Trent Strong
Banned
MedHead said:
That movie is all lens flare, explosions and quick cuts, with a ludicrious story. I don't know why it's so well liked.
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That movie is all lens flare, explosions and quick cuts, with a ludicrious story. I don't know why it's so well liked.
British Monsoon
Member
Trent Strong said:
It's just a good popcorn film, much like Transformers - also, it does the seemingly impossible by making Star Trek appealing to non-Trek fans. All in all, I didn't find it to be terrible and while admittedly there's a lot wrong with the film, I think it sets up well for a, hopefully, far superior sequel with a bit more sci-fi substance.
Serenity
Maybe a month ago I made a thread requesting sci-fi film recommendations, I've been working my way thru the replies that appealed to me. Serenity came up (I believe from Trent Strong, thank you my good man), I knew it was the closing chapter of a TV series by Joss Whedon, but that's pretty much it outside of knowing there was a cowboy element as it had come up on GAF in a Christina Hendricks thread.
At first I didn't think I'd watch it because I knew there was a TV show, but when I found out it was only a single short season I decided to watch it all then check out the film. I enjoyed the show a lot, but I still didn't expect much from the film, essentially thinking it would be a low budget feature length episode.
I was extremely surprised at the overall quality of the film, it is an incredibly well put together film, it's really on a totally different level than the TV show. If someone has no interest in investing that much time into the show, I certainly recommend still watching the film. Stylistically it's something between Blade Runner and Star Wars, with it's Asian metropolitan and space cowboy influences.
Outside of one specific moment when they address a greater arc from the show in a very unfairly brief manner, I feel they do an incredible job of both concluding a TV show that died prematurely, and to provide an enjoyable and fresh standalone movie.
They do a particularly wise thing in the third act, as most films relating to a serialized franchise, it was lacking a sense of urgency, it felt very safe. To counter this they kill off a significant character which really adds a huge sense of weight to the final twenty or so minutes.
If you care about sci-fi, try this film, it is wonderful.
Also, side note, Summer Glau is a goddess.
Snowman Prophet of Doom
Member
Trent Strong said:
The lens flare and quick cuts were done well, and the characters were pretty well-done. The story was pretty silly, but forgivably so.
Exactly. It's just a damn fun sci-fi action flick.Bootaaay said:
:,,,(StuBurns said:
Serenity
Maybe a month ago I made a thread requesting sci-fi film recommendations, I've been working my way thru the replies that appealed to me. Serenity came up (I believe from Trent Strong, thank you my good man), I knew it was the closing chapter of a TV series by Joss Whedon, but that's pretty much it outside of knowing there was a cowboy element as it had come up on GAF in a Christina Hendricks thread.
At first I didn't think I'd watch it because I knew there was a TV show, but when I found out it was only a single short season I decided to watch it all then check out the film. I enjoyed the show a lot, but I still didn't expect much from the film, essentially thinking it would be a low budget feature length episode.
I was extremely surprised at the overall quality of the film, it is an incredibly well put together film, it's really on a totally different level than the TV show. If someone has no interest in investing that much time into the show, I certainly recommend still watching the film. Stylistically it's something between Blade Runner and Star Wars, with it's Asian metropolitan and space cowboy influences.
Outside of one specific moment when they address a greater arc from the show in a very unfairly brief manner, I feel they do an incredible job of both concluding a TV show that died prematurely, and to provide an enjoyable and fresh standalone movie.
They do a particularly wise thing in the third act, as most films relating to a serialized franchise, it was lacking a sense of urgency, it felt very safe. To counter this they kill off a significant character which really adds a huge sense of weight to the final twenty or so minutes.
If you care about sci-fi, try this film, it is wonderful.
Also, side note, Summer Glau is a goddess.
RIP Wash. You'll always be a leaf on the wind to me
Trent Strong said:
They took a franchise that is notorious for it's ludicrously hardcore fan-base and made an accessible and fun-to-watch popcorn flick for mainstream audiences who never gave Star trek a second look, basically.
I don't think anyone ever claimed it was high art, but as someone who couldn't stand the pace of Star Trek as a franchise before, I was amazed at how well J.J. Abrams actually managed to make me give a shit about these characters and the universe.
Nero, however, was a terrible villain. Normally I'm a fan of Eric Bana but my god he was the worst thing about the movie. And, I have to say, the blatant fan-service was a tad distracting at certain points
Hi Leonard Nemoy lolol
Net_Wrecker
Member
StuBurns said:
I'm, admittedly, a HUGE fan of the series so that'll give some perspective, but damn I love Serenity. Such a great Sci-Fi movie that's bittersweet in that it provides closure to something that died WAY too early, but also shows just how much the franchise had to offer. Everything about the series and film is put together so well from the cast, to the dialogue, to the mythology.
Net_Wrecker
Member
I Saw the Devil (2010) Directed By Ji-woon Kim : How good is this guy, seriously. Although I wouldn't place it above A Bittersweet Life, or The Good The Bad The Weird in terms of overall quality, this is a damn good revenge flick. I've heard many reports that it's a brutal movie, and that it is, but only one scene made me truly cringe, so in that aspect, though brutal, the film is NOT grotesque IMO.
The cinematography and directing is, of course, great, with good use of Kim's trademark camera work.
The stabbing scene in the "Taxi" with the rotating camera was ridiculous.
Ji-woon Kim with the 3-peat.
EDIT: Oh man, his next movie is slated to be an action/thriller named Last Stand starring Liam Neeson. 4-Peat confirmed.
Trent Strong
Banned
StuBurns said:
No problem. And yes, Summer Glau is gorgeous.
icarus-daedelus said:
I kinda liked it but it sometimes looked like a flash movie. I'm mainly bitter as I felt it robbed a slot more deserved by Mary and Max(shits on Up) or even Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. :lol
Sita Sings the Blues is kinda similar to Kells in style and is also pretty entertaining.
ItAintEasyBeinCheesy
it's 4th of July in my asshole
Rocky. Blows my fuckin mind that Stallone wrote this. So damn good.
"She's got gaps, I got gaps, together we fill gaps."
"She's got gaps, I got gaps, together we fill gaps."
Trent Strong
Banned
ItAintEasyBeinCheesy said:
"Take her to the zoo. Retards love the zoo."
Kitschkraft
Member
Spider from Mars said:
Will do, thanks.
StuBurns said:
Interesting hearing your thoughts about the death. For a lot of people, that tends to be the most critiqued point. I personally agree with you, it added a lot of drama to the following scenes (Which were pretty brilliant).
As much as I like the series, I'm actually happy that it ended like it did. The film was perfect, I'm not sure if I could have stuck with season upon season of Whedon. I was never a Buffy fan, not sure how well his style would age for me. I think that the story told was a perfect dosage.
Kitschkraft
Member
The Matrix versus Inception thing doesn't even really work that well because we all knew what Inception was from the first trailers. They never tried to hide it to anyone that they were doing the dream thing. This includes both the marketing, and the script itself. There is obviously mystery in Inception, but not in the same way as The Matrix. We knew the "hook" of the film going in. To me, this is crucial, pretty much changes everything. The films have different plot elements, different strengths.
The Matrix was based on it's twist in the beginning/middle of the film. Remember the "What is the Matrix" campaign? Everything starting with the scene with the pills, up to Morpheus's capture, was pretty much a curve-ball to the audience.
I can't claim to have a perfect memory of the movies release, but I would have to imagine that it came out right before the true explosion of the internet ruining everything and becoming such a dominant critical force. I do remember my jaw being wide open as Morpheus pulled out that battery, a lot of people who saw it close to release felt the same way.
Sorry for this rant, I just hate the comparisons between these (Which to be fair, WB's marketing seems to be responsible for). The feeling I had after watching both films couldn't have been any more different.
The Matrix was based on it's twist in the beginning/middle of the film. Remember the "What is the Matrix" campaign? Everything starting with the scene with the pills, up to Morpheus's capture, was pretty much a curve-ball to the audience.
I can't claim to have a perfect memory of the movies release, but I would have to imagine that it came out right before the true explosion of the internet ruining everything and becoming such a dominant critical force. I do remember my jaw being wide open as Morpheus pulled out that battery, a lot of people who saw it close to release felt the same way.
Sorry for this rant, I just hate the comparisons between these (Which to be fair, WB's marketing seems to be responsible for). The feeling I had after watching both films couldn't have been any more different.
I can understand why it would irritate people, it's not given the time to impact the characters in a way for them to respond to it, but I think one of them had to die at some point in that battle for the rest of it to feel alive like it did, and that's really the only person who could have.Kitschkraft said:
One thing I forgot to mention, I loved the antagonist in the film. In the literary sense he's about as two dimensional as a character can be written, but the actor had a great presences and the dialouge was so good. I thought he was great.
No Country for old men - The silence that pervaded most of the film was interesting, and the way it was used to build tension through certain scenes was very effective. While the nihilist tone throughout didn't resonate with my tastes to much. I enjoyed the film quite a bit.
Harry potter and the half blood prince - It was alright, probably one of the weakest of the adaptations. One thing i didn't like to much about it was the romance - which while was present in the original book, was kinda cheesy seeing it adapted on screen. The flashback sequences were pretty good though, wish we saw more of it. Another disappointment is the climax of the story was no-where near as effective as it was in the book.
The Thin Red Line - Beautiful movie. I'm usually not the biggest fan of WW2 films. They are a number of them I've liked but never loved. The Thin red line is however one i loved.
Fargo - This was both funnier and darker then i expected. William H. Macy delivered a really awesome performance, and I <3 Frances McDormand in this.
The Wrestler - My First Darren Aronofsky film (and I'm going see the rest of his filmography for sure). And i really loved this. Mickey Rourke delivered a incredible performance and certain scenes with him moved me in a good way. That one wrestling scene in the middle of the film in particular was brutal and rather unsettling to watch. And that NES scene was both sad and :lol.
Cure (1997) - Second Kiyoshi kurosawa film (after tokyo sonata). And it was pretty good. The whole thing was a thrill ride from start to finish, the primarily antagonist was rather creepy on screen to. And if what i assume about what happened in the ending is true then that is one twisted ending.
The Prestige - Sadly i missed the first 15 minutes due to catching this on TV. But i managed to follow the plot pretty easily regardless. While there was a little to much exposition at the end for my tastes. It was still a very good film that was a lot of fun to watch and had a awesome cast. (i mean it had DAVID BOWIE).
Harry potter and the half blood prince - It was alright, probably one of the weakest of the adaptations. One thing i didn't like to much about it was the romance - which while was present in the original book, was kinda cheesy seeing it adapted on screen. The flashback sequences were pretty good though, wish we saw more of it. Another disappointment is the climax of the story was no-where near as effective as it was in the book.
The Thin Red Line - Beautiful movie. I'm usually not the biggest fan of WW2 films. They are a number of them I've liked but never loved. The Thin red line is however one i loved.
Fargo - This was both funnier and darker then i expected. William H. Macy delivered a really awesome performance, and I <3 Frances McDormand in this.
The Wrestler - My First Darren Aronofsky film (and I'm going see the rest of his filmography for sure). And i really loved this. Mickey Rourke delivered a incredible performance and certain scenes with him moved me in a good way. That one wrestling scene in the middle of the film in particular was brutal and rather unsettling to watch. And that NES scene was both sad and :lol.
Cure (1997) - Second Kiyoshi kurosawa film (after tokyo sonata). And it was pretty good. The whole thing was a thrill ride from start to finish, the primarily antagonist was rather creepy on screen to. And if what i assume about what happened in the ending is true then that is one twisted ending.
The Prestige - Sadly i missed the first 15 minutes due to catching this on TV. But i managed to follow the plot pretty easily regardless. While there was a little to much exposition at the end for my tastes. It was still a very good film that was a lot of fun to watch and had a awesome cast. (i mean it had DAVID BOWIE).
You're boring.robor said:
TheKaeptain
Banned
\Net_Wrecker said:
I Saw the Devil (2010) Directed By Ji-woon Kim : How good is this guy, seriously. Although I wouldn't place it above A Bittersweet Life, or The Good The Bad The Weird in terms of overall quality, this is a damn good revenge flick. I've heard many reports that it's a brutal movie, and that it is, but only one scene made me truly cringe, so in that aspect, though brutal, the film is NOT grotesque IMO.
The cinematography and directing is, of course, great, with good use of Kim's trademark camera work.The music is good, but isn't overpowering like a lot of these thrillers tend to be when coming out of Hollywood, and instead is used mostly during fast paced scenes letting the tense moments REALLY build through silence. In fact, there's a mood during a lot of the scenes I can only describe as No Country For Old Men-esque in that regard. The acting is superb, and the ending is sick.The stabbing scene in the "Taxi" with the rotating camera was ridiculous.
Ji-woon Kim with the 3-peat.
EDIT: Oh man, his next movie is slated to be an action/thriller named Last Stand starring Liam Neeson. 4-Peat confirmed.
I want to see this so bad.
How to Train Your Dragon - ...
I got the Blu-Ray today and since I'm an animation fan I started watching it right after dinner - and turned it off after about an hour. I liked Toothless the black dragon but I disliked almost everything else: the whiny main character, the cliched plot of a teen-aged protagonist who doesn't fit in and the the father who doesn't understand his son, the bullying "school mates", the mediocre art, the dumb vikings who all spoke with a Scottish accent and the young 'uns who had an American accent, all of the political correctness that was thrown in, etc. Whenever one of does elements entered the movie my interest in the movie plummeted like a rock and I wished I was watching something else instead. So after about an hour of this I did put in another movie.
I think I'm gonna finish it tomorrow so I won't rate the movie yet, but I'm surprised by my disappointment since I heard so many rave reviews.
I got the Blu-Ray today and since I'm an animation fan I started watching it right after dinner - and turned it off after about an hour. I liked Toothless the black dragon but I disliked almost everything else: the whiny main character, the cliched plot of a teen-aged protagonist who doesn't fit in and the the father who doesn't understand his son, the bullying "school mates", the mediocre art, the dumb vikings who all spoke with a Scottish accent and the young 'uns who had an American accent, all of the political correctness that was thrown in, etc. Whenever one of does elements entered the movie my interest in the movie plummeted like a rock and I wished I was watching something else instead. So after about an hour of this I did put in another movie.
I think I'm gonna finish it tomorrow so I won't rate the movie yet, but I'm surprised by my disappointment since I heard so many rave reviews.
Over the weekend I watched Predators and The Expendables.
I enjoyed them both. I think I liked Predators more because its more sci-fi action but The Expendables was good too.
I never pictured Adrien Brody playing a tough guy but I thought he did a pretty good job.
I started watching Predator also. To bad the blu-ray looks like butt hole. Well its not the worst I've seen but still. I have the first release. I hear the new one is even worse with all the DNR they used.
I enjoyed them both. I think I liked Predators more because its more sci-fi action but The Expendables was good too.
I never pictured Adrien Brody playing a tough guy but I thought he did a pretty good job.
I started watching Predator also. To bad the blu-ray looks like butt hole. Well its not the worst I've seen but still. I have the first release. I hear the new one is even worse with all the DNR they used.
TheKaeptain
Banned
Toy Story 3 and Summer Wars make your comment invalid.Ratrat said:
ChoklitReign
Member
I'm trying to watch Fight Club and after 15 minutes I am totally lost. Why is Edward (I don't know the character's name) complaining that Meryl is a tourist when he's one himself? What was the point of the hostage at the very beginning? What are the basic themes of the movie? I don't know if I'm going to like this movie even thought I bought it and it seems to be universally loved for some reason.
MilesWebber
Member
:lol :lolChoklitReign said:
Wow. Just finish it.... LOL
TheKaeptain
Banned
:lol :lol :lol :lolChoklitReign said:
Watch the movie.
Net_Wrecker
Member
ChoklitReign said:
:lol Who complains of being lost after 15 minutes? Finish it, and clean your brain off of the floor afterward.
The Culture Vulture
Member
ChoklitReign said:
I am Jack's complete lack of patience.
The Culture Vulture
Member
ChoklitReign said:
By the way we are all secretly jealous that we aren't the ones watching Fight Club for the first time.
The Culture Vulture
Member
big ander said:
First rule of Fight Club is we don't talk about
the twist
Net_Wrecker
Member
big ander said:
Repairman_Jack7 said:
Fixed for maximum non-spoilericity.
You do realize that just letting someone read those is almost as bad as telling him what happens.
Office Space
-rewatched again since first seeing n theaters (a lot of jokes went over my head the first time around). It's gotten even better with age and more relevant now that I'm working in an office environment.
Where the Wild Things Are
-Wanted to see it in theaters but opted out. Didn't get the BR right away, but I finally did last weekend. Great adaptation. I cried at the end. :*(
-rewatched again since first seeing n theaters (a lot of jokes went over my head the first time around). It's gotten even better with age and more relevant now that I'm working in an office environment.
Where the Wild Things Are
-Wanted to see it in theaters but opted out. Didn't get the BR right away, but I finally did last weekend. Great adaptation. I cried at the end. :*(
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