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Post by Clark Nova on Jun 19, 2009 20:34:22 GMT -5
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drone
King Kong
Posts: 184
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Post by drone on Jun 20, 2009 2:54:23 GMT -5
Are you a Bresson fan, in general? Punishment Park: 7/10 Happiness: 8/10 The Hangover: 6.25/10 The Ascent: 9.5/10 Nights of Cabiria: 7.5/10 L’avventura: 8.5/10 In The Bedroom: 8.25/10 A Woman Under The Influence: 8.75/10 Spirit of the Beehive: 5.75/10 The Girlfriend Experience: 6/10 Paris, Texas: 8/10 The Decalogue: Six: 9/10 The Decalogue: Seven: 7.75/10 Manhattan: 5.75/10 |
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Post by Clark Nova on Jun 22, 2009 8:44:12 GMT -5
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Post by Clark Nova on Jun 22, 2009 22:37:40 GMT -5
Samurai Rebellion (Masaki Kobayashi, 1967)rantsandmusings.wordpress.com/2009/06/22/samurai-rebellion/Belle de jour (Luis Buñuel, 1967) Eh, too cynical, even by the standards of the king of cynicism, Buñuel. Still, cool moments of sexual fetishism that dare you to be repulsed, titillated, or both, as Deveuve's trysts and dream sequences are both bizarrely appealing and coldly robotic. Sex really is just sex sometimes - no rhyme or reason to it. But otherwise, I was pretty much completely indifferent to this film. 7/10
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captainofbeef
Cool KAt 
Beauty Hides in the Deep
You should have asked me for it, how could I say no...
Posts: 7,778
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Post by captainofbeef on Jun 23, 2009 9:52:32 GMT -5
The Taking of Pelham One-Two-Three
8/10
Your basic action thriller made that much better both through a heavy dose of NYC and the performances of the actors involved. New York City is essential to this film and if the city wasn't so prominent, then the film would feel cliche. But the attitudes of all the people in the film make it much more entertaining. The performances are damn good as well, Matthau, Shaw, Stiller, and Balsam all turn in A+ efforts and the banter between Matthau and Shaw is golden. Yes, the story itself is a bit hackneyed. But overall, it is a very entertaining movie. Its a shame that they decided to remake it.
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captainofbeef
Cool KAt
Beauty Hides in the Deep
You should have asked me for it, how could I say no...
Posts: 7,778
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Post by captainofbeef on Jun 24, 2009 11:06:06 GMT -5
Waltz with Bashir
10/10
An entirely original animated docudrama from Folman, it is truly unlike any film I've ever seen before. The animation is absolutely stunning and shows that in the right hands, traditional animation still trumps CGI. The comic book-like visuals wrap the viewer into the movie's story completely. Not to mention that the film's diverse soundtrack gives the film a unique pace. The actual events detailed in the film are rather horrifying and the few scenes of actual footage shown at the end of the film are incredibly disturbing. Folman does an excellent job of conveying his anti-war message. A must-see no matter what your political persuasion is.
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Post by Clark Nova on Jun 24, 2009 22:12:21 GMT -5
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Post by Clark Nova on Jun 25, 2009 12:28:05 GMT -5
In Cold Blood (Richard Brooks, 1967) It's 'flawed', I'll be the first to admit; I thought the Clutters were portrayed a little too innocently, a little too much like the perfect family in early scenes to play up the tragedy of their deaths later on, and the heavy attribution of Perry's violent tendencies to a rotten childhood with an alcoholic mother he once revered and a hateful father is the easy way out in giving an explanation for why he does his seemingly senseless acts in the Clutter home that night (I'll admit, though, that I have no idea how much of that played into what happened in real life, or how much focus it got from Capote in the book, which I've never read - something I'm definitely gonna rectify very, very soon). But I don't care about stock 'flaws' like that, because this is an incredible, incredible film whose ever-present sense of dread hit me emotionally like a ton of bricks, and no pages-long analysis or praise I can write in some blog could do it justice. 10/10
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Post by Clark Nova on Jun 26, 2009 15:22:05 GMT -5
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ie
The Beatles
invadin yr spaec
Posts: 2,670
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Post by ie on Jun 29, 2009 8:02:08 GMT -5
Waltz with Bashir 10/10 An entirely original animated docudrama from Folman, it is truly unlike any film I've ever seen before. The animation is absolutely stunning and shows that in the right hands, traditional animation still trumps CGI. The comic book-like visuals wrap the viewer into the movie's story completely. Not to mention that the film's diverse soundtrack gives the film a unique pace. The actual events detailed in the film are rather horrifying and the few scenes of actual footage shown at the end of the film are incredibly disturbing. Folman does an excellent job of conveying his anti-war message. A must-see no matter what your political persuasion is. I read the graphic novel. Just take out the sentence about the soundtrack, and replace it with a sentence about how it talks about memory, especially for veterans that would probably rather forget the wars they fought in. Great stuff. |
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Post by Clark Nova on Jun 29, 2009 13:40:47 GMT -5
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captainofbeef
Cool KAt
Beauty Hides in the Deep
You should have asked me for it, how could I say no...
Posts: 7,778
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Post by captainofbeef on Jul 2, 2009 0:43:38 GMT -5
Public Enemies
7/10
Michael Mann's newest gangster flick offers up everything that his previous crime films have. However, it decides to skimp on the story of the G-men hunting the bank robbers and instead focus mostly on the bank robbers themselves. Depp is fantastic in the lead role, playing Dillinger with a quiet cool and a solemn heart toward the films end. Cotilliard does her job as well as Dillinger's main flame. However, Bale disappoints as Melvin Purvis because his character's true motives are never understood. The film is too long and it skimps on overall backstory. But overall, it delivers on what fans of Michael Mann expect.
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Post by Clark Nova on Jul 5, 2009 22:38:39 GMT -5
The X-Files: I Want to Believe (Chris Carter, 2008) Lame. But ehhhhh, nice atmosphere, I guess, with the snow and the dank makeshift laboratory and such? Actually, the lighting in this movie, especially at night in the snow, is really, really good, so props for that. But the jab at George W. Bush did make me LOL in its sheer audacity (combining the portrait with the strain of the X-Files theme as if the 2004 election was the biggest unexplained phenomena of all ;D ) And I liked how Chris Carter basically threw Mitch Pileggi a bone by letting him play action hero in the last 10 minutes of the movie, and introducing him all dramatic-like by the back of his bald head as if the messiah's returned ;D And is there any woman in this world more intimidating and emasculating than Amanda Peet?  Otherwise, this was just any other just-OK standalone episode, but twice as long and with a bigger budget. 6/10 The Room (Tommy Wiseau, 2003)rantsandmusings.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/the-room/
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drone
King Kong
Posts: 184
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Post by drone on Jul 6, 2009 2:19:30 GMT -5
A bold score. Great review. It's opening here soon, I'll probably go see it. |
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mixed
Hitchcock
We played with life and lost
Posts: 1,273
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Post by mixed on Jul 7, 2009 10:39:40 GMT -5
Forgetting Sarah Marshall; Okay, this didn't make me laugh once. I kept thinking hmm, I should be laughing here, yet I am not. I thought the film was quite 'nice' and quite well made, but I thought the laughs were poorly played. I don't think anybody in the cast performed poorly, I simply don't think the material was as funny as it should of been, or as funny as anybody wanted it to be..... 6/10 Zack and Miri make a porno Again, should have been funny but it just wasn't. Seth Rogen, we're a bit bored of you, i think. Nice message and all that blah blah, but just not funny  Although I do accept that it is a film with a more serious message about the implications of having sex with a longtime friend, a message that progressed well and worked plausibly. 6/10 Dear Wendy A quirky and interesting idea, the film is about a group of misfits who start a gun club. It's a fairly straightforward narrative infused with wry humour and the ending is great. It was a little bit like a whimical childish version of fight club with guns instead. Worthwhile. 7/10 Save the green planet. I've had this for ages, just waiting to be watched. I was pretty excited when I finally came to viewing. But ultimately, sadly disappointed. Save the green planet has some really brilliant moments of genuine terror, creepy humour and brilliant set pieces, but overall it is a lacklustre and at times boring film which feels far too long. 5/10 800 Bullets A Spanish film about actors on a western tourist set. The film has great heart and spirit and remains enjoyable throughout. It is extremely well performed and never feels mushy or contrived. Even the lead, a child of about 10 years old, does a great job in a role which is both funny and touching. It was a bit Disney, but never too sentimental. The concept is fairly original too. Really fun! 8/10 |
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Post by Clark Nova on Jul 10, 2009 16:49:09 GMT -5
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mixed
Hitchcock
We played with life and lost
Posts: 1,273
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Post by mixed on Jul 13, 2009 12:15:36 GMT -5
Silent Hill - I really begrudged paying £6 for a film that I knew might not be that good, but after playing the awesome new game (homecoming) I really wanted to check the film out. And it turns out that it wasn't so bad, and I don't feel too bad having spent the money on it. I think it is a relatively good transition of the game, the feeling and the look of it. The acting is passable, the story moves along pretty nicely, there isn't much to complain about for a genre film. The cgi was acceptable and some of the gore was surprisingly graphic, and a bit gross  Overall I'm saying 7/10, on my scale. Boogie Nights I had never watched all of boogie nights, so I grabbed it for cheap. I liked it - for a long film it was always entertaining and never felt overly long. It's really well shot, the characters are very well cast, and the ending is nasty 8/10 Note: I don't really apply the same rating scale to every film. I mean, if I was going to be picky and proper, I'd give Silent Hill about a 5/10. But on a scale that feels applicable to that film, and what that film was aiming to achieve, it gets a 7. I just wanted to clarify that. And again, Boogie Nights is rated on a different sort of scale  Eden Lake - Formulaic, but with a few little surprises, this is a powerful and nasty British horror. What makes it scary for me, maybe moreso as a British person, is the gang of children as the antagonists. It is sad to say that you really do encounter little kids with dogs and knives like this, so the situation feels very plausible, and the verisimilitude is high. On a horror scale, I highly reccommend people check it out. 9/10 I am a sex addict Pseudo (?) documentary about, as the title suggests, a sex addict. I'd decscribe this as a dayglo version of Manhattan, with a Woody Allen esque lead, except more annoying. Not that I find Woody Allen especially annoying, but this guy is like Allen but 10x more annoying than some people find Woody to be. Erm, yes. Athough that may be overselling it. but hey, watch itmaybe, it's kind of enjoyable but eventually grating to some. 6/10 |
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Post by Clark Nova on Jul 15, 2009 15:55:04 GMT -5
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captainofbeef
Cool KAt
Beauty Hides in the Deep
You should have asked me for it, how could I say no...
Posts: 7,778
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Post by captainofbeef on Jul 16, 2009 15:00:24 GMT -5
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
4/10
I go into every Harry Potter movie thinking that it will at least be an improvement on the previous film. And every time I leave disappointed. This film tried too hard to play up the "teenage romantic" parts of the story and spent too little time focusing on the actual story. Yes, the acting has markedly improved and the veteran British actors play their roles excellently (especially Rickman). However, they can't save this sinking ship. I just hope they do the final book justice.
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Post by Clark Nova on Jul 20, 2009 16:32:20 GMT -5
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Post by Clark Nova on Jul 27, 2009 19:12:11 GMT -5
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Post by Clark Nova on Jul 30, 2009 14:50:44 GMT -5
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Post by PTAhole on Jul 31, 2009 19:11:03 GMT -5
Synecdoche, New York ?/10 So, I really don't know how to rate this.. Hoffman was totally incredible as expected, and Kaufman's writing is just on a whole other plane from anyone else working right now.. I just have a feeling I watched something much more brilliant than what I'm processing right now.. I'll have to give this one a few more watches, methinks.. I saw this a couple months ago and had a similar reaction. I should probably revisit it soon. Whether I liked it or not, it held my strict attention all the way through. My thoughts never wandered even for a second. That doesn't happen very often. |
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Post by Clark Nova on Aug 4, 2009 10:32:31 GMT -5
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Post by Clark Nova on Aug 5, 2009 16:17:44 GMT -5
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Post by Clark Nova on Aug 7, 2009 19:09:31 GMT -5
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Post by Clark Nova on Aug 8, 2009 11:03:44 GMT -5
3:10 to Yuma (Delver Daves, 1957) MAN, Van Heflin was weird-looking  . Glenn Ford's awesome though, once again, as is the psychological showdown between the two in the hotel room. The rest of this movie isn't worth a second glance. 7/10
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captainofbeef
Cool KAt
Beauty Hides in the Deep
You should have asked me for it, how could I say no...
Posts: 7,778
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Post by captainofbeef on Aug 10, 2009 16:12:52 GMT -5
12
9/10
This Russian re-imagination of 12 Angry Men does well in its attempt to modernize the script and transform it into a Russian story instead of an American one. The acting of all the jurors is superb and the splicing of the war footage takes away from the monotony of the jury room. The film is probably a half hour too long and some of the religious undertones didn't sit right with me. But all fans of 12 Angry Men should definitely check this one out.
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Post by Clark Nova on Aug 10, 2009 16:23:57 GMT -5
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captainofbeef
Cool KAt
Beauty Hides in the Deep
You should have asked me for it, how could I say no...
Posts: 7,778
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Post by captainofbeef on Aug 14, 2009 12:28:26 GMT -5
District 9
9/10
This sci-fi film definitely does not offer what you expect it to. Instead, it offers up something exceptionally original and incredibly intelligent. Sharto Copley's performance is absolutely spectacular especially when you take into account that this is his first major role and that he was acting to CGI creations for 3/4ths of the film. The CGI aliens are not phony looking and instead seem very real, which is the main reason why the film is so surprising. Definitely see this film even if you have doubts about it.
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Although I do accept that it is a film with a more serious message about the implications of having sex with a longtime friend, a message that progressed well and worked plausibly.
. Glenn Ford's awesome though, once again, as is the psychological showdown between the two in the hotel room. The rest of this movie isn't worth a second glance.