What movie did you just see?

[blip]

Sorority Boys - One of those movies that you wind up watching on TV and you don't know why. Like watching a train-wreck this piece of contrived plot and forced humor, is difficult to look away from. That said, an occasional joke was really a bit clever or at least amusing. A cut above other generic teen comedies giving it a monumental

Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas - Very decent film based off of a book by the late Hunter S. Thompson. Johnny Depp plays a journalist who travels to Vegas on assignment (and in an attempt to understand the American dream and his own fractured place in it). Most of the film is a visually stylish series of drug trips (ranging from cocaine to LSD to mescaline and beyond). This is one of Terry Gillam's most interesting films... full of a powerful psychadelic sensibility that he only hints at in his other work (12 Monkey's, Brazil etc.) All and all it can be a bit overwhelming and the plot (and Thompson's critique) often gets lost under a sea of psychadelic wierdness. (Take one 15 minute scene of Benecio Del Turro splashing around in a bath tub while high on LSD as evidence of this) That said, some of what Thompson is saying does come across and it is powerful stuff.

What really makes this movie great, however, is not Gillam or Thompson, it's Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp delivers an amazing performance. Sometimes it is hard to believe that he really isn't Thompson. This definitely makes it a worth while film to watch, but don't expect a coherent or focused plot.

 

[wallijonn]

Heroic Duo - Leon Lai, Ekin Cheng, Francis Ng. Chinese. Action / Cop gendre. 5.1, DTS. English subtitles, no English translation track.

A jailed hypnotist helps a cop find a master criminal hypnotist. It seems that the cop's superior stole a file, set fire to a storeroom, did not remember committing the crime and committed suicide due to guilt (was it because of child abuse?). The cop, out of loyalty to his boss, seeks answers, visits the jailed hypnotist who tells him that only one man could be responsible, his mentor, but as he is the only one who knows what he looks like he will have to be freed to find him.

A little slow in places, unbelievable in most.

Leon Lai is very likeable as an onscreen personna.

There are some real problems with the movie (many loose ends and little backstory) but it still remains very entertaining. I wan't overly concerned with editing, pacing, dialogue, choreography, cinematography, colour balance, volume levels, etc. (At least it wasn't as unbelievable as Sonatine where everyone shoots and nobody moves ("Rock'em-Sock'em" firefights.))

The 'usual' Chinese Law Enforcement mindset is there (where one is guilty right off the bat) and damn excuses (no effort is made to investigate further, just extract a confession and prosecute on the spot). It looks surreal and one wonders if it reflects reality.

 

[wallijonn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenster I just rented Ocean's 12 and I must say I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Granted, it's not some great cinematic acheivement but in terms of pure enjoyability I think it's right up there with the first one. It garnered pretty unfavorable ratings by the critics, and as such my expectations were pretty low. The thing I really liked about it was how different it is from Ocean's 11. The majority of the movie takes place in Europe, and so the style of it really takes on a European feel. Everything from the camera angles to the lighting to the jumpy editing gives it a stylishness that evokes a mixture of consiracy films and 70's arthouse cinema. And the best part about it is that they held on to that sense of excitement of pulling off the heist that was so great about 11. Oh, and the character of the French master theif was so smooth, so badass. A perfect rival for Danny and his crew.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiGHFLYiNG9 I just saw Oceans 12 yesterday which I didn't really care for.

Ocean's Twelve - George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Catherine-Zeta Hones, Andy Garcia, Bernie Mack, Julia Roberts, Carl Reiner and a host of cameo appearances. Crime drama. 5.1.

Start the film, watch chapters 1 and 2, go immediately to chapter 25 (chapter 24 if you want a fuller effect) and don't bother watching anything past chapter 35. Press the "stop" button as chapter 34 ends. Remvoe the disc and never watch it again. Even the beauty of Catherine Zeta-Jones is not enough to salvage this masterpiece of dredge. If you have a DVD which will allow you to fast forward with sound turned on, engage it and quickly read the subtitles - if you're a masochist who's not in a mood to be beaten to a mindless pulp. If you want to be hurt, and hurt bad, watch it from start to finish. Even the menu page is aggravating - reminiscent of watching AMC TV films - with the commercials.

At times it has the flavour of a 1970's movie, exhibiting coarse grain typical of that era's film stock, at other times it seems to play out like a TV comercial or TV documentary.

The editing, framing and composition is reminiscent of an amaturish Indie film, with the music score reminiscent of a bad Al Di Meola recording ("I can tell" (the only good song on the album)). The music is horrible (mostly jazz), ultimately becoming a nuisance. Other than one some by the Platters and Marvin Gaye, the only songs and music which can be considered anything approaching "acceptable" are the Italian language songs. The music choices are questionable at best (Andy Garcia did one ort two 'songs') and serve to disconnect one from any sense of continuity. This movie is no "James Bond" spy thriller production. If you wish to relive your youth, relive the music of TV episodes of the Mod Squad, then by all means pick this movie up. But don't say you haven't been warned.

At many places the colour balance is off, overly saturated and reminiscent of GAF film stock. The contrast does work in at least two scenes, though, otherwise it is an irritant There is an over reliance on a shaky portable camera, along with one that "travels". The scene where they exit the jail courtyard is very aggravating - as they left there should have been asubsequent slight pans closer in. As it is it is boring and irritating. There seems to be an absence of firmly planted tripods and rail-dolly cameras.

Being filmed overseas it seemingl seeks to have a Mediterranean flavour, perhaps Italian or Greek. There definitely seems to be a "foreign" influence.

Forget this piece of soiled toilet tissue - watch Sterling Hayden in The Killing (1956) or To Catch a Thief with Cary Grant instead. You'll be much better served and you won't hate yourself in the morning.

The only scene worth watching in the whole movie is to see the Classic convertible in chapter 30, at 1:44:00. It lasts a whole 11 seconds. Does anyone know what car that was? It was absolutley beautiful! If it wasn't for that one scene this movie would be a total waste of time.

I look forward to the time when I can forget ever having watched this piece of garbage. I may never watch another George Clooney film ever again. This movie is not worth plugging in the headphones...

0 headphones.

 

[wallijonn]

To Live and Die in LA - Willem Da Foe, William Petersen, Dean Srtockwell. Cop Crime Drama. 5.1

Treasury Agent with 2 days to go before retirement is killed (isn't that the way it always happens?), his partner seeks revenge against counterfeiter.

The visuals are somewhat dated, the music is semi-professional with the occasional mainstream record. The acting is acceptable (very good), editing isn't crisp, the framing isn't always tight, the dialogue is very suspect, slow paced, perplexing last frame ending. Very good car chase scene (after pauses in the action which are inexplicable).

Watch once, never watch again.

1/2 headphone.

 

[YamiTenshi]

Suspect Zero
I really wanted to like this movie. But for some reason I found myself losing interest towards the middle. Anyway good acting but I felt the characters weren't fully developed and their relationships were lacking. They were going for a somewhat Se7en-ish ending that just didn't work. At the end my biggest problem was that I didn't believe this movie and all the 'science' that they were trying to explain.


Attack of Precinct 13
I never saw the original so I have nothing to compare it too. But I enjoyed this movie. The action was good but kept under control so I wasn't constantly thinking of how fake and impossible it was for 8 people (mostly criminals and civilians) to defend themselves against an army of fully armed cops. It actually surprised me that they allowed some of the characters to die, I expected more to survive the night.

 

[DLeeWebb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by YamiTenshi Suspect Zero I really wanted to like this movie. But for some reason I found myself losing interest towards the middle. Anyway good acting but I felt the characters weren't fully developed and their relationships were lacking. They were going for a somewhat Se7en-ish ending that just didn't work. At the end my biggest problem was that I didn't believe this movie and all the 'science' that they were trying to explain. Attack of Precinct 13 I never saw the original so I have nothing to compare it too. But I enjoyed this movie. The action was good but kept under control so I wasn't constantly thinking of how fake and impossible it was for 8 people (mostly criminals and civilians) to defend themselves against an army of fully armed cops. It actually surprised me that they allowed some of the characters to die, I expected more to survive the night.

I didn't see "Attack on Precinct 13" but I totally agree with every aspect of your evaluation of "Suspect Zero." They were definitely going for a "Seven" kind of plot. I also wanted to like this film but began losing interest in the middle. The characters, as you say, were not fully developed. I didn't really care about any of them. Did you see the alternative ending? I don't think that it would have saved the film or anything, but I liked it better than the ending that was chosen by the director. I am surprised that Ben Kingsley ended up being in such a lackluster film...thumbs down!

 

[YamiTenshi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DLeeWebb I didn't see "Attack on Precinct 13" but I totally agree with every aspect of your evaluation of "Suspect Zero." They were definitely going for a "Seven" kind of plot. I also wanted to like this film but began losing interest in the middle. The characters, as you say, were not fully developed. I didn't really care about any of them. Did you see the alternative ending? I don't think that it would have saved the film or anything, but I liked it better than the ending that was chosen by the director. I am surprised that Ben Kingsley ended up being in such a lackluster film...thumbs down!

I thought Ben Kingsley was the best actor in this film, but I could help but thinking he looked (and acted to an extend) exactly like Kevin Spacey from Seven. That why the ending felt like such a rip off of Seven, I was just waiting for someone to start screaming "What's in the box!!!"

Thanks for telling me there's an alternate ending. I kind of gave up on the movie when the credits rolled and I just went to bed. I'll have to check the DVD again.

 

[wallijonn]

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep, Jude Law (voice over). Fantasy gendre. 5.1, English, French, Spanish with subtitles.

Modelled after the Books. Three orphans with an inheritance must go to live with strangers and relations whose only intention is to secure their inheritance for himself. The daughter is a mechanical genius while the son has a photographic memory. The biggest laughs are secured by the baby in subtitles (Saying such things as "She's the mayor of Crazy Town".) Some good CG special effects, nice music, good editing, cinematography. There are a few holes in the script, though.

Children and teenagers will probably appreciate the movie more thn adults, as adults are less likely to have read the books.

Somewhere I must've missed something because even after two viewings I couldn't understand how the kids end up wth the writer of the books.

 

[Stephonovich]

Walli, as for your take on Ocean's 12, I believe it was meant to look amateur indie. They specifically said it wasn't as neat looking as Ocean's 11. While I still liked 11 better, I felt 12 was good on it's own merits. I thought the rough grain and high contrast worked for it on the whole. A bit like Darron Aronofsky, actually.

 

[sagocup]

Kung Fu Hustle...which was awesome! I don't go to movies much, in the future I might see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

 

[redshifter]

don't look now (1973)
donald sutherland and julie christie
dir: n. roeg

from the director of the brilliant, difficult film "walkabout". a married couple is drawn into a surreal supernatural adventure in venice. like some of his other films, roeg uses pure cinema and symbolism to tell the story, with heavy doses of surrealism mixed in. some very memorable characters, especially the british and italian supporting cast.

 

[chadbang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redshifter don't look now (1973) donald sutherland and julie christie dir: n. roeg from the director of the brilliant, difficult film "walkabout". a married couple is drawn into a surreal supernatural adventure in venice. like some of his other films, roeg uses pure cinema and symbolism to tell the story, with heavy doses of surrealism mixed in. some very memorable characters, especially the british and italian supporting cast.

More synopsis: An American couple still mourning the drowning death of their young daughter relocates to Venice where a blind psychic forsees a reunion with their dead child.

Don't forget, and one of the great, creepy endings of all time!

 

[wallijonn]

Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Thank You Mr. Lucas for bringing SW back to its roots, for making a SW movie for adults, and for undoing the damage of the past 3 SW films: the Ewoke fiasco was rectified, Jar Jar Binks was rectified, Samuel L. Jackson actually acted, Jummy Smit was no longer stereotypically dressed, plus he got lines to utter to boot.

Kudos to your casting director, Christine (?) King. She did an exemplary job far surpassing Ms. Englund.

I didn't notice who the editor is, although I did see that there was an audio editor. There was only 1 edit that I felt was 'bad,' a second shot of Anakin early on.

The Dolby audio was exemplary - when Darth Vader first takes a breath one can actually hear it coming from upper mid screen. The Wookie Tarzan battle cry was a nice touch. The soundtrack and audio effects were superb with pinpoint panning and accuracy.

The visuals were grand and expansive, more detailed than any movie to date. The special effects were spectacular with nice touches which kept surprising and delighting. In places the colour balance could have been a little better, but for the most part it is exemplary with deep hues, multi-colours, great contrast, excellent grain.

The first 25 minutes are a gamer's wet dream, playing out like a PC game with visuals to die for.

I had the best seat in the house in a sparsely populated theatre (9:35 AM showing), I stayed until the end of the credits and applauded full heartedly. I will be seeing it again in the theatre and will be buying it the first day of DVD release.

 

[YamiTenshi]

72 Hours in Seoul (my translation, don't know what the real English title is

)

During the entire movie I kept trying to figure out if this was a Korean movie or a Japanese movie. The main character is Japanese, but the whole movie takes place in Seoul (hence the title). Anyway, I really wanted to see more character development from the main guy, it seemed like almost every scene he was in was for comic relief. At the end I don't think he changed at all, still a dopey cop that's late for everything. The Korean cop on the other hand developed a lot, unfortunately he didn't get much scene time.

Don't see this movie for action or gore, it focuses more on story and the conflicts between Korean and Japanese cultures.

 

[ZackT]

King Arthur

Well, got this out on DVD - had heard it was a bit of a flop when it was released at the cinema.

I kinda liked it, a bit like an earlier "Braveheart". Always had a soft spot for the Romans.

Good action and great costumes.

I'm wondering if anyone with an historical bent can answer a few questions for me:

1. Did they really have cross bows (armour piercing) in Roman times?
2. Were there really eastern horseman used in Britain by the Romans?
3. Were they called "Knights"?
4. How long would have taken to get from Britain to Rome in those days? (I guess they did have "Roman roads").

Just think that if this movie is full of historical inaccuracies it'll loose it's gleam for me.

ZT