A few films recently watched.

[chim]

Unknown 6/10

Taken 8/10

[Guest Benedict Cumberbatch]

the raid: redemption - the action and the camerawork are cool but basically it's the only thing there is (in the 1 hour i've spent on it), i just didn't care for it anymore and deleted the torrent.

 

YEAH FREE STUFF SUCKS!!

 

another earth 9/10 that chick totally blew me away so hot! .. also the ending was very well done!

 

did you see 'sound of my voice' yet? i haven't seen another earth yet as I'd heard it wasn't good. maybe I better judge it for myself.

[Redruth]

i want to see 'sound of my voice'

[Guest Benedict Cumberbatch]

i want to see Chronicle

[Redruth]

i want to see Chronicle

 

seems somewhat dubious but i'll most likely have a look at this. i like the overall concept. it has a charm to it and is quite visually striking

[Guest Benedict Cumberbatch]

i want to see 'sound of my voice'

 

search it out but don't expect a (will they get caught) thriller.

[chim]

i want to see Chronicle

 

It was better than I expected. Kinda cliché.

[Redruth]

i want to see 'sound of my voice'

 

search it out but don't expect a (will they get caught) thriller.

 

not what i would expect from what i know of the film. i'm always intrigued by cult, especially if there is something meaningful they have to say, when it isn't complete foolishness. more often then not it is complete foolishness but i've found some fairly enlightened groups, contrary to the common view of cults. cult has become a naughty word but it in essence only means a group of people who are intensely devoted to the same thing. this central theme can be quite constructive. there are many mainstream political, scientific, educational, medical, religious (not spiritual) institutions around the world that i would consider evil cults.

[Guest Benedict Cumberbatch]

i think it is pronounced "cunts"

[cruising for burgers]

i just watched " night on the galactic railroad " (anime). it was a real trip, really enjoyed it,

thanks for mentioning that, checked it out, psy-trance :)

 

awesome soundtrack, very carpenters...

 

[youtubehd]nBCjtE_m_jU[/youtubehd]

[Chris Moss Acid]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100491/

 

bleak ken loach style.. brilliant though

 

8/10

[YEK]

i just watched " night on the galactic railroad " (anime). it was a real trip, really enjoyed it,

thanks for mentioning that, checked it out, psy-trance :)

 

awesome soundtrack, very carpenters...

 

[youtubehd]nBCjtE_m_jU[/youtubehd]

 

you're very welcome!

[lumpenprol]

i want to see Chronicle

 

It was better than I expected. Kinda cliché.

 

I just watched this as an in-flight movie. I thought it was excellent! Sure, it was very derivative of Akira, but that didn't bother me. We need more movies like this, I would take this over Avengers any day. Great vfx too. 8/10 for me.

[Atop]

I really enjoy it as well.

 

Not more than The Avengers.

 

I can see why you would respect Chronicle more though.

 

Really minimal for an action film.

 

A hard thing to do in this day and age of films like The Avengers.

[lumpenprol]

yeah, it's really comparing apples and oranges. I was entertained by the Avengers, but like most summer flicks, it faded from memory almost as soon as I left the theater. All I had to grasp on were a few one liners and "that scene where Hulk pummels Loki."

 

Chronicle actually moved me. I'm becoming pretty soft in my old age, but even still. I don't really see the point of a superhero movie if it doesn't cover both the elation and horror of having superpowers, both of which Chronicle does very well. Avengers had a tiny bit of that, where Hulk first chases Scarlett Johansen's character, but other than that it was played for laughs.

 

I really like films that take a preposterous "what if" scenario, and try to make it seem as plausible as possible. As a kid I'm sure most of us wondered what we would do if we were the bionic man, or had x-ray vision, etc. I'm guessing very few of us dreamed of being heroes and rescuing kittens, we probably dreamed of wrecking stuff, looking up girl's skirts, etc. Dark fantasies of power and omnipotence. Plus dreams of flying, which Chronicle also gets right. That's one reason I like Raimi's first Spiderman, it got the "experimenting with newfound powers" right.

 

If anything, Chronicle didn't go far enough. It could have pushed further, dug deeper, got even more disturbing. Also, the very last scene was done poorly, both acting-wise and vfx wise. That's why I docked it a few points. But for what is there, it's great imo.

[Guest Ricky Downtown]

just watched Eyes Wide Shut after having not seen it for a few years. 4/4, this is a real under-appreciated masterpiece. Kubrick was a master at creating and holding tension in a scene. lines in this film are delivered slowly and the diaglogue is written in a way so as to draw out the next twist for as long as possible. conversations are never straight to the point, the characters are reluctant to give away information and when they do it comes bit by bit. he has so much control over the suspense level and its beautiful to watch. also, this is tom cruise's best performance besides maybe Magnolia

[Guest zaphod]

chronicle - 5/10

i wanted to like this after watmmers seemed to, but it just wasn't any good. the found footage aspect was completely intrusive and tacked on, the effects were mostly shit. lots of corniness. i'd like to see a superhero movie explore the same themes. ang lee's hulk kind of did, akira does, obviously, and there is potential in the concept to be successful, but this wasn't.

[lumpenprol]

hm, the tiny airline screen must help then. Or the lack of oxygen at altitude. I remember Ang Lee's hulk being terrible, though. It's like he was grasping at those universal themes, and pathos, but way too earnestly and clumsily. The comic-book like frames broke any immersion factor, the mutant dogs and nick nolte were hilariously over-the-top, etc.

 

Was Chronicle really corny? I dunno if I'd call it that. Regarding the found footage aspect, I had heard it come up a lot as a negative in reviews, so was prepared to really dislike it, but I ended up being neutral about it. There was only one moment where I felt it was truly absurd: at one point the main kid is talking to his sick mom and the camera is positioned from her point of view watching him...um, did he put it in her near-lifeless hands? There were a few other forced instances, such as the girl and guy filming each other at parties, but from time to time it actually worked to the film's advantage, such as

 

the shot where their VW beetle is "flown" to the top of the space needle, I though that shot was really effective with the view and the girl screaming

 

 

As I was saying I do wish the film had gone farther, I felt it was a bit timid and lacking in conviction in a way...like the director or writer didn't have the balls to dig deeper or be more imaginative, so just went for the easy way out, like

killing the black dude

. I really liked the

scene where he beats up the 3 bullies, but it lacked any emotional impact since there was no real build-up related to those characters

 

 

Anyhoo, liked it much more than Super8, with which it shares some similarities. I should see it on the big screen to see how well the vfx hold up, they looked good on the tiny screen...

[o00o]

i want to see 'sound of my voice'

 

search it out but don't expect a (will they get caught) thriller.

 

not what i would expect from what i know of the film. i'm always intrigued by cult, especially if there is something meaningful they have to say, when it isn't complete foolishness. more often then not it is complete foolishness but i've found some fairly enlightened groups, contrary to the common view of cults. cult has become a naughty word but it in essence only means a group of people who are intensely devoted to the same thing. this central theme can be quite constructive. there are many mainstream political, scientific, educational, medical, religious (not spiritual) institutions around the world that i would consider evil cults.

 

there is no scene release yet is there?

[Chris Moss Acid]

hm, the tiny airline screen must help then. Or the lack of oxygen at altitude. I remember Ang Lee's hulk being terrible, though. It's like he was grasping at those universal themes, and pathos, but way too earnestly and clumsily. The comic-book like frames broke any immersion factor, the mutant dogs and nick nolte were hilariously over-the-top, etc.

 

Was Chronicle really corny? I dunno if I'd call it that. Regarding the found footage aspect, I had heard it come up a lot as a negative in reviews, so was prepared to really dislike it, but I ended up being neutral about it. There was only one moment where I felt it was truly absurd: at one point the main kid is talking to his sick mom and the camera is positioned from her point of view watching him...um, did he put it in her near-lifeless hands? There were a few other forced instances, such as the girl and guy filming each other at parties, but from time to time it actually worked to the film's advantage, such as

 

the shot where their VW beetle is "flown" to the top of the space needle, I though that shot was really effective with the view and the girl screaming

 

 

As I was saying I do wish the film had gone farther, I felt it was a bit timid and lacking in conviction in a way...like the director or writer didn't have the balls to dig deeper or be more imaginative, so just went for the easy way out, like

killing the black dude

. I really liked the

scene where he beats up the 3 bullies, but it lacked any emotional impact since there was no real build-up related to those characters

 

 

Anyhoo, liked it much more than Super8, with which it shares some similarities. I should see it on the big screen to see how well the vfx hold up, they looked good on the tiny screen...

 

the only thing i remember from the ang lee was the size of nick noltes face on the cinema screen. too big. tooo toooo big.

[Guest Benedict Cumberbatch]

just watched Eyes Wide Shut after having not seen it for a few years. 4/4, this is a real under-appreciated masterpiece. Kubrick was a master at creating and holding tension in a scene. lines in this film are delivered slowly and the diaglogue is written in a way so as to draw out the next twist for as long as possible. conversations are never straight to the point, the characters are reluctant to give away information and when they do it comes bit by bit. he has so much control over the suspense level and its beautiful to watch. also, this is tom cruise's best performance besides maybe Magnolia

 

Never saw this as I heard terrible things when it came out. probably cruise/kidman put me off too. how does everybody else feel about it?

[Guest Benedict Cumberbatch]

hm, the tiny airline screen must help then. Or the lack of oxygen at altitude.

 

I think it can make you like a film more. maybe because you are so grateful for the escape from the reality of being in a plane magically floating along at speeds our brains cannot fathom. I once really enjoyed mean girls on the person across the aisles screen with no sound. please don't crash please don't crash

 

also last time we flew we ate some edibles before we went through customs. takeoff heightened them so much. giggly takeoff

[spratters]

Bronson - 6/10

 

I thought the lead was played very well and was supposedly a very close portrayal.It lacked depth though I think.

[Guest Mirezzi]

Melancholia - A belabored metaphor from a guy who can't seem to stop repeating himself. I get that Von Trier is unhappy. He thinks capitalism is bad, in particular when combined with nostalgic, reactionary Americans, and their failed marriages. He's devoted an entire trilogy to this hobbyhorse. Dogville, Manderlay, and soon Washington. Okay. What Von Trier has done, Vinterburg did better. Festen at least maintained its sense of humor with its unconventional but scathing critique of rich families and their antique-filled villas. It was also centered by no less than a dozen fully realized characters exploring the physical and psychological interiority of Vinterburg's narrative. Melancholia is a monosyllabic, pitiless two hour crawl from point B to point A. Nonetheless, I think an editor could have saved it. Cut it by 30 minutes and place the stunning visuals of the opening at the end where it belongs. For all his attempts at high art here, I think a conventional three act structure may have better served the film. Oh, and by the way: whatever gripe he clumsily levels at advertising via Stellan Skarsgård's character has been repeatedly committed by Von Trier himself.

 

P.S. - Dunst looked surprisingly quite fappable, but I wasn't that impressed with her performance. Gainsbourg accomplished more and with far less screen time.

[Guest Mirezzi]

I think it can make you like a film more. maybe because you are so grateful for the escape from the reality of being in a plane magically floating along at speeds our brains cannot fathom.

 

Nice one, you sound like

. ;)

 

I agree though. On a flight from NYC to London years ago, I really enjoyed Just Married with Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Murphy (in that order).