jobs by everyone apart from Harrelson who I just can't really stand, and the lack of music was a perfect touch.



Now what's scary is I hear that McCarthy's Blood Meridian is being adapted and directed by Ridley Scott. I have no idea how you put that one on the screen without butchering it, and I don't think Scott is the one to do it. Talk about a book 100x more brutal than this one.

As an aside. I saw Walk Hard this last weekend and was really disappointed. I had heard great things, and I'm a big John C. Reilly fan and expected some good mindless comedy and there were very few laughs, and no big ones. A couple of the songs were good, but overall it dragged quite a bit. Not good.

I can't wait to see There Will be Blood. It's not playing anywhere near me yet, but it sounds like it should be going into a much wider release in a couple weeks, and I'll be seeing it as soon as I can. I'm a big Daniel Day Lewis fan, and a big Paul Thomas Anderson fan, so I think this one is a can't miss.

[cubboyroy1826]

The Golden Compass 5.5/10

Just got back from taking the kiddies to see this. No i did not read the book and other than the previews i had no idea what this was about. With all of that said i thought this one was a train wreck. There was obviously a lot of plot missing and the special effects were pretty bad. Some cool ideas and the world where everything takes place was interesting. Other than a part made for Nicole Kidman this one was a mess.

[korme]

+1 That might be my favorite movie of his.

+2

[korme]

I think I'm the only one but I think Mallrats is my favorite. There are just so many great lines in that one.

dola, for me KS movies rank like this:

1. Mallrats
2. Chasing Amy
3. everythingelse

[MikeVic]

dola, for me KS movies rank like this:

1. Mallrats
2. Chasing Amy
3. everythingelse

I agree.

[MikeVic]

No Country for Old Men: Not a bad movie or anything, but something just seemed off. The bad guy was crazy and I loved that, plus his weapon was cool. :D I don't want to go into spoilers, but the movie as a whole actually had be kind of bored in parts and I thought the very last scene was really flat. 7.5/10

[Flasch186]

Lives of others

WOW, 9/10

This movie was so good that it took me by surprise. I had no idea what it was about except that which one could imagine from the title but it was spectacular. The characters were great, the cinematography truly captured the dank despair of East Berlin pre-wall fall, and the tension and character arcs were palpable. I HIGHLY recommend this movie to those who dont mind reading subtitles and to those who truly enjoy a slow plodder of a suspense story.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Wet Hot American Summer. The film has a very impressive cast. It's a spoof on all those teen/summer camp movies. The entire movie takes place over the course of one day, but it packs an entire summer worth of stuff in the day. It's one of the running gags. The movie certainly had some very funny moments, but it was really nothing more than a bunch of skits loosely tied together. The funniest, I thought, was the guy who plays Stadler on "Law & Order: SVU". He's hilarious as the slightly off kilter Viet Nam vet/camp cook. Overall, the movie just didn't hold my interest throughout. 6/10

[Butter_of_69]

Because he's crazy and has to be "in character" for like years before the movie actually shoots.

I was going to note that as well.

Can't wait to see There Will Be Blood, though. The previews look fantastic, especially Daniel Day-Lewis' character. He may be crazy, but there is a method to his madness.

[Flasch186]

Ocean's 13 6/10

typical faire. Comedic suspenseful (slightly) but not something to watch again. Did I mention how good The Lives of Others was?

[Groundhog]

The Quick and the Undead - 0/10

A 'zombie western'. I was expecting a tongue in cheek comedy/horror, instead I got a terrible Z-grade horror movie, with bad special effects and even worse acting. Turned it off after 20 mins.

[Buccaneer]

Ratatouille 7.5/10 - Probably my least favorite of the Pixar movies and seemed to be the most kid orientated of the Pixar movies to date (for me at least). Not that I didn't like it but, with past movies, Pixar has set the bar pretty high and this one was more 'cute' than laugh out loud funny.

I just watched Ratatouille and concur with this review. 6.5/10

[Atocep]

Alvin and the Chipmunks 6/10 - I promised my son he could pick out a movie to see and this what he chose. Suprisingly for me, it was watchable and any children 8-10 or younger will probably enjoy it quite a bit. A lot of the movie is predictable and the jokes have been done before, but it works well enough. Most kids will love this.

[korme]

Seems as though Atonement is a big flop at the box office, too bad because it's getting all kinds of nominations and I'm going to go see it.

[Buccaneer]

I take back my concurrence with the Ratatouille review after recalling all of the other Pixar movies. I thought Bug's Life was unwatchable and Nemo was insipid at best. Rat was clearly better than those two but while a cute, watchable movie, it didn't measure up to the cleverness of Incredibles, the sheer fun of Monsters and the brilliance of Toy Stories.

[Izulde]

Enchanted
I really enjoyed this movie, a clash of Disney animated optimism and a somewhat sanitized, but still gritty enough for contrast New York. The script brilliantly mocks Disney's fairy tale animation conventions and James Mardsen is hilarious as Prince Edward. McDreamy Dempsey does pretty well in his role as a cynical, logic-based single dad and divorce lawyer. Though the musical numbers are surprisingly sparse, what they lack in number they make up for in scope and quality.

That's not to say it's perfect, though. Susan Saradon (sp) is a noticeably underwhelming Queen Narcissa and the final 5-10 minutes of the film tarnish it somewhat.

The real gem of the film, though, and the real reason it succeeds as much as it does, is Amy Adams, an absolutely fantastic Princess Giselle, who is utterly believable and charming, both as initial fish-out-of-water and the inevitable character arc that follows.

Final Rating -8/10

[Groundhog]

Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees - 6/10

A mountain bandit attacks a wandering party in ancient Japan and forcibly takes a beautiful woman as his bride. Quickly she manipulates him to fill her every desire, including a love of decapitated heads, which she then acts out plays with, and at one point begins to make love to...

Quite a twisted little movie this one. The first 80 minutes were excellent, with a surprising amount of female nudity for good measure, but it was ruined by a very unsatisfying (and supernatural) ending, that saw it reduced from around an 8 to a 6 in score.

[ISiddiqui]

Clerks 2 - 10/10: I know, I should have seen this months ago. I loved Clerks and am from Jersey. But I finally got around to it, and I LOVED it! Now, I'm a big fan of shock humor, so naturally Randell's explinations on life (porch monkey!!), the donkey show, and various other aspects really freaking appealed to me. Now, the story was predictable and a bit cliched, but I'm sorry, the mangina, the Improved Jay and Silent Bob, and the aforementioned donkey show move to a perfect score.

[samifan24]

Junebug - 9/10

I heard a lot of good things about this 2005 Sundance film favorite so I finally watched it last night. This indie film tells the story of a man who brings his new bride home to meet his offbeat family in North Carolina. It's a comedy-drama and one of the best portrayals of small-town life and families I've ever seen. Amy Adams won critical acclaim for her portrayal of the very pregnant Ashley and was certainly worthy of such praise. The film has its quirks but in its quiet moments you catch glimpses of real characters in real situations, often beyond their control. Highly recommended.

[Johnny93g]

Juno 6/10

Meh, it is what it is. It's not the film i have heard critics gushing over, and Ellen Page certainly doesnt deserve and Oscar nomination because her character is "quirky." It's a cute film, it's amusing, but that it. Were no laugh out loud moments. I thought Juno's father was the best part of the movie, and he didnt get too much screen time.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Juno 6/10

Meh, it is what it is. It's not the film i have heard critics gushing over, and Ellen Page certainly doesnt deserve and Oscar nomination because her character is "quirky." It's a cute film, it's amusing, but that it. Were no laugh out loud moments. I thought Juno's father was the best part of the movie, and he didnt get too much screen time.

I haven't seen Juno yet, but last night I dreamed that I was watching it. I'm dreamt up entire scenes with two lead characters, Ellen Page and Micahel Cera, and everything. I remember thinking that the movie was pretty funny in my dream. There was something involved with going to a Michigan football game and some scene in the principal's office in the highschool.

[korme]

Junebug - 9/10

I heard a lot of good things about this 2005 Sundance film favorite so I finally watched it last night. This indie film tells the story of a man who brings his new bride home to meet his offbeat family in North Carolina. It's a comedy-drama and one of the best portrayals of small-town life and families I've ever seen. Amy Adams won critical acclaim for her portrayal of the very pregnant Ashley and was certainly worthy of such praise. The film has its quirks but in its quiet moments you catch glimpses of real characters in real situations, often beyond their control. Highly recommended.

Thanks, I'm probably going to pick this up today- it's been on my radar for a while as well.

[Atocep]

Clerks 2 - 10/10: I know, I should have seen this months ago. I loved Clerks and am from Jersey. But I finally got around to it, and I LOVED it! Now, I'm a big fan of shock humor, so naturally Randell's explinations on life (porch monkey!!), the donkey show, and various other aspects really freaking appealed to me. Now, the story was predictable and a bit cliched, but I'm sorry, the mangina, the Improved Jay and Silent Bob, and the aforementioned donkey show move to a perfect score.

I agree. I thought it was the perfect sequel.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Thanks, I'm probably going to pick this up today- it's been on my radar for a while as well.

Agreed. I put it on my Netflix que yesterday.

[samifan24]

Thanks, I'm probably going to pick this up today- it's been on my radar for a while as well.

Cool, please let me know what you think.

[korme]

Atonement (2007) - First of all you need to go into this sort of movie preparing to watch a period piece. I must say the story is very well done, and it is a pretty gripping movie, that almost moves too fast through the years sometimes, as it covers essentially two years, seperated by around 5. It's really a sad movie that deserved Globe & Oscar nominations, but I don't know if I'd agree with the Globes' choice of handing it Best Picture. 8/10

[path12]

There Will Be Blood (9/10)

Wow. It's not often I'm watching a movie and about a third of the way in start thinking "My God, this is fascinating!". You've already heard about Daniel Day-Lewis, so I'll just say that his performance has not been overhyped. This would be a 10, but slight dissatisfaction with the script towards the end knocks off a point. It makes 2 and a half hours fly by though, and that's pretty good in itself. I think it's a big contender for Best Picture.

[Chief Rum]

You know, I keep half-stepping out the door to go see that (There Will Be Blood) and then stopping myself. Reason being, the trailer just looks so ugly. I remember when I first saw it, I just got the sense of complete and utter darkness eminating from that movie. Not that I don't like movies that are dark, but sometimes those struggle to entertain, and I like to be entertained for my money.

Would you say that it entertains? If so, I will probably try to see it this upcoming weekend (that's open to everyone, not just path).

[Honolulu_Blue]

You know, I keep half-stepping out the door to go see that (There Will Be Blood) and then stopping myself. Reason being, the trailer just looks so ugly. I remember when I first saw it, I just got the sense of complete and utter darkness eminating from that movie. Not that I don't like movies that are dark, but sometimes those struggle to entertain, and I like to be entertained for my money.

Would you say that it entertains? If so, I will probably try to see it this upcoming weekend (that's open to everyone, not just path).

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/dreamworks_skg/gladiator/russell_crowe/gladiator5.jpg
"ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?"

[path12]

You know, I keep half-stepping out the door to go see that (There Will Be Blood) and then stopping myself. Reason being, the trailer just looks so ugly. I remember when I first saw it, I just got the sense of complete and utter darkness eminating from that movie. Not that I don't like movies that are dark, but sometimes those struggle to entertain, and I like to be entertained for my money.

Would you say that it entertains? If so, I will probably try to see it this upcoming weekend (that's open to everyone, not just path).

I'll bet you're not gonna walk out of the theater whistling a happy tune, but yeah I was definitely entertained in general. I'm interested in hearing other opinions on it, I had avoided most reviews beforehand.

[rowech]

Smokin Aces (7/10) -- A good movie but the violence and gore I thought was way over the top. I could have done without a lot of it and still had a good movie. In many ways, I think I would have given it higher marks.

[Flasch186]

we just started Rob Zombie's Halloween and I can tell you that I wont be able to watch half but the start is really really good and demented in a raw reality kind of way.

[oliegirl]

we just started Rob Zombie's Halloween and I can tell you that I wont be able to watch half but the start is really really good and demented in a raw reality kind of way.

I saw Halloween in the theater, and it was decent. I've never seen the original Halloween movies (not much of a horror movie fan, they terrify me). There were a few scenes that were over the top gross/gory, but showing why Michael Myers became who he was, was interesting. I think I'd probably give it a 6/10, but that is based more on the "horror movie scale" which is totally different that "regular movie scale".

[Lathum]

Juno- I really loved this movie. Ellen Page I thought was phenomonel and Michael Cera was great as always. J/K Simmons deserves an oscar nod for his role as her Dad. As an adopted child from a young mother this really got to me in alot of parts. I thought Page did a masterfull job of capturing the emotions someone in her position would be expieriencing. 10/10

[Johnny93g]

You know, I keep half-stepping out the door to go see that (There Will Be Blood) and then stopping myself. Reason being, the trailer just looks so ugly. I remember when I first saw it, I just got the sense of complete and utter darkness eminating from that movie. Not that I don't like movies that are dark, but sometimes those struggle to entertain, and I like to be entertained for my money.

Would you say that it entertains? If so, I will probably try to see it this upcoming weekend (that's open to everyone, not just path).

I felt it was very consuming. The 1st 15 minutes grab a hold of you, and DDL wont let you go for the remainder. The trailer really doesnt do this justice. It's the best movie of the year in my opinion. Give it a chance.

[Johnny93g]

There Will Be Blood (9/10)

Wow. It's not often I'm watching a movie and about a third of the way in start thinking "My God, this is fascinating!". You've already heard about Daniel Day-Lewis, so I'll just say that his performance has not been overhyped. This would be a 10, but slight dissatisfaction with the script towards the end knocks off a point. It makes 2 and a half hours fly by though, and that's pretty good in itself. I think it's a big contender for Best Picture.

use the spoiler tag to answer this, but im curious as to what about the script towards the end you didnt like. I really liked the end.

[cuervo72]

Saturday: Sky High (Disney Channel)

Monday: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (theater)

Both made me laugh and left me smiling.

[Flasch186]

The one good thing about my SAG membership is when the big movie houses send me free screeners to buy my vote:

3:10 to Yuma
No Country For Old Men
Into the Wild
Away From Her

& a first - a ticket for one to see "There Will Be Blood".

Keep 'em coming boys, no screener no vote :)

[korme]

Going to see There Will Be Blood in about 3 hours, and it's a solid 45 minute drive to the nearest theatre showing it.

[RomaGoth]

Received Four Rooms from Netflix about a week ago. We are planning on watching it tonight. Not sure if I will like it though. My wife picked it out. I like most stuff from Tarantino, but.......(Jackie Brown?) :confused:

[MikeVic]

The King of Kong: I was actually entertained by the people in this documentary. I thought it was well done and showed how these people actually take this stuff seriously. That Wiebe guy is a great person, while Billy Mitchell not so much. I'd say it's an 8/10.

[path12]

use the spoiler tag to answer this, but im curious as to what about the script towards the end you didnt like. I really liked the end.

Re: There Will Be Blood

I thought that the movie spent most of the time on watching Plainview build his empire and mostly keep his evil inside, which was fascinating. Then all of a sudden he's an old man, HW is getting married and they are estranged, and he goes berserk on Sunday. It just felt kind of tacked on and like "and then he became old and bitter". If that makes sense.

[korme]

There Will Be Blood (2007) - Wow. I must point out that there is almost no dialogue for the first ~15 minutes of the movie. Outstanding performances, like I said in the Oscar thread, just give Day-Lewis his title now. There are many scenes in the movie where he speaks volumes without saying a single word. I have to say that it was a great story and great script, that got extremely dark and disturbing toward the end. I mean, I felt uncomfortable watching some scenes, can't remember that ever happening in the theatre before. Regardless, it's probably going to win Best Picture and DDL is going to win Best Actor... go see it, now. 9/10

[korme]

FWIW, path, I tend to agree with you on the ending to TWBB, otherwise it is near perfect.

[path12]

FWIW, path, I tend to agree with you on the ending to TWBB, otherwise it is near perfect.

It do make 2 1/2 hours fly by, don't it?

[korme]

Pretty much.

[Johnny93g]

Re: There Will Be Blood

I thought that the movie spent most of the time on watching Plainview build his empire and mostly keep his evil inside, which was fascinating. Then all of a sudden he's an old man, HW is getting married and they are estranged, and he goes berserk on Sunday. It just felt kind of tacked on and like "and then he became old and bitter". If that makes sense.

I felt that that was the evolution of the man. Daniel went from threatening a man's life who commented about his son, to disowning the same son. The evil came out in little bits, and then, near the end, he just can't hold it in anymore. I see where your coming from however, and it's a very fine line between both of our opinions. Fantastic movie thouh.

[bosshogg23]

The Groomsmen
6/10

I watched The Groomsmen on Sunday.

Ed Burns stars, directs & writes. John Leguizamo, Jay Mohr, Donal Logue & Brittany Murphy star in it.

It's basically a bunch of 30 somethings, who grew up together, now at different stages of their lives. One is getting married, one has kids, one is a drunk, etc, all are groomsmen, except Ed Burns the groom.

Sounds kinda dumb but the dialogue is similar to Good Will Hunting. Very New England, abrasive, guy talk, tons of cursing. It is fun and entertaining definitely. Wife & I both enjoyed it. I wouldn't watch it twice and wouldn't buy it, but was glad I watched it.

[sabotai]

Superbad - The outcast/geek high school comedy down to near perfection. I laughed pretty much through the whole thing. The only issue I had with it was the very end, but everything else was great. 9.5/10

[Flasch186]

Into The Wild 7/10

This true story about Alexander Supertramp seemed about as long as real life. It was slow slow slow BUT you knew that eventhough it's a true story, and you may know the ending, you still needed to watch it. Emile Hirsch obviously punished himself for the role and did a good job capturing the heart of the kid. Prhaps this movie was done as good as you can do, this story, but it was NOT the best movie Ive ever seen and certainly was no Castaway.

[MikeVic]

Rambo - 9/10 : I'm tempted to say 9.5 or even 10 as a score. This was exactly what I wanted. The setup for the story is decent, dialogue is kept to a pretty bare minimum, and Darla from Angel plays the woman. Rambo kicks ass in the action, and there's a few cool parts. If you want action I highly recommend this movie.

[Chief Rum]

Rambo - 9/10 : I'm tempted to say 9.5 or even 10 as a score. This was exactly what I wanted. The setup for the story is decent, dialogue is kept to a pretty bare minimum, and Darla from Angel plays the woman. Rambo kicks ass in the action, and there's a few cool parts. If you want action I highly recommend this movie.

I would rate it about a 7.5. 9 is abit exorbitant, I think.

All that said, everything else I agree with. Anyone going into this expecting Oscar should be shot 57 times by a Rambo machine gun. It's an action movie with a lot of clicheed characters and gratuitous violence. It's what's wrong with the world today that people still enjoy stuff--and I loved every second of it.

It's freakin' Rambo--in 2008. :)

[Calis]

Saw There Will be Blood yesterday and agree with the consensus here. The best movie I've seen this year, and maybe one of my favorites of all-time. I usually have a very tough time sitting through long movies, but I was never bored or wandering through the whole thing, it kept me riveted. I do agree that the end just seemed sorta off and was the lowpoint of the movie for me, but to be honest I'm not sure how else it should've ended to get the point across.

Great movie though, and DDL better win the Oscar, it shouldn't even be close. How creepy must it be to work with that guy I wonder? Guy is hardcore.

[Lorena]

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - 8.8/10

Some parts had me mad and stressed which is what a good movie does. Not having read the book, I feel that the ending was short, as was expecting a longer battle scene. Still, I love how dark the movies have become, definitely looking forward to the last 2 movies.

[MikeVic]

I would rate it about a 7.5. 9 is abit exorbitant, I think.

All that said, everything else I agree with. Anyone going into this expecting Oscar should be shot 57 times by a Rambo machine gun. It's an action movie with a lot of clicheed characters and gratuitous violence. It's what's wrong with the world today that people still enjoy stuff--and I loved every second of it.

It's freakin' Rambo--in 2008. :)

I gave it a 9/10 for the pure entertainment value of it. I enjoyed it very much, even though it wasn't some sort of Oscar movie. I'd probably give movies like Demolition Man and the Street Fighter movie 9/10 or higher too. :)

[MikeVic]

It's interesting... IMDB has Rambo at an 8.5/10, and Rotten Tomatoes has it at a 38%! Talk about a huge range.

[watravaler]

Amores Perros - 9/10

It's a long one, but well worth the time...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amores_Perros

[oliegirl]

Untraceable 7.5/10

Very good movie, although it's a bit predictable, it still keeps you on the edge of your seat...definitely not a relaxing movie. It's disturbing, watching what happens to the victims is disturbing, and they show a lot, it's significantly more graphic than I was expecting. It's the kind of thing that you know couldn't really happen in the real world/real life, but knowing that there are people out there who would do this if they could is upsetting/disturbing/scary. Definitely recommend it though, not at all suitable for kids though...definitely earned it's R rating, and I wouldn't bring anyone under 15 or 16 to see it.

[Logan]

Charlie Wilson's War - 9/10

Wow, I thought this was great. Really entertaining, great pace, interesting plot, and of course great acting by Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman. A lot of great comedy between those two as well; I was surprised how much I laughed during this. The scene in Charlie's office that had Gust going in and out with Charlie's aides was awesome.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Rambo - 8/10. Like MikeVic and Chief noted above, the movie is exactly what you'd expect and want from a Rambo flick. I saw it over the weekend at my friend's bachelor party in Vegas. I really couldn't think of a better setting to see the film. The movie was ridiculously violent and over the top. It was like that first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan stretched over the course of an entire movie. The dialogue was laughably bad. The main villain really has to be one of the most evil villains in the history of cinema.

[Ironhead]

Rambo - 8/10. The movie was ridiculously violent and over the top. It was like that first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan stretched over the course of an entire movie.

The Body Counts of All Rambo Movies

<img src="http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/rambo-death-chart.jpg" width="700" height="594">

[rkmsuf]

The Time Machine (2002) - 6/10

Guy Pierce is a weird looking dude, story was ok. Samantha Mumba's tits, even on regular tv, saved this one.

[RomaGoth]

Received Four Rooms from Netflix about a week ago. We are planning on watching it tonight. Not sure if I will like it though. My wife picked it out. I like most stuff from Tarantino, but.......(Jackie Brown?) :confused:

We ended up watching this movie last night (only 5 days later). It was better than I expected, and the more I see Tim Roth in movies the more I enjoy his acting. He seems to play that neurotic guy to a T. I had never heard of this movie before, hard to believe it came out in 1995. My favorite of the 4 mini-movies was the third one with the kids. Hilarious.

8/10.

[rkmsuf]

The Amityville Horror (the new one) - 3/10

utter drivel

I did like the wood chopping with the kid though. That was entertaining.

[rowech]

We ended up watching this movie last night (only 5 days later). It was better than I expected, and the more I see Tim Roth in movies the more I enjoy his acting. He seems to play that neurotic guy to a T. I had never heard of this movie before, hard to believe it came out in 1995. My favorite of the 4 mini-movies was the third one with the kids. Hilarious.

8/10.

I've always wondered why Roth isn't bigger than he is.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I've always wondered why Roth isn't bigger than he is.

That's what she said.

[RomaGoth]

That's what she said.

You are talking about the redhead in Pulp Fiction, right? RIGHT? :eek:

[Karlifornia]

There Will Be Blood-8/10

I think I need to see it again, or at least let it soak in for a good while before I score it, but I'm gonna give it an 8 as a knee-jerk. Daniel Day-Lewis is a fucking beast. He more than earned his paycheck. If he doesn't win the Academy Award for best actor, I'll be surprised.

If someone can remind me how to do spoiler tags, I'd he happy to give detailed thoughts on the movie.

[Groundhog]

I can't wait till There Will Be Blood is released over here. Daniel Day-Lewis should have won an Academy Award for Gangs of New York.

[Johnny93g]

After watching Gangs of New York, i started renting and buying everything the man has done. I was dissapointed he didn't win the oscar for gangs, but i dont see anyway DDL doesnt win this year.

Some ratings for Daniel Day Lewis movies:

My Left Foot 7/10

It's not the kind of movie that appeals to the masses, but it is his only oscar winning performance. Christy Brown has cerebal palsey, and the film is about his life. It isn't a flick I can watch often, but it's worth a viewing every other year.

In the Name of the Father 8/10

Great film. DDL was nominated for an oscar playing a Irish hippie falsely accused of a terrorist attack in England. It's long, but thats kinda normal for DDL movies. Pete Posslewhite, a very good character actor, play's Lewis' father, and in my opinion, should have been nominated for an oscar. Not sure if he was. If you like Shawshank Redemption, you'll like this.

The Crucible 5/10

I only watched this because of DDL, and without him, it wouldnt score a 3. Takes place during the Salem witch trials. Winnona Ryder's also stars, but something is missing. I watch this for the ending though. The "It's MY NAME" scene is great.

The Ballad of Jack and Rose 7/10

The movie no one has heard of made after Gangs of NY, and before There Will be Blood. DDL's character raised his daughter alone, pretty much isolated from the world, and now that he's dying, must decide how she will be cared for in the future. Paul Dano, and Catherine Keener are in this, and it's a very well acted movie. It's slow, and it's definatly not a fun movie, but i liked it.

[Lathum]

No LAst of the Mohicans?

[Johnny93g]

No LAst of the Mohicans?

LOL, i figure most people have seen that one

[Pyser]

what in the holy hell is wrong with you people? i saw rambo on your reviews, and frankly, you guys owe me $9

that was one of the most boring action movies i ever sat through, just for a bloody final 20 minutes or so

was i supposed to be routing for rambo to end up with the chick? or her to end up with that guy (brother? husband? boyfriend?)

why did rambo even help them? because he finally saw a white woman after 20 years?

i would write more i hated, but im sick of even thinking about this movie. there were zero redeeming qualities, except for a few heads being blown off. but not enough heads being blown off to justify the first god awful hour of setup.

i give it a 2/10....and really i only give it that because there was a trailer for a movie named Midnight Meat Train, and my juvenile mind kept laughing at that for about 5 solid minutes.

(and this is from a guy who likes michael bay movies, so dont say i was going in expecting oscar quality stuff)

[Neon_Chaos]

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street - 7/10 - It all boils down to the following questions: Do you like musicals? and Are you not disturbed by ridiculous amounts of blood? Good movie, but dear Lord, that's the most blood I've seen in a movie lately...

[Honolulu_Blue]

what in the holy hell is wrong with you people? i saw rambo on your reviews, and frankly, you guys owe me $9

that was one of the most boring action movies i ever sat through, just for a bloody final 20 minutes or so

What? You didn't enjoy the horrible dialogue? Those moving exchanges between John J. and that woman? Her horrible acting? All that was worth at least $1. I got many a good laugh.

You weren't moved/outraged by the atrocities committed by those evil militia dudes?

In fact, I'd argue that you'd be hard pressed to come up with a group of villians more evil than the Burmese militia John J. mowed down. Almost half of the film's modest running time was dedicated to showing just how evil these people were. That was worth at least $2 just for the pure cinematic historical value of it all.

To see a sampling of what these guys were capable of open the spoiler below:


Torturing villagers by making them race through mine-infested waters and then just shooting anyone who doesn't end up getting blowed up? Check. Check. (This specific event happened twice)

Ripping children from the arms of mothers to "recruit" them to their army? Check.

Abusing these poor "recruits"? Check.

Raping women? Check.

Ripping children from mother's arms and then shooting the children in the head? Check.

Shooting women in the head? Check.

Mowing down innocent villagers while they try to run away? Check.
Generally butchering innocents (e.g., hacking of limbs, stabbing people, using rifle butts, mortars, gernades, anti-tank machine guns)? Check. Check. Check. Check.

Killing dogs? Check.

Killing live stock? Check.

Burning down villages? Check.

Their leader enjoys a cigarette while watching all of the above with a look smug pleasure etched into his face? Check.

Parties involving forcing women to dance and then, once that gets old, gang raping them? Check.

Dangling a prisoner's bloodied feet into a pig pen and letting the pigs eat his feet while still the guy is still alive? Check.

Their leader is a pedophile? Check.



was i supposed to be routing for rambo to end up with the chick? or her to end up with that guy (brother? husband? boyfriend?)

This was "Rambo", not "Terms of Endearment." Who the chick "ended up with" is completely irrelevant. She was there to convince John J. to live for something or die for nothing. That was all.



why did rambo even help them? because he finally saw a white woman after 20 years?

The fact that there was a white woman in danger cannot be overlooked. That said, she had convinced John J., after ther terrible moving speech in the dramatic rain storm, to help them. She reminded him of the importance of believe in something and not just shutting out the world, like John J. had been doing since whenever...

There was also, the fact that in the movie John J. has an epiphany of sorts, a personal revelation. He makes the following observation about himself: "Y'know what you are, what you're made of. War is in your blood. When you're pushed, killing's as easy as breathing." He further states, "You didn't kill for your country... you killed for yourself."

After reaching the conclusion, he finally learns to accept his nature, embrace who he is. Those are the very muddled reasons why he decided to help.


i would write more i hated, but im sick of even thinking about this movie. there were zero redeeming qualities, except for a few heads being blown off. but not enough heads being blown off to justify the first god awful hour of setup.

You're losing me here... First, you complain about not enough background or closure on the non-existant romantic angle, then you want more background as to why John J. actually decided to help, but now you're complaining about "an hour of setup" and not enough heads being blown off? You are obviously conflicted here...

How many heads would you want to see blown off exactly? This was pretty much the most violent movie I have ever seen. There were plenty of heads getting blowed off (for any sane person). In addition, there were a plethora entire bodies blowed up, limbs hacked off, limbs shot off, people gutted, people's feet getting ate by pigs, mortars blowing up people, mines blowing up people, people getting ripped apart by .50 caliber machine guns... All of it coated in extra-super gore. I mean, seriously. That carnage was worth at least $3.

The shot described below was alone was worth $1:

The shot of the missionary dude's face after he beat that guy's head in with the rock was priceless. The look of mixed rage and horror at what he had done was priceless. Genius.

As for the god awful setup, it was glorious in it's ridiculousness. The unintentional comedy meter was off the scale.


i give it a 2/10....and really i only give it that because there was a trailer for a movie named Midnight Meat Train, and my juvenile mind kept laughing at that for about 5 solid minutes.

I agree wholeheartedly on the "Midnight Meat Train" name. That was worth $.50.


(and this is from a guy who likes michael bay movies, so dont say i was going in expecting oscar quality stuff)

Come on, this stuff was better than most Michael Bay crap. In Michael Bay films the drama/dialogue is horrible, but not quite horrible enough to be enjoyable like it was in Rambo. Then there are all the over the top slow motion shots, the quick cuts, the shaky/blury camera...

I think I managed to justify $7.50 of your hard earned dollars back. I think you add all the stuff that group of Blackwater Mercenary types did and the crazy dialogue of their bald headed leader dude and all that was at least worth a good $1.50 to view on the big screen.

So, there you have it, your $9 have been justified!

[MikeVic]

what in the holy hell is wrong with you people? i saw rambo on your reviews, and frankly, you guys owe me $9

that was one of the most boring action movies i ever sat through, just for a bloody final 20 minutes or so

was i supposed to be routing for rambo to end up with the chick? or her to end up with that guy (brother? husband? boyfriend?)

why did rambo even help them? because he finally saw a white woman after 20 years?

i would write more i hated, but im sick of even thinking about this movie. there were zero redeeming qualities, except for a few heads being blown off. but not enough heads being blown off to justify the first god awful hour of setup.

i give it a 2/10....and really i only give it that because there was a trailer for a movie named Midnight Meat Train, and my juvenile mind kept laughing at that for about 5 solid minutes.

(and this is from a guy who likes michael bay movies, so dont say i was going in expecting oscar quality stuff)


I don't know how you can say there weren't enough heads being blown off. If you read up above a bit, there were over 200 deaths in the movie. Not sure how many more you want. :)

I didn't care much about the girl. To me, she was just there to get Rambo to start fighting and give him some lines.

[rkmsuf]

funny part regarding the dialogue is that stallone said this was a long and difficult write to come up with a script. lol.

[Subby]

Finally saw Brokeback Mountain last night. Perfect in almost every way - I am pissed at myself for waiting so long to see it. Ledger's performance is one of the finest I think I have ever seen. The cinematography and musical score are both beautiful. The story was completely heartbreaking. 9/10

[VPI97]

Brokeback Mountain...perfect in almost every way
SuperGay

[NoSkillz]

The Lookout - 8/10

Interesting heist thriller with pretty well developed leads, especially the Joseph Gordon-Levitt character. He's really come a long way since his TV show days and was also excellent in Brick, another noir-ish thriller.

[RomaGoth]

After watching Gangs of New York, i started renting and buying everything the man has done. I was dissapointed he didn't win the oscar for gangs, but i dont see anyway DDL doesnt win this year.

Some ratings for Daniel Day Lewis movies:

My Left Foot 7/10

It's not the kind of movie that appeals to the masses, but it is his only oscar winning performance. Christy Brown has cerebal palsey, and the film is about his life. It isn't a flick I can watch often, but it's worth a viewing every other year.

I saw this one about a month ago. I had to write a paper about a disability for a class and I chose this movie. Both my wife and I thought it was really good and DDL was awesome as usual.

[Pyser]

lots of stuff about a really bad movie...

wow, that was an impressive post, HB. some fun points

i guess the main problem was twofold - one, rarings of 8-9/10 on this board and imbd built it up for me, and two, i didnt find a lot of unintentional humor in the movie

i think it was intentionally bad. it just wasnt that fun for me

believe me, i watch plenty of awful movies on my own time. but usually the key to them is that they arent self aware, for lack of a better term. i felt rambo was. it was playing to its own stereotype too much, instead of trying to make its own good movie

the dialogue was insanely bad. i think what made it that way, though, was there was no pacing to it. there was not even a half second pause between 2 characters talking.

doyouwanttogotoburmathatswarzonewecanmakethingschangenothingchangesyesitdoesokill go

as far as the bad guys, i dont think it was anything anyone hadnt seen before. though i would have liked to see him feed someone their intestines. why not go all out

maybe the main problem was it was billed as nonstop action, and really, that isnt even close to true

this new genre of action flicks popping up - namely crank and shoot em up - THAT is nonstop action. rambo was a whole lot of boring setup, when no one cared why he was fighting. just chop off a head already.

[samifan24]

The Lookout - 8/10

Interesting heist thriller with pretty well developed leads, especially the Joseph Gordon-Levitt character. He's really come a long way since his TV show days and was also excellent in Brick, another noir-ish thriller.

I loved The Lookout so I also Netflixed Brick but didn't like it as much. The dialogue really bothered me. I understand the director was paying homage to the pulp style but kids just don't talk that way and it was distracting to me. JGL was good in both, though.

[MikeVic]

Charlie Wilson's War - 8.5/10
The first bits of the movie didn't have me interested too much, but after at a certain point pretty early on it was very good. Quite a bit of funny stuff, and it got me interested in this Charlie Wilson person. Can't find much to complain about other than there was a conversation or two that I wasn't sure what was really said, and the beginning parts were kinda alright but not great. The rest of the movie was very good though.

[MikeVic]

Sweeney Todd - 9/10
I really liked this movie. I've only seen two musicals: this and Moulin Rouge. I liked both, so something tells me I should be watching them more often. :) The story in this movie was very good I thought. There's a lot of blood, but it's kind of comical. I cringed the first time but after that it was kind of just there. Good to see Giles from Buffy have one line in the movie too. ;) Quite a few good songs too. I really liked elements of the story, and smiled at a few parts.

[Chief Rum]

I admit I have not seen Atonement or Juno. So I could be way off my base. But my impression from those who have seen these and the other Best Picture movies is that There Will Be Blood, No Country For Old Men and Michael Clayton are slightly "better" movies or stronger Best Picture favorites. So if I am stepping on any "Atonement" or "Juno" toes, out there, I apologize in advance and admit I need to see them both.

Now, to the three I have seen. I enjoyed all three of these movies. And from what I can see, there are a lot of people who think There Will Be Blood is the best movie. Others say No Country for Old Men. Few champion Michael Clayton over one or the other, from what I have seen.

So I wanted to throw my hat in the Michael Clayton ring. Not only do I think it was Best Picture, but I'm not ready to hand DDL the Best Actor award either over Clooney, who was fantastic in the title role.

That said, you want to see something that DDL did with his character in There Will Be Blood that I thought was small in overt noticeability but huge in how it colored his character, watch how DDL "leans". His Plainview was constantly leaning slightly forward with his jaw and huge push broom mustache leading the way, challengingly. He held that posture for much of the movie. Such a small effect, but a profound impression (and one reason I would probably still end up giving the Best Actor to DDL; I'm just suggesting it not be handed to him without some discussion at least).

Michael Clayton gets the nod from me for one simple reason: it delivers at the end. The trip in each of the other two was phenomenal (probably overall better than MC), but the end left something to be desired. Michael Clayton isn't so awe-inspiring on the trip, but it makes you want to stand at the end and say, "Fuck yeah!" Actually, I feel the MC "trip" is underrated because it is understated. I don't think you quite realize how well it is being plotted forward until it ties together at the end.

Just my thoughts.

[korme]

Gonna see Michael Clayton in theaters with my brother before the Oscars- we have knocked down 4 of the 5 together, why not make it a perfect 5/5?

My order of probability to win Best Pic:
There Will Be Blood
No Country for Old Men
Atonement
Juno

My guess is that MC will be somewhere in the middle.

[Calis]

Gonna see Michael Clayton in theaters with my brother before the Oscars- we have knocked down 4 of the 5 together, why not make it a perfect 5/5?

My order of probability to win Best Pic:
There Will Be Blood
No Country for Old Men
Atonement
Juno

My guess is that MC will be somewhere in the middle.

Yeah, this list matches up pretty much exactly how I have them, and I'd put Michael Clayton right above Atonement there. Luckily for once the order I expect them to win and the order I'd like them to win matches up. You don't get that often.

Atonement is the only one I've missed, but from reading I think it has a better chance than Juno.

[korme]

Atonement won the Globe so it's got to have a better shot than Juno :)

[sabotai]

(I know there was a whole thrwad for this movie, but I figured I wouldn't bump a thread that's been 'dead' for over a week.)

Cloverfield - I really liked this movie. I thought they did a good job keeping the camera shakiness down as much as possible, but then again I'm not bothered by camera shakiness. I especially liked the guy holding the camera, since that's almost how I would have handled it. Trying to make a joke when I could, doing a really horrible job trying to talk to the chick I was interested in, etc. so I really got into it. I thought the actions by the characters and how they handled all of the events that occured was realistic .

The ending was my only real big problem. It seemed to almost fall apart at the end, as if they didn't know how to end the movie. Otherwise, I thought it was great. 9/10

[Lorena]

No Country for Old Men: Not a bad movie or anything, but something just seemed off. The bad guy was crazy and I loved that, plus his weapon was cool. :D I don't want to go into spoilers, but the movie as a whole actually had be kind of bored in parts and I thought the very last scene was really flat. 7.5/10

I agree with what you said Mike. When the movie was over, a lot of people around us were kind of confused. I heard a lot of, "that's it?" and I left with a sort of empty feeling. Javier Bardem's acting was awesome though, he really creeped me out and that's the only character I liked.. everyone else was sort of blah. I felt the movie was slow with lots of tension building and in the end, I left with tension and no release.

After all the hype, I wanted to like it but it fell flat for me as well.

No Country for old Men - 6.5/10

[Honolulu_Blue]

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - I heard nothing about this movie when it originally came out. Since then, everyone who saw it kept raving about it, so Lady H_B and I decided to give it a rental. Definitely glad we did. The movie is hillarious. There is some great dialogue. It's a fun spin on the whole private detective/film noir type film staring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer. Val, as Gay Perry, a gay private detective/consultant to film stars is hillarious. Easily one of his best roles in a long time. There's great chemister between Downey Jr. and Kilmer. Good action. Lots of fun. No real downside at all. 8/10

[korme]

I beg people to watch KKBB, H_B... it's easily one of my favorite movies of the past 3 years.

[Schmidty]

Stardust - 9.5 / 10

I'm a sucker for fairy tale movies, and really loved this one. I never really thought much about Claire Danes, but she was unbelievably beautiful in this movie.

[Neon_Chaos]

Cloverfield -9/10 Good movie. The movie started off slow, and just took off once the monster hit the city. The ending was a bit... meh. I sat down for the end of the ridiculously long credits, all for one simple message on the audio of the camcorder / radio message. And it was worth it.

"It's still alive..."

Word of mouth says that a sequel is most likely going to happen, considering how much money it pulled in during opening weeekend.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I beg people to watch KKBB, H_B... it's easily one of my favorite movies of the past 3 years.

I will be joining your efforts, Shorty.

[Flasch186]

3:10 to Yuma

8/10

I thought that it was well done but what really carried this movie was the acting:

Christian Bale - Spectacular in his control yet his allowing us to see the desperation he felt for his situation and family. Extremely well done and one of my favorite actors.

Russell Crowe - Well done. He truly gave a great performance as the strong leader of a bad bad group of guys. He was sensitive and witty but not enough to make it sappy.

Ben Foster - I just love this kid in almost everything he does. Im not sure if his real voice is as creepy as he made it in this and at first it was a bit of a put off but eventually I didnt notice it. He was great as the Grim Reaper type of guy, always lurking in the shadows, always vengeful and spiteful.

The movie was well done

[korme]

Quiz Show (1994) - This has been on my radar since April of 07, finally got to tape it on TCM from SB Sunday. It's a true story about the rigged gameshow "21" on NBC in the 50's which turned into the subsequent absence of quiz shows for a short time afterward. Starring John Turturro, Rob Morrow, Ralph Fiennes and Oscar-winner Paul Scofield, it was pretty compelling and very interesting. Directed by Robert Redford and a cameo by Marty Scorsese. 8/10

[Flasch186]

No Country for Old Men

7/10

I agree with almost everything said above. Alot of build for a ho hum ending.

[Subby]

Juno

Maybe a tad too witty, but enjoyable anyway. Incredibly sweet movie and laugh out loud funny in a number of places. My wife remarked that the film was perfectly cast. and I would tend to agree.

9/10

[samifan24]

Quiz Show (1994) - 8/10

Quiz Show is one of my favorite movies. I'm glad you enjoyed it. What made you watch it now after it was on your radar for so long?

[korme]

It played on TCM on Superbowl Sunday so I DVR'd it- shit luck, as I was looking for former Best Pictures before the Oscars that TCM was advertising, and came upon Quiz Show.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Junebug - 9/10

I heard a lot of good things about this 2005 Sundance film favorite so I finally watched it last night. This indie film tells the story of a man who brings his new bride home to meet his offbeat family in North Carolina. It's a comedy-drama and one of the best portrayals of small-town life and families I've ever seen. Amy Adams won critical acclaim for her portrayal of the very pregnant Ashley and was certainly worthy of such praise. The film has its quirks but in its quiet moments you catch glimpses of real characters in real situations, often beyond their control. Highly recommended.

I finally got around to watching Junebug. I think Sami Kapanen's number one fan described it pretty well. Amy Adams was amazing. Her performance was definitely worth all the praise it received and every scene she was in was excellent, in particular, her last scene in the movie. There was also a great scene at church-sponsored dinner that was quite moving. I felt the rest was sort of filler. I was really surprised to find the actress who played Madeleine was the same woman from Army of Darkness. I knew she looked familiar, but would have never put that together. To me, the movie's parts were greater than its whole. I think that mainly had to do with the George character not being all that compelling. 7/10.

[Chief Rum]

Saw Atonement the other night. Very good movie and deserves to have been nominated for Best Picture.

Still would put it below Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men, but it's close.

[Mustang]

Sunshine - 7/10

If you are the type of person that finds mankind trying to avoid disaster (or dealing with disaster) type movies such as Armageddon, Day After Tomorrow, Core, etc and you can not suspend whatever scientific information you have on if something is plausible then you are going to want to stay away from the movie.

Actually, the movie doesn't deal so much with the mission rather than the people's interactions on the mission when things start to go south.



During one part of the movie, the ship is low on oxygen and can support 4 team members enough to get to the sun. Well, they are at 5 so, they make a decision to kill the last team member who is basically non-functional at that point in the mission.

[samifan24]

I finally got around to watching Junebug. Amy Adams was amazing. Her performance was definitely worth all the praise it received and every scene she was in was excellent, in particular, her last scene in the movie. There was also a great scene at church-sponsored dinner that was quite moving. I felt the rest was sort of filler.

I agree that Adams' final scene and the church-sponsored dinner scene were two of the film's best. Roger Ebert also mentions some other scenes which he (and I) thought were especially moving: the scene where Johnny frantically tries to tape the TV special on meerkats for Ashley and the scene where Eugene, the father, tells Madeline how Eugene's wife, Peg, "hides herself." While I agree that Alessandro Nivola wasn't given much to do and didn't really impress me, I think that the film is better because his character remains in the background and we are allowed to see his world revolve around him.

[Jas_lov]

First of all, I just wanted to say R.I.P. Roy Scheider. I loved him in Jaws and the French Connection.

Now on to the reviews.

3:10 to Yuma

9/10. Great film! Crowe and Bale were excellent as always. Ben Foster, who played Crowe's sidekick Charlie stole the show! He was pure evil and he played it brilliantly. The kid who played Bale's son also did a pretty good job. The problem most have with this movie is the ending, but I loved it! It was actually much better than the original's ending. They did a fantastic job with this remake. I just hope they give High Noon the same justice. I don't think anyone can fill the shoes of Gary Cooper though.

[Honolulu_Blue]

the scene where Johnny frantically tries to tape the TV special on meerkats for Ashley...

That was a great scene. It really made you feel for the guy who, up until that point and pretty much throughout the rest of the movie, was pretty unlikeable. The other scenes you mentioned were also great. Like I said, the movie had a ton of fantastic scenes, but I never felt like the film pulled them all together all that well. The film, as a whole, was just not greater than the sum of its parts.

[RomaGoth]

I know it has already been mentioned by other people, but I finally saw Ratatouille this past weekend. It was ok, nothing special though. There are definately other computer animated movies I like more, such as The Incredibles and Shrek. With that being said, this one was ok. I would probably not see it again and I wouldn't buy it, but for anyone who has not seen it, I would say go ahead and check it out.

Ratatouille = 7/10

[Jas_lov]

Lucky Number Slevin

8/10. Saw this on Showtime over the weekend. All star cast including Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu, and even Josh Hartnett was ok. Pretty clever film and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Neon_Chaos]

Bucket List - 9/10

I had reservations going in and watching this movie, thinking it may end up being too preachy for my tastes. I was pleasantly surprised by the film, however, and was glad to have watched it. I actually cried a bit towards the end... good movie.

[korme]

Hard Candy (2006) - First off, thanks directly to this thread for all of the reviews. Frankly, an uncomfortable movie to watch beginning to end. The whole scope and concept is mind-boggling and there is no protagonist here. I am not sure if the $2.49 ($7 at BB w/$5 coupon) was worth the purchase - I don't even know if I could sit through that again! Wow. This is a movie I'm going to make my friends watch. 8/10

[samifan24]

Funny, a friend recommended Hard Candy to me last week. But then another friend told me he had to turn it off. I haven't seen it yet and am not sure I want to anyway. I understand the basic gist of the movie and I know which scene in particular made my friend turn it off.

[ThunderingHERD]

Has no one mentioned The King of Kong?

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YPLjXjObEms&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YPLjXjObEms&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

See this movie.

[Groundhog]

Thanks for pointing that movie out TH... I'd never heard of it. Looks awesome. It's released over here on the 28th.

[MikeVic]

Has no one mentioned The King of Kong?

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YPLjXjObEms&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YPLjXjObEms&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

See this movie.

Uhh two pages back. ;)

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showpost.php?p=1641878&postcount=1331

[terpkristin]

I actually watched King of Kong on Saturday. I guess I'd rate it an 8.5 or 9 out of 10. It was quite entertaining, but the people seemed soooooo dorky I couldn't tell if it was real or a mockumentary until I looked it up. It was pretty amusing.

/tk

[Mustang]

I couldn't tell if it was real or a mockumentary until I looked it up.

That's the beauty of it, that you just don't know either way.

[Logan]

Breach 7/10

the fact that it was a true story helped. For being a suspense movie it was missing some of that and instead focused on relationships....which was fine but I felt, considering this was the largest spy scandal in our nation's history, it couldve been more suspenseful.

Watched this on HBO last night, and while it was a pleasant surprise based on my expectations, I agree with what you said. Chris Cooper is just damn good though.

[Lorena]

Dolemite - 7.5/10

The slow motion karate moves are ridiculously funny. There's this one scene in particular where Dolemite goes to kick the cop in the face and misses but the cop still goes down. It's as if they did one take and just went with it.

Human Tornado - 8.5/10

I enjoyed this much more than the original Dolemite. The best part was the last battle scene where he whoops some ass slow motion Kung-Fu style.

[thesloppy]

Dolemite - 7.5/10
Human Tornado - 8.5/10

I enjoyed this much more than the original Dolemite. The best part was the last battle scene where he whoops some ass slow motion Kung-Fu style.

Is that the one where he gets tricked into taking PCP and hallucinates that he's seeing his mother, until he uses his kung-fu grip and slo-mo tricekry to flatten the baddies, whilst screaming "YO NOT MY MAMA!"?

I think I may be getting confused with 'Avenging Disco Godfather'.......so many fine Rudy Ray Moore vehicles to choose from.

[Lorena]

Is that the one where he gets tricked into taking PCP and hallucinates that he's seeing his mother, until he uses his kung-fu grip and slo-mo tricekry to flatten the baddies, whilst screaming "YO NOT MY MAMA!"?

I think I may be getting confused with 'Avenging Disco Godfather'.......so many fine Rudy Ray Moore vehicles to choose from.

AHAHAHAHA, no, neither of those are it but if it's on Avenging Disco Godfather.. it's going on my Q right now :D Hell if it's not on there, I'll keep renting Dolemite movies until I find it.

Dolemite mutha-FUCKA!!!

[Chief Rum]

AHAHAHAHA, no, neither of those are it but if it's on Avenging Disco Godfather.. it's going on my Q right now :D Hell if it's not on there, I'll keep renting Dolemite movies until I find it.

Dolemite mutha-FUCKA!!!

Your original domelite post would have been classsic if you had posted your Human Tornado review in the next post, starting with "dola..."

[JS19]

What's the verdict on We Own the Night?? Wanted to see it in theatres, totally forgot about it since, now I feel I gotta go get the DVD. Big fan of Wahlberg and Phoenix.

[Johnny93g]

What's the verdict on We Own the Night?? Wanted to see it in theatres, totally forgot about it since, now I feel I gotta go get the DVD. Big fan of Wahlberg and Phoenix.

I liked it enough to pick it up on DVD. I'm not a big Phoenix fan at all, but i thought he was great in this. It's a solid movie.

[Johnny93g]

I finally got to see Michael Clayton. While i agree it is a good movie, i don't see it seriously challenging for a best movie oscar. I would rank it 4th out of the 5 nominee's. The ending is very satisfying though.

[path12]

La Vie En Rose -- 7/10 All I knew going into this movie was that the lead actress was nominated for an Oscar. The movie is in French with subtitles, and is about the life of singer Edith Piaf. Wow, what a tragic life she led. Overall I enjoyed it, though the movie does a fair amount of jumping around between periods, which can be confusing for someone like myself that didn't really know anything about her. And I would have loved to have subtitles during her songs, to know what she was saying. But those quibbles aside I liked it, and Marion Cotillard did a really good job.

[watravaler]

There Will Be Blood (7/10)

As many have said, DDL is probably the best in the business right now. The story isn't too enthralling by any stretch of the imagination, but the mise-en-scène is simply remarkable...

[korme]

Bought We Own the Night (along with Assassination & Gone Baby Gone) so I'll be watching that tonight... I'm guessing it'll be a decent flick.

[rowech]

Definitely, Maybe -- Valentine's promise to the wife. Shockingly, I actually enjoyed it. Really liked Ryan Reynolds in it and Isla Fisher (I think that's her name) looks really good in it! Plus the girl from Little Miss Sunshine definitely adds some comedy as well. One of the better romantic comedies I've seen in a while even though it dragged a bit near the end. (8/10)

[Buccaneer]

I was sick most of the week so it gave me chance to watch a few favorites:

Having watched Ocean's 13 a couple of times recently, went back to...
Ocean's 11: 9/10 (one of my all-time favorites)
Ocean's 12: 6.5/10

I also listened to the audiobook of The Perfect Storm that was just released on iTunes. Great, great audiobook experience (even though I had read the book before). Then watched the movie again...
The Perfect Storm: 5.5/10 (somehow didn't like it nearly as much as I did the first time, probably due to having just listened to the book)

[Greyroofoo]

300
7.5/10

Just watched this on HD-DVD

If I had a word to describe it, I would say exaggerated
a pretty good movie just not one with a real lot of depth.

[Calis]

Saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang the other night thanks to the praise earlier in this thread. Very fun movie, I loved the dialog and Downey/Kilmer both were fantastic. Good stuff.

Watched Assassination of Jesse James tonight and really loved it. I'd put it up among the best I've seen this year, I really enjoyed it..but I'm also a sucker for anything western-ish. Great performances all-around, and the dialog was much wittier than I expected, I was chuckling quite a bit at the movie. Very haunting movie though.

I guess if I was rating them I'd give Kiss Kiss about an 8.0 and Jesse James a 9.0 or maybe even 9.5.

[korme]

Look up idiot in the dictionary you know what you'll find

A picture of me?

No, the definition of the word idiot - which you FUCKING are!

[Neon_Chaos]

Saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang the other night thanks to the praise earlier in this thread. Very fun movie, I loved the dialog and Downey/Kilmer both were fantastic. Good stuff.

Watched Assassination of Jesse James tonight and really loved it. I'd put it up among the best I've seen this year, I really enjoyed it..but I'm also a sucker for anything western-ish. Great performances all-around, and the dialog was much wittier than I expected, I was chuckling quite a bit at the movie. Very haunting movie though.

I guess if I was rating them I'd give Kiss Kiss about an 8.0 and Jesse James a 9.0 or maybe even 9.5.

"I... I pissed all over her body..."

BWAHAHAHAH.

[Calis]

"I... I pissed all over her body..."

BWAHAHAHAH.

Classic.

"Can they do, like, an ID from that?"

[korme]

Actually he just is like "I..uh.. I peed on her!"

[Doug5984]

Just watched I Am Legend

I really liked it, thought they could've done a little more at the end, but overall a very good movie for me.

I'd give it a 9/10. (Speaking of, I wish Netflix ratings were based on 10 stars, and not 5. A movie like that is better than a 4, but not a 5... And I have a lot of movies in the 3 star category that I would much rather rate a 5/10 up to a 7/10...a 5 being an eh it was ok, 7 being yeah it was good- probably won't watch it again though.

[Coffee Warlord]

Jumper - Incomplete

I cannot rate this movie. 90 minutes go by, and you're basically like...did I just watch a whole movie? It COULD be good. It's just...wayyyyyy too fast and absolutely incomprehensible due to that fact.

[Lorena]

300
7.5/10

Just watched this on HD-DVD

If I had a word to describe it, I would say exaggerated
a pretty good movie just not one with a real lot of depth.

I haven't seen the HD version, but 300 is an artsy-type of movie. Not a lot depth, like you say, but it's beautiful to look at.

I'd give it a 9/10. (Speaking of, I wish Netflix ratings were based on 10 stars, and not 5. A movie like that is better than a 4, but not a 5... And I have a lot of movies in the 3 star category that I would much rather rate a 5/10 up to a 7/10...a 5 being an eh it was ok, 7 being yeah it was good- probably won't watch it again though.

Yes, I totally agree. The hardest thing for me is rating 3 or 4 stars. Like Dolamite for example, I gave it a 3, but it was worthy of a 3 and a half... not a 4, but a 3 and a half would be just about right. I hate how we can't rate half stars either.

[Neon_Chaos]

Juno - 9/10

Good movie. Just suffers from Dawson's Creek-itis. 16 year olds speaking like... well, mature individuals. :) But I understand the oscar nod... it's one the most subtly funny yet touching movies I've seen

[korme]

We Own the Night (2006) - Phoenix and Wahlberg are brothers. Wahlberg, along with pop (Duvall) are cops, and Phoenix is a manager at a poppin' night club. Their lives are intertwined when busts need to go down where Phoenix works... he has to make some decisions when things get hairy. It was an ok flick, lacking on dialogue, decent action. Expected better I guess. 6.5/10

[Pyser]

most of you guys hand out great ratings like candy.

makes me appreciate critics more :)

[rowech]

most of you guys hand out great ratings like candy.

makes me appreciate critics more :)

I know for me, I rarely watch anything that I don't feel will be worth my while. Typically, a movie must get at least a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes for me to even see it.

[Calis]

I know for me, I rarely watch anything that I don't feel will be worth my while. Typically, a movie must get at least a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes for me to even see it.

I'm the same way, I always check Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, and a couple message boards for word of mouth before I see a movie. I usually am pretty certain going in that I'll like it, just a matter of how much.

I'm the same way with books, games, music, and about anything.

Reading up about them is half the fun. :)

[Izulde]

Atonement - 6.5/10
Overall, a decent movie. Kiera Knightley is enjoyable as always and I actually liked the frequent shifts in time, location and perspective, some of which are deliberately confusing and get resolved by later scenes. A few moments of dark comedy as well that had the audience laughing. Beautiful picture, too. I seriously love the cinematography and editing in this film, especially the war-related scenes.

Now, that being said, I would not call this a great flick. It tries -too- hard to be an intellectual movie, the child characters strike me as a bit -too- precocious for their age groups and the ending felt terribly tacked on and cheesy. Picture of the Year worthy? Hell no. But it's a good rental and a perfect budget theatre viewing, which is where I saw it.

[Chief Rum]

Atonement - 6.5/10
Overall, a decent movie. Kiera Knightley is enjoyable as always and I actually liked the frequent shifts in time, location and perspective, some of which are deliberately confusing and get resolved by later scenes. A few moments of dark comedy as well that had the audience laughing. Beautiful picture, too. I seriously love the cinematography and editing in this film, especially the war-related scenes.

Now, that being said, I would not call this a great flick. It tries -too- hard to be an intellectual movie, the child characters strike me as a bit -too- precocious for their age groups and the ending felt terribly tacked on and cheesy. Picture of the Year worthy? Hell no. But it's a good rental and a perfect budget theatre viewing, which is where I saw it.

Not going to comment on much else, as I agree with a lot of what you have here (although I graded it out better). That said, I wasn't shocked about the precociousness of the kids at all. It was pretty clear all of these kids were part of Britain's noble gentry and what not and very well off.

[rowech]

I'm the same way, I always check Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, and a couple message boards for word of mouth before I see a movie. I usually am pretty certain going in that I'll like it, just a matter of how much.

I'm the same way with books, games, music, and about anything.

Reading up about them is half the fun. :)

My wife hates that part of me because I do the same thing. I never buy a book in a bookstore the first time. If it looks interesting, I go to Amazon, read some about it, and then make the decision.

[Crapshoot]

Saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang the other night thanks to the praise earlier in this thread. Very fun movie, I loved the dialog and Downey/Kilmer both were fantastic. Good stuff.

Watched Assassination of Jesse James tonight and really loved it. I'd put it up among the best I've seen this year, I really enjoyed it..but I'm also a sucker for anything western-ish. Great performances all-around, and the dialog was much wittier than I expected, I was chuckling quite a bit at the movie. Very haunting movie though.

I guess if I was rating them I'd give Kiss Kiss about an 8.0 and Jesse James a 9.0 or maybe even 9.5.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is just.. brilliant. If Downey wasn't a cokehead, we'd be talking about him as one of the greatest actors ever.

[st.cronin]

I don't understand some of you people. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was thoroughly mediocre.

[molson]

No Country For Old Men (7/10) Okay, a lot of people who think they are smarter than me (and probably they are) love this movie. It's the same sort of people that say Children of Men is brilliant, another IMO flawed movie with some good characteristics. This is the same. The characters are exquisitely drawn out and well-acted. Some terrific dialogue in this one. The bad guy (well, the baddest baddie) is scarier than the boogeyman and just about as unstoppable. But at some point late in the movie you're asking yourself why you took this ride? Why did the movie makers make you care about anyone in this (and they do)? And then they sorta leave you hanging, searching for an answer with finality. I guess the Coen brothers made this for ultra-smart-people who have it all figured it out. I must not make the cut because I only wanted to know why it couldn't have ended with more answers than questions.


I'm glad someone else wrote my exact review on this, it saves me some time.

Same feeling I've had with every Coen movie except Fargo. There's some GREAT stuff here, but those great parts don't add up to the sum of a satisfying movie for me.

[Karlifornia]

I don't understand some of you people. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was thoroughly mediocre.

Oofta. I think Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a fantastic movie. I couldn't care less about Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, or Shane Black, but I think this movie was done fantastically. The premise was ridiculous, but the dialogue was, as they'd say on the football manager boards "ffffffffffb"

[Izulde]

Not going to comment on much else, as I agree with a lot of what you have here (although I graded it out better). That said, I wasn't shocked about the precociousness of the kids at all. It was pretty clear all of these kids were part of Britain's noble gentry and what not and very well off.

Ah. The girl I could believe, but I didn't catch that the other three (the redheads), were nobility, so it was just kind of like "eh?"

And yeah, I tend to be a little stricter with ratings than most people in this thread. In fact, I don't believe I've posted a 10 review yet.

Of course, I've also watched a -ton- of movies that I haven't given my review on... though I keep meaning to write more reviews.

[Chief Rum]

Saw a couple new films the past two days...

The Spiderwick Chronicles (7/10) FTR, I never read the books, so this is a non-fanboy review. I felt it was decent. It had an interesting story. But in the end, I couldn't help it was a sorta mishmash of all the other child fantasy movies that have come out of late (HP, Narnia, Lemony Snicket, Golden Compass, etc. etc.). That might be just me starting to feel passé about these sorts of movies. And frankly, this one had a smaller special effects budget, IMO. Some of those other movies not only had the usual good vs evil stuff and root for the kids against danger element, but also had some fantastic special effects and beautiful scnenery. This one had all that to some extent, but not nearly as fantastic. I thought the best part for me was I felt all the kids were well-written and well-acted, which I think is hard to do (writers being so far removed form being kids, as they usually are). Oh yeah, and Mary Louise Parker is still hot.

P.S. Main reason i saw this one forst of the ones I went to was to see the new Indiana Jones trailer and it rocked. They even have done a good enough makeup job on Ford that he looks closer to his self around the Last Crusade times.

Definitely, Maybe (8.5/10) I expected sappy romantic comedy, and certainly got that. But the reviews suggested there was more to it, and they were right. A lot of nice moments in this one, and funny, too, although there were only a couple a teams I would say I really broke out laughing. Most of the time, though, it's a movie that keeps you intrigued (sorta afternoon soap opera style) and mostly smiling. Ryan Reynolds does a terrific job, and so does Isla Fisher and the daughter (Abigail Breslin). Sometimes the daughter came across a little too smart. Still, I enjoyed it. Definitely (no maybe) you can take your S.O. to this onbe and enjoy it with her (or him).

[johnnyshaka]

Juno - 9/10

Good movie. Just suffers from Dawson's Creek-itis. 16 year olds speaking like... well, mature individuals. :) But I understand the oscar nod... it's one the most subtly funny yet touching movies I've seen

I would have to agree...9/10 and the dialogue at times also reminded me of Dawson's Creek. Regardless, very much enjoyed the movie from start to finish. Love the "Indy" soundtrack, too.

As the offspring of a Juno/Bleeker encounter, this one hit very close to home. I know when my birthmom went through what Juno went through, times were much, much different. My birthmom's parents were nowhere near as supportive and she wasn't allowed to attend school as long as she "looked" pregnant. Times definitely have changed.

[Butter_of_69]

Michael Clayton gets the nod from me for one simple reason: it delivers at the end. The trip in each of the other two was phenomenal (probably overall better than MC), but the end left something to be desired.

You didn't think There Will Be Blood delivered at the end? What the hell did you want them to do, a song and dance number? That makes no sense at all.

DRAINAGE!

[Logan]

Watched Juno last night too and was disappointed about the lack of Michael Cera in the movie. I guess I just figured he'd be used more.

J.K. Simmons, as always, rocked.

8/10

[Chief Rum]

You didn't think There Will Be Blood delivered at the end? What the hell did you want them to do, a song and dance number? That makes no sense at all.

DRAINAGE!

Oh, it delivered an ending, no doubt about that. I didn't like it, and not sure how it fits. The brilliance is, I guess, over my head.

Since I didn't like it, thus downgrading the movie.

[Chief Rum]

So I guess my line you quoted should be more like, "It delivers an ending I like and understand and fits within the context of the movie and doesn't leave the audience unsatiated or unresolved."

Which is all sorta why There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men wouldn't get my Best Picture nod if I had a vote.

[Calis]

I just finished watching Eastern Promises.

Good flick, there were portions of it I didn't care for story-wise and I think it had potential to be a lot better than it was, but Viggo was excellent in it as well as the guy that played Kiril and Naomi Watts. The big fight scene was pretty jarring to say the least, but I thought overall it was a pretty interesting movie, but didn't quite reach the level of History of Violence imo.

I guess I'd give it a 7.5 or so.

[path12]

You didn't think There Will Be Blood delivered at the end? What the hell did you want them to do, a song and dance number? That makes no sense at all.

DRAINAGE!

I've got a spoiler tag a page or so back about it, but I wasn't thrilled with the end either. Freakin' loved it right up to then though.

[thesloppy]

J.K. Simmons, as always, rocked.

8/10

...dude will always be Vern Schillinger to me....every time I see him in a movie, I start giggling, picturing Ryan O'Reilly's dad talking to him, saying "Hey, Skillinger!".

[Flasch186]

Amazing Grace 8/10

I thought the movie was great and I have always loved Albert Finney. Very well done movie regarding abolition in England and I recommend it.

[MikeVic]

Jumper 5/10
Uhh. The movie was just there. Not entertaining at all. Nothing really seems to happen in the movie either. Felt like a made-for-TV movie with an actress I find attractive (Bilson). Action scenes were far and few between, with the stupid shaky camera. They show potential with awesome fight sequences, but just never go there.

[rowech]

Jumper 5/10
Uhh. The movie was just there. Not entertaining at all. Nothing really seems to happen in the movie either. Felt like a made-for-TV movie with an actress I find attractive (Bilson). Action scenes were far and few between, with the stupid shaky camera. They show potential with awesome fight sequences, but just never go there.

This movie has generally been ripped to shreds and I thought it was going to be decent enough to watch.

[Butter_of_69]

Re: There Will Be Blood

I thought that the movie spent most of the time on watching Plainview build his empire and mostly keep his evil inside, which was fascinating. Then all of a sudden he's an old man, HW is getting married and they are estranged, and he goes berserk on Sunday. It just felt kind of tacked on and like "and then he became old and bitter". If that makes sense.

But he was already bitter. I don't think it felt tacked on at all. The bitterness shone through a number of times. I mean, he killed a guy already in 1911 (the guy who was his "brother"). He told that guy "I hate most people". He threatened the Standard Oil guy. He was hostile to Eli in the town, but covered it up most of the time so he could reach his ultimate goal of the pipeline. Then at the end, I just thought the way he took advantage of Eli, and then played him for a complete patsy, and THEN took out built up years and years of frustration and rage on the guy was fitting. What did he have to lose at that point? Absolutely nothing. It seemed exactly how he would react, not tacked on at all. He was already berserk, he had just held it back for quite a long time. Then you have the rage of his "son" leaving him, and all that tension had to go somewhere. If Eli shows up a day earlier, maybe he doesn't get it. But I think the timing of his arrival following a major disappointment for Daniel led to those events fairly logically. But it is a movie, that's why we can have a nice argument about the extent of it all. :)

[Honolulu_Blue]

Lady H_B went to Madrid for five days last week. Lucky for us, well me really, our planes back and forth across the Atlantic were equiped with a video-on-demand service. They had a very solid selection of a number of recent films I'd never seen (plus a few classics I had).

While I think watching a movie on an tiny screen embedded in the back of a chair with poor sound quality is an absolutely horrible way to see a film, thus making it hard to really judge a film's merits, I will nonetheless endeavor to do so here...

Gone Baby Gone - This is the only film I watched (along with an episode of both "30 Rock" and "The Office") on the flight over. A very solid movie. A good crime thriller/mystery. Casey Affleck was excellent in the lead role and Amy Ryan's Academy Award Nomination was justly deserved as the pretty horrible mother. It's hard not to compare this to the other Denis Lehane adaptation, Mystic River. While not quite as weighty as Mystic River, I thought Gone Baby Gone was quite solid. I was impressed with Ben Affleck's skill as a film maker. 8/10

Michael Clayton - One of three films I watched over the course of the 9 hour trip back. Yeah, this trip was all about getting up to speed on films with multiple Oscar nods. Since I'm a lawyer who works at a big law firm (and worked at much bigger New York law firm for 6 years), I always find movies centered around big, New York law firms and high profile litigations to be somewhat interesting. I found Michael Clayton to be a little over-the-top. Not quite as bad as certain scenes in, say, Changing Lanes, but still a bit out there. George Clooney was great at being George Clooney. Really, there's no one better. Tilda Swinton, who I always like, was fantastic. She and Tom Wilkinson (who was awesome) deserve their Oscar nods. Clooney? Not so much. I'm also not quite sure on the Best Picture nod. It was good movie, no doubt, but I found certain aspects of it to be sort of under-developed, in particular, Clooney's character, which is ood. For some reason, however, I just couldn't quite get a handle on him. There was a lot of interesting stuff going on with him, but the pieces didn't quite seem to fit together. 7/10

The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford - Some more Oscar nods in this one. I think the Academy got it right. Case Affleck was great in this role. He really did a solid job of playing an unlikeable character with whom you could sympathize. The cinematography was also outstanding. Even on that crappy little screen you could tell just how beautiful and well shot the film was. Those were the two strengths of the film. I also really enjoyed Sam Rockwell's character, Charley Ford. For whatever reason, I found his character to have some surprising depth to him. Brad Pitt does an excellent job as Jesse James. It's an intense portrayl of a man on the edge. Despite knowing exactly what's going to happen, the scenes between Jesse (Pitt) and Robert (Affleck) are riveting. The film is a bit ponderous. It's long and slow. There is very little in the way of action and what action exists is often clumsy and quick, as one would imagine it would be. 8/10

I also watched Goodfellas on the flight back. No need to do a review. It's Goodfellas.

[Mr. Wednesday]

No Country For Old Men
As art, this is a 10/10. There's lots to chew on thematically, and the much-reviled transition to the final act plays a big part in that.

As entertainment, it's only about 7/10. There's a real bait-and-switch with the narrative arc of the piece, and the result is that even though the move is an artistic tour-de-force, there's no satisfying resolution to any of the conflict in the piece.

[Neon_Chaos]

Undisputed II: Last Man Standing - Starring Michael Jai White.

It's about an underground MMA circuit in a foreign prison. You have to watch the fight scenes in this movie... ridiculously awesome. :)

[Calis]

I just watched The Proposition last night which I'd been meaning to see for quite a while because hey..Nick Cave wrote it, and it's a Western..that's enough to pique my interest.

If I had to rate it I'd go with around a 7.0. It was a good movie, but I don't think it was ever really developed. There's so much more they could've done with it, but the narrative in the end was sorta meh. I loved the setting and I think they did a great job with portraying Australia as this wasteland that the British and Irish are trying to colonize for God knows what reason. Pretty brutally violent as well.

Ray Winstone was very good in it, I'm a fan of his.

So not great, but good overall imo.

[MikeVic]

Be Kind Rewind - 7.5/10
It started off pretty slow, but once it got to the fake movie stuff it was good from then on. Quite a few funny moments. The story actually had nice qualities to it, and there were a couple of nice scenes that I liked how they were shot. I don't know how to describe it, but the movie just had "nice" qualities to it. I was actually surprised that it had no swearing at all, no inappropriate scenes for kids, etc. I'd recommend watching it.

edit - I'm editing this to a 7.5 from an 8. I was thinking on it some more, and the beginning really drags it down for me. The characters seemed different to me too, which isn't good.

[Buccaneer]

I watched Drumline again last night and still like it. I was a percussionist in marching band all throughout HS and into college, though not on a drum line. I grew up in marching and concert bands and even though the styles were radically different than I what I experienced, I did get to see some of the HBCU bands and can appreciate their style. From what i have read, the competition for getting into such a band is very intense and serious business and this movie works with a 'fish out of water' character. Plus any movie with Zoe Saldana is always cool. 7/10

[Flasch186]

The Kingdom 9/10

I absolutely thought it was great. The editing, the direction, the acting. It was subtle, Chris Cooper was awesome, probably my favorite character. It was a cops and robbers set in saudi arabia and I simply thought the characters, including those simply touched upon in SA we're wll done. I highly recommend this flick.

[hawk4669]

The Kingdom 9/10

I absolutely thought it was great. The editing, the direction, the acting. It was subtle, Chris Cooper was awesome, probably my favorite character. It was a cops and robbers set in saudi arabia and I simply thought the characters, including those simply touched upon in SA we're wll done. I highly recommend this flick.

I've always liked Chris Cooper...strictly in my opinion I've never seen him in a bad role......but still, to this day, I cannot get over his creepy character in American Beauty. Ugh.

Cheers!

[rowech]

I've always liked Chris Cooper...strictly in my opinion I've never seen him in a bad role......but still, to this day, I cannot get over his creepy character in American Beauty. Ugh.

Cheers!

Most underrated actor in Hollywood in my opinion.

[Bonegavel]

Bourne Ultimatum - 9/10

It isn't a bad thing, but this is Yet Another Bourne Movie. All 3 seem the same but that sameness is good. The fight scene that ends in the shower is one of the best fight scenes I've seen in a long time.

The on-location stuff is amazing. Watching the behind-the-scenes stuff made it all the more interesting.

Of the 3 films, I liked this one the most.


Edit - Oops, I originally had Supremacy and it was the Ultimatum.

[Lorena]

The Pursuite of Happyness - 8.8.10

I teared up on several scenes, but at the same time, I wondered how much of that happened when it did in the film? I wouldn't doubt if it happened at different points of his life, but not at the same time. Doesn't matter, Will Smith was so, so good I actually believed he was going through it.

[path12]

But he was already bitter. I don't think it felt tacked on at all. The bitterness shone through a number of times. I mean, he killed a guy already in 1911 (the guy who was his "brother"). He told that guy "I hate most people". He threatened the Standard Oil guy. He was hostile to Eli in the town, but covered it up most of the time so he could reach his ultimate goal of the pipeline. Then at the end, I just thought the way he took advantage of Eli, and then played him for a complete patsy, and THEN took out built up years and years of frustration and rage on the guy was fitting. What did he have to lose at that point? Absolutely nothing. It seemed exactly how he would react, not tacked on at all. He was already berserk, he had just held it back for quite a long time. Then you have the rage of his "son" leaving him, and all that tension had to go somewhere. If Eli shows up a day earlier, maybe he doesn't get it. But I think the timing of his arrival following a major disappointment for Daniel led to those events fairly logically. But it is a movie, that's why we can have a nice argument about the extent of it all. :)

Spoiler re: There Will Be Blood

I think that's a very fair argument. I saw No Country last weekend and had a little of the same feeling, which brought me back to thinking about There Will Be Blood some more. I'm not sure which I liked better, but I do think they were both justifiable Best Picture candidates.

[MikeVic]

Hard Candy - 8.5/10
I thought this was really well done. Only thing keeping it from a 9 or higher is that a couple of the things to extend the movie seemed kinda unlikely... other than that, I liked this movie. Both characters are so creepy, and that uhh known scene was cringe-worthy.

[Flasch186]

American Meth 4/10

A documentary trying to show the meth epidemic in the Midwest but unfortunately it doesnt do, really, anything. It recaps the Faces of Meth site, a few county P.D.'s talk about it, then they follow a trailer park couple as they do an awful job of raising their 4 kids while in the shadow of meth. It's just superficial, mundane, boring and an intervention wanna be without the intervention. Avoid this.

[Flasch186]

The Grindhouse flicks 8/10

Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino go B horror on our asses!

It is gloriously gory in a B movie sense with body parts flying, puss oozing, girls jigglin' and it's just good fun. I recommend both of 'em (Death Proof and Planet Terror) they are both good fun.

[MikeVic]

I liked Planet Terror, but Death Proof was boring as hell in parts.

[korme]

Ah, to me Death Proof over Planet Terror

[MikeVic]

I hated the talking about nothing parts. In his other movies, the conversations at least had me entertained. Here, I was so bored.

[korme]

American Gangster (2007) - Much like typical gangster flicks, this one felt like it was a bit too long. For me, the first hour really dragged but the last 3/5 of the movie was very entertaining/thrilling. At the end it makes you feel bad for the antagonist, which is usually also what happens in these types of movies. Good flick that I could see a lot of people talking about for years to come but just because of the character and what they represent more than the movie as a whole. 7.5/10, a bit disappointing.

[Johnny93g]

American Gangster (2007) - Much like typical gangster flicks, this one felt like it was a bit too long. For me, the first hour really dragged but the last 3/5 of the movie was very entertaining/thrilling. At the end it makes you feel bad for the antagonist, which is usually also what happens in these types of movies. Good flick that I could see a lot of people talking about for years to come but just because of the character and what they represent more than the movie as a whole. 7.5/10, a bit disappointing.

Watching this in the theatre, i felt it was a good movie. Months later, after buying the dvd and watching the 3 hour version, i now feel its great. I think i had a very similar reaction the first time. It was a typical gangster flick. But now that time has passed, and I've watched it twice, it is up there with scarface, but not quite at the level of goodfellas.

[Groundhog]

King of Kong - 8.5/10

Really enjoyed this one. Surprisingly "heart warming" (which is why the gf enjoyed it as well), and it's always interesting getting a deeper look at small, hardcore groups like these old school gamers.

Did some reading up on it when I got home from the theatre and though there was certainly some creative editing involved, Mitchell still comes off as a complete ass in every interview.

[Lorena]

There Will Be Blood - 5.5/10

Antmeister and I walked out of the threatre really wanting to like it, but it was mediocre at best. There was one point in the movie where I was thinking how boring it was and them bam.. some action, but I don't think it delivered much after that. Don't get me wrong, Daniel Day-Lewis was batshit crazy greedy and his perfomance was awesome, but the movie as a whole was just meh.

EDIT to add: it was the same kind of empty feeling I felt after watching No Country For Old Men. I don't get why these movies were nominated for Oscars.. I really don't.

[RendeR]

Spiderwyck chronicles - 6/10

Typical children's fantasy story taken to film, done to a mediocre level at best. Culd have been far more entertaining, though it did have some great one liners.

[rowech]

3:10 to Yuma -- If I liked westerns it would probably be a 9 or a 10. I love both actors but in the end, a western is a western and I just don't see the point. (6/10)

[Sgran]

The Terminator and Mad Max
both 10/10

Some movies age like wine, some like cheese. I watched both of these movies recently without seeing them for decades. i can honest say that both stand the test of time.
Why?
Plot, script and pacing. Both of these movies were made by film makers who cared about the final product, and didn't need a massive budget to produce thrills and memorable action. If you've never seen one of them, or haven't seen one for a while, have a look. You won't be disappointed.

[Cringer]

Spiderwyck chronicles - 6/10

Typical children's fantasy story taken to film, done to a mediocre level at best. Culd have been far more entertaining, though it did have some great one liners.

I agree. It wasn't bad, but could have been done much better IMO. I blame the director as the story was obviously there.

[Cringer]

Semi-Pro - 7/10

Typical Will Ferrall movie. I laughed a bunch but a lot of it is the same old stuff from him. Thankfully I like the same old stuff from him and it doesn't get real old with me. Better then the ice skating movie by far, and probably better then Taladega Nights IMO. One of the previews was for another movie of his coming out in the summer, Step-Brothers. That movie looks better then this one.

[Izulde]

The Other Boelyn Girl - 6

The first 30 minutes or so of this movie frankly suck and suck in a bad way. The editing is rough, the acting absolutely horrible and the pacing wonky. That said, once things move to court, the acting picks up, the story evens out, and the editing improves (though it's still pretty bad throughout).

It crescendos very well starting with court and ends up being a really good movie for the second half of the film. Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson are very good in the second half, with Johansson particularly so.

Now, I have to say that I also saw this movie after having watched Season One of the Tudors and as such, I kept comparing the two in my mind. Eric Bana as Henry is comparable to the actor in the Tudors (whose name I forget off the top of my head, along with the other actors in the Tudors series). I prefer the actress for Anne Boelyn in The Tudors to Natalie Portman for the role by a significant degree and ScarJo just knocks the stuffing out of The Tudors' Mary Boelyn actress.

Now, that being said, both presentations cast the characters in a different light, but that gets into spoiler territory if I comment on it too much. :D

So final summary: It's a good film if you can fight through roughly the first half hour, but the awfulness of that first half hour is such degree, coupled with the editing wonkiness, means I can give it no higher than a 6.

[korme]

The Other Boelyn Girl - 6

The first 30 minutes or so of this movie frankly suck and suck in a bad way. The editing is rough, the acting absolutely horrible and the pacing wonky. That said, once things move to court, the acting picks up, the story evens out, and the editing improves (though it's still pretty bad throughout).

It crescendos very well starting with court and ends up being a really good movie for the second half of the film. Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson are very good in the second half, with Johansson particularly so.

Now, I have to say that I also saw this movie after having watched Season One of the Tudors and as such, I kept comparing the two in my mind. Eric Bana as Henry is comparable to the actor in the Tudors (whose name I forget off the top of my head, along with the other actors in the Tudors series). I prefer the actress for Anne Boelyn in The Tudors to Natalie Portman for the role by a significant degree and ScarJo just knocks the stuffing out of The Tudors' Mary Boelyn actress.

Now, that being said, both presentations cast the characters in a different light, but that gets into spoiler territory if I comment on it too much. :D

So final summary: It's a good film if you can fight through roughly the first half hour, but the awfulness of that first half hour is such degree, coupled with the editing wonkiness, means I can give it no higher than a 6.

Probably goin' to see this this week (along with SemiPro)

BTW, Jonathan Rhys Meyers

[RainMaker]

Michael Clayton - 8/10

It was a good all-around movie with top notch acting. I think the acting alone carried a mediocre storyline to a higher rating. It reminded me a bit of the old Grisham movies and kept me interested the whole way. The ending came about quick, although was superb. I was a bit disappointed because it was built up so much by movie critics. I just expected something more out of the movie and kept waiting for that big moment to hit. Nonetheless, it was good, just not the 9 or 10 out of 10 I was expecting.


Gone Baby Gone - 8.5/10

I really liked this movie and love the subtle things that were added to make it look like a realistic neighborhood. Casey Affleck is surprisingly solid and has a real good cast around him. The storyline is a bit too much though and prevented it from having a higher rating. The moral questions though that the movie raises is outstanding and doesn't get shoved down your throat. By far one of the best movies I've seen this year.


Premonition - 4/10

Kind of a cool "butterfly effect" concept I thought I could really get into. The movie was horrible though. I've always found Sandra Bullock to be average and the rest of the cast was nothing special. The storyline starts off interesting but just gets absurd. Her reactions to the events are completely unrealistic and you'll roll your eyes during parts of the movie. The saving grace is that it kept me interested in seeing how it would end. Some will like the ending, some will think it's just dumb. I'm in the middle. Could have been done much better.

[Chief Rum]

Yeah, watched Michael Clayton again last nigth for the first time since I saw it in theater in October. Still registers highly for me, even after knowing how it all ends. In fact, I think I appreciated it more. Still think it was the best overall movie I saw last year.

As to new movies I saw this weekend...

Semi-Pro-- 7/10 I would agree with the 7-ish grade given above. You do have to be a Will Ferrell fan. If you're not or if you can't stand the sight of Woody Harrelson, this movie isn't going to win you over or make you a fan. If you like his humor, though, you will laugh hard at some good parts, in and around mostly forgettable plot points. The Woody Harrelson-Maury Tierney thing was real forced and stupid, so I coulda done without all that. But the basketball stuff and the commentators were terrific. Favorite part--the eyeliner/fighting game (not giving anything away there; you'll know what I mean).

Vantage Point-- 7.5/10 The reviews said there was a ton of coincidence in this to move the complicated plot forward, and they were spot on with that, borderline ridiculous. That said, I thought the different vantage points perspective was pretty well done and interesting, and despite the repeated timelines, the story moved forward pretty well. Plus, I can always dig the whole international intrigue and car chases and stuff, and this had plenty of that. Don't expect any Oscar work, but it's a passably entertaining popcorn action flick.

[RainMaker]

American Gangster - 8/10

I really liked this movie and the sad thing is that if it was about 20-30 minutes shorter, it might have gotten a 9 or a 10 from me. Mind you I watched the uncut DVD version, but still, the movie tended to drag. I'm not opposed to longer movies either, I just think they went overboard with some scenes. Still, I liked the movie a lot and thought Denzel Washington was brilliant. I think the movie would have been better off cutting out the last scene.


Cashback - 6/10

It's kind of an artsy movie but I actually kind of enjoyed it. You have to be a fan of independent films as it fits that style. You're basically following around a heartbroken art student who deals with insomnia and picks up a graveyard shift at a grocery store to pass the time. Has a little comedy, little drama, little romance mixed in. It has a boatload of smoking hot T&A that is done "tastefully" too. It's one of those movies you can slip into movie night with the woman and not have her give you a weird look when some nudity arises.

[Bonegavel]

Crank - 6/10

These guys tried hard to be Guy Ritchie/Q.T and were only moderately successful.

The good: some very funny moments, great camera work, and decent premise.

The bad: the premise's promise wasn't realized and almost seemed an afterthought when it should have been the driving force. A lot of cheese, though I understand it was intentional - I guess it was just a type of cheese I don't prefer.

Glad I didn't see in the theater (i.e., I didn't waste $20).

X-men: Last Stand 7/10

I love the x-men and the movies have done them justice. Still, something seemed missing in this movie. The whole Jean thread just seemed to meander along and ended predictably (even if what Wolvie did wasn't). I did like Magneto stuff.

I am so bloody tired of the "Person A is out-of-their-mind and only Person B can bring them back" storyline that I will quite possibly vomit the next time I see it on film.

I thought the choice of Kelsey Grammer was bad. All I could think when I saw him on-screen was, "that is Frasier with fangs and blue hair." The young ones watching this may be saved, but not the rest of us.

The good: Sfx very good, seeing the X-men in action is always nice, and seeing Rebecca in the Mystique outfit is never bad.

The bad: blah blah blah, Yes, I understand Rogue wants to be able to hold hands with Bobby, Why Magneto wasn't imprisoned at the end is beyond all comprehension.

Glad I didn't see in theater.

Aeon Flux - 5/10

I wanted to hate this (because I loved the anime) but I wound up just disliking it. I knew there was no way they could fully capture the anime flavor but instead of trying they went off in a different direction.

If this didn't have the Aeon Flux title it would never been green-lighted since the story here is almost non-existent and it relied completely on my desire for what it should have been rather than what it was.

Very glad I didn't see this in the theater.

Charlize is great to watch.

[Neon_Chaos]

Dan in Real Life 8/10

Okay, I'm a sucker. When Steve Carell sung the last part of "Let My Love Open The Door", I felt like crying. It's a touching movie, and great to watch with a loved one or relatives.

[Honolulu_Blue]

X-men: Last Stand 7/10

I love the x-men and the movies have done them justice. Still, something seemed missing in this movie. The whole Jean thread just seemed to meander along and ended predictably (even if what Wolvie did wasn't). I did like Magneto stuff.

I am so bloody tired of the "Person A is out-of-their-mind and only Person B can bring them back" storyline that I will quite possibly vomit the next time I see it on film.

I thought the choice of Kelsey Grammer was bad. All I could think when I saw him on-screen was, "that is Frasier with fangs and blue hair." The young ones watching this may be saved, but not the rest of us.

The good: Sfx very good, seeing the X-men in action is always nice, and seeing Rebecca in the Mystique outfit is never bad.

The bad: blah blah blah, Yes, I understand Rogue wants to be able to hold hands with Bobby, Why Magneto wasn't imprisoned at the end is beyond all comprehension.

Glad I didn't see in theater.

Interesting take on X-Men: Last Stand. I thought it pretty much sucked. There were some decent action sequences. I liked the fight at Jean Grey's place with Storm, Wolverine, and the Juggernaught and all that. There were a couple of other decent action-type moments, but over all it was dreadful.

There were far too many stupid one-liners. The big fight at the end, the "Last Stand" presumably, pretty much involved various X-Men beating up a bunch of homeless looking people in rags. It was pretty uninspiring. Killing a certain major character off-screen was silly. It was poorly directed and poorly written.

Surprisingly, I felt Kelsey Grammer was an inspired choice for "The Beast" and I thought he pulled it off exceptionally well. I thought that was one of the highlights of the film.

I'd give it a 5/10 tops, perhaps 4/10. It was pretty disappointing.

I felt like "X-Men 2" was the best of the series. I am hopeful about the new Wolverine movie, but who knows...

[Critch]

The Kingdom - 3/10

Starts out as a gritty, realistic investigation into a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia, doesn't go anywhere for a while, doesn't have much of a plot, then devolves into an over-the-top shoot 'em up with the most laughably bad bad-guy shooting since the Stormtroopers couldn't hit a barndoor in the first Star Wars.

Better off with Syriana.

[Buccaneer]

I, Robot - Never seen this before but I saw we had it and I've always liked Will Smith. Caveat: I very much dislike scifi but can appreciate a fun story as long as it isn't stupidly convoluted or nonsensical like the Matrix. I, Robot is a simple story, easy for a non-fan to follow and grounded in enough reality to make it sensible. Like I said, I like Will Smith and the attitude he brings. 7/10

[Chief Rum]

I, Robot - Never seen this before but I saw we had it and I've always liked Will Smith. Caveat: I very much dislike scifi but can appreciate a fun story as long as it isn't stupidly convoluted or nonsensical like the Matrix. I, Robot is a simple story, easy for a non-fan to follow and grounded in enough reality to make it sensible. Like I said, I like Will Smith and the attitude he brings. 7/10

Steve, and I mean this in the nicest, eye-winking way possible: you are SUCH a dinosaur. :D

Yeah, I, Robot is good fun in and of itself, although anyone thinking it in anyway relates to the classic novels is in for a sharp disappointment.

[Buccaneer]

And why would that make me a dinosaur since we both agree that it was a fun movie? Whether it relates to the books or not is irrelevant when judging a movie on its own merits. Plus, a lot of people don't like scifi, right? ;)

[Chief Rum]

And why would that make me a dinosaur since we both agree that it was a fun movie? Whether it relates to the books or not is irrelevant when judging a movie on its own merits. Plus, a lot of people don't like scifi, right? ;)

Yeah, it was the scifi thing, nothing else. :) To me, it's akin to saying, "I just don't understand these new-fangled machines the kids use called 'computers'."

Of course, that is ironic, since you work with computers, and we are communicating via some (but you know what I mean).

[korme]

I'm way younger than Bucc and I give the stink-eye when I hear all the rave about sci-fi movies

[MizzouRah]

American Gangser - 9/10 Yes it was long, but I love Denzel Washington and I really loved this movie.

[Bonegavel]

I'm trying to get through the Brother's Grimm but I fell asleep and I haven't put it back the disc back in the player since. I got about half way. Not so good. I will finish it up, however.

EDIT: monica bellucci is one of the sexiest women alive.

[Neon_Chaos]

American Gangser - 9/10 Yes it was long, but I love Denzel Washington and I really loved this movie.

There ya go. Twenty percent.

[MizzouRah]

There ya go. Twenty percent.

:confused:

[Logan]

20% too long?

That was my puzzled guess when I read that.

[MizzouRah]

20% too long?

That was my puzzled guess when I read that.

I'll take your word. ;)

[korme]

Philadelphia (1993) - It was ok, not as good as I was expecting it to be. Young Tom and Denzel deliver as usual, but many parts felt contrived. 7/10

[Izulde]

There ya go. Twenty percent.

My man!

[Lorena]

American Gangser - 9/10 Yes it was long, but I love Denzel Washington and I really loved this movie.

We're gonna watch it this weekend.

I watched

Disco Godfather - 3.0/10

I was expecting it to be similar to the Dolemite movies but it wasn't. A lot of music and dancing, but I was expecting more fight scenes and was dissapointed when I only saw 1, but then again I fell asleep through the last part of it so there might have been more.

[Chief Rum]

I'm way younger than Bucc and I give the stink-eye when I hear all the rave about sci-fi movies

Bucc didn't specify scifi alone. I gathered he was including scifi in all its forms, including its original written medium. And to that I say fie on him. :) Scifi books are terrific.

I tend to agree with you both that scifi movies are rather hit and miss.

[MizzouRah]

We're gonna watch it this weekend.

I watched

Disco Godfather - 3.0/10

I was expecting it to be similar to the Dolemite movies but it wasn't. A lot of music and dancing, but I was expecting more fight scenes and was dissapointed when I only saw 1, but then again I fell asleep through the last part of it so there might have been more.

Never heard of that one.. but now I know to stay away from it! :D

[Flasch186]

Balls of Fury 3/10

not absolutely terrible but not average either. funny in parts and I love the lead but it aint very good.

[Neuqua]

Balls of Fury 3/10

not absolutely terrible but not average either. funny in parts and I love the lead but it aint very good.

The chick in it was worth +2 atleast.

[Buccaneer]

I have been in a WW2 mode lately and watched Saving Private Ryan again. The opening 24-minutes get more fun to watch the more times you see it, esp. frame by frame. And the same scene was a great rush to play in Medal of Honor. Conversely, I rarely cry when watching movie scenes but the one scene that gets me everytime is when Ryan's mother goes out on the porch and collapses when priest gets out of the car. The grief to know that your son is dead and to think that she will be told that three of her sons are dead is indescribable for me. 9.5/10

[rowech]

I have been in a WW2 mode lately and watched Saving Private Ryan again. The opening 24-minutes get more fun to watch the more times you see it, esp. frame by frame. And the same scene was a great rush to play in Medal of Honor. Conversely, I rarely cry when watching movie scenes but the one scene that gets me everytime is when Ryan's mother goes out on the porch and collapses when priest gets out of the car. The grief to know that your son is dead and to think that she will be told that three of her sons are dead is indescribable for me. 9.5/10

Fun to watch? I don't think any part of that movie is fun to watch. It's fantastic and in my opinion, the best war movie ever made. The scene that is tough for me to watch is when they're all huddled around trying to save the medic and they can't do a thing for him. That one is tough for me.

[Buccaneer]

I was talking specifically about the opening 24-minutes. I've seen that enough times that I can appreciate the artistry and production values.