Printable View
I'm sure that some members here have some sort off life outside of Vdr and probably enjoy watching movies:) Whether it be at the Cinema, or just renting a DVD.
I'd like to use this thread as a discussion for movies that are upcoming, recent releases or just random movie chat.
If anyone wants to give their review on a film they watched recently then that would be good.
I'll start with films that I am looking forward to seeing this year.
The Simpsons Movie. After 18 years, it's gotta be good.
Rush Hour 3, trailer looked good, even though it didn't give much.
Die Hard 4, can't wait Yippee ki-yay :D
Spiderman 3, obviously.
Has anybody seen 300, I want to see it. People are saying that it has no story and it's just about the fighting.
Lucky for you P3....I happen to do movie reviews on other forums. :D
I don't go to theatres anymore....something about the idiots behind me talking on a cell phone, the sticky floors....and the big guy in front of me farting all night. I wait til the movies hit my cable movie channels before I watch them. Here is a reprint of the review I did for Silent Hill.
Silent Hill
I caught this movie yersterday...it's based on the popular computer game by the same name. After watching it, I would like to ask a question. Can I have those two hours of my life back?
Maybe...just maybe....people who have played the game (I haven't) will find something redeeming in this film. I'm still saying "what the hell was that", myself. At about the halfway point of this thing you will notice something. The entire movie seems to be people running....either chasing or being chased by lord knows what. I haven't seen this much running since Chariots of Fire. It's tiring.....very tiring....even just to watch. The bad thing about these game-gone-movie deals is that nobody ever bothers to write a script. They plow into these projects the same way gamers plow into the games. Hack, slash and burn your way to the big climax....then move on to something else.
Anyway....here's the story (as near as I can figure). A woman is searching for her little lost daughter in this modern day ghost town, in West Virginia (don't ask) which seems to have some sort of spooky duality about it. Strange monsters and even stranger people impeeding her as she goes. Can't quite grasp the duality of the town? That's OK....neither did the makers of this junk. Think 'parallel universe' type stuff from Star Trek...it might help. People occupying the same space in different dimensions sort of thing. You see the problem already don't you? You are required to follow two story lines as some characters are in the real world...the others in the dual world....and neither are really worth caring about to be perfectly honest.
Speaking of characters.....there aren't any. At least not in the sense that they are developed in any way. They just keep popping up with no real explanation as to who they are or why they are there. Just like in computer games. You give up trying to figure out after awhile and hope it gets explained in the end. Best example is a woman motorcycle cop who by chance is a hot babe dressed in skin-tight leather. Yeah....that's common amongst motorcycle cops. See it all the time. Let's face it....she is in this movie for one reason. Something for the raging hormone teens to look at. She serves no other real purpose.
It's really next to impossible to explain the theme of this movie. It's all over the place. Suffice to say it's pretty clear that despite what the producers might say, you likely needed to have played the game to understand this film. That in itself is a cheat to me. If you really must see a movie based on a game, I reccomend Resident Evil (the first one). It isn't great, but it does a better job of story telling. You know the makers of Silent Hill knew they were in trouble near the end of this and actually had to slip in one of those flashback thingies to explain why you just sat through their junk. If a story is well-told, you don't need a device like an explanatory flashback. Even that is done in the style of early American tacky. They used an old yellowed and grainy film look (like silent movies)...and narrated it. :rolleyes:
Can you say weak copout?
The best scene from Silent Hill? The ending, which you won't understand (nobody does)...but the Bataan death march of a movie is at least over.
Silliest scene? The super-babe motorcycle cop getting sprayed with some acid-like liquid squirting from a mutant creature. It looks like it is peeing on her....LOL
Sorry to the folks that liked the game. I probably would too. But a good game doesn't mean a good movie.
Rented Borat a couple of nights ago. Hilarious! The scene where he and his hugely fat manager wrestle and chase each other around a hotel in the nude over a copy of Pamela Andersons Baywatch magazine had me rolling on the ground. The whole movie is highly cringe making but definately worth watching.
Borat is hilarious, I saw it three times at the cinema. I don't often do that with films.
The naked wrestling bought tears to my eyes, it was painful to watch but genius comedy.
The scene in the hotel elevator was class, the look on the other guests faces made me roll :D
I watched Beerfest last night, I thought it was very funny. It had all the ingredients for a good comedy, beer and babes :D
Borat was hysterical. I love the humor of Sacha Baron Cohen, including Ali G. An interesting tidbit from Borat is how its supposed to be anti-semitic. Besides the known and obvious fact that Sacha Baron Cohen is Jewish, Borat is actually speaking Hebrew throughout the movie.
I was going to say that I'm looking forward to renting Silent Hill.....but now I'm not so sure.
Although I've played the game + 2 and 3 also so from Maxx review I actually understood what he was talking about with the dual world stuff.
To be honest Silent Hill is the scariest game I've ever played especially when it's 2am in the morning with no lights on and every little sound elsewhere in the house is creeping you out.
When a locker door is rattling and you slowly open it and a dead body drops out with a bang you damn near need new underpants.
No wonder as the game loads it states it has supernatural themes and that people with heart conditions shouldn't play - I almost had a heart condition afterwards.
Anyway, my wife has already told me she won't be watching Silent Hill with me, so it looks like I'm gonna have to sit up all on my own.......creepy.
Well Nix...I don't listen to critics myself. They said Titanic was great and I put it on my list of Worst Big Budget Bombs, myself. So...I don't expect that anyone should take my word for it....and all tastes are different. :)
I do want to play the game, though....as I have heard nothing but good about it. I liked the game Resident Evil...and sorta liked the movie version. Maybe if I had played the game Silent Hill, I would have been more kind in my review. However...I think movie-makers can't rely on previous experience in any case. They pulled the same garbage with X-Files the movie. They said you didn't need to have watched the TV show to enjoy the movie. They lied. I DID watch the TV show and even I was lost at times....
As a player of the game...I would be interested in your review of the film as opposed to mine which had no previous gameplay.
Most of my reviews are negative....I am tough on films. A mess of special effects aint gonna cut it with me. Besides, negative reviews are more fun to write anyway. :D
Here's a positive one I did a couple weeks ago:
V for Vendetta
That movie was V for Vendetta. I didn't expect much from this....and was pleasantly surprised. The movie is complicated, uses a little Shakespeare dialogue and has heavy British accents (for Americans to follow)....so pay attention. Don't try to watch this one while cooking, trimming toenails or surfing the net...you will get lost. The first ten minutes do not bode well. In fact....you will likely say the same thing I did to myself in that first ten minutes..."Oh Christ, it's a British version of Batman".....roll your eyes and dare the movie to entertain you.
Guess what.....in a just a few more minutes of watching, you will see the movie is up to the dare and it is NOT another Batman. "V" (the character's name, BTW) is not a superhero...he's a revolutionary, terrorist, killer, philosopher, genius, psycho...anything you want to call him except a Batmanesque hero. The film is set about 20 years in the future, but don't let that scare you. This isn't a sci-fi movie with futuristic techno-babble. In fact...it is downright gritty. The Great Britain of the future is a world power and is controlled by a Hitler-like totolitarian regime similar to the theme of 1984. The enigmatic "V" is a product of that regime's brutal practices and is bent on a course of revenge and change. His story unfolds as the movie progresses and explains why he is what he is....so be patient. This is the best movie I have seen in years....and some of you know how tough I can be on movies.
I should point out something, though. We now live in a time where most movies have political undertones. Like 1984, this movie tries to teach a lesson and many have said it was made as a warning about increasing radical conservatism of this decade. That may be so...I don't know. But even if it is a cloaked political movie, it is a well-made one and doesn't scream "Danger, Will Robinson...Danger" in your face. If the warnings are there about today's political climate...they are subtle. It's still fiction on the screen....good fiction....
I suggest you take some quiet time and really watch this one to appreciate it. If you try and do it casually....on the fly....you will likely go back to "It's a British Batman"......Bat Cave and all......and miss out. ;)
Some say this is a rip-off of 1984 and a few other films. But I think the film took the 1984 theme to new level.
Hi maxximilian,
We must be seeing the same movies. Your first post is a great generic criticism of recent Hollywood productions. These people should spend less time on politics, and use the time gained to learn to make movies.
British people don't have accents :DQuote:
Originally Posted by maxximilian
Sure they do Philgo. You got the Liverpool accent, Manchester accent, London, Birmingham etc. ;) :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Philgo
That doesn't count :DQuote:
Originally Posted by usil
300 has a similar feel to Sin City [by the same director I think] dark and moody but if you like the typical war type movie action its quite a good one to see.History gets kinda rewritten again by Holywood but hey you Yanks liberated the Enigma machine according to them :D
Another good movie is Jarhead a bit of Platoon like casting with the Vietnam feel but based on assignment in Kuwait or Tigerland which definatly follows the Platoon plot through training with the usual character plots of evil sadistic Seargent/poor recruits getting ready for enlistment.
Ill take you for a drink in one of the old mining villages I used to tend bar in Scotland.It took several weeks for me before I could have a proper conversation without straining my ears and saying pardon all the time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Philgo
I watched "The Departed" a few weeks ago and was disappointed. I did actually think it was a decent movie but I was expecting something much better. With all the hype surrounding it my expectations were very high.. unfortunately it was largely just Jack Nicholson doing Jack Nicholson and some average performances by the rest of the cast in a sprawling, confused and hard-to-believe storyline that seemed like it was mostly written to provide as many shootings and and as much violence as possible (The original Japanese film, "Internal Affairs", this was "borrowed" from was definately written that way). I've got nothing against violence in films but I think they should at least try and create some interest or empathy with a character before they kill them off... especially when they do it non-stop from the beginning to the end of the film. Scorsese deserved an oscar for his body of work but not for this film. (another exception was "Gangs of New York" which I walked out on half way through)