[metalsonata]

Gory, Wintry 1800s Western Double Feature
 
The Revenant (2015): 7/10
 
A bleakly beautiful (and sometimes just plain old beautiful beautiful) revenge flick elevated by absorbing performances and stunning cinematography, but held back from a full recommendation by its unnecessary bloat. This film could have been a near-masterpiece, if only it had been considerably leaner. As is a dumb, repetitive subplot continually intrudes, and frequent, cheesy, and tropey dream sequences prove almost as annoying. A shame, because there's some serious muscle here, buried underneath the fat.
 
The Hateful Eight (2015): 7/10
 
I would say that it's Tarantino doing what Tarantino does best, but it's not really. Unless you think he does violence best, in which case there are buckets of blood and brains to be had here, a lot of which is served up comically over-the top, and some of which makes for genuinely tough viewing. There's no denying that it's a smart, engaging, and audacious film that has a lot to say, but I feel like Tarantino's off-beat and extravagant perverseness gets the better of him here (why was this film, which takes place mostly in a single interior, shot in 70 mm?), and frankly, I feel like he's said everything that's here better elsewhere. This one might be for the Tarantino fans only, which may seem like a given, but some of his films go easier than others. The Hateful Eight, on the other hand, does not know the meaning of the word 'easy.' It's no wonder that this seems to be even more polarizing than his last several. 

 

[Hutnicks]

  Gory, Wintry 1800s Western Double Feature
 
The Revenant (2015): 7/10
 
A bleakly beautiful (and sometimes just plain old beautiful beautiful) revenge flick elevated by absorbing performances and stunning cinematography, but held back from a full recommendation by its unnecessary bloat. This film could have been a near-masterpiece, if only it had been considerably leaner. As is a dumb, repetitive subplot continually intrudes, and frequent, cheesy, and tropey dream sequences prove almost as annoying. A shame, because there's some serious muscle here, buried underneath the fat.
 
The Hateful Eight (2015): 7/10
 
I would say that it's Tarantino doing what Tarantino does best, but it's not really. Unless you think he does violence best, in which case there are buckets of blood and brains to be had here, a lot of which is served up comically over-the top, and some of which makes for genuinely tough viewing. There's no denying that it's a smart, engaging, and audacious film that has a lot to say, but I feel like Tarantino's off-beat and extravagant perverseness gets the better of him here (why was this film, which takes place mostly in a single interior, shot in 70 mm?), and frankly, I feel like he's said everything that's here better elsewhere. This one might be for the Tarantino fans only, which may seem like a given, but some of his films go easier than others. The Hateful Eight, on the other hand, does not know the meaning of the word 'easy.' It's no wonder that this seems to be even more polarizing than his last several. 

The dream sequences really brought Malik's Thin Red Line to mind. Just as out of place here and essentially serve no purpose as the exposition takes place in the real time film itself. Which, come to think of it is exactly what happens in 8. By the time the flashbacks occur you already know all you need and they just come off as obligatory filler to fullfil the Tarantino trademarks.
 
Hoping for fan edits of both with all the stuff the editors should have caught removed. Revenant: Compressed Cut could quite possibly be the best "western" ever made.

 

[tdockweiler]

Concussion - 9/10
 
This one deserves more attention and it was playing in the smallest screen at the theater. On a Saturday night there was only about 8 other people in the theater.
 
Loved this one and glad I didn't skip it. One other reason why you should never see a movie based on rottentomatoes scores!
 
Probably one of the best i've seen this year and Will Smith deserves a best actor nomination. It was hard to believe that was Will Smith..
 
Was very close to getting a 9.5 or 10.
 
All the smaller roles did well and I love the cast. It's starring David Morse, Alec Baldwin and Albert Brooks. All good actors..
 
Most people will probably come up with reasons to skip this, like "too sad" or "too depressing" or maybe it might be boring.
 
This is really the kind of movie I like..

 

[Hutnicks]

  Concussion - 9/10
 
This one deserves more attention and it was playing in the smallest screen at the theater. On a Saturday night there was only about 8 other people in the theater.
 
Loved this one and glad I didn't skip it. One other reason why you should never see a movie based on rottentomatoes scores!
 
Probably one of the best i've seen this year and Will Smith deserves a best actor nomination. It was hard to believe that was Will Smith..
 
Was very close to getting a 9.5 or 10.
 
All the smaller roles did well and I love the cast. It's starring David Morse, Alec Baldwin and Albert Brooks. All good actors..
 
Most people will probably come up with reasons to skip this, like "too sad" or "too depressing" or maybe it might be boring.
 
This is really the kind of movie I like..

I have no idea why they did a Christmas release on this one. Had they picked another time it would have been a runaway. As it is most will skip it in favour of the Mega films like Star Wars and Hateful 8. Too bad as this one really needs to be seen.

 

[vwinter]

I have no idea why they did a Christmas release on this one. Had they picked another time it would have been a runaway. As it is most will skip it in favour of the Mega films like Star Wars and Hateful 8. Too bad as this one really needs to be seen.

I'm glad to hear that Smith is in good form because IMO, he's been a train wreck for a long time. But then again, I just can't imagine this being something that needs to be seen on the big screen. It's a movie I look forward to watching at home.

I feel like that assessment is part of what hurts the chances of good films getting funded in Hollywood =(

 

[WraithApe]

  Re the matrix film-Certain people believe that the story has some TRUTH behind it-Deep stuff

 
Yeah, people like David Icke...

 

[WraithApe]

 
7/10
 
Taken with a grain of salt this is pretty entertaining, some interesting twists and turns albeit a slightly improbable and random story. "It just so happens that..." happens at least twice to many times but still quite fun.

 
What stuck in the craw with this film is that Amenabar is clearly trying to make a moral point about an audience's car-crash fascination with death and violence (and he makes the viewer complicit in that), but also exploits that theme for cheap thrills. If it was just a trashy exploitation film with no pretensions to being anything more that would be fine, but it seemed to me like Amenabar wanted to have his cake and eat it.

 

[WraithApe]

  Something that grabs me here is why rate a movie under 5.Bear with me here please.
Life is too short to sit through something that is bad imho-Just switch it off lol.
I accept that there are exceptions to the rule-eg-watching at the pics etc.

 
Don't you derive any pleasure from tearing a real stinker to shreds on a public forum? 

 

 

[esteebin]

Something that grabs me here is why rate a movie under 5.Bear with me here please.
Life is too short to sit through something that is bad imho-Just switch it off lol.
I accept that there are exceptions to the rule-eg-watching at the pics etc.

For movies we rate highly, we tend to recommend others to see the silver screen gem. For the real stinkers, we advise others to stay away or wait for it on video or TV. We are doing our fellow movie goers a disservice if we do not report a movie we deem garbage and have someone else waste their time and money.

It also helps knowing what the reviewer's preferences are so we can gauge if it's something we might or might not enjoy.

 

[Hutnicks]

Well there's that and then the eternal optomist's hope that it can only get better if you stick it out.  I am usually wrong on that one as when a movie starts off as dreck subjective probablility analysis suggests that the production did not save the "best for last"

 

[LouisLoh]

The Martian - 6/10
 
(Spoilers)
 
While I appreciate the need to condense all the material found in the book into a 130-minute film, I feel that too much has been left out to the effect that much of the badassery of Mark Watney has been lost. 
 
Important details that highlight Watney's genius, defiance and more importantly autonomy as the sole occupant of Mars should have been kept intact. The ways in which he's encountered and eventually cheated death should have been preserved, or even headlined. Also, we should not forget moments where Mark cherishes and celebrates the simplest things in life (e.g. a good night's sleep). 
 
Examples: 
Airlock 1 ripping and the aftermath (i.e. tumbling the Airlock to within walking range of the Hab); 
The impact of communications - killing the Pathfinder which should have rendered him completely helpless; 
The modifications to the rover (including trailer, bedroom), and his eventual emotional attachment to it; 
The entire drive towards Ares 4, including the sandstorm/air days/rover+trailer tumbling - culminating in the discovery of the MAV that should have been a dramatic revelation. 
 
That being said, the film does well in shortening various sequences effectively (potato farming, burning water), and Matt Damon does put up a commendable effort, showing great range of emotions, somewhat let down only by the overall bland tone of the film. In contrast, the book portrays a much darker/grimmer outlook, and a more engaging backdrop, which again highlights the protagonist's resourcefulness, resilience and most importantly, humanity. 
 
Did not care too much for the Ironman heroics nor the epilogue.
 
Overall, it's a decent film that lacks the impact and suspense that the book excels at building. 

 

[Hutnicks]

Spot on review. If she'd slapped him down harder on the IronMan crap as she did in the book it would have played much better. Hwood's feel goodism strikes again. Obviously why they took out the cannabalism parts too.

 

[Redcarmoose]

1-10

To say they were inspired by Suspiria, so they shine a red light on the side of a house and your wondering if a car is backing up?

 

[Redcarmoose]

Black Sunday (1960)
Maybe the best horror movie made? 10-10

 

[Hutnicks]

Black Sunday (1960)
Maybe the best horror movie made? 10-10

Wow, you having a BiPolar horror fest or something?   Going from some d grade cable dreck right into Bava's lair. There should be some kind of award for that