Films: Rate and Discuss

Stand By Me: 9/10
If I had to describe this movie with a comparison, it'd say it's like The Breakfast Club, only younger.

This movie's been on my list to see for a while now. It's one of the those things where once you finally watch it, you think to yourself "Man, why did I wait so long?" This movie is fantastic. Sure, it may be 85% nostalgia (and I'm not sure if this translates well to female viewers) but it works incredibly well. The kids actors are damn good in it; which is great because, honestly, the movie completely hangs on them. The story is somewhat unimportant as it's only a vehicle to get them to be alone. It's the talking scenes that hold this movie together: the weird part of adolescenthood where you're coming out of being an ignorant kid and seeing the world in a more adult fashion.

I cried, I laughed. I loved it.
 
Qonfused said:
Stand By Me: 9/10
If I had to describe this movie with a comparison, it'd say it's like The Breakfast Club, only younger.

This movie's been on my list to see for a while now. It's one of the those things where once you finally watch it, you think to yourself "Man, why did I wait so long?" This movie is fantastic. Sure, it may be 85% nostalgia (and I'm not sure if this translates well to female viewers) but it works incredibly well. The kids actors are damn good in it; which is great because, honestly, the movie completely hangs on them. The story is somewhat unimportant as it's only a vehicle to get them to be alone. It's the talking scenes that hold this movie together: the weird part of adolescenthood where you're coming out of being an ignorant kid and seeing the world in a more adult fashion.

I cried, I laughed. I loved it.
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Had to review this movie in school, I loved it. The young actors manage to pull off a pretty emotional performance.
 
Dynasty said:
Dont the trailers basically tell you the whole movie anyway?

I mean the so-called ''twist'' can be deciphered just by watching one of them.
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Yeah that's pretty much the problem with trailers these days. They take everything interesting out of films and spell out all 100 minutes of them in 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Apparently audiences prefer going to films where they know whats going to be happen, claims market research. I think thats absolute bollocks though.
 
I remember seeing the trailer for Death Race before another movie and it showed him escaping the prison, heh. Not like that was a "twist," but damn, hold some cards to your chest.
 
Yeah, I didn't enjoy the rather melodramatic Black Swan all that much either. I was bored for the majority of it and could not bring myself to sympathise with Natalie Portman's character - I hated her, her meekness, her naivety. Her arc would have been better if her descent into a complete mental breakdown hadn't been cushioned with such cliches; cheap shock scenes and fairly predictable devices indicating a deteriorating psychosis riddled the whole production. But then, it may not have made a difference - I can't watch Natalie Portman in anything, because I just don't like her.

And I had my eyes closed whenever blood appeared. WHAT A PUSSY.
 
Memento - 8.5/10

Following the Nolan fanmania of Inception & The Dark Knight I was curious about his older work so I rented Memento. I started watching it at about 1:30AM last night & fell asleep around 2:20AM. The lead character, Leonard, did not captivate me at all, I simply didn't care about him, his story or his condition, & the time narrative was confusing (it was late, I'd had a big day). But when I woke up this morning I put it on again & watched the second half; this movie is amazing, suddenly I realised how clever the time narrative is, how decent Guy Pearce's performance was & above all, how it has that same Nolan direction that I loved in TDK & Inception. 8.5/10

His name was confusing as f*ck at first (to me, I'm aware of the timing) because this kept jumping to mind everytime I heard "Leonard Shelby":
leonardshelbyleonardshe.jpg
 
bah, nevermind.

Also I remember studing Momento in film studies, was confusing as hell the first few times :S
 
Qonfused said:
Stand By Me: 9/10
If I had to describe this movie with a comparison, it'd say it's like The Breakfast Club, only younger.

This movie's been on my list to see for a while now. It's one of the those things where once you finally watch it, you think to yourself "Man, why did I wait so long?" This movie is fantastic. Sure, it may be 85% nostalgia (and I'm not sure if this translates well to female viewers) but it works incredibly well. The kids actors are damn good in it; which is great because, honestly, the movie completely hangs on them. The story is somewhat unimportant as it's only a vehicle to get them to be alone. It's the talking scenes that hold this movie together: the weird part of adolescenthood where you're coming out of being an ignorant kid and seeing the world in a more adult fashion.

I cried, I laughed. I loved it.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen that in years but I adored it as a child.
 
Samon Fish said:
I can't watch Natalie Portman in anything, because I just don't like her.
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Hating Jack Black, or Vince Vaughn I can understand (because they are both 'where's my pay check' dial it in douches), but hating Nat Portman? Seems a little extreme? I mean sure she may of starred in the god awful SW prequels, but then again so did liam Nesson (and surely no one hates on Liam?). What's with the hating. What's the motivator here? Lack of tits? Being Jewish? Stole your wallet? Spilt your drink?

As regards Black Swan. It's a film about the world of ballet, it has no choice but to be melodramatic. However whichever way you slice it, she still gives a great performance in it.
 
Kadayi said:
Hating Jack Black, or Vince Vaughn I can understand (because they are both 'where's my pay check' dial it in douches), but hating Nat Portman? Seems a little extreme? I mean sure she may of starred in the god awful SW prequels, but then again so did liam Nesson (and surely no one hates on Liam?). What's with the hating. What's the motivator here? Lack of tits? Being Jewish? Stole your wallet? Spilt your drink?

As regards Black Swan. It's a film about the world of ballet, it has no choice but to be melodramatic. However whichever way you slice it, she still gives a great performance in it.
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At the risk of the usual "lol Samon and Yorick are the same person" balogna, I just think she's a bad actress. I don't hold the Star Wars films against her (because everyone is rubbish in those), but even in V for Vendetta and Garden State (which is one of my favourite movies) she's somewhere between average and annoying.
 
I think Portman is a perfectly capable actress, not anything mindblowing but not too shoddy either.

However, I am fully prepared to recognize and admit that my judgment of her acting ability may be skewed by the fact that she is one of the most attractive women in the universe.

Also, I would agree that Ian McDiarmid is a great actor, and so is Liam Neeson. I always thought Qui-Gon was the most likeable of all the terribly written characters in the new trilogy. It's not their fault that Lucas writes dialogue best suited to a 2-page Happy Meal comic book.
 
Yorick said:
I haven't seen that in years but I adored it as a child.
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It's a great film. I remember when I first watched it years ago. I had no idea it was Sutherland for most of the film. Which is shameful of me considering how big a fan I am.

Yorick said:
At the risk of the usual "lol Samon and Yorick are the same person" balogna, I just think she's a bad actress. I don't hold the Star Wars films against her (because everyone is rubbish in those), but even in V for Vendetta and Garden State (which is one of my favourite movies) she's somewhere between average and annoying.
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Curious. How is she a bad actress?

I've not seen her in many films. I've seen Garden State and also The Phantom Menace (I refuse to watch the next two) but that's about it.
 
brad92 said:
Curious. How is she a bad actress?

I've not seen her in many films. I've seen Garden State and also The Phantom Menace (I refuse to watch the next two) but that's about it.
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Just unbelievable, I guess. Not being an actor myself, it's hard for me to judge what makes someone a "good" actor. I feel like she's wooden and often out of place, if that makes any sense.

And you should see the other two star wars movies - if only for the sake of doing so. They actually do improve over The Phantom Menace but are still, you know, horrifyingly terrible films.
 
What did you think of her in The Professional? That's my favorite performance by her. Better than Black Swan, I feel, although certainly not as physically demanding.
 
Black Swan - Claustrophobic/10.

Previous posters have summed up the film's strengths and weaknesses well. Far too many 'boo' moments that irritated me quite a bit. Great to see Vincent Cassel in an English speaking role. The performance scene at the end was very well done I felt.

Not up there with Pi or RFAD, though.

Be interesting to see if Portman wins an Oscar. For me, Jennifer Lawrence should win it for Winter's Bone.
 
The Prestige - Bale's British accent/10

I really did enjoy this film. Bale's accent was a bit questionable though, as was his performance, but once again Nolan's directing (his choice for a historical figure was very well chosen, David Bowie was fantastic) has impressed so much so that it doesn't bother me too much.
I love anything to do with magic tricks,
by that I mean real, logical tricks, for that reason the ending was a bit off putting, I was expecting something cleverer than an actual cloning machine.
But that aside I'm looking forward to watching it again at some point soon.
 
JUL3 said:
The Prestige - Bale's fake British accent/10

I really did enjoy this film. Bale's accent was a bit questionable though.
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*cough* *cough*

Wikipedia said:
Christian Charles Philip Bale born 30 January 1974. Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
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F*ck, I was hoping no one would notice. I guess I should check my facts first. I've always assumed Bale was American because of the films he's starred in.
 
Terminator 2: nofatebutwhatwemake/10 (9/10)

It is better than the first one. Admit it. You know it's true, you're just afraid to actually say it. It's less serious, more summer action filmy and less grimdark; sure, but it has a heart this time around.

The little scenes with Furlong and Schwarzenegger are great. It breaks from the main storyline and adds depth and character. The special effects still hold their own, even twenty years since its release. The villain is menacing and unpredictable which is constantly adding a factor of "oh ****" (also, probably the role with most air time with littlest dialog). There's a stretch in the movie where you don't see him for a good 45 minutes and when he returns, you're like "oh yeah, shit, he's about to wreck some ****er's day up." The acting can be a bit shoddy in places (except Arnold; he's casted perfectly with that, you know, complete lack of emotion at all times) with Hamilton and sometimes with Furlong (but he routinely does a good job), but it never detracts from the feel of the movie. The action scenes are some of the best film has to offer: scenes that make sense and still blow a lot of shit up. The ending sequence from the office building to the factory is brilliant.

Is T1 better on a story, technical, or otherwise level? I guess it's truly a personal opinion.

Actually **** that.

T2 is a lot more fun, a lot more involving and a lot more enjoyable.

ALSO

The Emperor's New Groove: 8/10

Hilarious as always, great voice acting, great animation. What more do you want?
 
Qonfused said:
It is better than the first one. Admit it. You know it's true, you're just afraid to actually say it. It's less serious, more summer action filmy and less grimdark; sure, but it has a heart this time around.
Click to expand...

But Terminator 1 has a soul.
 
JUL3 said:
F*ck, I was hoping no one would notice. I guess I should check my facts first. I've always assumed Bale was American because of the films he's starred in.
Click to expand...

I actually found his accent in that movie to be questionable too.
 
Devil - 8/10 - scary enough I guess, not much in the way of plot development.

Hitman - 8/10 - Fun thriller, plot holes galore but still ok.
 
Ong-Bak 3 - Whaaaaaaat

By turns hilarious, awful and actually entertaining.

Mostly the first two.

Almost entirely the first two.

Seriously, what happened? The first two (though I hesitate to associate them directly) were so much fun.

DEATHMASTER said:
Devil - 8/10 - scary enough I guess, not much in the way of plot development.

Hitman - 8/10 - Fun thriller, plot holes galore but still ok.
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Hnnnnnnggggggg. *twitch*
 
Yorick said:
I actually found his accent in that movie to be questionable too.
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Yeah, a bit overdone? Like he was trying too hard to sound British.

-

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas - HEIL HITLER/10 (8.5/10)

Writing this review while watching the film (for the third time, I believe), I can safely say, I highly enjoy this film. Seeing the war from the perspective of a German child is fantastic, the story is a bit far-fetched, maybe. But the themes addressed, accompanied by one of my favourite actors, & with such an ant-climatic ending that gets me everytime. It's a definite 8.5/10.
 
Qonfused said:
Terminator 2
Click to expand...

I just don't think I'll ever get why people consider this movie so much better than the original. It's a fun classic, sure, but it is pretty much entirely made of 80s action cheese. The first is just as thrilling but actually takes itself seriously and has a much better story, writing, and acting.
 
JUL3 said:
The Prestige - Bale's British accent/10

I really did enjoy this film. Bale's accent was a bit questionable though, as was his performance, but once again Nolan's directing (his choice for a historical figure was very well chosen, David Bowie was fantastic) has impressed so much so that it doesn't bother me too much.
I love anything to do with magic tricks,
by that I mean real, logical tricks, for that reason the ending was a bit off putting, I was expecting something cleverer than an actual cloning machine.
But that aside I'm looking forward to watching it again at some point soon.
Click to expand...

Heh, I did a history fair project on Tesla, so I ended up face-palming quite a bit. But oddly it also made me happy he at least got a little more famous.
 
Tangled - 9/10
I'm going to indulge myself and give this a nine. Not only is this one of the most visually beautiful 3D animated films ever created, I think this has probably finally justified Disney's 'me too' move into computer animation. This is the first time such a film has ever felt uniquely 'Disney'. But that's less to say that this is a film that 'harks back to the golden age' with a tedious attempt to reconstruct that identity, rather they've gone ahead and made something that isn't Pixar and isn't Dreamworks (which is what animation has been for the last decade).

The songs are pretty much vestigial in this movie, the last thing they're too afraid to let go of lest their movies somehow become 'not Disney'. That said, I suspect the complete lack of new song-writing talent is the biggest problem. 'Mother Knows Best' was good, 'I've Got a Dream' was a good enough excuse for a humorous interlude but ultimately, it all feels musically very stale. But notwithstanding the 15th thousand use of the 'tears rejuvenate true love' trope (seriously, has someone at Disney got some kind of Eric Cartman-style tear fetish?) this movie is fully deserving of being called 'The Best Disney Film Since The Lion King!' before the accolade is given by default to what ever comes next.

Even the animal sidekicks weren't psychotically annoying. That's progress.
 
How is "scary enough I guess, not much in the way of plot development" not disappointment? YOU ARE AN AWFUL PERSON etc.
 
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