Last movie you saw.

[RoseOfHizaki 131]

Warriors TWO

 

Been getting back into the old 70s kung fu movies

 

Its really amazing to see how far the film industry has come, these days it takes millions to make a movie, ones like Warriors TWO probably took way less than 1 million to make 

 

Most 70s kung fu movies have a decent story, good plot and plenty of arse kicking to keep you interested, even if the film goes into a retarded slow motion echo'ey groan/moan and over dramatic fall/rolling-around-on-the-floor sequence when one actor takes a critical hit in the fight scenes.

 

Honesty - the movies are old and lack special effects but some of the stories and plots hold up a lot lot lot better than todays movies which ultimately turn into  CGi-fests.

 

 

There must be THOUSANDS of old kung fu movies out there which are just awesome. Jet Li has NOTHING on these guys,

[Catness 413]

Hänsel & Gretel - The witch hunters

[Umi_Niwa 31]

Finally watched The Mothman Prophecies. Somehow it wasn't really disturbing as it was supposed to but it wasn't bad. Unfortuately the sound quality was not great probably cause it watched it online

Next I want to see The Conjuring.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Gravity

 

...in IMAX 3D so it was pretty fuckin' awesome. Totally recommended!

[Flame-X 441]

Saw Gravity as well. Very gripping film, I was constantly on the edge of my chair.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Pacific Rim

 

...finallyyyyyyyy. xD It was quite epic, now I wish I had seen it at the movies.

[Original Saku 1593]

The World's End -

 

It was everything I hoped it would be, very funny and a damn good time. I just love British humor I don't know what it is but it just gets me on so many levels.. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are just amazing in this movie just like their previous films. And the writing is just bloody brilliant If I do say so myself.

[kissapuu 4]

End Of Watch. It was a pleasant surprise, I liked the directing and flow. Also, Jake Gyllenhaal is a gorgeous human being.

[Des 289]

I want to see Gravity too, but unfortunately it's 3D only over here. Have to wait...

Rush (2013)
Apparantly some people think it's very cool to see a hand reaching for a shifter, a foot reaching for the clutch pedal, a tire barely touching the grass and the engine working like mad all in the time frame of... just one second. The editting in the high speed race scenes is NOT something I like to see. There is so much evidence here that director Ron Howard tried very hard to make a film about a 1976 F1 rivalry appeal to the masses... at all costs.

 

If it weren't for Daniel Brühls brilliant performance as Niki Lauda, this film can also be named 'Fast & Furious: F1 1976 Edition'. There's a lot of unnecessary sequences in thisfor the purpose of manipulating the audience into gaining sympathy for a character. There's too much explanation, too few experiences. And lastly, there's too much lazily written dialogue. I appreciate the effort, but this should've been handled by another director with more finesse. 5/10

 

Island of Lost Souls (1932)
Hit and miss in this picture based on a story by H.G. Wells. Charles Laughton is great in this as the mad scientist and Richard Arlen has a very believable role as the poor lad who got trapped on his island. Some of the other actors... well, they're not always as good. Enjoyable cheesy early horror b-movie running at barely 70 minutes. 6/10

 

The New World (2005)

There are few films as magical and wonderful as this one. It's an exploration of peace, war, discovery, humanity, the human mind, science, societies, change, love, nature and poetry and more. The extended version is nearly 3 hours in length but not a moment has gone to waste. It's rare for a film to contain so many shots of rivers, trees and grass to never get boring. Q'orianka Kilcher, who was only about 15 years old at the time, gives us a masterclass in acting with her very impressive role as Pocahontas.

 

The New World is an epic, and yet it's so modest. You can really feel the admiration the filmmakers must've had for history and nature while shooting this. And when they added the fantasy element of Pocahontas' unwritten love story, they did so in a fantastic way that feels so natural, as if there never was any doubt about it. Lovely film, instant favorite. 10/10

[Flame-X 441]

Ender's Game

 

As a movie on its own, it's good. However, as someone whose read the book, you'll be underwhelmed by the many things that were omitted from the original story.

[Original Saku 1593]

Went to see the new Thor last week and it was fairly decent, love loki btw

[Des 289]

Rio (2011)
By-the-book animation picture like so many others. Nice for children, but not so much for anyone over the age of... I don't know, 12? There are many better animations out there. The concept was promising, but nothing was done with it that felt special or in any way remarkable. 5/10

 

Passion (2012)

This has been getting many bad reviews, but I'm not sure why. Within the first few scenes the fantasy setting has been established. Characters are caricatures, dialogue is straight to the point and often quite silly, the acting is exaggerated... but it all feels perfectly fine, because it's intended to be that way. Never does the film hint at realism. The audience is allowed to make up their mind about it, because the film draws quite a distance between the events and the viewers. Never does the director (de Palma) try to trick his audience into believing what they're seeing is a really good film. It's enjoyable. A b-picture feel but different and with more stylized sets and lighting.

 

There's one thing I didn't like at all though: the splitscreen sequence. If someone ever wrote a book titled 'The Seven Deadly Sins of Cinema' then this is sure to be included. You can't look at two entirely different happenings at once. A ballet performance on the left and a murder being commited on the right. If you want the viewer to experience these at roughly the same time... then just switch back and forth between the two events. Don't display it at once! There's a reason why you rarely ever see this in films... simply because it doesn't work!

Rest of the film is fine. A guilty pleasure, perhaps. 7/10

 

Despicable Me 2 (2013)

I liked the first one, even if the ending was bad, but this one is bad from start to finish. Obligatory sequel for the money. I liked the introduction of villain El Macho. He is macho. Most of the other jokes fell flat. Very weak. 3/10

[Bear 1817]

I love this thread, especially Des' posts. He/she puts some effort into his/her posts, and even though I often find myself disagreeing with his/her mini-reviews I love reading them. Good work!

 

 

I'll come back with a few mini-reviews of the last few films I've seen later today as I am a bit busy now. This is a thread which deserves activity.

[Bear 1817]

This is what I've seen the past week or so:

 

Parents - Semisurrealistic black comedy/horror from the end of the 80's. A bit bizarre and jolly to be honest, much due to the sitcom-like music that's part of the soundtrack. I enjoyed it a lot.

 

Secuestrados - Great psychological horror/thriller from Spain. Home invasion flick without many surprises or anything, but still great. The violence was superb btw. So well done. At times we're served splitscreen as well that works really well. All in all there's only 12 long shots in this film. There was especially one part of this film that made it stand out and I'll put that in a spoiler tag.

 

The way they started off this film by showing the "ending" was great, as it wasn't the ending at all. It didn't have nothing to do with the actual film and actually caused some kind of a brain fuck moment towards the end of the film. It was a brilliant move!

 

Psychomania - Old semipsychedelic biker flick with the right attitude and mode. I've seen it before and it's just superb! Some of the cinematography in this film is nothing but stunning (the fog scenes in particual). Mind blowing scenes. The funeral scene is awful and the film lacks some blood, but I don't mind that because the rest of the film works so well. Maximum badassery!

 

Willow - Good fantasy flick with a great atmosphere. Nothing original or mind blowing, but very enjoyable. I don't get the hate at all.

 

The Others - Great, chilling horror film that take its time to build atmosphere, rather than rely on cheap, boring scares. The atmosphere is ice cold and chilling.  It's a great, great film! Seen it before and enjoyed it even more now.

 

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms - One of the most important big monster flicks ever made. While there was made a few ones before this, this one just kicked off something completely new within the genre with the whole "atomic monster" plot. Well written, well directed and well acted, and both the sets and special effects are amazing. Ray Harryhausen were in charge of the special effects in this one, and if you're a fan of sci-fi/horror you know exactly what that means. Mind blowing effects in a mind blowing film! I've seen this before and once mroe I was just blown away by the smooth animation. Superb!

 

Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster - I fucking loved this! The only actual quality that has to do with this film are the great poster and the awesome title. Everything else are pretty bad. The plot is almost missing, the acting is bad, the make up and effects are horrible and there's about 20 minutes of stock footage used here. And on top of that the film has nothing to do with Frankenstein or his monster. Frankenstein(s monster) is mentioned once and that's it. It's a good-bad-flick. Awesome!

 

Them! - One of the first "atomic monster" flicks, and probably the first "big bug" film ever made. It's a way mroe complex film than The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, and also a lot better. It's a unique film in the way that it starts off as a suspense thriller before it changes its mood completely after a while and becomes a suspense sci-fi/horror film. Chilling stuff, much due to the looks of the monsters. They look amazingly creepy! Superb film!

[Bear 1817]

The Collector - Mediocre torture porn in the vein of Saw, which should come as no surprise as this was intended to be a Saw sequel. A lot of cool stuff, but it doesn't hold in to the finishing line. The first half is a lot better than the second.

 

Tarantula - Another big monster sci-fi/horror flick from the 50's, but this time it isn't created by nuclear radiation or anything, nor is it created by a mad scientist. It's just a man who wants everything well who's a bit unlucky. But the film itself is brilliant, and almost as good as Them!. It's not as complex, but it used some of the same tricks, such as using the desert to their own advantage to create a brilliant atmosphere. And I fucking hate spiders more than anything, so this scared the living shit out of me and I won't be able to sleep well for the next 10 years. Jesus!

 

 

They just were so much better at making both horror and sci-fi back in the days. The evolution in both these genres are really sad.

[Bear 1817]

It Came from Beneath the Sea - Another 50's big monster flick, caused by nuclear radiation. Great, great sci-fi/horror with special effects by the one and only Ray Harryhausen. The animation is, for the most part, as smooth as a baby's ass. It's brilliant, but they had some problems with the budget so Harryhausen was only allowed to make an octopus with six legs - THE FUCKING SIXTOPUS! Heh. The're so questionable acting here, but not much, and beside that there's not much to put your finger on at all. It's a great piece of sci-fi/horror and should be enjoyable for everyone with an interest in big monster films. It's on par with The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

[Flame-X 441]

I saw Thor 2 about a week back. Overall, I enjoyed it more than the first one. However, there are still a couple things annoy me just as the first movie. First and foremost, the romance between Jane and Thor still makes no sense to me. They met only twice and spent probably less than half a day total? 2nd is Jane being useless (again) playing the plot device role. Otherwise, whenever Loki is on screen, he made my day.

[Pandabear 414]

Justice League: The Flash Point Paradox

 

Another amazing installment from the Dc Universe. Top notch animation, amazing voice acting, and a great story and characters. It's also the most violent DC animated film I have seen which can be good or a bad thing depending on your taste. Although the violence in this movie isn't overdone and is always justified. This film further proves why DC kicks Marvel ass when it comes to animated films.

[Bear 1817]

People have either stopped watching films or I killed the thread with my "reviews".

 

The Monster That Challenged the World - Another 50's sci-fi/horror flick about horrendous monsters that grow huge because of something, and this time it's because of radiation... again. This is another solid big monster flick, and while there's nothing new under the sun here, it does what it does so well that there's no reason for a complaint. Unoriginal, but great big monster flick on par with The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and It Came from Beneath the Sea.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

^ Nooo~, please continue! I love reading your reviews, plus we seem to share a liking to the horror/weird so yay.

 

I'm just a bit swamped at the moment, not watching too many movies. But now that I'm here I must mention me and a few friends went to the cinema last night to watch the new Schwarzenegger/Stallone flick Escape Plan. It was pretty much what you would expect, lots of one-liner macho talk, muscles flexing, brawls and some gunfights, suspense... it was pretty okay. Good for a single big-screen experience I'd say.

[saishuu 3220]

More reviews are always welcome! I always intend to post more here, but I've barely had the time to watch anything these past few months. I'm just catching up now with some LGBT-based flicks I had downloaded a while ago (which serve to fill my need for such stories every once in a while) and I'm planning on take on a marathon of all the horror movies I got soon too.

 

Last movies I watched were C.O.G., which I was afraid would go down the religious route (it did, but thankfully managed to dial it all back by the end) and another indie called I Do, which, although generic for the romantic genre, tries something different by going on about same-sex marriage licenses and foreign couples in the USA. Enjoyed both quite a bit.

[God 264]

Beetlegeuse.

[Des 289]

Before Midnight (2013)
I adore the other two films, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, but this third and presumably last film completely went wrong in the second half. The character of Celine would not be capable of doing what they let her do in the second half. A short outburst of emotions and rage like in Before Sunset (scene in the car), that's understandable, it fits. However, this witch that she suddenly turned into in Before Midnight is unacceptable, unbelievable, just plain stupid.

 

I understand what they wanted to point out: you know, the difficulties of the realities of life. Obligations, occasional fights with your lover, stuff like that. But never would Celine turn into an average run of the mill bitch. It also completely contradicts some of the conversations they have. How the core of people's personalities never really changes. Well, apparently that doesn't go for Celine, as she became a completely different person.

The start was slow but decent, it became better at the dinner table conversations with the Greek folks and went on to relive good old times in that long walk to an old chapel. After that it just turned into a nightmare of a film. I'll just pretend the story ends at the end of Before Sunset. They should've probably left it that way. First half of Before Midnight: 7/10 Second half: big mistake.

 

Captain Phillips (2013)

Nice suspense, dramatized but entertaining story, good acting. Bad and lazy camerawork. That about sums this one up. I hate it when nobody even bothers to lay out some plans on how to film the events. In this it's mostly close-ups of people's faces, lots of shaking (or rather, a drunk person handled the camera) and overall some very notable laziness. When a character moves from one end of the room to the other end and pushes a button, all they do is track the person, zoom in on the button and then switch to a close-up of a face. Repeat. Bleh. Could be a 7/10 or possibly even 8/10 film, but now it's just a 5/10.

 

Another Earth (2011)
Just for a change it's nice to see a sci-fi film that doesn't give the sci-fi elements a leading role. Another Earth does just that. It's a dramatic human story and the concept of a second earth nearby merely adds to the human story, rather than swallow it whole. The ending made my eyebrows turn into some odd angles because it doesn't really make sense. You'd have to resort to a rather far-fetched explanation for it to make sense. But I guess that's okay. Anyway, the film contains some weak scenes, some strong scenes, some good acting, some mediocre acting. I liked it, but it's not perfect. There are some key moments in the course of the film that manage to grab the attention of the viewer. 7/10

[Bear 1817]

Great to hear, guys. And I can't wait for Escape Plan myself. Looks like a 80's throwback film. Looks lovely!

 

Th Children - An absurd horror film which was quite shocking at times. never expected some of the stuff that happened to happen. Felt very brutal and stuff, desite not being too bloody or violent. It's the content and the way they did things that was so well done. Had to think a few days though to decide if I liked it or not. Hehe.

[Bear 1817]

May - Woah, this one catched me off guard. A really weird horor drama with a lot of black comedy which goes a lot deeper than just your regular scare flicks. The film is both creepy, disturbing and sad and left an impession on me. Recommended!