Last Film Watched Thread.

I don't think Will Ferrell is funny. I actually think he is quite obnoxious. (Elf, for example) I've only seen Heder in Napoleon Dynamite, which is easily one of the most unfunny comedies I’ve ever seen. It tries so hard to be original and offbeat that it gets caught up in being the exact opposite.

Jeez...thanks for the enthusiastic welcome, everyone.

Hey Jay!

Re: Harry Potter, I personally think the Deathly Hallows should be a three-hour epic. It wouldn't work well if they tried to squeeze in too much into a two-hour running time (a major flaws of Order of the Phoenix).

Sorry. Glad to see that you've joined. We need as much interesting people as we can get.

Harry Lime wrote:

I've only seen Heder in Napoleon Dynamite, which is easily one of the most unfunny comedies I’ve ever seen. It tries so hard to be original and offbeat that it gets caught up in being the exact opposite.

Eh...what? How one can claim that NP is unoriginal and conventional is beyond me? One may not like the humour in the movie but don't serve me some poo Kebab about it being unoriginal and conventional.

J-Man wrote:

Jeez...thanks for the enthusiastic welcome, everyone.

In my world, if you want to take you have to give first my friend.

Shoot 'Em Up - 8.5/10



A film that aims to be a parody on the extremeness and over-the-top tendencies of the action genre, and succeeds in becoming one of the most entertaining and exhilirating films of the decade. I doubt there will be a more entertaining piece of work this year. It was so over-the-top and hilarious. Some of it did go a tid bit too far for me (the firefight while jumping out of a plane, the fact that there wasn't a single cop to be found) but all of the wild absurdity combined with an encompassing metal soundtrack and perfectly choreographed action made it one of the funnest movies I've ever seen. The clash of Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti certainly added a great stride to it, with Clive's deadpan hilarity and Giamatti's winning charisma. It's this extravagance and extreme unrealism that makes the film entertaining, but can also be a flaw from time to time. But it is absolutely impossible not to have an uproarious time watching Clive Owen shoot an umbilical cord to seperate it from the mother, kill numerous people with a simple carrot, and (in my favorite scene of the film) have raunchy sex with Monica Bellucci whilst laying out an endless supply of armed hitmen. Certainly something I could see myself re-watching time and time again.

3:10 to Yuma ~ 9/10

MILD SPOILER ALERT.

Lots of great action, beautiful cinematography, and knockout performances from Crowe and Bale. Drags a little bit in some parts, but not much. Also, Bale's son was a whiny bitch. He should've died and Alan Tudyk should've lived. Alan Tudyk is the fucking man. I mean, did you see him get that guy with the shovel?

And the ending...I loved it.

Quote :

Hey Jay!
Re: Harry Potter, I personally think the Deathly Hallows should be a three-hour epic. It wouldn't work well if they tried to squeeze in too much into a two-hour running time (a major flaws of Order of the Phoenix).

Hey man...yeah I'm with you on the 7th movie being longer than the others. I don't know why Warner Bros. is so bent upon the 2 hour limit, if people can go see lord of the rings, why can't they go see a 3 hour Harry Potter movie?

Quote :

Sorry. Glad to see that you've joined. We need as much interesting people as we can get.

Nah it's cool, though you might get disappointed - I'm not a very interesting person at all

Quote :

In my world, if you want to take you have to give first my friend.

If you hadn't noticed I did say hello everyone first in my post, man. Or were you expecting me to mail a greeting card to each one of you?

October Sky (Joe Johnston, 1999): 8.5/10



It’s my favorite inspirational family film. It just makes you feel so good inside. Though, a lot of that is thanks to the spirited performances of Gyllenhaal and Dern. Yes, the screenplay is cliché at times, but it just too uplifting to even pay attention to the flaws. I also just love the whole plot of the film. A boy gets inspired by the launching of sputnik and aspires to build rockets and launch them into space even though it’s against his father’s wishes. I’ll probably watch it again sometime because it makes me feel that good.

Hey Jay! Glad to have you here.

Tom - Glad you liked 3:10 so much. I loved it as well, man. The ending was absolutely brilliant, as were all of the performances. What did you think of Ben Foster?

Jay - First, yes I did expect a greeting card. Secondly, I don't see how 'Hi guys' is much of a welcome so I felt it kind of pointless to tack 'Hey Jay' onto my next post. Either way, whatever.

David - Glad you liked October Sky. It can be a bit overly sentimental, but it's such a warm and relaxing film that one can't help but swoon for it.

Quote :

Hey Jay! Glad to have you here.

Hey Bart, how've you been?

Quote :

Jay - First, yes I did expect a greeting card. Secondly, I don't see how 'Hi guys' is much of a welcome so I felt it kind of pointless to tack 'Hey Jay' onto my next post. Either way, whatever.

...How can I 'welcome' anyone in a place I'm visiting for the first time? (Well ok, second time, after posting on that "who are you" thread - but that's besides the point). I said a general, friendly "hello", and talked about some other stuff as well (questions noone bothered to answer - I'm not whining for them, just wanted to point that out) and I think that was more than enough, I'm still not sure what you had been expecting. Don't take it the wrong way man, I just felt like being honest.

P.S - I did mail you a greeting card at your request but since I was in a hurry I couldn't examine it properly before walking out of the shop...so er, please ignore the part on the cover that says "Happy Birthday Mommy!!" in big letters.

I wasn't complaining about your original post. I was commenting on the fact that you got upset that we didn't give you some hugely warm welcome, when it's not like you did anything to deserve it. Big deal, you're here. Welcome. Whatever. And about the 'questions no one bothered to answer', that's where my original reply to your post came from. I'm not going to comment on your questions and your thoughts if you don't comment on mine. You have to give in order to take. Now that's all settled. Moving on....

Ali - 9.0/10.



Mann put a lot of pressure on his head by attempting to create a film that not only tackled the tumultuous ten year dramatic highpoint of Muhammed Ali's life, but also covered the political conflicts and protests of the times and the vast scope of the civil rights movement including the deaths of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. It's a lot to handle in one film that runs under three hours, and I do feel that he should have spent some more time on the lives of possibly the two greatest revolutionaries in American history, but for the running time I don't think anyone could have handled it better than Mann. His distinctive style, mostly through the camerawork, shines through here as always and it never fails to be a pleasure to watch. He makes everything so sleak and engaging that, even when the scenes are dragging a bit, your eyes remained glued to the screen. Though I do wish he would have used a soundtrack closer to the ones he used in Collateral and Miami Vice, instead of the more jazz-focused one for this but I understand his reasoning. The performances are just sensational all around. Smith delivers one of the best of the year and I commend the Academy for recognizing such brilliance. He completely immerses himself into Ali and does nothing short of absolutely becoming the man. It feels like you're actually watching him. Jon Voight undergoes one of the most amazing transformations I've ever seen. I didn't even know who he was playing until the credits rolled. Jamie Foxx also delivers an exceptional work. His emotional trauma is palpable, and I wish that Mann would have spent a bit more time on him. Most biopics go through so much cheesy sentimentality that it becomes a chore to watch by the end, but Mann goes in a completely opposite direction and presents a hard-hitting, realistic drama that doesn't pull any punches. The boxing scenes are the greatest in film history, from my perspective. Most films use slow motion and fancy camera techniques to make boxing more dramatic, but Mann just puts the camera in the ring and presents it all exactly how it is, just like he does with all of his films. The man is a cinematic genius, easily one of the greatest directors of all time, and this is just another example.

Reservoir Dogs - 9/10. Really, really good dialogue and storyline. I felt some of the acting didn't really fit Tarantinosque dialogues (you know, like Samuel L. Jackson fits T's dialogues perfectly) and some of it came off a bit awkward. This flick featured several really kickass scenes like the toilet scene which is one of the greatest scenes I've ever seen, and the ending with an awesome Keitel grunting and whimpering.

Quote :

I wasn't complaining about your original post. I was commenting on the fact that you got upset that we didn't give you some hugely warm welcome, when it's not like you did anything to deserve it. Big deal, you're here. Welcome. Whatever. And about the 'questions no one bothered to answer', that's where my original reply to your post came from. I'm not going to comment on your questions and your thoughts if you don't comment on mine. You have to give in order to take. Now that's all settled. Moving on....

Nope, I don't think it's settled, not yet. Firstly, I never "got upset". The reason for my sarcastic comment after my post was because it was plain ignored. I didn't get a hugely warm welcome? Try no welcome, or any sort of acknowledgment of having read my greeting at all. Estefan and David understood that.
Secondly, the "questions" I was referring to were the ones about Joey, Alex etc, not the ones I may have included in my short reviews - just in case you got confused. I understand that one needs to comment on other people's thoughts before awaiting any replies - but again dude, I just started posting in this place, you can't seriously be expecting me to go back through this thread and comment on people's viewings before posting? Your "give in order to take" philosophy doesnt sound applicable here, to be completely honest.

It may look like I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill, but I'm really not, I'm just trying to clear up a small misunderstanding.

Bahahahha. Ok, dude. Like I said twice already, whatever. Move on.

Ok. Whatever

Yeah, and on Reservoir Dogs I'd like to add that Tarantino's music was spot-on as always. Not only does it fit the atmosphere of the film and add something extra to it but it's all good, solid musical pieces which makes me respect the man more. I think the greatest flaw of most of modern cinema's directors is that they have a crappy sense of music and fail to use it to better whatever crap they're directing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L1hD5OlPtw

I do dislike Tarantino, but I have to admit that he has talent when it comes to making a soundtrack. The choice of 'Stuck in the Middle With You' for Blonde's big scene was genius. The performances in Reservoir Dogs were also pretty spectacular, notably Tim Roth's.

Jeebus wrote:

David - Glad you liked October Sky. It can be a bit overly sentimental, but it's such a warm and relaxing film that one can't help but swoon for it.

I know you're not going to respond, but...

That's quite true, but that is what you get with that kind of subject matter. Also, it's my second viewing and I can't help but love it.

Jeebus wrote:

Tom - Glad you liked 3:10 so much. I loved it as well, man. The ending was absolutely brilliant, as were all of the performances. What did you think of Ben Foster?

He was pretty good. But I didn't really take a whole lot of note of him just because of Crowe's dominating screen presence.


GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS (James Foley, 1992) 7.5/10



SLIGHT PLOT SPOILERS.

Well, I'm a little disappointed because it seemed like a whole lotta nothing happened in this movie. They bitch about not being able to do their jobs properly, two guys talk about robbery, the robbery happens (off screen), a little more bitching happens, the end. That's a skeletal description, but just barely. Also, it very much seemed like a play being recorded on film. What saves this film from being boring as balls is the magnificent, magnetic cast. Kevin Spacey, Al Pacino, Alan Arkin, Ed Harris, Jack Lemmon, even Jonathan Pryce in his tiny, little-to-do role, all do the best with what they're given. And Alec Baldwin...it's a real tribute to his talent that he had one short scene and gave the best performance amidst such an array of highly-talented actors.

That's understandable. Crowe's dominance bows to no man...though it might bow to Joan Allen. I loved Ben Foster so much. He delivered one of the best, and easily the most surprising, performance of the year so far in my opinion. Glad to see you liked Glengarry Glen Ross, but I agree that the film doesn't really go anywhere at all. Alec Baldwin was the fucking man in that.

Glengarry Glen Ross kicks ass. Very good performances all-around with Lemmon particularly on fire (though if I remember correctly; I wasn't too pleased with Pacino). I found the movie as a whole pretty damn interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-AXTx4PcKI

Some ratings from the Toronto Film Festival -

Voyage of the Red Balloon - 3.5/4
The Man from London - 3.5/4 (Tarr's worst film that I've seen to date - probably the only with concrete flaws. But I did get to meet Tarr at the end of the movie )
The Mourning Forest - 3/4
Beyond the Years - 2.5/4
Secret Sunshine - 3/4

sverrir90 wrote:

Glengarry Glen Ross kicks ass. Very good performances all-around with Lemmon particularly on fire (though if I remember correctly; I wasn't too pleased with Pacino). I found the movie as a whole pretty damn interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-AXTx4PcKI

Yeah, I thought Pacino was the weakest, but he was still pretty solid. And it was interesting, though I'm not sure it would have been if it wasn't for the spectacular acting.