Hot Fuzz - 10/10

Flawless. A great send-up of buddy action pics. Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Edgar Wright are geniuses, and Timothy Dalton gives possibly the best performance of his career.

MOAB, I had no idea you were French (I am too).
I was watching this movie for the 3rd time a few days ago, and it just makes you feel awesome.
I recommend this movie to anyone. Just see it.

Coolé, French. I'll watch based on :thumbsup: reviews from both of you.

I just saw The Descent: 9.265/10
I don't think I got it. Just as well, I am never gonna see this movie again.

Lucky You ... or should be renamed.....Eric Bana Plays Poker

I don't play poker, and I don't like poker. It was like watching GSN.

3/10 It would have been lower but for the one redeeming character....Telephone Jack

"Pursuit of Happiness" 3/10 - Will Smith's performance is the only thing to enjoy in this film. In a nutshell it's the true story of a fella who gets every bad break imagineable. The fact that most of the events come out of sheer coincidence makes the movie annoyingly contrived and pointlessly depressing. Of course it all turns around ... but that happens only in the last 5 minutes of the film and it's something you knew was inevitable - only you expected more to happen after that. Bad, bad movie.

film = spiderman 3
rating = shite

I watched two movies last night...

Notes On a Scandal - 5/10
While this was a well-made and exceedingly well-acted film, I just couldn't latch onto it. I didn't like any of the characters and the storyline was excruciating. I don't think it could figure out whether it wanted to be a serious drama or a thriller. *shrug*...just didn't work for me.

Secretary - 6/10
I can't say this was a *good* movie, but...:suave:
The best spanking scene I've ever seen in a film that didn't come out of the little back room in the video store.
I related to it immensely for personal reasons, but the film buff in me knows that it was an average film in all respects.
...but :suave:

Freedom Writers

This movie was recommended to me by the school secretary because Hilary Swank reminded her of me. I've put off watching it since February and figured I'd better watch it before the school year ends since she has asked me every week since then if I've watched it. I'm a horrible liar so I figured I might as well watch it.

I went in very skeptical, but was pleasantly surprised. It was good and since it was based on a true story was realistic. I cried a bit, laughed a lot (probably at parts most people wouldn't laugh at, but I can totally relate to the beginning of the film), and just watched in admiration. It's a feel good movie and not a total waste of time.

8/10

thank you for smoking

i enjoyed this film: it was smarter than i expected it to be, a good satire of corporate pr and its opponents, the snyews media, etc...good acting structured by an admirable degree of cynicism--which made arguments like those advanced by the main character nick something (cant remember) that tobacco corporations are like socially oppressed people laughable--which they are--and the idea that one can chooose to be a reactionary as a mode of defiance into the joke that it is.

but then i made a mistake.
i watched one of the special features: a segment of the charlie rose show in which the film-maker spun the film as a "libertarian" project and its reception as some kind of vindiciation of that smirking form of conservative acquiescence that is libertarian "politics"---you know what i mean--based on a vacant adolescent sense of superiority that follows from having read ayn rand and confused her with a philosopher and on that basis *maybe* read some nietzsche and got that wrong as well, which results (in this case) in an idiotic posture that infuses a defense of corporate actions with some kind of individual heroism, that accuses critics of corporate action as being "sheep" because they "just go along with what is fashionable" and "what is fashionable is the 'politically correct'" as if the only reason folk might wonder if contemporary capitalism is more than a little fucked up lay in its "being fashionable"...from there, these people posit a typically lame "libertarian" inversion--a one-dimensional egalitarianism as some kind of logical successor to oppositional politics---one "stands up for corporate actors" as a way of "being an individual" in the face of some halluncinated "pc"....

so when the film-maker and christopher buckley talk, they turn the film to shit.

but if you do not pay attention to this "liberatarian" drool and just watch the film, you see a pretty good lampooning of exactly this kind of "libertarian" defiance of a simplistic inversion of the figure of "The Man"...

from which a lesson: often the people who make something are stupider than what they make is. often it is better to just take in the film and let it remain open for your interpretation, and to ignore what the people who made it think they were doing in it.

another way: dont bother with the special features.

The Departed--I'm not convinced it was Oscar worthy, but then again, neither was Titanic. It was Okay for its genre, but there were big holes in the plot and the characters. On the upside, I am now convinced Leonardo DiCaprio can act.
7/10.

Volver--if you love this director, you'll love this film. Over the top plot line, men are of no consequence except that they're shite and women bond all over the place.
Penelope Cruz can act in Spanish, not so much in English.
8/10

Spiderman 3. 5/10. Not quite the 'pan-fest' from this thread, but incredibly bad performances from Maguire, Dunst and Franco. Way too long and too many bad guys crammed into one movie. Action sequences were good, but the mulitiple camera angles and rapid-fire shots were disorienting. On the plus side, Kirsten Dunst was looking pretty hot.

I hear ya about the camera angles and rapid-fire shots.....(aka the 1st Harry / Peter battle).

SM 3 sucked.:mad:

I think you ought to be fair to your tastes and rate this film much higher - I would.
I agree It's a terrific "spanking film" because of its sensitive and honest treatment of some of the underlying emotional and psychological dynamics of this sort of relationship (you don't really get that angle from "backroom spanking videos"). That earns it a 9.5/10 in my book.

I think film ratings are a matter of taste anyway. Someone who doesn't care for the subject will rate it lower, of course. But that goes the same for action films, sci-fi films and romantic comedies.

On a personal level I once had an intense year long relationship like in "The Secretary" with a woman I met on on a flight from NY to SF. The film touched a lot of memories for me and I cried while watching it.

I think I was extremely fair. The film was flawed. But I enjoyed it very much on a personal level, as well. So go figure. Yes, it's a matter of tastes, but more importantly to me in rating a film, being a film buff as well as a happy kinkster, are the technical and narrative aspects. In which this film was far from superior.

Still, I intend to purchase a copy for myself very soon. :suave:

I watched two movies last night:

Borat - 7/10 - Yes, it had it's funny moments. Yes, it was sometimes outrageous. But it had no way of living up to the hype. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more in a theater full of people. Funny, but not as funny as most people have said.

Clerks 2 - 8.5/10 - I avoided this movie for a long time because the original Clerks is one of my favorite movies, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was utter shit. I was SO happy that this movie was not only funny, but really good. Randall Graves is one of the best characters ever.

True, my copy isn't on the shelf next to Persona, The Unbearable Lightness of Being or The Double Life of Veronique.
I'll give you that.

Spiderman - AWESOME!!!

Spiderman 2 - Awesome!

Spiderman 3 - Pretty damn good.

I really enjoyed it. It's defenitely feels different from the last two movies. In fact, I'd say that Spideys 1 and 2 are almost the same. Pete has super powers. Is uncertain about crime fighting. Has trouble with girls (well, with M.J. anyway). Super villians mess with Spiderman's loved ones.

Spoiler: The final clash with Harry and Peter against Venom and Sandman was fun to watch. "The Adventures of Spiderman and the Millionaire Kid" I heard that Sam Raimi wanted a the Sandman to star, and the executives wanted Venom. So they did both, and it really shows with how they the depth (or lack their of) of Sandman's tragic story, and the lack of screen time given to Venom. Hell, the word Venom wasn't even mentioned through out the film. Personally, we could have told the entire black suit saga in this film, and save the apperance of Venom for another movie.

And another thing, did you guys notice that we didn't have any SpideySense used in this film?

And the ending got too sappy.

And isn't MJ going to mention that Harry threatened her to dump Peter?

And when Peter wears his black suit, and messes with his hair in the mirror, some gal behind me says, "Hey, it's Emo Spidey!". I couldn't stop laughing.

Also, I was hoping for more screen time with Gwen and Betty. Oh well.

Fracture
I thought this movie revealed too much from the preview. It wasn't that it gave the story but it didn't leave much suspense. What the movie is about is simple: a man apparently kills his wife and surenders to the cops. During the trial, it seems like it's a closed case but, one by one, the evidence becomes useless and it's not sure they can put him away. The acting was well done from almost everyone. I think that if anthony hopkin wants to act again, he should get so far away from the vilain. this was like Hannibal or silence of the lamb. There was some long scenes that seemed pointless. the acting of the female role(i forget her name) was pretty bad and there was no chemistry with the main character.

If you have not seen the preview, I would recommend it if you want to see an interesting court/police/suspense movie. If you've seen the preview, i'm not sure i can recommend. It's definitely not worth paying full price for this. wait for a rental or download it. you'll see why.
Overall rating:6.5/10

The Prestige 8.5/10
Revenge 7.5/10

Wild Hogs - 8/10 such a funny film, definatly on par with road trip. I can't wait until a directors cut comes out, it had me laughing so hard it hurt at times!

Pan's Labyrinth - Last night I watched Pan's Labyrinth with my wife. I was really looking forward to it. I'm fond of the new cadre of young hispanic directors (Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu, etc.)

Visually, it was impressive, but overall I was I was disappointed. My primary complaint is that most of the characters (other than Mercedes, played by Maribel Verdú) were underdeveloped. The characters didn't grow or change and their background stories were incoherent.

I hate ratings. I would give it a 7.5/10. I'm a tough grader. For recent movies by that group, see amores perros, y tu mama tambien, children of men, babel, 21 grams, all before you see this movie.

Freak Camp
 

Jesus Camp

:oogle:

I thought this movie would be hilarious, but it was too creepy on so many levels to me to be funny. I cannot understand why people choose ignorance. I guess it's because if they let people have educated choices they would lose their blind followers. I'm still in aww.

I will say that the last deleted scene was hilarious since Ted Haggart resigned because of homosexuality. He had a whole 'sermon' about Aaron's rod which had very definite sexual undertones. :shakehead: And people want us to think that extreme Christianity is the way to salvation.

I cannot say whether this movie should be watched or not. I'm still :oogle: about the whole experience.

Shrek 3

Terrible. Watch the trailer; every funny part in the movie is condensed into those 3 minutes and you can save yourself the cost of your ticket, popcorn, and misspent time. My son hardly even laughed and he loves the first two movies.

Spiderman 3-- 4/10. I was not impressed. The special effects were good but the story was entirely dragged down by the romance story line and the stupid Peter Parker dance/overconfidence montages. Peter Parker never had emo hair.... ARRRGH!!! :grumpy: I wish Venom had eaten him. I still think they should have given me my money back twice-over... since I should have been paid to see the movie, not the other way around.

Battle Royale---9/10. I loved this movie. It was absurd and bizarre. A bunch of class C kids from Japan are thrown on an island and forced to kill each other in three days... one winner to survive. The director was immensely creative and the relationships between characters were developed just enough to keep it interesting but not enough to drag it down. Yay!

Grindhouse---7/10. Meh. Great selection of what makes each director awesome. And the "trailers" were great. But it just kept going. Seemed like it was more to earn money than for the joy of filmmaking. Wouldn't watch it again, but not sorry I watched it the first time. Unlike freakin' Spidey.

28 Days Later-- 8/10. Saw it last night in prep for a matinee of the new one today. I must say, I was impressed. It scared the holy beejeezus out of me... more than the "zombie" films I'm frequently pressured into watching. I think it was more because it focused on base human /animal rage, rather than "Hey, we died and came back to life to eat you." Plus, I love it when characters lose it out of desperation. And that's not a spoiler, anyone saw that coming. :D

Hot Fuzz---9.5/10. I flipping LOVE these guys. Witty, flashy, absurd, fabulous. I can only hope they continue to make movies cause I don't know what I'd do without 'em. Yar, good movie. If you didn't like it, jog on, there's something wrong with your sense of humor. :lol:

I'm not even going to rate the Jan Svenkmajer shorts and Faust because that man creeps me out. I liked Little Otik to a point a few years ago but the man gives me the heeby-jeebies.

Completely with you. Even the Chaplain at work had a hard time explaining her thoughts after just a clip of the kids with the red tape and then crying on the floor. And the Adam and Eve dolls. It still give me the creeps.

Ong-Bak: Thai Warrior - 2/10
The action is really the only reason to watch this movie. I was rolling over in my grave after observing the acting and storytelling.

Bound - 8/10
This movie is very intriguing. Great film noir. You think it's going to become just a dumb thug movie, but it always remains smart. You do have to give yourself up to the film noir theme, though.

F*ck - 5/10
This felt like an HBO comedy special rather than a documentary. It's just a montage of interviews with comedians, singers, clergymen and right wingers about the word Fuck. With 800 uses of the word fuck, I don't imagine anyone other than people who aren't bothered by it in the first place to be watching it. For a documentary, that's fairly short sighted.

Shrek 3 7/10

Loved it! Laugh a minute.... went where so many animated films wont. Still, it was missing a little something but well worth watching. Even for 9 bucks a pop in New Hampshire.

Something about Snow White singing the Immigrant song...

jean-pierre melville: army of shadows

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064040/

excellent film on the french resistance to nazi occupation....none of the usual hollyweird insistence on clear "hero" characters and happyface plotline...rather, a complex meditation on time and experience, ambiguity and brutality. life within a horizontally organized underground is reproduced within the film (the situation you are moved through is not explained to you: borders are fluid; meanings unstable...) it is incidentally a salutary (if accidental, given that the film was released in 1969 in a very limited way, and again in 2006) glimpse at the nazi use of the discourse of terrorism.

an excellent, powerful and distubing film.

Shaun of the Dead 5/10 - the basic premise was good - but wasted about every opportunity to be funny. The best bits are in the trailer ... and were funnier in the trailer, too.

Flags of Our Fathers 10/10 - I like any film that defies most expectations of a genre and delivers a good, honest story

The Double Life of Veronique 10/10 - actually saw it years ago and just saw it again. A poignantly beautiful film in every way.

I thought that Shaun Of The Dead was hilarious, and I hate zombies, but I was able to sit through the whole movie (by myself). 8/10

I just watched Dukes Of Hazzard on Dvd and it was really really good!! I am NOT a big fan of Jessica Simpson, however, I think she did well in her part. I loved Seann Williams Scott and Johnny Knocksville as Bo and Luke. And I think that Willie Nelson played the BEST Uncle Jesse they could've ever found, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Linda Carter (Wonder Woman) cast in the movie also. It had great racing and action scenes, hilarious comedy, and an absolutely awesome cast. I also loved how they incorporated the cast from Super Troopers. 9/10

Apocalypto
A movie about a forrest tribe getting taken over by the Mayans. Talks about the hardships that the indians had to go through just to live and how cruel that they could be to each other. It was a pretty graphic movie, but it did seem a little slow. Other than that it was a pretty interesting movie. Also, it has subtitles for the entire movie because everyone speaks mayan and what not.

Born to Fight 8/10.... by the same guys that brought out Ong-Bak and something else I can't remember. The stunt director, Panna Rittikrai, is amazing. Half the cast should be dead for what they accomplished physically throughout the entire film. It has its hokey moments, as most thai movies do, but I loved it and even backed up the film in an attempt to catch mistakes... which I didn't find. The fights were overblown a bit, but extremely entertaining. I'd watch it again, which is rare these days. :D

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End 9/10
Perhaps I am too easily entertained, but I thought this movie was fantastic. The acting by all of the cast was very well done (except maybe Bloom...but then again I've always disliked him). The visuals were astonishing. The action scenes were great. Honestly, I was entertained for every second of the movie, whether it be by action, suspense, or Depp's hilarious lines.

Pan's Labyrinth - 8/10

This was a pretty cool movie, but I would have preferred that a little more time been spent on the supernatural aspects of the story.

The Good German - 6/10

Long boring movie. The only highlights were Spoiler: what happened to Tobey's character, and the always impressive performance by Cate Blanchett. Aside from that, it's not worth seeing, especially considering the retardedly lame ending which is Spoiler: a direct rip-off of Casablanca.

Perhaps you should watch it again and pay attention to what happens on-screen. There are a dozen moments where the dialogue comes true or the cinematography unveils subtle humor. It is a solidly funny movie, and I think most everyone who has seen it will agree on that.

I completely agree. This was the first zombie move I ever liked. I fell in love with it and have watched it many times. Now I'm a zombie movie addict. :lol:

It's British humor whic some people don't enjoy, but I found it to be fucking hilarious.

I disagree with this and I know what i'm talking about. The preview gave away too much of the funny parts. This was a standard boring zombie movie. 28days later was much much more entertaining than SOTD. and don't tell me it's because i don't understand british humour.

I haven't seen hot fuzz but I hope it's way better than their previous attempt.

You know, I enjoy british humor, and SOTD was funny, but I expected it to be funnier. Maybe because so many people have recommended it to me, and said it was great.

I think Hot Fuzz was an absolute triumph in landmarking the ideal essence of British Humor.

Although I scarcely remember how good Shaun of the Dead was, I highly doubt it tops Hot Fuzz. A great movie by any standards. :D

Comparing 28 Days Later with Shaun of the Dead causes you to lose your "I know what I'm talking about" credibility, buddy.