roachboy

hey--oldboy is a park chan-wook film too.
i was kind of afraid to watch it, actually, so i started with his new one above.
the visuals in his films are quite something.
look forward to being scarred.

__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

it make you sick.

-kamau brathwaite

mixedmedia

Dear, Wendy 10/10

Okay. This film is about a group of young losers. Pacifists. In a small mining town. Who start a gun club. Really. That's what it's about.

It is a uniquely beautiful film. It's hard for me to sit here and describe it though. It has a real timeless and placeless quality - although you gather along the way that it is set in a small southern town in the present day.

It almost has the feel of a stageplay, in that the small 'town center' is the main setting (and very significant to the story) with just a few other settings.

I don't want to get too much into the story - let it reveal itself to whoever decides to watch it. There are no well known actors in it other than Bill Pullman who plays the town sheriff - very well I might add. All of the performances are excellent. Cinematography - beautiful.

The club goes down into an underground facility at one of the abandoned mines to shoot their guns. They have this really touching philosophy that if their guns 'see the light of day' then they will want to follow their true nature. So they carry their guns with them everywhere but only take them out at 'the club.'

Things don't go exactly as planned for idealists, though. Let's just say the film has some Peckinpah moments.

It's a great film and I recommend it highly. It's one I plan to purchase for keeps.

__________________
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

Esoteric

Lol, I rented the movie assuming it would be a straight forward tale of revenge, boy was I wrong. Good movie though.

__________________
From a head full of pressure rests the senses that I clutch
Made a date with Divinity, but she wouldn't let me fuck
I got touched by a hazy shaded, God help me change
Caught a rush on the floor from the life in my veins

Halx

Shoot 'Em Up - 10/10
This is the perfect movie. Seriously. As you watch it, it reminds you of Grindhouse and Kill Bill, but this movie doesn't borrow anything... it is special and inventive. To give it a cheesey critic analogy; this movie doesn't try to be more than what it is, so it comes out of the barrel spinning in a tight spiral and nails you right between the eyes. Be prepared to be impressed with new types of violence you never knew existed.

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MexicanOnABike

I just saw the preview for this movie. i seriously want to see this!!! thanks for the review!

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- Movie Reviews - Ratings-

Willravel

It's like 300 meets Crank, and I couldn't be happier with it. 10/10

MexicanOnABike

Next
not what i thought the movie would be. it was good but so many places and things were unexplained or didn't make sense that it brought down the feeling of the movie.

Had a great start to it with some good action/thrilling moments but then it started to slow down and eventually start sucking. I just hope they don't make a Next part 2. it would be needed to finish the story but i'm not sure they could pull off a whole 2nd movie.

My Final Rating for this movie is: 6.5/10


Bourne Ultimatum
What a good serie! this is what a good movie is about. good acting and great storyline. I'm not sure i like the crazy close ups but it was still great to see the intense action! I highly recommend watching the dvds of 1 and 2 before seeing 3 just to get a refresh on the names and faces of everyone in the serie.

I just wished they explained it a bit more but i guess they might try to pull off a prequel or a 4th movie maybe? overall, go see it at the movies and then wait for the box set collectors edition.
My overall rating for this movie is: 8/10

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- Movie Reviews - Ratings-

mixedmedia

Okay, well I've been really lousy at updating my Netflix queue.

Backstory: I have 500 movies on my queue and I treat it like my own personal video store. I have them separated by genre and move items to the top of the list as desired. Drama is the genre at the top of list, so naturally if I don't go in and move other films to the top it will send me whatever is next in line from the drama genre.

So that is why this week I ended up in possession of two films that I couldn't watch.

The Passion of the Christ

and

Monster

Passion of the Christ - I'm sorry, but not only was this sadistic fantasy unbearable psychically, I thought it was a lousy movie, too. For my Mel Gibson buck I'd go with Apocalypto anyday - it is gruesome and hard to watch, as well, but at least it's a good film.

Monster - I made it through about 20 minutes or so of this film. I could tell the performances were skilled, but, sorry I can't do it. Can't go there. I have a good enough imagination, thank you. Don't need to actually see it.

So I'll refrain from rating these movies because I turned them both off.

I don't recommend either of them.

__________________
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

Halx

Yeah.. Monster was a dumb and unwatchable movie.

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m0rpheus

Sunshine 4/5

First off I love Danny Boyle. Second I love Sci-Fi. Danny Boyle making a Sci-Fi movie makes me very happy indeed. It's not the perfect movie, there were more than once that my disbelief suspension was put to the test, but it is visually stunning. I highly recommend it.

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"it never got weird enough for me." - Hunter S. Thompson

imouseone

Bourne Ultimatum: Finally got to watch this, and my only problem with this as well as the others is the shaking camera. Otherwise awesome movie. I just don't get it. 8/10

Live Free or Die Hard: Wow, have to say it wasn't lame at all. Really enjoyable 8/10

hagatha

I think I'm the only person here who hasn't seen Batman Begins. I watched it last night and will probably watch it again. It was phenomenal. My friend turned to me during the film and said " I think Christian Bale is the greatest actor of his generation". I tend to agree with that assessment. Anything I've seen him in, even if I hated the film, was incredibly well acted. He is the character, whatever that character may be.

I think I'll look up his "filmography" and have an all Bale weekend.

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Thats the last time I trust the strangest people I ever met....H. Simpson

JumpinJesus

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - The movie actually sucks, but its camp value makes it an enjoyable film. See Matt Damon in drag was great and seeing Luke Perry play yet another high school kid reminded me that the 90s were in fact worse than the 80s.

I'll give it a 3/10, but it has a camp bonus of +4, making the overall score 7/10.

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"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses

hambone

Envy - Jack Black/Ben Stiller.

Pretty stupid, though since I laughed will give it 3/10

__________________
"Like liquid white from fallen glass,
Nothing to cry over"

Lokus

3:10 to Yuma with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. This gets a 9/10 from me. For those who haven't seen the previews, this is a Western with Crowe as the outlaw getting escorted to the train to Yuma by Christian Bale. I won't reveal too much of the story which in my opinion was the weakest part. Certain actions by some characters struck me as dumb or unbelievable but I was willing to go along with it since the rest of the movie was so good.

Both Bale and Crowe put out some great performances, you really empathize and understand them by the end as does Ben Foster as Crowe's psychopathic 2nd in command. Alan Tudyk is also in this and puts forth a convincing act unlike Luke Wilson who did an ok job but it was really distracting having him of all people in a hardbitten Western.

Anyway, the movie has some good shootout scenes but isn't all action, focusing more on the moral ambiguity available in the West, contrasting Bale's straight and narrow rancher with Crowe's powerful and intelligent outlaw. If you like Westerns at all, it's a must see and highly recommended for anyone else. I'd say it's the best one I've seen since Unforgiven and Tombstone.

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The black wind howls...

sibylable

father's daughters
I love it so much

mixedmedia

Cradle Will Rock 8.5/10

A very well done film chronicling the 1930's Federal Theater Project and the production of Marc Blitzstein's labor movement musical Cradle Will Rock directed for the stage by Orson Welles. It was made by my personal favorite Hollyweird liberal, Tim Robbins (if you haven't seen Bob Roberts, then you must!). It is a major production and he pulled it off swimmingly.

Check out this cast of characters:

Hank Azaria ... Marc Blitzstein
Rubén Blades ... Diego Rivera
Joan Cusack ... Hazel Huffman
John Cusack ... Nelson Rockefeller
Cary Elwes ... John Houseman
Philip Baker Hall ... Gray Mathers
Cherry Jones ... Hallie Flanagan
Angus Macfadyen ... Orson Welles
Bill Murray ... Tommy Crickshaw
Vanessa Redgrave ... Countess Constance LaGrange
Susan Sarandon ... Margherita Sarfatti
Jamey Sheridan ... John Adair
John Turturro ... Aldo Silvano
Emily Watson ... Olive Stanton
Bob Balaban ... Harry Hopkins
Jack Black ... Sid
Paul Giamatti ... Carlo

...and these are just the well-known cast members. It's a huge production. Sets, costumes, extras...the whole bit.

It's quite enjoyable to watch, if maybe a bit heavy-handed with the message here and there.

I definitely recommend it.

__________________
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

SecretMethod70

If you haven't seen them, here are a few choice selections (some are better than others):

American Psycho
The Machinist
The Prestige
Laurel Canyon
Equilibrium

You mean Ben Affleck? I can't seem to find anything about Matt Damon being in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but apparently Ben Affleck played Basketball Player #10. Good thing I checked too, cause it was almost tempting to watch the movie again!

Wow, that is a pretty awesome cast!

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Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

shesus

Memory unable to be rated

This movie left no memory. It had such great potential, but dropped the ball by being contrived and filled with cliches. Can't recommend this movie...it was a bust within the first 10 minutes.

Nope, I saw the movie and Matt Damon was indeed in drag with his sidekick Ben Affleck in the minor role. You may have seen Matt Damon's other drag appearances in Million Dollar Baby, Freedom Writers, and The Next Karate Kid.

__________________
Whatever did happen to your soul?
I heard you sold it

Choose Heaven for the weather and Hell for the company

JumpinJesus

+ =

__________________
"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses

SecretMethod70

LMAO!

Best part is, your joke led to the discovery that Ben Affleck was in the movie version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

__________________
Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

Willravel

3:10 to Yuma 9/10
Wow. I've never really enjoyed westerns, so when I give this a 9/10, for most it could very well be a 10. Damn good acting, and directing. Amazing story.

BTW, if the loud ass people behind me are reading this, I'm going to torture and kill your children in front of you. Please, don't talk during the movie. You ruin the experience for everyone around you.

SecretMethod70

I'm going to start using thumbs up/sideways/and down to rate films (assuming I remember), because it allows for much more subjectivity. I simply don't think, at least in my case, that rating by numbers is very accurate.

The Fly
Thumbs Up

The first movie by David Cronenberg I remember seeing, long before I knew who he was (is), and I find it interesting upon rewatching it that while I recognize Cronenberg's style in the film, my memories of it go so far back that I'm incapable of feeling like I am watching a David Cronenberg film. I am simply watching The Fly. And, I suppose, that's a testament to how good it is, that it made such an impact on me when I saw it at a younger age and I am relatively incapable of looking past the film itself to see the director behind it.

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Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

MexicanOnABike

if you check my signature, the RATING link explains why I use 1 to 10 / 10 as my rating. it's VERY accurate for MY reviews.

----------------
on to my next review!

Shoot'Em Up!
Damn! I saw nothing about this movie except for 1 quick clip on tv last week and Halx and Willravel's reviews. that alone made me want to see it even if the other reviews would suck.

Boy am I glad I listened to my instinct to see it!! such a great movie from the start to the end.
Don't think of it as a serious movie or don't think of it as a "that's not possible, this movie sucks" way and you should REALLY enjoy yourself!

The characters were perfect in the whole film: Paul Giamatti as the bad guy is nice and refreshing, Clive Owen is awesome as the main character and Monica Bellucci does a great job in her role!

This is one I will buy on DVD to watch again and again. such a high'Five movie! doesn't get a 10 just because it used a bit too much cheesy 1 liners.

My Official and Final rating for this movie is: 9.5/10

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Kadath

The Philadelphia Story 9/10

Only loses a point for the limp ending. Otherwise an ideal bit of fast talking, star studded cinema.

The Lake House 3/10

I really hope the Korean original isn't as clumsy with the interesting premise. Just terrible. If your movie is going to flop anyway, let it flop with style. Don't tack on a preposterous ending.

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Datalife2

hostel 2 -meh...6/10 nothing fresh.. and i already forgot the movie lol

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where's my lighter?

mixedmedia

Swimming Pool - 7.5/10

A really good thriller-type movie, but not a great thriller-type movie. Good acting by Charlotte Rampling and the French girl (I don't remember her name - but she's adorable). Cinematically it was very pleasant to watch. Not much there substantial to rave about as far as story goes - still it was a nice lazy Sunday afternoon watch.

__________________
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

Frosstbyte

Just going to add my support for Shoot 'em Up. Everything it needed to be. I'm so glad my fiancee wanted to see this on our anniversary. I got a good one!

MexicanOnABike

I don't know if I should be posting this in here or in music but w/e.

David Gilmour: Remember That Night - Live from the Royal Albert Hall
(2007) Concert seen at my local Famous/cineplex Silvercity.

This was so fucking awesome! it was a live presentation from england of the prerecorded concert that will be out on dvd tomorrow. I saw this saturday. What they did was broadcast it through satellites from england to 162 cinemas in north america(canada and usa). I was one of the lucky ones to see it and i'm glad i did.

It started with an anouncer explaining the show and then David came on the scene and started to play the guitar. after his solo, the lights died and it cut to the concert exactly where he had stopped playing. Really awesome feeling.

then it was the concert with songs ranging from: On an Island cd to some classic pink floyd. It then followed with a live Q/A with David. it was pretty cool. after this, he went right back to 1 song with his band live so he was sweet!!!

Before and after all this, they were playing the documentary of the concert which will be on the 2 disc DVD.

If you missed it, then too bad. I really recommend seeing this concert in full view with awesome sound. don't cheap out with the sound. crank it way up!

My Final rating for my cinema experience of this concert is: 9/10

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- Movie Reviews - Ratings-

Racnad

The Audition - 9/10

In the interest of not giving spoilers, there's little I want to say about the film itself. But here's a background that those who have seen The Audition will appreciate...

A few years ago we watched one of those "best movie moments" shows, which showed parts of the last 15 minutes of this Japanese film from 2000. It is all too spoilery to describe here, but my wife put it on the bottom of our 100-plus title Netflix list.

This past week it came to the top of out Netflix list, and we watched it on Saturday night. I had completely forgotten all about it and why it was on the list, and I avoided reading anything about it until the opening sub-titles.

Well, those of you who've seen it will have some idea how it went.

Halx

and it still deserved a 6? Your rating needs some integrity.


The Fountain - 8.5/10
A damn fine story with damn fine acting, but I can't forgive the 3rd of the story that is completely up for grabs. That's just me though... other people might like stories that are up for interpretation. Otherwise, its a very welcome and enchanting experience.

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SecretMethod70

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Eastern Promises: Two thumbs up

Excellent performances, particularly by Viggo Mortensen who probably deserves an Oscar nomination. As usual for Cronenberg, the violence is spaced out, but extremely effective when it happens. One scene is particularly ruthless and thrilling, while also providing a level of commentary regarding the innate homoeroticism of violence in film (if you don't know what I mean, think Roman gladiators). But exploring the connection between sex and violence (and technology, but not in this film) is pretty standard for Cronenberg. It's only in limited release right now, but I highly recommend seeing it when it opens in a theatre near you.

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A Scanner Darkly: One thumb up

The rotoscoping was certainly interesting, but I'm undecided whether I think it was better than live action + CGI would have been. Some have claimed this movie is uninspired, but perhaps those people don't realize that Philip K. Dick - the author whose novel the film is based on - helped set many of the standards we have today. Overall, I really liked it, and while I have not read A Scanner Darkly, I think it succeeded in replicating Dick's style based on some of the other things of his that I have read.

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Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

Cynthetiq

Fracture 5/10
Only watched the whole thing for Anthony Hopkins, and to figure out just how "smart" this character was. I don't buy the ending nor the alternate endings. He was too smart of a character to miss one small item, which is why the alternate ending was changed, and then the final real ending, well he'd have thought about that as well.

Casino 8/10
I thought it was good Scorcese. Good mob movie, only it was too freakin' long. Very good style and Vegas movie, just too long.

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abaya

We got free tickets to Knocked Up, which made it worth it. I'd give it a 6 or 7 out of 10... not too bad, fairly entertaining and real, but not terribly memorable. Other than the live childbirth scene which cause me yet again to shove any potential maternal instinct as far away as possible.

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for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

ladiesman24

watched the condemned last night, i give it a six...

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"Id rather die enormous, than live dormant."

Halx

Bad Education - 8/10
A great story that unfolds rather than twists and turns. It didn't have the extra STUFF that it needs to make it a movie that I could love, but the quality of the storytelling carried it through.

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Willravel

Batman 8.3/10
It's the last movie I watched.
Considering the direction that the Batman comics took in the 80s, adding graphic novels that were able to get back to the Cain roots of the character, the darker Batman was a very wise decision to go. Tim Burton would not have been my first choice in 1989, but considering his body of work he did surprisingly well allowing his vision not to do harm to the history of Batman. I feel his only real mistake was in the casting of Michael "Mr. Mom" Keaton. It's not that Keaton did a bad job, as a matter of fact, he exceeded all expectations. The problem was that the casting was so bizarre, I found myself distracted by it. Like if Robin Williams was cast to play the Silver Surfer. Also, Kim Basinger could have been played by a cardboard cutout of herself with a zip-cord that made a screaming sound. Jack Nicholson was almost too perfect as the Joker. He really gave that role the performance it deserved, and he has my thanks for that.

Quite an enjoyable movie, if a bit odd at times.

Kadath

The Illusionist 7/10

Perfectly serviceable. The twists are slightly telegraphed, but the acting is good (Jessica Biel is actually okay) and the story is fairly engaging.

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ladiesman24

yeah that movie was pretty good..i was surprised too by jessica biel's acting

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"Id rather die enormous, than live dormant."

LoganSnake

Grindhouse - 7.5/10 overall.

Death Proof was all kinds of awesome. I'm a Tarantino fan and this movie truly felt like one of his works. I remember many here being turned off by the dialog, but I loved every line and the chase scene was great. That part is getting a 9/10 from me.

Planet Terror...ehh, I guess you have to be a fan of the genre to appreciate this kind of movie. I'm not, so I wasn't as entertained as I was with Death Proof. This was is 6/10.

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