Movie opinions thread (what have you seen, what did you think?)

[Steve]

I heard the final third is just a pile of dissapointment --but the first 2/3 (and Will Smith's performance) are worth it. That about right?

The last third of the movie was definitely the weakest. Maybe it's just me but the whole thing was a bit anti-climatic.

The opening was pretty hot with some awesome set shots of NYC FUBAR. The 2nd third developed the storyline and how Will was going crazy from the despair. The last third.... a bit meh.

 

[talks2wall]

Certainly not a new movie, but I just got done watching Cleopatra Jones tonight. It's pretty awful, even for a blaxploitation film. It's good for some chuckles, you just can't take it seriously. Best part of the movie was hearing the term "super honkey"

 

[Loopz]

This is the one time I will EVER use this phrase.

Who the fuck can stand this crap? Don't tell me if its you --while I want to think I can divorce a person's taste in movies from who they are as a person-- Transformers may have pushed me to the limit. Though I can blame Michael Bay for embracing his awful camera work, inane work with actors and general stupidity --I think screenwriters Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman should be put on a blacklist for writers that should be avoided at all costs. This actually made the cartoon version seem like Citizen Kane (complete with Orson Welles...). From the bad American cars (above and beyond the lame product placement factor), to the placement of eBay and Apple... The movie didn't even know what stupid movie it wanted to be. And enough about the special effects: the Tranformers themselves looked stupid and even more unbelievable than in the cartoon. About the only amusing moment was the fact they killed the one black Autobot --and in this case it was an act of mercy. There's no rule that special effects-laden movies cannot have a decent plot ...but that's the difference between James Cameron and T2 and Michael Bay and this. Transformers was worse than 1/5, I'd give it a .1/5. Ugh.

Fight on, Bobak. Fight the fuck on.

 

[terry.330]

Bourne Ultimatum- 8.5/10 Pretty good not as good as the first but better than the second IMO.

Knocked Up- 7/10 Suprisingly entertaining actually.

Superbad- 8/10- Better than I thought it would be Michale Cera is a pimp.

Fido- 7.5/10 Lassie meets Dawn of the Dead an excellent concept but could of done with slightly more gore still it was well entertaining anyhow.

Close Encouters of the third Kind- 9/10 Haven't seen this one in a couple years and it was even better than I remember, a near masterpiece.

Next up- Bug, Rescue Dawn and Hooligans (aka Greene Street Hooligans)

 

[aria]

Juno: One of the best movies of the year, surprisingly good.

The trailers for this movie looked like it might have something going for it (same director as "thank you for smoking"), but I got really interested once the first wave of (glowing) reviews came out several weeks ago. I arrived in Minneapolis last week, and I checked it out yesterday. I already went in with some hype, having read a half-dozen reviews. The movie still surprised. It's a comedy, but its characters are much deeper than you'd expect. The has a great opening moment, but then has a stretch that makes you nervous that its going to be too hip for its own good (it makes you think "I'll keep all of this material in a holding pen and see how this story turns out"). Then the script gets down to business, and by the time Juno confronts her parents, the movie changes into something very good. Characters defy expectations.

[highlight][START MINOR SPOILER] Jennifer Garner is probably the best example. I really didn't care about her character, it reminded me of a low-rent Charolette from Sex in the City, but there's a sequence where her performance will blow away your expectations. I now respect her as an actress (I had no opinion before) based on this performance. I was told the ending had a minor twist, and I thought I had it figured out only to be pleasantly surprised. [END MINOR SPOILER][/highlight]

The whole cast is exceptional: their performances bring out nuances in an already nuanced script. Ellen Page manages to bring herself over the rest by keeping the character believable (and the whole movie rests on her shoulders). The ending is particularly satisfying --and more affecting that you'd really expect. This movie is going to do well with nominations, it might not win --which is a damn shame-- but

5/5

I'd call this a "must see", this is possibly the best movie I've seen this (Oscar) year so far.

 

[aria]

Sweeny Todd: This is Tim Burton's best live action film in a long time. I enjoyed Corpse Bride a great deal, but I missed seeing a live-action Tim Burton movie that captured his cohesive vision. His recent slate of remakes were pretty to look at but not all that memorable, and Big Fish was good, but not extraordinary.

Finally, he's back to his old stuff. The scenery and make-up capture the dark feel that made the Batman movies so interesting and, relying on a solid musical, has a story that keeps you in it. The music is from a 1979 Stephen Sondheim (West Side Story) musical, so it understandibly doesn't feel quite like Danny Elfman, but it still works quite well in the scenery that Burton's placed it in. From what I've read, they've actually removed more of the regular dialogue, and I think that's in the film's favor since movies can show things that stage musicals cannot, and as a result things on stage need to be more "talky" to get across certain emotions and nuances that might not be visible from the cheap seats. It also has a healthy sense of humor.

As for gore, to borrow the title of a movie I am looking forward to eventually seeing: "There Will be Blood". It isn't an overly gory film, but when they slash something you get spurts and when people drop, they crunch.

As far as musicals go, I enjoyed this more than Moulin Rouge --which had impressive enthusiasm and design but ultimately had a pretty "meh" storyline. I did see "Once" earlier this year and, while it most certainly is one of the best films of the year (and if you haven't heard of it, you will hear about it come Oscar time), I think Sweeny Todd works better as a "traditional musical". "Once" was an honest romantic film that had some musical numbers, Sweeny Todd is an affecting slasher-musical (haha, a category I'm sure it will have to itself for a long time). The story is satisfying and delivers what it should.

Depp is great, Bonham Carter and Rickman are also enjoyable. I was actually looking forward to seeing Alan Rickman sing in that voice of his. Sacha Baron Cohen turns in the right performance for his part, and I feel Timothy Spall works well in a role that requires someone who, above all else, needs to "looks right". A few moments with Depp as Todd reminded me of of Edward Scissorhands (especially due to the set design). The pairing of Burton-Depp really is as natural as Kurosawa-Mifune.

Highly recommended, Tim Burton is back.

5/5

 

[Steve]

Recently caught Quinceanera and Real Women Have Curves.

Both excellent films. Jesse Garcia and Emily Rios were both real good in Quin and America Ferrera (sp?) likewise in RWHC. Both were Sundance films IIRC. No explosions, no fancy hollywood productions, just solid acting, character development and story telling.

 

[aria]

Recently caught Quinceanera and Real Women Have Curves.

Both excellent films. Jesse Garcia and Emily Rios were both real good in Quin and America Ferrera (sp?) likewise in RWHC. Both were Sundance films IIRC. No explosions, no fancy hollywood productions, just solid acting, character development and story telling.

I enjoyed Real Women Have Curves, I was glad they went with the ending they did (the alternate ending is sappy and stupid). It had moments that felt a bit melodramatic, but Ferrera's performance really made the movie work.

Incidentally, Ferrera was a USC student when she was in it.

 

[playboycougar]

Recently caught Quinceanera and Real Women Have Curves.

Both excellent films. Jesse Garcia and Emily Rios were both real good in Quin and America Ferrera (sp?) likewise in RWHC. Both were Sundance films IIRC. No explosions, no fancy hollywood productions, just solid acting, character development and story telling.

I thought Quinceañera was a great movie, but not fantastic. I liked Jesse Garcia's role as Carlos, and I thought that added an interesting dynamic to the movie.

 

[LoneSage]

resident evil extinction -- I saw it because it was a post apocalyptic movie with deserts. and it cost a buck fifty. so there.

 

[terry.330]

resident evil extinction -- I saw it because it was a post apocalyptic movie with deserts. and it cost a buck fifty. so there.

So it wasn't worth your $1.50 I assume.

Me:

Blade Runner: the Final Cut 9.5/10 Fucking awesome period. I also watched the original theatrical release on LD 7/10 fuck the voice over seriously.

Bug 7.5/10 A very odd movie, you can tell it was adapted from a play with the majority of it taking place in a single room. Still a pretty freaky movie when it's all said and done.

Alien 9.5/10 This one should speak for itself.

The Host 8/10 2nd time watching this one pretty good but there is definatley something missing to make it live up to the original hype.

They Live! 8/10 Proboabley the last great movie John Carpenter made a hell of alot of fun if you know what your getting into.

 

[PopeCuervoLime]

Die Hard 4: Didn't actually mind that it was PG-13 or that they kind of screwed up the Yippie Ki-Yay motherfucker; a decent movie overall and that Winstead girl is fucking hot.

Superbad: Got kind of gay towards the end but I think i know why (growing up, separating, etc.) but this movie was badass.

 

[talks2wall]

Kite Runner: Just saw this tonight with my friend and really enjoyed it. I had no idea what it was about at all, but my friend had read the book. Apparently the trailer gives away too much of the story so I'm glad I knew nothing about it. Emotional and dramatic story about a family in Afghanistan in the pre-Soviet late 70's and how their lives end up in the 21st century. If you can't deal with subtitles however then this one is not for you.

 

[aria]

Kite Runner: Just saw this tonight with my friend and really enjoyed it. I had no idea what it was about at all, but my friend had read the book. Apparently the trailer gives away too much of the story so I'm glad I knew nothing about it. Emotional and dramatic story about a family in Afghanistan in the pre-Soviet late 70's and how their lives end up in the 21st century. If you can't deal with subtitles however then this one is not for you.

Good to know, alas I already heard the whole story after there was a big bru-haha over the kids they used in the movie (their parents are worried ignorant people in their country will mistake the stigma of what happened to them in the movie to something that actually happened to them)

I was wondering if I was the only person watching movies in the theater anymore...

 

[Steve]

Caught "Boogeyman 2" at my friend's place recently. It is a straight-to-DVD release scheduled for January 8, 2008. Despite being called number 2, it is completely its own film. It was OK, with some stomach-turning death scenes. The thing I couldn't get over was how much the female lead reminded me of Carrie Underwood (Danielle Savre from HEROES), her brother looked like a young John Stamos, we got Jigsaw in there and then you got fucking Xena the Warrior Princess' sidekick running around... lol. Trippy (cast). Kind of film you might wanna watch stoned.

I liked it better than the 1st, but the 1st sucked.... so it's not saying much. Rent it if you're looking for 90 mindless minutes to kill. The boogeyman getup was pretty dope in its own tacky, cheesy way. I loved the random, quick, pink thong shots of the heroine toward the end. Seeing Jigsaw in a horror movie not named SAW was just weird... overall, weird little horror movie... ending straight out of... well, I won't spoil which horror film it bites, but you'll know it when you see it.

Coulda been better, but for direct-to-DVD, I've seen much worse.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dS0lxEUTus

 

[talks2wall]

Sweeny Todd: This is Tim Burton's best live action film in a long time. I enjoyed Corpse Bride a great deal, but I missed seeing a live-action Tim Burton movie that captured his cohesive vision. His recent slate of remakes were pretty to look at but not all that memorable, and Big Fish was good, but not extraordinary.

Finally, he's back to his old stuff. The scenery and make-up capture the dark feel that made the Batman movies so interesting and, relying on a solid musical, has a story that keeps you in it. The music is from a 1979 Stephen Sondheim (West Side Story) musical, so it understandibly doesn't feel quite like Danny Elfman, but it still works quite well in the scenery that Burton's placed it in. From what I've read, they've actually removed more of the regular dialogue, and I think that's in the film's favor since movies can show things that stage musicals cannot, and as a result things on stage need to be more "talky" to get across certain emotions and nuances that might not be visible from the cheap seats. It also has a healthy sense of humor.

As for gore, to borrow the title of a movie I am looking forward to eventually seeing: "There Will be Blood". It isn't an overly gory film, but when they slash something you get spurts and when people drop, they crunch.

As far as musicals go, I enjoyed this more than Moulin Rouge --which had impressive enthusiasm and design but ultimately had a pretty "meh" storyline. I did see "Once" earlier this year and, while it most certainly is one of the best films of the year (and if you haven't heard of it, you will hear about it come Oscar time), I think Sweeny Todd works better as a "traditional musical". "Once" was an honest romantic film that had some musical numbers, Sweeny Todd is an affecting slasher-musical (haha, a category I'm sure it will have to itself for a long time). The story is satisfying and delivers what it should.

Depp is great, Bonham Carter and Rickman are also enjoyable. I was actually looking forward to seeing Alan Rickman sing in that voice of his. Sacha Baron Cohen turns in the right performance for his part, and I feel Timothy Spall works well in a role that requires someone who, above all else, needs to "looks right". A few moments with Depp as Todd reminded me of of Edward Scissorhands (especially due to the set design). The pairing of Burton-Depp really is as natural as Kurosawa-Mifune.

Highly recommended, Tim Burton is back.

5/5

I guess I only read the first paragraph of Bobak's post and his final rating, missing entirely the mention of it being a musical.

I had no idea whatsoever, since I like to be surprised with movies, and I was pretty surprised to find out it was a musical. Having said that and my typical dislike for musicals, I thought it was very good. The story and imagery certainly kept me engrossed and there was a lot of bosom and blood.

 

[djdelly]

In case anyone want to know, Ghost Rider is a awful, awful movie.....

I watched Notorious the other day and really enjoyed it! I thought it was very well done and it had me on the edge of my seat in the final scene.

 

[Magician]

AvP Requiem: Ugh, yeesh! Sadly, the first AvP did it better. I'm completely tired of the shakey-cam, quick-look look-away, get a glimpse-but not enough to satisfy camera work, it's pisses me off to no end. The acting was fine considering the talent, and I like the direction the Strause brother went with the series, but this could've been another fifteen to twenty minutes longer, if only to have every single action scene extended. But as it stands, I left the theatre far from entertained. 1/5

Juno: Just...wow. Between this and Michael Clayton, I find it difficult to pick which movie was my favorite. Superbly acted, solid writing, wonderful soundtrack, fun for all ages kind of movie. This is one of the few movies this year that I must say is must-see...must-own. Admittedly, I was choked up like a bitch during the final scene, a wonderful duet it is. Terrific piece of cinema, one that I cannot recommend enough. 5/5

Walk Hard: John C. Reilly was terrific, he sold his character well. I loved the gobs of quick appearances too (Harold Ramis, Jack Black, David Kromholtz, Frankie Muniz, Ghostface Killah, etc), but just as most spoofs go, Walk Hard was hit and miss. Some scenes had me in stitches, while during others I was praying they'd hurry to the punchline; it comes down to a so-so script. 2.5/5, right down the middle, I didn't like it enough to recommend it, though some may find it funnier than I did.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: What a gas. Kudos to Bobak for pointing this one out to me, I missed this one a couple years ago and completely forgot about it until he had mentioned it to me recently. Anyway, this movie is terrific. A dramedy staring Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr., both of which are on top of their game in this film. One who works as a detective, while the other plays at being detective. I find it difficult to remember any other recent film I've seen that has had more "oh shit" moments, there are so many in this flick that I was thoroughly entertained throughout the whole movie. 4/5, sharp, funny, smart acting...lots to like here.

 

[Segata_Sanshiro]

loved Sweeney Todd, further proof that Bobak and I were separated at birth.

Alien vs. Predator Requiem not so much. I'll give a more nuanced critique when I'm not screwing around at work

 

[talks2wall]

I really enjoyed Juno as well. Despite all the hype, I wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised. Very funny in between the serious stuff and great acting. The story kept me guessing as well.

They dynamic between Juno and Bateman was a little reminiscent of Hard Candy, but not enough to deter my enjoyment of the film.

 

[BIG]

no country for old men

loved it. perhaps one of the best coen bros. film to date. quite a departure from their earlier works, and i can definitely see why the coen hardcores are so up in arms about it. javier bardem is a certified bad-ass.

4/5

 

[Steve]

A Tale of Two Sisters
Heard a lot about this. Genuinely creepy and left me with some lasting, haunting images. I'll catch the US remake later this year, but I doubt it's going to be as good as this.

The N Word
Educational and entertaining. Black celebs, common people, students, professors, etc. chime in with their thought on the N word -- should it be used, in what context, the history, etc. Interesting to see the various POV. i.e. John Salley is totally against it, but Ice Cube could give a shit

 

[aria]

I've been pretty sick and thus wandering around the indoor skyways connected to my apartment in downtown Minneapolis. I was close to saying "hell with it" and walking into Alien vs. Predator Requiem, then I read the reviews here. You saved me --I might have somehow caught pneumonia from that crapfest. I blame this current fever on seeing Transformers a month ago. I also blame the film for killing Benazir Bhutto. Fuck Michael Bay, but to hell with those screenwriters... seriously.

I hope I'm well enough tomorrow night to work my way to "There Will Be Blood"

 

[terry.330]

Rescue Dawn- A whole movie that consists of whispering seriously though pretty damn good. The Balemeister strikes again but what really struck me was Steve Zahns role he really impressed me.

8/10

 

[Magician]

I've been pretty sick and thus wandering around the indoor skyways connected to my apartment in downtown Minneapolis. I was close to saying "hell with it" and walking into Alien vs. Predator Requiem, then I read the reviews here. You saved me --I might have somehow caught pneumonia from that crapfest. I blame this current fever on seeing Transformers a month ago. I also blame the film for killing Benazir Bhutto. Fuck Michael Bay, but to hell with those screenwriters... seriously.

I hope I'm well enough tomorrow night to work my way to "There Will Be Blood"

Hoho, then you're lucky indeed.

Bay's Transformers is a far superior movie when compared to AvP Requiem.