WhiteRoseKillie Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I'll not go and see Le Mis, mainly because I have bollocks. I'd genuinely fall asleep, much like I did through the "wonderful" Hairspray Only musical I've ever watched and enjoyed is Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd? Seriously? Try the original "Hairspray" - it's proper tacky, and doesn't rely on a comedy fat suit as a selling point. Still pish, mind, IMO. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Troll Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Sweeney Todd? Seriously? Try the original "Hairspray" - it's proper tacky, and doesn't rely on a comedy fat suit as a selling point. Still pish, mind, IMO. Yeah. I even slept through Mama fucking Mia. I despise musicals, I'd have enjoyed Sweeney Todd far more if it hadn't been all singing. it's the only one Ive not fallen asleep through 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albino Rover Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 A Beautiful Mind I think there are two big things drama ought to be: compelling and moving. This film meets those criteria to the highest standard, it's just as captivating as anything I can think of and triggers all sorts of thoughts and emotions. Wonderfully directed by Ron Howard with Roger Deakins on camera, with a feast of brilliant players in front of it, with this and Gladiator in addition to The Insider in 1999 and Master And Commander in 2002/2003, Russell Crowe can go down in history as the man of the turn of the century- an absolutely terrific performance and there's zero doubt in my mind that if he hadn't won for Gladiator the year before, the Best Actor Oscar would have had his name on it- he is exceptional as the genius whose life becomes a paranoid mess. I knew very little about John Nash before watching the film, so I found the whole journey incredible to follow, and it really is a credit to Ron Howard and the writers who storyboarded this film- the way the plot unravels itself and keeps the viewer gripped is something I was in awe of, it was very special. I won't run through the entire cast but one other mention to Jennifer Connelly who nailed her performance as a pivotal character to both the plot and our understanding of the main character. The film was destined to be a hit. Everything about it spells hit. Any sort of cinephile will love it. My only complaint is that it certainly plays to that fact and over-indulges in sentimentality too much for my liking. Not wanting to get hung up on too many negatives though, the film is gold. I hope to rewatch it in a year or so and love it even more, but for now for some reason I don't feel right giving it a big high score. 8/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundermonkey Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 American Psycho - 6/10 I suppose they did a decent job but the source material is far better. The stuff they couldn't have put in a mainstream Hollywood version makes the absurdly comic moments all the sharper. With them missing I felt some of the biting satire the movie was aiming for was lacking. Bale is tremendous as Patrick Batemen though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Co.Down Hibee Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Bruno utter pish, real disaster of a movie this one, after nailing it in Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen limps through this ,you never get the same feel that you do with Borat that nobody is in on the joke, the character of Bruno himself is just dire and to be honest nothing funny happens. pure shite. 0/10 have heard the President is worse 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thistle_do_nicely Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 American Psycho - 6/10 I suppose they did a decent job but the source material is far better. The stuff they couldn't have put in a mainstream Hollywood version makes the absurdly comic moments all the sharper. With them missing I felt some of the biting satire the movie was aiming for was lacking. Bale is tremendous as Patrick Batemen though. I like it, and prefer to treat it on its own merits rather than compare it to the equally excellent book. Some of the line delivery is fantastic from Bale; the sneering line "Jean Paul Gaultier" when he's dragging the body bag down to the bins is great. That and "Have a holly jolly christmas". Would love to see scenes of him breaking down in tears to an episode of Alf, or walking around the city eating straight from a box of cereal with no-one batting an eyelid (I'm 99% sure that happened in the book, gave me a hearty laugh but I haven't been able to notice it on any re-reads!) though that's just because those are scenes that I particularly recall finding amusing from the book rather than, as you say, adding to the themes. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itzdrk Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Flight of the Navigator pure gid 8/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the jambo-rocker Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Flight of the Navigator pure gid 8/10 Now there is a nostalgic film from my youth if I've ever seen one. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConnorDAFC Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Mac & Devin go to high school. 8/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SodjesSixteenIncher Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984) - Eric Roberts' decision to play his character as a heavily retarded gay man with a speech impediment was brave. Mickey Rourke really had the whole slapping people in the face thing mastered too. 6/10. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurph Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I Love You, Man (2009) Slapping the bass. Slappin' the bass. Schlappin' the bass. Schlappin' da bass. Schlappin' da bass man. Schlappin' dat bass man. Schlappin' daht bahs mahn. SCHLAPPIN' DAHT BAHS MAHN! 8/10. Man. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Brightside Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 (edited) I Love You, Man (2009) Slapping the bass. Slappin' the bass. Schlappin' the bass. Schlappin' da bass. Schlappin' da bass man. Schlappin' dat bass man. Schlappin' daht bahs mahn. SCHLAPPIN' DAHT BAHS MAHN! 8/10. Man. Paul Rudd AND Jason Segel?! What a pairing. Oh, and Rashida Jones Edited January 23, 2013 by Mr. Brightside. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underdogunderdog underdog Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 La Haine 5/10 -2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real Saints Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 (edited) Amour - I've decided to watch all of the movies nominated for the 'Best Film' award at the Oscars. I enjoyed Life of Pi and Silver Linings Notebook equally for varying reasons. I followed it up with Amour, a French film about an elderly couple whose lives change for the worse when the woman has a series of strokes leading to her becoming bed-bound. Many of the scenes show the husband's attempts to look after her in their house, deciding against putting her in a care home. There are no surprises about how the film will end as, in the opening scene, we see the lady lying dead in her bed. The mise-en-scene is generally excellent, so the director Michael Haneke has to be credited for that. In one of the early scenes, we see a large audience watching a concert at the theatre. There are hundreds of people there, but my eye was immediately drawn to the elderly couple who the film focuses on from that point onwards. I don't know how it was done, but it was very clever indeed. As for the film itself, I think I enjoyed it. It was a very dark, depressing, no-frills piece of work which I believe, from personal experience, was largely successful in its realism. There are also a couple of events near the end which definitely shocked me. It also moved me to a certain extent, though not as much as I had been expecting beforehand. There was something lacking for me. Probably an element of humanity. The way in which the male protagonist acted was not how I feel most people would in the same circumstances. I was really wanting to see the events affect his mental state, but he kept his emotions very much inside himself throughout the film. It got to a point where I was almost urging him to break down and cry or something. Not in a masochistic way.. I guess I found Amour a bit too ugly in its representation of life's deterioration and I found it quite cynical at times. It was certainly not a film I would watch again, and it won't win the Best Film award, but I appreciated it as a highly impressive piece of art and realism nonetheless. 7/10 Edited January 24, 2013 by The Real Saints 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real Saints Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Les Miserables - I have seen the stage show twice before and thoroughly enjoyed it both times, so I was particularly looking forward to this. Expectations were high after everything I had heard about it from others. I have to say that people at the cinema generally annoy me. The constant rustling of sweets and the sound of people leaving for the toilet/more food every five minutes is particularly irritating during a film in which the importance of being able to hear the words is paramount. The first scene worried me. The fact that the singing was live meant that the vocals in the opening song were somewhat drowned out by the sound of water splashing and I was hoping beyond hope that the decision to record the singing in that manner wouldn't have ended up sacrificing its quality to an extent. I needn't have been concerned. From that point onwards, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. There may have been a ten minute period in the middle where the quality dipped just a tiny bit, but it was simply oustanding entertainment overall and certainly didn't feel like 2 and a half hours. The singing didn't need to be pretty. Its rawness was what made it all the more poignant and everyone should be proud of their efforts, even Russell Crowe who was considerably weaker. The direction was largely great, although the filming sometimes had the feel of a documentary rather than a motion picture. I wasn't perhaps quite as moved by the film as I was by the stage show. Any criticisms from me are just nitpicking, however. Major standout moment was Anne Hathaway's outstanding rendition of I Dreamed A Dream - personally, the best one I have heard. Redmayne, Seyfried, Barks and Jackman were also fantastic, and credit has to go to Bonham-Carter and Baron Cohen who I had my doubts about beforehand. The best film I have ever seen at the cinema, except perhaps Black Swan, and definitely the best Oscar-nominated film I've seen this year so far. 9/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SodjesSixteenIncher Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 La Haine 5/10 Go suck a bag of dicks 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footballfan25 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I just watched Scum after seeing a clip on this forum and seeing it in my landlords film collection. It was a cracking film... love the bit where he smacks the guy around with the snooker balls... "im the daddy now" 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albino Rover Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Insomnia An excellent thriller, adapted from a Norwegian film of the same name. The plot is brilliantly unique, and like Memento centred around a man's mental condition and the problems it presents, which Chris Nolan portrays perfectly once again. Al Pacino plays a detective who has been sent from Los Angeles to Alaska with his partner to investigate a homicide case with the local police, including whizz kid cop Ellie Burr, played by Hilary Swank. The location ends up gives Pacino's character as much trouble as the case, and tensions get higher and higher as the problems of both elements persist. The acting is of a very high standard but like any good thriller the plot is the richest part of the film- no shortage of twists and complications. Chris and Wally make sure the camera does the terrific story justice, fantastic and imaginative visuals all the way through. If you like Nolan's stuff and you haven't seen it yet, you won't be disappointed. Straight away it's one of my favourites of his films. 8/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albino Rover Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Strangers On A Train Not worth mentioning in the same breath as Hitchcock's finest works but a tense thrill ride and a half nonetheless. The idea of a deluded maniac plotting a murder out loud to a non-suspecting stranger and getting him involved against his will makes for a good thriller but for me it isn't quite up there with the plots of Rear Window or Psycho, but the range of interesting and important characters, and of course Alf's mastery of angles, tracking shots and fast cuts, make it a film that grabs you and doesn't let go. Things snowball in the plot, leading to a big set-piece at the end and a suspenseful conclusion. And like so many Hitchcock films, the last line is a beauty. 7/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forehead7 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Didn't feel like bumping the thread but I saw Gangster Squad today. I enjoyed it. It was a lot more brutal than I figured given it was only a 15, I guess the lack of nudity and minimal swearing meant they could bump up the violence more. Brolin was great, had a real badass quality to him. Penn was also very good, the prosthetics on his face looked a bit weird though. I was also very impressed with Gosling. I still think he's not quite emotive enough but definitely more so than Drive and Ides of March give him credit for (I realise that Drive was supposed to be like that and I guess Ides was too). Emma Stone was alright, not really a big enough part. The rest of the team (Pena, Patrick, Ribisi, Mackie) were all good enough and provided a good support, as did Nolte. Nothing too original but it was a fun watch and had some good performances. 7/10 - maybe an 8 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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