Last Film Watched Thread.

Mitch: Haven't seen Bullitt, although I've heard it's got the greatest car chase scene ever, which has got me really interested. I think you'd dig The Great Escape. It's your type of classic.

Tom: Yeah, that's an interesting point regarding Stranger Than Fiction. It was an easy film to watch, so I could see myself rewatching it keeping that in mind.

Sverirr: Fargo is one of the greatest. Glad you like it. Stormare was excellent.

The Crow - 2/10. Watched the first 20 minutes and then threw in the towel. Incredibly poor direction and acting shunned me away. The little music I heard was good though.

Re-watch: Monsters, Inc. - 9/10



One of Pixar's most imaginative and quite possibly their funniest work to date, Monsters, Inc. is a sweet animated film that gets better the older I get, proving Pixar's ability to entertain all ages. As per usual, the animation is incredible, the voice work is great (especially from Steve Buscemi) and the script is highly intelligent. The music is fantastic, too.

Robin Hood: Men in Tights 9/10



It's days like these that I can really appreciate Mel Brooks' anything-for-a-gag style of humor.

Mars Attacks! (1996) 7/10



The first half was fairly boring. It was basically a long string of vignettes involving numerous big name actors. Not very funny either. But once the fullscale invasion begins, the action flares up and the story gets waay funnier. This is a film that you will either love or hate. Either you dig the concept of a bunch of martians killing off celebrities, or you don't. Jack Nicholson as the president of the United States was hilarious, and the rest of the cast does well with the script they're given. The action in the second half (the battle between humans and aliens) is quite amazing to witness as well.

Re-watch: South Park Bigger Longer & Uncut - 10/10



One of the funniest and one of the best animated films ever made, this is brilliant straight from the first scene. Not only does it provide vulgarity that we also love to see in R-rated flicks, but there is also a social commentary inside the film that gives the film heart as well. Trey Parker and Matt Stone aren't afraid to push the envelope to show the flaws of society and I completely respect them for that. The various Broadway-style songs also add to this terrific film. The characters are extremely likable and of course, the film is absolutely hilarious. Not to be missed.

David - Haha I'm so glad you liked Mars Attacks!. I thought it was so enjoyable and gimmickly hilarious.

Estefan - Of course you know that I love South Park and the film really displayed Matt and Trey at their best. Operation Dark Shield has me laughing to this day.


The Wicker Man - 10.0/10.



The perfect example of how to create an ambience that perfectly describes and entrances the viewer into the film. Throughout the entire duration, there is a sense of ominous fear and perfectly constructed surrealism makes you feel uncomfortable and eerie until the final shocking conclusion. The ending is one of the most beautiful and cathartic that I've ever seen. It takes every Hollywood-happy-ending standard and completely turns it on it's ear. It shocked me to the core and left me completely numb, well after the credits rolled. I honestly can't express how brilliant the ending was in words. One of, if not the, greatest I've ever seen. I must also praise Edward Woodward's brilliant performance. His emotional strength provided so much more to the already magnificent film this was. Certainly one of the greats.

3:10 to Yuma - 9.5/10



A roller coaster ride of flawless action and brilliant dramatic strength. Bale and Crowe are two of the greatest modern actors and undoubtedly the two greatest method actors of all time, and they fail to disappoint in this one. Both of them deliver absolutely exceptional performances (though I preferred Bale in Rescue Dawn, and expect to prefer Crowe in American Gangster) and watching them play off one another is one of the most memorable film experiences of my life. The supporting performers also turn in some noteworthy work, notably from Ben Foster and Peter Fonda. It was also great to see Logan Lerman get a meaty part, after the terrible cancellation of the phenomenal television series Jack and Bobby in which he gave a wonderful performance in the title Bobby role. I did feel that Gretchen Mol was pretty underused, though. The story itself also happens to be sensational, consisting of a vast array of beautifully unique and intricate characters. Every character has so many flaws and details provided by the script, making it fascinating to see what happens to them throughout. The action is some of the best I've ever seen. It takes a visceral, gritty and in-your-face look at Western violence. We follow the characters from their point of view as they charge on their horses to rob a bank courier. All of the action is so hard-hitting and intense that it left me hanging onto the edge of my seat. The final battle, as Evans(Bale) and Wade(Crowe) sprint through a town with guns blazing and 30-40 men trying to stop them from reaching the 3:10, is one of the most fascinating and enjoyable rides I've ever experienced. I was, however, quite displeased by the completely unrealistic fact that Evans was sprinting and charging through the town, going just as fast as Wade, when Evans had lost one of his feet during the Civil War and was running on a prosthetic foot. Pretty bizarre that a man with only one actual foot could move that quickly. It's easy to forgive this small displeasure though, due to the sensational work all around. The ending is utterly amazing, as it provides two huge twists that evoked more shock and gasps from the audience than DiCaprio's death in The Departed (which I saw on opening night with a sold out theater, so that's saying a lot). The ending combines an anti-Hollywood, tragic and beautiful death with a very Hollywood (but reasonably so, trust me) decision that I didn't see coming from a mile away. In short, it's definitely one of the best films of the year and more than lived up to all of my great expectations.

Rewatch: Woman in the Dunes -10/10



The Untouchables -9/10



Superbad -7.5/10

Herz aus Glas (1976, Werner Herzog)

Quickly became one of my favorite Herzog films after one repeated viewing! Known for putting himself and others at risk for the sake of art, something he seems to care for more than anything else, Werner Herzog is at his most Herzogian in his film Herz aus Glas (Heart of Glass). Using a cast that was hypnotized by a psychologist before every scene, not for the sake of directing them but for aesthetic and atmospheric appeal, Herzog crafted one of the most surreal and enigmatic films of the seventies.

Filled with relevant social commentary and messages to people with each and every prophecy from Hias the shepherd and mountain mystic, Herz aus Glas foretells the unavoidable doom of society, the end of human civilization through destruction and devastation, an ending that people will bring upon themselves through their own selfishness and pursuit of personal desires. Hias speaks of times when people will search for humans with great ambition but not be able to find them because people are so scarce on the face of the earth. The film and the prophet also speak of nature's unwillingness to allow itself to be destroyed by people, its inability to be defeated, that it will live on forever, long after humans have gone. Herzog shows this through numerous shots of simple landscape and scenery, peaceful and untainted by contact with humans. He displays the people of the village as troubled and suspicious; the people are religious but their faith is only in the Ruby Glass which provides them with their income. When the maker of the Ruby Glass dies without sharing his secret with anyone, the town looks to the prophet Hias for some kind of guidance--perhaps he might know the secret of the glass. However, his visions are only of impending doom and the end of the town as it is eaten by fire. The town descends into chaos, which is a motif Herzog uses in many of his films.

Herz aus Glas ends strangely, in a way that Herzog himself can't truly explain--he claims it was just a story that needed to be put on film. He truly isn't the average, every day filmmaker: he makes films because he feels the stories need to be heard and need to be said. A group of people who live on a rocky island on the furthest end of civilization haven't heard the news that the world is round; they believe that at the far end of the ocean, the horizon they see every day, is only a large, yawning abyss. One day, overcome by curiosity, they get together and row a boat to see if the yawning abyss truly exists, essentially rowing to their own deaths. Again, showing Herzog's belief that people will bring their own death upon themselves through selfish endeavors. Such a surreal, strange, haunting ending could only come from the mind of Herzog, who can create some of the most interesting stories I've ever heard or seen in my life. His film Herz aus Glas is just another one of those stories and I love the film tremendously.

Mitch: Yuma looks fantastic and your review just boosted my anticipation. Great review.

Halloween (Rob Zombie, 2007): 1/10



It’s easily one of the worst films ever to have disgraced the screen. Apparently every teenage girl in Zombie's world is a slut and is completely devoid of any intelligence. It's a dumb gore fest full of dreadful dialogue, dreadful acting and insipid characters. Not to mention that Myer’s was a reincarnation of The Hulk. Thank God I didn’t have to pay for it.

I still haven't seen the original and I know that it's a million times better.

AWESOME, DAVE! I haven't seen the remake but I hate Zombie! Now, watch the original.

True Romance (1993) 9/10



Very entertaining action / dark comedy from Quentin Tarantino and Tony Scott. The cast is phenomenal. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette had great chemistry together and truly seemed in love. Gary Oldman, for the short time he was in it, was fantastic as the violent pimp who thinks he's black. Of course, the scene that's often talked about from this film is the one that Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken share. The dialogue is pitch perfect and Hopper and Walken are totally in the zone in this scene. Every single one of Brad Pitt's lines were funny as hell, and no one else could have done it the same way as him. The most underrated performance in the bunch, though, is James Gandolfini. He has one scene in which he has to beat the information out of Patricia Arquette. He's completely cruel, merciless, and Gandolfini is great at it. The dialogue he has during this scene is dead cold. It's truly amazing to watch. This is one of Tarantino's better scripts, and it's fully entertaining. It's all style, little substance, but that isn't a problem for those just looking to be entertained.

Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) 8/10



The humor gets wackier as the series progresses, and Mel Gibson's Martin Riggs isn't as wickedly badass as he was in the first two, but the essential action style of the first ones is present, and the film just feels familiar and comfortable to watch, especially if you're a Lethal Weapon fan. Excellent action scenes and great chemistry between the two leads.

Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) 8/10



As with Lethal Weapon 3, the emphasis is on the comedy more than the action, and Mel Gibson is really too old for this shit. However, as with Lethal Weapon 3, the mood and tone of the previous Lethal Weapons (cinematography, music, characters, etc...) is still present, and as a result, this film is very easy to watch. This series is my second favorite action franchise ever, and I'll never get tired of any of the entries.

Die Hard (1988) 10/10



As always, this is in a deadlock with Heat for greatest film of all time. Loads of clever little moments (like the terrorist eating the candy bar, Ellis doing cocaine in Holly's office, pieces of witty dialogue, etc...) make this film a lot more personal and subtle than your average blow-everything-to-shit-action-movies. The characters, particularly John McClane and Hans Gruber, are acted perfectly and are given superb dialogue. I've already explained my love of this a thousand times, so I'll leave you with that. See ya.

You better get on MSN more and start PMing me on a regular basis.

Jeebus wrote:

You better get on MSN more and start PMing me on a regular basis.

Ditto .

Re-watch: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit - 9/10



I have been a huge fan of the cheese-loving duo for a very long time and The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a great adventure and one of their best films yet. The Englishness of Wallace and Gromit and one of the reasons for their greatness, but so is the combination of Peter Sallis's wonderful voice work and the Chaplin-esque acting of Gromit. The addition of more characters just add to the fun. We can safely add Victor Quartermine to the list of great performances from Ralph Fiennes (which already includes Justin Qualye and Amon Goeth). Helena Bonham Carter excelled two weeks before this film was released with Corpse Bride and continues that here as Wallace's love interest. As is typical with animated fare this decade, there are a couple of adult jokes scattered throughout the production, but none of that takes away from the magic of Wallace and Gromit.

This Film is Not Yet Rated - 8/10



An interesting documentary on the flaws of the MPAA ratings board, this film features plenty of fascinating interviews, especially from those who explain why their respective films were rated NC-17 (the most interesting comments coming from Kevin Smith, John Waters, Matt Stone, Maria Bello and Jamie Babbit). I didn't find the scenes involving the P.I.s spying on raters that interesting, though and just wanted to get back to the filmmaker's comments. But any film that shows the flaws of such an inconsistent system is fine by me.

Oh and one of the deleted scenes is worth watching, which I thought should has stayed in the final cut in which Matt Stone comments that South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut got an NC-17 the first time due to a scene of bestiality, even though they show that quite a lot on the show. Plus, there was a scene of bestiality in Clerks II, yet that got a R rating on its first cut.

Any write-ups, Dan? I'm interested in your thoughts on Damnation...

The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946): 8.5/10



Generally speaking, it's a good film but highly overrated. Some of the performances are actually quite good, but not as Oscar-worthy as they are thought to be. The direction and photography are great as well. Some of the evident highlights of the film. The screenplay is okay; nothing too spectacular. The thing I like the most about it was that its main focused was post-WWII and its effect on American society. (Shortage on homes, relationships between loved ones, and how hard it was for ex-servicemen to find a job after WWII) It was effective in it’s attempt to make you feel what society had went through at that time and I thought that was quite admirable. Though, I’m going to have to watch it all at once. It was for History and took three days to watch.

Estefan - Yeah I'm right with you on This Film Is Not Yet Rated. The conversations with the filmmakers and actors were very interesting and great to watch, but I despised the entire 'P.I. v. MPAA' plot. It felt dull and really distracted me from the point the film is supposed to make. I also felt that the film didn't address anything that we didn't already know.


Accepted (re-watch) - 7.5/10



This is basically a scene-for-scene remake of Old School but with teenagers and a college instead of a fraternity. Of course that makes it immensely fun and a real joy to watch. It's a great movie to just sit back and watch for an hour and a half and get a lot of great laughs out of it. Most of these laughs come from the very impressive Jonah Hill who is an absolute uproar to watch in every performance he delivers. This is no exception. The film has the basic structure of mainstream comedy 'Crappy laugh & big problem + Solution & really fun hour + End of solution + Big sappy monologue & happy ending'. I'm not a fan of that, but it doesn't really hinder the hilarity of the rest of the film.

Letters from Iwo Jima - 9/10. War movies from any perspective other than the Americans' always seem to get to me.

The Lookout (re-watch) - 7.5/10



A bit less engaging this time around, but it remains a very good character study with a fantastic performance from Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as always. It's a bit cliched and some of the scenes are so cheesy or bland that it's unbearable, but this can easily be looked past in my case. I found the majority of the film very engaging and easy to watch. The story is interesting and puts a unique spin on a pretty dried up base plot, though I don't think the film really explains his disability well enough. I mean, he can't sequence events but can remember exactly what's happening with the bank situation for a couple of weeks? Huh? It lost me a couple of times in that sense, but it never got too bizarre or unexplained for me. The ending seemed extremely unrealistic and I despised the fact that everyone just let him off the hook whenever he did something bad simply because of his disability. Seriously, that cop just let him drive away? With that card in his pocket, he shouldn't have been allowed behind the wheel of a car. Don't get me wrong, I always tend to focus on what I dislike about films. It was extremely fun, entertaining and a real joy to watch. The performance all around were simply magnificent. Levitt, Daniels, Matthew Goode and Isla Fisher (who just randomly leaves with thirty minutes left in the film with no explanation) were all marvelous.

Hairspray - 7/10



A less flashing and less energetic film than the recent musical version, the original film still succeeds thanks to a very clever script by John Waters and spirited performances from Ricki Lake and Divine. However, in the version, I think racism was portrayed a tad more cartoony than necessary and I thought that hurt the film a bit. But nonetheless, it's an interesting watch especially after seeing the 2007 version.

Hi guys, sorry for suddenly disappearing for the past few weeks - I've been having a pretty hectic life lately. I saw what happened to Joey and Alex's forum, it really sucks that it had to happen just when the board was starting...have you guys heard from either of them or people like Alicia, JP, James, Chris etc? Have they joined this place?

Anyway, here's ALL the films I've seen for the past 2-3 weeks or so:

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (2007)
No matter how much I try to watch the Harry Potter movies with an open mind, they always manage to disappoint, and I've taken that for granted now - the fanboy in me will only be satisfied with 4 hours+ movies, which I know is not possible. Anyway, this movie was good. Mind, I said good, not great. I had been expecting major chunks to be cut from the book, so that wasn't a surprise at all, but then I had one or two other problems as well; for one, the film became monotonous at parts, there was barely any excitement at all, compared to the book. Agreed, the book itself wasn't as "exciting" as the rest but its few adventurous portions had been brilliantly gripping, and which failed to generate much interest from me in the movie - the Ministry scene is a perfect example.
Also, Emma Watson irritated the hell out of me in this film, mainly in the first half - seriously, what was the deal with that constant serious frown/"annoyed look", which was on her face in about 80% of the movie? She did show some other expressions in certain portions (thank god) but otherwise she just seemed to get annoyed at everything. It's weird, she's not a bad actress, she can do much better.
Anyway, this was still a pretty entertaining and rather maturely handled film that deserves at least one watch. Also, the performances by Imelda Staunton and Evanna Lynch certainly deserve the hype. -- 7/10




Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny (2006)
Extremely silly movie, but it's still watchable. Depends though, I had heard Tenacious D's music before, and had enjoyed the crazy lyrics and unusual tunes quite a lot so I actually managed to be mildly entertained by the movie. If you've never heard of the heard of the band before though, and are only interested in watching it because of Jack Black, I wouldn't recommend it at all. -- 6/10




Mr Bean's Holiday (2007)
I can understand why many people didn't like this movie, I think it can only really appeal to long time Mr Bean fans - and since I've grown up watching Bean's antics on tv I knew exactly what to expect and didn't let the flaws in the movie bother me at all. If I wanted to watch a film I genuinely found to be funny, I'd rather watch this then some overrated flicks like Big Lebowski or Little Miss Sunshine (which was a nice little movie, but I thought it was far from being even remotely funny). -- 7/10




Chak De! India (2007)
Awesome film, very inspiring and entertaining, and quite well handled as well, for an indian film. Sure, it follows more or less the same pattern as most feel-good "underdog" films and has its share of flaws - but who cares? I'm not a professional critic or anything, if I enjoy a movie I have the right to overlook any minor faults it may have. -- 8.5/10




Borat (2006)
Finally got to see the movie, and I very much enjoyed it. Given all the extreme hype though, I guess I was expecting a tad bit too much and as a result wasn't able to find any humour in one or two popular sequences...but overall it was a great, very funny film. Also, the satirical element cleverly induced in the movie was quite strong and impressive. -- 8/10




Shooter (2007)
Quite a nicely handled movie, but in the end it turned out to be a pretty routine action/govt conspiracy flick. Not a bad source of entertainment though. -- 6/10




Oh and David, since you never really got to see my thoughts on Heat, here's a short summary;
Such a badass movie, my faith in Michael Mann has been restored. THIS is how a perfect crime drama should be, at least in my eyes. The film's storyline is very simplistic - yet engaging, the performances are top-notch (Vincent Hanna and Neil McCauley are two of the most strongest characters I've ever seen) and most of all it shines with realism without ever becoming dull in the process - a feat many films fail to achieve, since usually when describing films of this genre it's always the choice between "realistic - but boring" and "very entertaining - but not believable". Overall an awesome flick, I might even bump up the rating and include it in my top list after a re-watch. -- 9/10

Blades of Glory - 7.0/10.



A very fun and entertaining comedy that does a seamless blend of over-the-top physical comedy combined with a subtle but respectful mockery of the ice skating profession. The genius, and downfall, of the film all comes in the casting. The decision to put Will Arnett and Amy Poehler in the same film is one of the most remarkable and praiseworthy of all time. The decision to make the husband/wife team play siblings is even more brilliant. The extra step of adding Jenna Fischer as their other sibling is almost too orgasmic to still be wearing pants. But then...oh, then the earthquake of pain and suffering comes. This is in the form of the unexplainably working Jon Heder. The man is a disgrace to the world. You shouldn't put him on the big screen, you should hide him in a coffin at the bottom of the Atlantic. He isn't and never will be funny in any form of the word, until he is being murdered by me in which I'll be laughing my head off. Ferrell is always fun, though he is still just playing the 'Arrogant, idiotic and talented' type that he's been playing since 2004's Anchorman. Scenes between him and Heder, which is the majority of the film, only help to make me realize how little screentime the combination of Arnett, Poehler and Fischer had and how they needed about a thousand times more. The film should have just been this trifecta, instead of the idiocy of Jon Heder ruminating through my eyes for an hour and a half. The Iron Lotus was still one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen, though.

P.S. - Jenna Fischer was fucking sexy.

I also don't understand why Jon Heder keeps getting cast. I don't want to murder him, but I still think he is not that funny. If Napoleon Dynamite wasn't a success with easily amused teenage boys, then he would not have a career.

Oh and that avatar is fantastic.

Jon Heder is alright and Napoleon Dynamite is solid. And Estefan, someone who is a sucker for Buster Keaton's and Charlie Chaplin's comedy has no business calling others easily amused.

I fuckin dig Will Farrell to death. Whatever he does is awesome, whether it's playing the screaming retard type of later years or some other crap like playing Neil Diamond on SNL.