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Post by Pulpmariachi on Feb 16, 2008 21:08:18 GMT -5
I just through "Across the Universe" lacked a decent story altogether. Great visuals and music, but nosomuch plot.
Perespolis (Marjan Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud) -- Wonderful animated film about a young girl growing up in Iran during the war and revolution. Captivating artwork and it's all over the emotional board. In terms of the Oscar animated film, I don't think it's better than "Ratatouille" but it's beyond worth seeing. A-.
Hey, that qualifies as part of this month's genre club entry! It's autobiographical.
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Feb 17, 2008 10:17:23 GMT -5
THE BLACK DAHLIA (2006)
Brian DePalma's 1940's fictional film-noir that uses the real-life brutal murder of aspiring actress, Elizabeth Short, aka The Black Dahlia, as it's backdrop.
Gets bogged down in too many DePalma-isms, mainly a convoluted storyline and campy performances, to be effective, or for me to care.
It's no L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, that's for sure.
3/10
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Post by slayrrr666 on Feb 17, 2008 11:16:43 GMT -5
Ali-See thoughts in Movie Genre Thread.
Selena-See thoughts in Movie Genre Thread.
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Post by frankenjohn on Feb 17, 2008 13:19:41 GMT -5
Letters from Iwo Jima- Big improvement over Flags, maybe cause it nixed the annoying and constantly changing voice overs on heroes and villains. This film really didn't need it, because it was blurring those lines to allow us to take an impartial view of the battle and ultimatley the war. A couple of characters I liked, a couple I didn't, but overall the film was very powerful. Towards the end it dragged a little too much but it picked up and finished strong. A-.
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Post by Pulpmariachi on Feb 17, 2008 14:57:22 GMT -5
Wonder Boys (Curtis Hanson) -- I've spoken of this before. A-.
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Post by ZapRowsdower on Feb 18, 2008 2:53:38 GMT -5
The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008, Mark Waters)
Where Chris Weitz failed in last year's disappointment The Golden Compass, Mark Waters succeeds. This was a very well-made fantasy with good special effects and a fine performance (in spite of a few accent slips) from Freddie Highmore. 8/10
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Post by slayrrr666 on Feb 18, 2008 11:06:38 GMT -5
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Post by LivingDeadGirl on Feb 20, 2008 18:45:57 GMT -5
I just through "Across the Universe" lacked a decent story altogether. Great visuals and music, but nosomuch plot. The story wasn't so bad once you figured out how everyone fit together & the visuals and music were enough to keep me entertained. |
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Feb 21, 2008 10:28:21 GMT -5
THE MIST (2007)
Finally caught this last night at my neighborhood discount theater.
I read the Stephen King novella years and years ago so other than the basic premise, a group of people are trapped inside a supermarket by a strange mist which brings with it fantastical and deadly creatures, I'd forgotten most of it by the time the movie came along. On its own merits as a film, I gotta say I mostly liked it. Quite a bit, actually.
The cast is strong, the direction by Frank Darabont is very good and the effects, except for the occasional shaky CGI, for the most part, are, er, effective.
And that ending? Much has been made of the shocking ending. No doubt, it is a stunner. But kudos to Darabont for expanding on King's non-ending and also for not going with something more traditional. Seriously, I haven't been this shocked by the ending of a mainstream movie in a long time.
With SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE GREEN MILE and now THE MIST, Darabont has performed the Stephen King adaptation trifecta. Nice job.
8/10
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Post by ZapRowsdower on Feb 21, 2008 14:20:39 GMT -5
THE MIST (2007) Finally caught this last night at my neighborhood discount theater. I read the Stephen King novella years and years ago so other than the basic premise, a group of people are trapped inside a supermarket by a strange mist which brings with it fantastical and deadly creatures, I'd forgotten most of it by the time the movie came along. On its own merits as a film, I gotta say I mostly liked it. Quite a bit, actually. The cast is strong, the direction by Frank Darabont is very good and the effects, except for the occasional shaky CGI, for the most part, are, er, effective. And that ending? Much has been made of the shocking ending. No doubt, it is a stunner. But kudos to Darabont for expanding on King's non-ending and also for not going with something more traditional. Seriously, I haven't been this shocked by the ending of a mainstream movie in a long time. With SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE GREEN MILE and now THE MIST, Darabont has performed the Stephen King adaptation trifecta. Nice job. 8/10 I personally didn't like the ending. I felt it was completely out-of-character for him to do that... I would have preferred the ambiguous ending. 7/10 for me. |
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Feb 21, 2008 15:26:58 GMT -5
I personally didn't like the ending. I felt it was completely out-of-character for him to do that... I would have preferred the ambiguous ending. 7/10 for me. While I understand why some people didn't like the ending or just outright hated it, it's not for everyone, I think it was a brave choice and a totally unexpected one. While it works okay in the book, the same ambiguous ending for the movie, might've seemed too similar to the ending of Hitchcock's THE BIRDS, imho. An open-ended finale like that in a modern movie might seem like a set up for a sequel and cheapen the whole thing. The ending as it is, is a powerful punch in the stomach, but it's definitely memorable. I literally felt winded. For the record, King himself thinks the new ending is better than the book's, so I'm in good company.  |
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Post by slayrrr666 on Feb 22, 2008 11:03:54 GMT -5
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer-So not the style of film I would watch. The fact that it focuses on the killer is where it goes wrong: I feel there's nothing creepy or terrifying that can come from that style. The killer isn't as creepy as s/he should be, and it ruins all of the suspense and fear they impart when you learn as much as you do about them here. The violence wasn't bad, although a little more variety in the kills would've been appreciated more, and the sleaze and exploitation garned didn't make this a total loss, but I wouldn't feel bad not ever seeing this one again.
2/10
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Post by Pulpmariachi on Feb 23, 2008 21:14:46 GMT -5
Cloverfield (Matt Reeves) -- WARNING: potential spoilers. A fairly entertaining movie. Someone watched "Children of Men" and liked what they saw so you have this story of a group of people within this huge event that no one can describe and therefore we get no explanation -- but it's okay because ignorance leads to even more horrifying measures. The characters, however, weren't that great and someone should've punched that Rob dude in the face -- but then, where would the story be? And it really is a love story as well. I thought the ending was cheap and even at 84 minutes, the scene after the "United 93" fall should've been cut. I guess they wanted closure or something. No matter, I still liked it. B+.
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Post by LivingDeadGirl on Feb 24, 2008 10:36:59 GMT -5
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer-So not the style of film I would watch. The fact that it focuses on the killer is where it goes wrong: I feel there's nothing creepy or terrifying that can come from that style. The killer isn't as creepy as s/he should be, and it ruins all of the suspense and fear they impart when you learn as much as you do about them here. I guess this is where we differ, to me the killer/s and the whole film were creepy, the whole psychology of the thing. One minute they're sitting down having supper together and the next their out killing someone. That's the kind of stuff that gets to me... Donnie Brasco 9/10- Comments in MGOTM |
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Feb 24, 2008 19:43:14 GMT -5
I have to agree with LDG on HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER.
You know it's based on a true story, right Slayrrr?
Watched over the last couple of days:
BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE (2002)
Love him or hate him, Michael Moore makes a lot of good points here about guns, media-provoked fear and the high murder rate in the U.S.
Ironically, while being interviewed, the Anti-Christ Superstar, Marilyn Manson, comes off really good, while Moses himself, Charlton Heston, comes off really bad.
9/10
ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976)
My comments in the "Movie Genre of the Month" thread.
GANDHI (1982)
My comments in the "Movie Genre of the Month" thread.
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