MexicanOnABike

I wish there was a block or ignore button on this forum. Now let's get back to the movie talks.

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- Movie Reviews - Ratings-

warrrreagl

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dirtyrascal7

Why are people refuting other peoples' opinions?? Come on...


Anyway, it has been a while since I've posted on here and I can't even remember all the movies I've seen since my last post so I won't even try. Here are 3 that stood out to me...

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - 3/10
I really wanted to like this... and there were parts of it I enjoyed, but there were far too many other parts that had me rolling my eyes or going "what the fuck?" The acting was acceptable, though not stellar. The visual effects were pretty good and not too over-the-top... but whoever's vision they used for this movie was trying waaaaaaay too hard. I loved the first POTC because it stands alone and tells a great story. The 2nd and 3rd were approached with the idea, it seemed, that "we have to make these huge blockbusters... lets get out our trusty formula and apply it to pirates so we can make millions."

Apocalypto - 9/10
I wasn't sure what to expect from ol' Mel in this movie... but I was pleasantly surprised. It was quite violent, which I am fairly indifferent towards. I think what I enjoyed the most was how it told a good story without very much dialogue. The scenery and cinematography were spectacular, as well.

Pan's Labyrinth - 9/10
I don't really want to say a whole lot about it, b/c it's almost better to just slip it in the DVD player and get sucked into the story without knowing what to expect. I definitely recommend it, though.

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Lady Sage

Such violence... When did this become an opinion conforming thread? Fuck that. (Yes I just dropped a very rare F-bomb) Last I checked people had the right to their own opinions and there was a back button if you didnt like them. Now, go back to your sand boxes and play nice!

The Hot Chick 8/10

I laughed til I cried and then I laughed some more. Rob Schneider playing a chick who woke up a man and now has a pecker to pee from..... Oh woe is he/she! Solid movie but not for family enjoyment.

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seretogis

Anytime you have people sharing opinions there will be clashes of some sort, particularly when someone puffs up their chest and throws out imaginary "I know what I'm talking about" credentials in a condescending manner.

That's really unfortunate. I was hoping it would be worth the price of admission, but I guess The Formula™ is more important than making quality movies.

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Willravel

Pirates of the Caribbean 3 6/10
I'm not a fan of the first two films, but this one wasn't bad. Considering what a let down Spider-man 3 was, this was a miracle. Decent story, if a bit odd. Kiera Knightly is gorgeous.

longbough

Spiderman 3 - 9/10 - If you're a fan you'll understand a few subtle allusions in the film. For instance: Spoiler: the whole bit about Spiderman rescuing Gwen Stacy from falling. No doubt a reference to the way she died in the comics. I do believe Sam Rami just wanted to film a scene where Spiderman actually saves her. But only someone who read the comics in the 60s and 70s would understand.
A lot happens in the film and it's probably tougher to endure if you're not already a fan.

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Halx

longbough, I will henceforth ignore every opinion you state. Giving that blister of a movie anything more than 2 stars is an atrocity in the face of good taste and standards of entertainment.

I curse your children as well.

Jackass 2 - 9/10

I was laughing through 95% of this movie non stop. There were a couple parts that were really needlessly gross (it was the unrated cut) but over all, this movie just kicked ass.

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ShaniFaye

I LOVE Secretary!!! I would rate it an 8 though

I havent read this whole thread so I have no idea if this movie has been mentioned but I just saw Music and Lyrics and yes....Dave and I both give it a 10/10

yes it was fluff, but it was a pleasure to watch..and it was funny. Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore were awesome together.

I also watched The Last Sin Eater, Im a huge fan of the book so I can only give it a 7/10..BUT if I hadnt read the book I'd give it a 9

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Willravel

Spoiler: I think I have that issue around somewhere. That was the second great guilt of his life after Uncle Ben. I was shocked when she resurfaced (as a clone, of course).

Jetée

Hey, tastes vary, and right now, I am hankering a burger from Checker's.

"Sorry I'm Away So Much" adequately defines my presence here. I have been under the spell of great films and have spent the past few weeks just indulging myself in every film I could find. Now, time comes for me to review them...Ohhhh! I'm not rightly adept or expertly-trained to rate and critique films, I just know what I like and would could appeal to others. So, I will try to back-track and give a fair assessment of all the movies I have recently viewed so others could perhaps find the enjoyment, or abandon the urge, whichever, to view these films as well.

Here goes, with my most recent watching:

The Gravedancers

This particular movie was released in limited screenings during the Horrorfest weekend that was present in the States.As I was watching it, I thought that this was one of the better movies, but I still couldn't help but wonder why its budget was so big. These particular six(?) films were supposed to be produced by independent film studios, yet the effects and actors within it seemed to be high-end.

The basic premise of the entire film is that a group of three friends, who have recently lost another dear friend, decide to, instead of continuing their depressive mourning, celebrate the departed's death with some good ol' partying and debauchery at the local cementary. What good is a party at the graveyard without a bit of burial desecretation. Needless to say, some spirits get rightly pissed, start haunting them, and there you have a horror movie.

The movie was a real pleasure to watch.
It has a very intense opening scene, and some very supsenseful moments at times as well. Yet there are also some clichéd instances of bad horror movie etiquette; I mean, the eventual ending is really painful to watch because it is so cheesy. But the good moments in this flick solidly outweigh the bad, and it is a very promising film to partake in.

I rate it as good? I'm not sure I want to get tied in with generic numerals for a rating; I liked it, and have a good sense to guess that most would also enjoy it too, so here's a recommendation to go rent it.
I suppose I'll figure out how my future rating system will pan out, but for now, you get either choice OR choice

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longbough

Spoiler: I also have the 1973 issues where Gwen Stacy dies then the one where the Green Goblin dies. I stopped reading them somewhere in the mid-late 80s so I didn't get to the "clone" story - nor the whole Symbiote/Venom deal.

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"I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence. Thus when my eldest son asked me what he should have done, had he been present when I was almost fatally assaulted in 1908, whether he should have run away and seen me killed or whether he should have used his physical force which he could and wanted to use, and defended me, I told him that it was his duty to defend me even by using violence." - Mahatma Ghandi

former newt

just saw pirates.

i am a huge fan of the first one. i absolutely loved that movie.

the second one i defended when people said how bad it was. i enjoyed it. it wasn't great but it was good enough for me.

begin rant:

as much as i hoped and prayed the third movie would make it all worth it...it sucked. i feel almost cheated. i feel as if they took advantage of the first movie, raped it, even.

the series could have been something great. but whoever decided to make the plot diverge in 40 directions only to try to tie things back together really killed the series. as much as i love the first one, it's tarnished for me now. i am pretty fucking pissed.

maybe it's not this bad. maybe i just expected a lot because i loved the first one. but the movie ended 4 hours ago and i still think it sucked. i was not at all satisfied. i don't feel they did justice to the first movie in any way. with how a lot of big trilogies have been ending, i wanted SO BADLY for this to be great. what made the first one so good was that its plot wasn't overdone. it didn't try to deal with 4030849374893 things at once. pirates 3 did. i just think they tried to introduce and resolve a lot of things that they could have left out. they tried to get fancy and couldn't deal with all the things they introduced.

end rant.

summary: my opinion is that they should have approached this like they did the first. a manageable and entertaining plot. the plot of pirates 3 was simply unwieldy. too much happened that didn't need to.

Frosstbyte

Pirates 3 -- 8/10

I have no idea why everyone is slamming so hard on this movie. It's not the most glorious example of modern cinema but look at it for what it is, which is a very good wrap up for one of the more creative series of movies to have come around in recent memory.

Pirates is not a simple, stupid movie to watch with your brain off while you munch popcorn and snog your girlfriend. Contrary to the review above, Pirates does actually require you to pay attention to what is happening and what is going on between the various characters. People backstab each other, people make lots of deals and there's a crazy background story of an ocean goddess and a pirate council. People who think this movie is too complicated just aren't paying attention. I got most of it the first go around, but it took my girlfriend a second viewing to pick up most of the details and put things together.

This movie has some fan-fucking-tastic moments in it and, while it certainly does have a few others when it falls back on its established jokes, I don't think that's enough to flop the movie like so many people seem to think it does.

You do need to pay attention and, honestly, you do need to be "into" the series and its mythology in order to really enjoy it. But if you can do those two things, I think you'll find that the movie wraps up the existing plotlines in an enjoyable and reasonable fashion. Go with friends. Maybe have some rum beforehand. It's not going to be the best movie you've ever seen, but it's a solid entry in this summer's movie fare.

Gabbyness

The Bridge to Teribithia: 5/10.

It was pretty bland, chock full of every Disney movie cliche you would expect, but it had its moments. Brought back nostalgia from reading the book in Jr High. It was certainly worth putting on the headset during a five-hour flight

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Grancey

POTC 3 - not good or bad, but just not for me

I'm not going to give this a numerical rating because this film, as well as SP3, is a film that you like or you don't like. There is not much room for an opinion in the middle. I liked P1, not 2 and not 3 at all. I wanted more of a plot. I'm that kind of movie goer. Pirates are fun, but I like more of a slant towards reality and possibility than towards let's stretch the imagination this way. I found myself trying to read the text message of the guy who was sitting in the row in front of us. That's not good. Maybe he was distracted as well. Costumes were outstanding. Special effects were great. And I'm happy for those of you who got what you wanted. Hey, it keeps the movie industry busy. Maybe Oceans 13 will do it for me.

Oh, we were two of the 10 people out of 400 who saw this showing who stayed for the surprise after the credits. Check it out.

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sapiens

Volver

I recently watched Volver by Pedro Almodóvar. I really enjoyed it. It was very funny and beautifully shot. If you haven't seen any Almodóvar films and you have any interest in Spanish film, I highly recommend his films.

I don't like Penelope Cruz in American films, but enjoyed her in this film.

noodle

28 Weeks Later... scared the holy crap out of me. And here I thought the first one was creepy. I still see the "first" of the new zombies (no spoiling) hanging out in my doorway at night. I'm still wonderfully entertained by having the beejezus scared out of me when I've got someone next to me to keep me "safe", but this one outdid itself. I get more freaked out by stuff that sorta could happen. I liked it, but it was a bit predictable at times. 7/10

Shaolin Soccer 9/10 baby. Only cause I've never seen a 10 movie. This was freakin' hilarious. The absurdity with the martial arts skills were perfectly and oddly well-matched. Purposefully cheesy, they pulled it off masterfully. I LOVE asian dance montages!

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The_Jazz

Pirates 3

I was disappointed in the ending. I was disappointed in the surprise.

I like Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly in other stuff but they both phoned this one in. As did the writers.

Johnny Depp was awesome, but he's one of the great actors of the generation.

Effects were good, but can anyone explain who Callipso is and what her powers are supposed to be?

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biznatch

I agree with most here on Spidey 3. Having a reference to Gwen Stacy (and you don't need to have read the issues from the 60's and 70's to be a "real fan") doesn't save the movie. Nothing does, because it just doesn't work as a movie.

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tenniels

I saw Shrek the Third on May 27. It was cute and everything, but I didn't find it quite as enjoyable as the first two. I took a client from work though and she kept asking me for popcorn and she can't have it coz she's on a minced diet yada yada yada (work in a group home with disabled adults). That kinda distracted me from the experience, not that it requires a lot of attention or anything. I'd probably watch it again when it is on DVD, one of those things to pass the time. I can't say much bad about it, I just didn't like it as much as I had hoped.

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MexicanOnABike

clicking the movie title will bring you to the IMDB page for each movie
clicking the rating will bring you to how I rate my movies.

Fargo
I recently watched this movie to show my gf what it was like. This is one of my favorite movies I've watched this year even though it came out in 1996.
The story is simple enough: "A man hires 2 guys to kidnapp his wife so that his wife's dad will pay the ransom which he will split with the 2 other guys"

It sounds simple but thats when it gets complicated and interesting. The characters have got to be the best part of the movie. The acting is just awesome and Steve Buscemi is once again funny as hell.

It's under 1hr and 40min so it's good when you don't want to be in front of the TV for too long. If you haven't seen it yet, go buy it. you'll be glad you did.
overall rating:9/10


Step up
This is the last chickflick I saw with my gf. I was expecting the worst but this was decent. The acting is not that great and the plot is completely predictable but for some reason, it was watchable.

the story is simple enough:"3 friends(~16-18yr old) from the hood decide to break in a school(an art school with dancing and music etc..) and trash the place. 1 of them gets caught so he has to do some community hrs at the school to pay for the damage he caused. At the same time, in the school, a girl is preparing for her final project which is a big dance concert. her partner breaks his foot so guess who's gonna replace him?!"

If you realllly don't want to think and you like dance movies, check it out.
btw: the chick in the movie is REALLY hot! maybe that's why i enjoyed it!
overall rating:5.5/10 Rental.


Four Rooms
Another old movie from my collection. This one is very very odd. 4 movie directors put their ideas together to make 1 movie. The concept is: "it's new years eve at a hotel in hollywood and theres just 1 person working. Ted the bellhop." So you see his night in 4 different rooms. Every room is split up like a short. the 2 starting rooms are very odd and boring. the next 2 are directed by Robert Rodrigez(#3) and Quentin Tarantino(#4). these are the reason to watch the movie. i can't really recommend it unless you want to see something out of the ordinary or if you're a big fan of RR or QT.

room1: 5/10
room2: 4/10
room3: 8/10
room4: 7.5/10

overall rating:7/10

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hambone

All the King's Men - 5/10
Not a bad movie, but I was bored.

Apocalypto - 9.5/10
I really really enjoyed this movie. Very well done. Subtitles didn't make it difficult at all either.

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dirtyrascal7

I kept meaning to ask about this... I remembered there was something after the credits, but only after I had started up my car. Could you (or someone else who saw it) post it in a spoiler tag for those of us that missed out? Much appreciated! :-)

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shesus

Finally saw Citizen Kane. It was as awesome as I hoped. I can see why it is considered one of the best films. I loved the opening sequence. Not much more to say about this except I don't know why it took me so long to watch it.
9.75/10

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Willravel

From wiki:
Spoiler: In a post-credits scene set ten years later, Will reunites with Elizabeth and their son. As the Dutchman appears, it is accompanied by a green flash, signalling Will's return to the living world.
It's a bit 'Superman Returns', but w/e.

stevie667

Nuts, there was a bit after the credits? I was straight out the door and into the toilets when the movie ended.

I'd give pirates 3 - 7/10.

Good film overall, but very long winded and kinda didn't know what it was doing for big chunks. Keira Knightleys leg at the end though, to use waynes world: Shving!

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Crack

Bug:

8/10 *Ashley Judd Naked* makes this movie start at 7/10 from the get go, but the movie it's self was actually pretty awesome.

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MPower

Actually they re-did that scene in Spiderman 1 with MJ and the Goblin. Although he did the right thing and dove off instead of using a line.


On to the movie ratings

Pans Labrynth 9/10 -- I dont know weather to feel happy or sad at the end. I think happy, but it is sad too.

MexicanOnABike

clicking the movie title will bring you to the IMDB page for each movie
clicking the rating will bring you to how I rate my movies.

Ghost Rider
There's not much to say about this movie. The story is simple enough: "a kid(Johnny) sells his soul to save his dad. the next day, his dad dies. a couple of years after, the devil turns Johnny into the ghost rider. At night, the ghost rider turns him into a flaming skeleton with special powers. he's supposed to collect demons and bring them back to hell."

The concept is great but it fails on many levels. The acting is REALLLY bad but that could be because nicolas cage is in it. eva mendez is also in this movie. her acting is not better. The special effects should be awesome but they were a letdown for me. in the end, i wasn't interested in finishing this movie. I cannot recommend this. It's just another pointless boring comic book movie.
overall rating: 5/10

Borat
On my 2nd viewing of this movie, all the jokes were kinda boring. Without the crowd laughing with me, this felt like a really unfunny movie. I'm still recommending it for anyone who hasn't seen any of the Borat character.

overall rating: 7/10

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dirtyrascal7

10 Items or Less - 9/10
To be honest, I can't remember why I added this to my Netflix queue... but I got it in the mail yesterday and watched it after work today. The concept isn't terribly brilliant, there really isn't a lot of plot, and there are basically a half-dozen characters in the entire movie. However... for some reason, I couldn't help but enjoy every single minute. It's just one of those movies that is good to watch after a tough day... it helps you regain some perspective, appreciate the little things in life, and it makes you want to go out and make a new friend or two.

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"Tie yourself to your limitless potential, rather than your limiting past."

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MexicanOnABike

sounds good! i'll check it out! thanks for that review!

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MexicanOnABike

I checked out the movie: 10 items or less as recommended by dirtyrascal7

Its weird movie. I wasn't sure what to expect but it's definitely a concept I've never seen before! I liked the characters enough and it kept me interested enough to finish it even if there was no action. This is one of those movies that you might want to watch more than once to get the full effect because for me, at 1st, i was waiting for the movie to start and it was just there slowly growing and then boom, its done. Some parts are weird like when "the actor" tries to imitate everyone.
in the end, if you're not in the mood for the usual, then this might be what you're looking for.

overall rating:7/10

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Halx

Being There - 9/10
This is quite an intelligent comedy. I really enjoyed it. I came away thinking about all of its social and societal implications. I would recommend this movie to anyone who appreciates observation as an art form.

Mondo Cane - 4/10
I heard a lot of things about this documentary before I ever saw it, so I was expecting a lot. I wasn't expecting it to be good or anything like that, but I was expecting to see a lot of crazy things. A lot of those crazy things never really satisfied... in fact the scenes that did satisfy were not as long as they needed to be, while the focus on uninteresting aspects of life seemed to linger a little too long. The best scene in the film was the final clip, showing the "Cargo Cult" which is so fascinating to me. In the end, i was geared up for more than was delivered.

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guthmund

Pan's Labyrinth - I was perusing through this thread one day and saw it mentioned--I think it was Hal, if I remember right--and he gave it a pretty good review so I checked it out.

Wonderful movie. Absolutely brilliant. I really don't know what else to say after that. 10/10

POTC III: curse of the revenge of the black dread pirate's chest of pearls. - As the end of the trilogy, I thought this movie was pretty good. It was pretty, the special effects were subtle, which I dig and the story was pretty good despite the confusing double crossing stuff (you can't double cross me...I double cross YOU!!!!) and the Calypso/Davey Jones story. It tied it all up pretty well. However, in the grand scheme of things--and this is really a holdover problem with number 2--it doesn't really sit on its own all that well. That is to say, the first movie was great. Beginning, middle, ending. That's it. Bad guy done in, good guys go home. The second and third are inextricably tied to together and I think that lessens them somewhat. It's like the Empire Strikes Back all over again. A very strong movie that fails because the payoff is in the next installment, which is filled with loads of filler and dancing muppets--or, in this case, CGI-itus.

Either way 7/10 as it does exactly what it is supposed to do and it's fun to watch.

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Grancey

I have not seen this film in a long time, but it has always been a favorite. I appreciate sophisticated humor rather than the gross-out extremes that we are offered today. So many theories on the last two scenes........... now I'm going to have to watch it again.


Knocked Up

Great. Fabulous. I laughed a lot, and for that it gets an ultra-high rec. The ticket seller warned of the crudeness. Do I come across in a manner that someone thinks he needs to warn me about a film? No ticket seller, taker, or popcorn seller has ever warned me about excessive gore or violence. And we talk to this guy quite often. Interesting.

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imouseone

Pirates - 6/10 ... LONG as hell, and drawn out in a lot of parts. The story was great though, that alone was worth it for me, but wow, don't drink anything beforehand, you'll end up running out in the middle (it's ok, a lot of it is so drawn out, the scene will still be going on by the time you come back).

Lady Sage

Pirates 3 7/10

Judging from the previews, I didnt think I would like this after having loved 1&2. Although the movie was quite pradictable for me, I still enjoyed it and spent much time laughing.

My fav part... seeing how the "will you marry me" line from the previews played out.

Silly Pan drank his large coke and my large coke sans the 5 sips I got out of it before he snagged it. Never saw a man run so fast in my life.

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MexicanOnABike

A Bronx Tale
I had to download this one because i can't find the DVD anywhere.
Now I'm a big fan of the mafia/gangster genre so this was a must see movie for me. The story is pretty good though. It's the story of 1 kid who sees a murder in his neighborhood by the mafia boss but doesn't tell the cops so the mafia guys start taking care of the kid. at the same time, the father of the kid(played by Robert De Niro) tries to raise his son in an honest way without getting mixed in the mafia.

The acting is pretty good on most part. and the story is good. It's not godfather or any of the big time mafia movies but still pretty good. It reminds me a bit of the start of goodfellas. If you're a fan of the genre, I'd recommend this as a rental. it should keep you entertained.

overall raiting: 8/10

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ColonelSpecial

Knocked Up
I was afraid that this movie was going to disappoint by having all of the funny parts in the trailer but the trailer only showed a couple of the really funny part. The script was deeper than I was imagining. It ran a bit long towards the end but overall the funny parts were so much better than the longish bits.

Overall: 9/10

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