JamboMikey Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 The Thing (2011) Meant to be a prequel of the original but is in fact a carbon copy with some Happy Days jumping the shark style antics thrown in. R.J. MacReady, an amazing character, is replaced by some moon faced bird who is a paleontologist/action hero. Utter, utter shit. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SodjesSixteenIncher Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 (edited) Great film. Funnily enough, I watched this film called Detachment last night. Its about a substitute teacher (Adrien Brody) who goes to teach in a rough school. I can't really say much about it because there was so much to the story but it was absolutely fucking brilliant. I ended up getting a bit teary eyed at one point. 9/10. With the cast this has - Brody, Caan, Harden, Cranston, Liu, Hendricks - I was amazed to not even have heard of it. After seeing it and all the depressing, horrible shit in it, I now know why it hasn't had a poster in my local Blockbuster window Spoiler for the first 30 mins: After the naked dementia sufferers, child prostitution and STD's I thought the grim bit was over and done with early doors, and then 'oh look it's a cat and a hammer'. If you took Half Nelson, Magnolia, American History X and put it in a petri dish, you'd have something like this. Very powerful stuff with a truly superb cast. The only thing that stopped me really connecting with it was that it was almost The Roomish in the way it seemed to cover every single type of tragedy at some point. Once they used the halocaust as a metaphor and there was hints at child abuse, I started to wonder if there was anything bad which hadn't been mentioned. Then just at the end, the insecure one does herself in. Still very gripping and emotive - 8/10. ETA: Saw there that it was directed by AHX's Tony Kaye. Makes sense. Edited October 23, 2012 by SodjesSixteenIncher 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainkev Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 (edited) I gave Watchmen another viewing today for the first time since I saw it originally in the cinema. I enjoyed it a lot more, mainly as I'd actually read the book before this viewing and wasn't going into the film cold without any understanding as to what the book set out to do. The film looks gorgeous and the attention to detail in recreating the visual styles and cues from the comic is fantastic. The action sequences are brutal but well choreographed to recreate the static slickness of comic action sequences. Zack Snyder's choice of music for the soundtrack is spot on and the casting is superb. Real credit has to go the filmmakers here for resisting the urge to stick big Hollywood names into these parts and casting less well known but talented actors for these parts. Jackie Earle Haley and Patrick Wilson are excellent as Rorschach and Nite-Owl. Malin Akerman shines in a few scenes, her final minutes on Mars in particular, but is unlucky in comparison to the other actors as I think her character receives less attention as a result of the adapting the dense Watchmen story to the screen. One part I think actually works better in the film than the book is the telling of Doctor Manhattan's origin story from his perspective, jumping around in his timeline. The depiction of it in the book is fantastic on its own but I just think that being able to see these events happening due to being recorded on film gives the film's depiction of it superiority. Having the music going on adding to the atmosphere of that part of the story only serves to enhance it further as well. As for the ending. Although I've come round to the view that the book's version of the end is better, I understand and totally respect why the film went the way it did in terms of trying to be neater with the whole thing. I don't really like giving ratings if I'm honest but if I had to give one I'd say Watchmen was a 9/10 for me. Edited October 23, 2012 by captainkev 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forehead7 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 As for the ending. Although I've come round to the view that the book's version of the end is better, I understand and totally respect why the film went the way it did in terms of trying to be neater with the whole thing. I really feel the opposite. I prefer the film's ending as it makes a lot more sense rather than the book's ending which is just weird. Alan Moore should've put down the acid when he was coming up with that ending. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightswoodBear Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Looper Really, really enjoyed this. Great performance from Joseph Gordon Levitt doing a quite unnerving "young" Bruce Willis. And Willis himself is great too, not his usual smirking performance. Loved it 9/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11thHour Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I gave Watchmen another viewing today for the first time since I saw it originally in the cinema. I enjoyed it a lot more, mainly as I'd actually read the book before this viewing and wasn't going into the film cold without any understanding as to what the book set out to do. The film looks gorgeous and the attention to detail in recreating the visual styles and cues from the comic is fantastic. The action sequences are brutal but well choreographed to recreate the static slickness of comic action sequences. Zack Zynder's choice of music for the soundtrack is spot on and the casting is superb. Real credit has to go the filmmakers here for resisting the urge to stick big Hollywood names into these parts and casting less well known but talented actors for these parts. Jackie Earle Haley and Patrick Wilson are excellent as Rorschach and Nite-Owl. Malin Akerman shines in a few scenes, her final minutes on Mars in particular, but is unlucky in comparison to the other actors as I think her character receives less attention as a result of the adapting the dense Watchmen story to the screen. One part I think actually works better in the film than the book is the telling of Doctor Manhattan's origin story from his perspective, jumping around in his timeline. The depiction of it in the book is fantastic on its own but I just think that being able to see these events happening due to being recorded on film gives the film's depiction of it superiority. Having the music going on adding to the atmosphere of that part of the story only serves to enhance it further as well. As for the ending. Although I've come round to the view that the book's version of the end is better, I understand and totally respect why the film went the way it did in terms of trying to be neater with the whole thing. I don't really like giving ratings if I'm honest but if I had to give one I'd say Watchmen was a 9/10 for me. Watchmen is one of my favourite movies. I absolutely loved it from start to finish and after seeing it plenty of times it never gets old. Looper Really, really enjoyed this. Great performance from Joseph Gordon Levitt doing a quite unnerving "young" Bruce Willis. And Willis himself is great too, not his usual smirking performance. Loved it 9/10 I'm really dying to see this, just cant get the bloody chance to go! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomDom Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Goldfinger For me, it's the holy grail of Bond movies. Everything absolutely worked. It features one of the most slimey villains in the series' history, in Goldfinger. I'm never fully convinced that he could beat Bond in a fight, but that's where Oddjob comes in. People can talk about Jaws all they want, but this guy is just sinister, and makes up for the attitude of Goldfinger which is a fantastic contrast. Also, I love Goldfinger's plan, as does James Bond who is clearly a man of taste. It's probably the only Bond I can give a full score to. 10/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliche Guevara Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 The Killing Machine - Japanese martial arts film with Sonny Ciba from 1976 7/10 Not seen too many martial arts films nor a specific fan of the genre but this was a good film. Nice blend of action and emotional social content. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyblair Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Skyfall last night. 9/10. Really really enjoyable film, some points you felt like saying - 'that can't have happened' but that's what it's all about I suppose. Daniel Craig was superb. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forehead7 Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 the plot is just utter nonsense. Yeah, I mean, how unrealistic is it? No one can manipulate time and space! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomDom Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 (edited) I've always felt nothing is too nonsensical for a superhero movie. Absolutely anything that happens in a superhero movie can be explained with "it's a superhero movie" for me. Doesn't mean it's not shite though, of course. Edited October 27, 2012 by DomDom 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forehead7 Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Nonsensical even for a superhero film. It's a fucking bloated bore of a film. What is nonsensical in it? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainkev Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 (edited) I really feel the opposite. I prefer the film's ending as it makes a lot more sense rather than the book's ending which is just weird. Alan Moore should've put down the acid when he was coming up with that ending. I think the strength or point of the original ending is that the whole situation that has arisen in the world of Watchmen with the US and the USSR rushing towards mutally assured destruction is so absurd and so crazy that the only way to defuse it and prevent it is to introduce something so left field, something equally absurd in order to get shake the world up and unite it. Although I suppose the argument to that is that for a book that tries to realistically imagine a world in which an actual superhero exists, this ending could be too fantastical or even silly to fit in with established tone of the book, hence the change for the film. Watchmen is a boring film. I really found it difficult to stay interested in it, the plot is just utter nonsense. Fair enough, I'd disagree, in my view, both the original book and the film work as good desconstruction of superhero stories. The plot for me isn't particualrly that nonsensical. The Thor film's plot I thought was ridiculous although I accept that was part in parcel with adaption the character.However the plot of Watchmen for me is quite good, there are a couple of good bits of misdirection in it. The assassination attempt on Ozymandias is a brilliant example of this and also so fantastically obvious when you see it again with the knowledge of what is actually going on There are a lot of interesting visuals so I really can't agree that's boring. Also, saw Skyfall last night. Quite enjoyed it despite not really being all that hyped to see it. I don't think we're going to see another Bond film of this ilk for a long time. On the one hand, it's quite traditional Bond fare, but on the other hand it's quite radical in it's approach to Bond. It's similar to On Her Majesties Secrect Service and View To A Kill in some ways in the way it touches on Bond as a character. You could even argue he's not actually the main character in this film. I'm convinced there's also reference back to a previous villain with in a scene with Javier Badam's character. Silva's prosthetic teeth/upper jaw a reference to Jaws? Also I'm not sure whether to feel very smug for calling what was about to happen in the last couple of minutes before it happened or if it was actually blatantly obvious to see all along. Good Bond film though. 8/10. Edited October 28, 2012 by captainkev 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bee thousand Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 The Odd Angry Shot - A pretty decent war film from 1979 about the Australian SAS serving in Vietnam well made, good story and performances...and just when you're thinking 'surely Alf from Home and Away would be in an Aussie film from this period?' there he is right on cue roaring and shouting 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomDom Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Skyfall ( 2012 ) Where to begin. Firstly, I thought the movie towed the line between classic Bond and the new harder edge very well. There was a lot more humour to be had here, and plenty of the classic touches which will hopefully lead to the same sort of mix in the future movies. Lots of nice setups for the next movie as well as loads of good stuff in this one. Javier Bardem is utterly mental and intense in his role, and didn't disappoint. I fully expected the best Bond villain going, and this guy delivered just that. Add to that, he's a truly intimidating character and you always feel he can cause damage in the click of a finger. The action in the movie is utterly spectacular. Just visually out of this world stuff. The entire tone of the movie shifts when they head into the final showdown, and the entire thing is ominous, although not once does the movie lack it's charm and humour in the process. It's hard to think about how this movie managed to meet my expectations of it, but it certainly did. A ridiculously strong cast backed up by a gripping plot, and the score was stunning as well, and special mention goes to the opening credits, with which the Adele song worked absolutely beautifully. Daniel Craig has now been involved in two truly brilliant Bond movies and one not so brilliant but at least entertaining one. If this continues, he'll be down as the best Bond ever to be sure! 10/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Brightside Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I hate the theme tune. Other than that the film was great. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forehead7 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 If this continues, he'll be down as the best Bond ever to be sure! Has he got many more? I was told this was his last. I hate the theme tune. Other than that the film was great. I didn't mind it. I'm not going to stick it on iTunes or anything but it wasn't too hard on the ears. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomDom Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Has he got many more? I was told this was his last. He has two more. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Co.Down Hibee Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 The A-Team Watched it earlier on with the kids, not a bad popcorn bit of nonsense, all of it ludicrous but so what, that was the charm of the A Team in the first place, all the cast barring Quentin Jackson (who was shit) were prety good and portrayed the characters in the right way. decent enough 6.5/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightswoodBear Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I hate the theme tune. Other than that the film was great. I wasn't too keen on it, but it actually fits the openeing sequence really well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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