[tdockweiler]

Never Let me Go - ??/10
 
I'm glad I'm not a movie critic because I wouldn't want to give a movie like this a rating. It's a bit difficult. Honestly it did make me think, but my whole feeling with the story is that it's too unbelievable and rather dumb. Sure, I know it's one of those "What if?" scenarios, but the characters in the movie are just so unrealistic. They felt like trained lab rats the entire movie and I bet if you asked any of them to jump off a roof, they probably would. I only say that, because that's how unrealistic they felt to me. I guess they don't question if anything they're going to do is right or wrong. Somehow I could only imagine something like this happening if the entire world was controlled by Hitler and the Nazis. Nobody tried to escape but instead seemed to have zero problems giving away all their vital organs and then dying when asked. I guess they did have some sort of chip implants. Maybe they get zapped if they run away. Wish I knew. Somehow this movie felt a bit too sugar-coated for me despite the subject matter. Maybe a bit too scripted and rather dull in some parts.
 
I can see how some people can love this movie. It does make you think and a LOT, but the entire story was a huge let down. I think if I turned off my brain, I could enjoy it a bit more. Cinematography was very good and the whole movie was well made. I guess if I was a director and had to make the movie with the script I was given, I don't know if I could make it any better. I think my problem is that I'd also hate the book it was based on. Has anyone read it and is the movie accurate?
 
BTW have you seen "The Reader"? I got the same feeling after watching that movie, except that movie I liked. I think it's one of the most though-provoking movies I've seen in a few years and it's really depressing for me, but it's very well made. It actually gave me nightmares almost and I couldn't sleep all night. Kept thinking about the movie over and over. Took me a few days to get it out of my head.
 
 

 

[cswann1]

Inside Job  10/10
 
 
 
This is a very sobering look at the depths of greed that have taken hold of our country at the top levels of government and the financial industry (which as it turns out is the same thing).
 
 
A few years ago I was absolutely floored by an episode of Frontline (PBS) which aired a documentary film called "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room".   Enron was a perfect storm of greed that caused the financial ruin of tens of thousands.  Tonight I was floored again with this films simple but profound account of how the entire planets economies are in recession from the blatant and unrestrained greed on Wall Street and Washington (the White House in particular).
 
Whats even more disturbing is the fact that the ringleaders are not in jail but still in power, kept there by the American president who campaigned heavily on financial reform.  While other developed nations governments are working to keep control of the greed of the financial superpowers, our government is gearing up for the next wave of "hit and run" while the middle class in America sinks lower and lower.
 

 

[SemiAudiophile]

Donnie Darko - 7.2/10
 
Quite overrated. I can't believe this was actually shot in 2001, sure felt like it was shot in the 80's. 

 

[David]

Actually went to a cinema.
 
Because it was in the middle of the week, and of nowhere (next door to a municipal dump) and I reckoned (correctly, if depressingly) that nobody would be watching it.
 
True Grit.
 
Jeffster does, in point of fact, Abide. And with wrath, if not with Oscars.
 
The queues at the multiplex were exactly reflective of the Academy Awards. All for the King's Speech, and Gawdelpus, Big Momma's whatever the name of this week's sequel is.  KS is probably fine, but a DVD watch, rather than worth tolerating rude behaviour in an audience rather more than Woodrow would...
 
Came along right on time, as I'd just finished reading Lonesome Dove* and was fairly desolated that it was over.
 
But then to be able to sink comfortably back into the archaic speech patterns and good characters was a comfort, even if it means I'll be talking Firefly for a piece yet.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
*Recommended. You know the worry you always have that the book might not be as good as the film, or the film might not be as good as the book? This is probably the one time the two have been perfect.

 

[AVALover5498]

Biutiful - 9.5/10:
 
Amazing film. Definitely not something I could watch twice as it's emotionally draining
to watch. But wow, what a performance from Javier Bardem!

 

[Proglover]

Quote:

Donnie Darko - 7.2/10
 
Quite overrated. I can't believe this was actually shot in 2001, sure felt like it was shot in the 80's. 

That's one of the strengths of that movie; it really makes you feel you're back in the 80's again.
Pretty much agreed on the rating; nice movie, not a masterpiece, but worth to watch.
 

 

[Xan7hos]

Rango 8/10
 
Beautifully animated, great visual and sound editing. Story is quite odd, unique, and overall despite its self-reflexive tone it does justice to the genre. Not exactly the kid-friendliest 3d animated movie however.
 
The Adjustment Bureau 6.5-7/10
 
Terrific acting by the two leads, but it almost seems as though the script was written around the door-gimmick. you don't ever feel anything substantial occurs during their struggle

 

[tdockweiler]

Battle: Los Angeles - 6/10
 
Basically it felt like one long (and tedious) action scene. Is there anything in here that doesn't involve shooting and screaming? NO! There is a few minutes of downtime, but that's it. It felt like a live action video game, but with more realistic characters. Some scenes are pretty intense, but you get sick of the movie fast and just want it to end. It's worth a rental, but I wish I had skipped this in the theaters. It almost makes "Independence Day" look like some sort of masterpiece. Despite how bad that movie is, I'm one of the few that seems to love it. I even make fun of how stupid the movie is. Don't get me started on hacking aliens and giving the mother ship a "cold".
 
I guess I can say it's just slightly better than "Transformers 2" and more entertaining. I could only handle about 1 1/2 hours of that movie before I felt like heading for the exit.
 
BTW a favorite of mine in this genre is the 70's version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". It's on blu-ray for dirt cheap and it's only PG!

 

[vagarach]

Tron Legacy 5/10
 
This is a movie that looks and sounds brilliant, but has nothing more than that! It's shocking how epic some of those scenes looked, so perfectly envisioned. All for a crap movie.

 

[Confispect]

Quote:

Rango 8/10
 
Beautifully animated, great visual and sound editing. Story is quite odd, unique, and overall despite its self-reflexive tone it does justice to the genre. Not exactly the kid-friendliest 3d animated movie however.
 
 

Hopefully I'm going to see this today. 

 

[SoupRKnowva]

just finished Last of the Mohican's 5/5 what a great movie, one of only a couple michael mann films i enjoy, and damn did Daniel Day Lewis look young...

 

[treal512]

Quote:

Tron Legacy 5/10
 
This is a movie that looks and sounds brilliant, but has nothing more than that! It's shocking how epic some of those scenes looked, so perfectly envisioned. All for a crap movie.

 
While I agree the story line was a little meh, I found the whole Zen/mindfulness undertow of the movie to be really refreshing. Are you a program subject to the environment? 8/10 for me.

 

[Calexico]

 
You have to read the book!  It's absolutely beautiful.

I have the good fortune to partake in Never Let Me Go. Damn, if this sucker wouldn't scale right up my top from 2010 list. It's science fiction, it's romance, it's heartbreaking and stately. Don't want to say too much more save to see it, if you're say over twenty five and watch over 100 movies a year. 9/10

 
Kazuo Ishiguro writes dumb stories?  I'm appalled.  It's a beautiful beautiful book.  The movie is a pretty faithful adaptation.  Loses a bit of impact without the prose but as you said the cinematography was strong and the adaptation was faithful so I can't really ask for more.

Never Let me Go - ??/10
 
I'm glad I'm not a movie critic because I wouldn't want to give a movie like this a rating. It's a bit difficult. Honestly it did make me think, but my whole feeling with the story is that it's too unbelievable and rather dumb. Sure, I know it's one of those "What if?" scenarios, but the characters in the movie are just so unrealistic. They felt like trained lab rats the entire movie and I bet if you asked any of them to jump off a roof, they probably would. I only say that, because that's how unrealistic they felt to me. I guess they don't question if anything they're going to do is right or wrong. Somehow I could only imagine something like this happening if the entire world was controlled by Hitler and the Nazis. Nobody tried to escape but instead seemed to have zero problems giving away all their vital organs and then dying when asked. I guess they did have some sort of chip implants. Maybe they get zapped if they run away. Wish I knew. Somehow this movie felt a bit too sugar-coated for me despite the subject matter. Maybe a bit too scripted and rather dull in some parts.
 
I can see how some people can love this movie. It does make you think and a LOT, but the entire story was a huge let down. I think if I turned off my brain, I could enjoy it a bit more. Cinematography was very good and the whole movie was well made. I guess if I was a director and had to make the movie with the script I was given, I don't know if I could make it any better. I think my problem is that I'd also hate the book it was based on. Has anyone read it and is the movie accurate?
 
BTW have you seen "The Reader"? I got the same feeling after watching that movie, except that movie I liked. I think it's one of the most though-provoking movies I've seen in a few years and it's really depressing for me, but it's very well made. It actually gave me nightmares almost and I couldn't sleep all night. Kept thinking about the movie over and over. Took me a few days to get it out of my head.
 
 

Let The Right One In - 7/10
Nice movie.  Not as poignant as I had expected.
 

 

[tru blu]

Mesrine - 3/10
 
Public Enemy No. 1 - 6.5/10
 
Gangster biopics are not s'posed to be this spectacularly bad. Boy, the things we could do with $80 million dollars. Vincent Cassel, who plays the title character, deserves so much better.

 

[virometal]

Calexico:

You have to read the book!  It's absolutely beautiful.

You are the third person whom has proclaimed this to me. So yes, I will thank you very much. 
 
--
 
I watched the Belgium thriller Tell No One which is competently made. It's one of those husband searching for his wife thrillers. In this case a pediatrician that is led into the subterranean world in order unravel a mystery of his wife's disappearance. Of note, it stars Francois Cluzet, a fine leading man, and was directed by the equally worthy Guillame Canet. 7/10
 
Such fare, put me in the mood for last year's Best Foreign Language winner The Secret in Their Eyes. It's a lovely mystery film with a unspoken romance at its core. This film contains one of the most amazing tracking shots one will ever view. I'm not kidding. Plus, there is a wonderful dark noirish twist near the end. I was all about The White Ribbon last year but can't complain too much about this. I love it more every subsequent viewing. 8/10