Offical Movie Review Thread

[Sharpieman]

I think it would be a good idea to have a movie review thread, where people can comment on the movies they've recently seen and rate them on whatever kind of scale they want to use. I don't really trust professional movie reviewers, but do trust you guys. So if anyone is actually interested in this idea, please post your reviews.

[Antmeister]

I had posted this earlier, but it got buried somewhere, so here I go.

Action/Drama Flicks
Kill Bill Vol. 1: Enjoyed this picture. Lots of actions. A blend of a karate movie, anime and 70's exploitation film. Decent story, great action chereography and visually appealing. (8.5 out of 10)
Master and Commander: I am not very fond of this movie. Was expecting a lot more from this movie, but it moved way too slow and I didn't feel anything for the major and minor characters that were injured or killed in this movie. This is possibly because there wasn't much character development with the number of characters that the movie focused on. (4 out of 10)

Horror
Cabin Fever: I am a big horror fan and this did just enough to satisfy the craving. While the characters weren't ones to care for too much, it did have some interesting twists. (6 out of 10)


Foreign Films
Musa - The Warrior: This is actually a violent action flick and children should not view this movie. However this movie has an interesting story. It is about a group of Korean delegates sent to China who are banished to a remote desert because it is thought that they are spies. I would tell more about the story, but I don't want to spoil the rest. A very good film. It is only in English subtitles, so if that bothers you, if may not be for you. Stars Zhang Ziyi from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. (8 out of 10)
Princess Blade - What I liked most about this movie is that this is a movies with a leading lady who can seriously kick ass. This movie would fall along the lines of a tragedy. It is about a young assassin who is torn between staying with her organization or joining the cause of the rebels she has met. I thought it had some pretty good character development and the action is amazing (7.5 out of 10)
Brotherhood of the Wolf: I remember wanting to see this movie a while back and never got a chance too. I had finally seen it on DVD and was surprised. Overall the movie is the most artistic that I have seen in a while. The only downside is that the movie is slow in areas where it didn't have to be. The action was great and the characters were interesting, but the story was a little weak since it dragged here and there. (6.5 out of 10)
The Returner: This one is a smart, time-travel type movie. There are a number of Matrix type effects in this movie, but the story stands on its own. Very well thought out and the characters are great. The bad guy may seem a bit over the top, but it still works. (8.5 out of 10)

[Anthony]

i knew there was a reason why i didn't go see Master and Commander at the theatre's. Russell Crowe for me is a guaranteed ticket (that is, one of those actors where you just go buy the ticket regardless of what the movie is, no questions asked), but someting made me stay away form this movie, figured it was a good DVD buy. bought it and hated it. not enough action. i don't like ship movies to begin with, but i felt the script must've been good if Crowe signed up for it. it was obvious he was trying to go for his ace in the hole role (general/leader/authority figure) after he got so many praises from Gladiator. this one is not Gladiator. it's amazing how this movie was able to accomplish the unthinkable - nearly 90-92% of the movie has no main villain, and the villains themselves (the French) are on screen for a total of perhaps 15 minutes (no joke). i really forget what all the rest of the movie was about. really boring.

[IMetTrentGreen]

the ladykillers is extremely good. great dialogue and characters, a good heaven/hell, righteous/sinner theme, and classic coen metaphorical genius

return of the king sucked compete ass. i know its old, but it needs to be said again. worst movie to ever win an oscar, by far. over directed, an hour too long, every shot is dramatized to the point of rediculousness, dialouge is stupid, action is over cgi'd (how can people complain aobut star wars but not rotk? is there a conspiracy?), and the 4 endings are all completely gay and needless. fucking horrible

[Anthony]

well, i can now place IMTG's reviews on my ignore list. completely wrong on basically all counts regarding ROTK.

[Bubba Wheels]

Troy gets the blood pumping. Intelligent diologue, good acting (even from Pitt, and that's saying alot...he used a voice coach to get rid of his 'mush-mouth' delivery) all in all a very interesting if not fully actual historical take on a timeless and classic story.

Next time Michigan State plays at SoCal, they should arrive in busses decked out like ancient tiremes and bring a large, wooden horse with them!

[IMetTrentGreen]

completely wrong on a subjective matter. thats a first. thanks for chiming in

just out of curiosity, im just wondering if you didnt cringe when bloom rode that elephant. did that not even register on your rediculous scale? what about the entire-scene-in-slow-motion pillow fight? did you not expect the cops from chips to come in and give a smiling thumbs up at the end? am i the only one? what about sam and frodo's spooning scene on the volcano? what about the third, useless ending at the boat? horrible, sappy tripe. how about the deus machina (i probably got that wrong) dead folk coming and totally overrunning the huge bad guy army by its god damned self. why didn't they just go to them in the first place?

that movie was nothing more than a b-movie with a 300 million budget. and i liked the first two a lot. im not anti-lotr. im anti rotk. awful movie

[IMetTrentGreen]

and i know that won't be popular here at nerd central, but i'm willing to deal with that

[Anthony]

i was going to comment, but what it'd boil down to would be my opinion vs. yours, so it'd be a wash.

the fact that it had one of the biggest opening weekends in cinema history combined with the fact that it won Best Pitcutre suggests more that you missed something others didn't rather than the movie is bad.

btw, bad CGI and ROTK don't belong in the same sentence.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by IMetTrentGreen

and i know that won't be popular here at nerd central, but i'm willing to deal with that

Although I tend to agree with a lot of your conclusions on Lord of the Ring, there is a right way and a wrong way to critizice. Calling everyone of your intended audience a nerd is the wrong way. Especially when you have one of the nerdiest tags of any poster here. You really need to change that name if you want to be able to insult other people with impudence.

[IMetTrentGreen]

they do. it had impressive moments visually, but there was enough there to notice. i think jackson was way too ambitious in some spots

the best picture oscar was for the trilogy, which is fine with me. the first two movies were near masterpieces. jackson really reverted into his b horror movie days on the last one. personally i think tim burton had the best movie with big fish. he knocked that one out of the park and didn't even get nominated. shows you what those things are worth

[IMetTrentGreen]

i never met him. it's a joke. why would i brag about meeting somebody like trent green? thats why its funny. anyway i'm in a bad mood so i apologize for being harsh

[Bubba Wheels]

Years ago, I met Bill Munson. What does that get me?

To IMetTrentGreen: Words of advice from Henry Ford II: "Never Explain, Never Complain."

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by IMetTrentGreen

return of the king sucked compete ass. i know its old, but it needs to be said again. worst movie to ever win an oscar, by far. over directed, an hour too long, every shot is dramatized to the point of rediculousness, dialouge is stupid, action is over cgi'd (how can people complain aobut star wars but not rotk? is there a conspiracy?), and the 4 endings are all completely gay and needless. fucking horrible

Over-directed? That's entirely possible. I do think, quality-wise, it was the worst one of the three. An hour too long? That depends on the durability of your ass, I suppose. Personally, I would take every minute I could get from a wonderful world like Middle-earth. Just the other day I happened to think about this movie series, and it surprised me how wistful I became for the opportunity to see the rest of this world. I think Jackson did a pretty good job to do that to someone.

The dialogue is pretty stupid, but then few dialogues in the books were said without a purpose (if any), and the pattern of "speeches" in this book has been prevalent throughout all three movies. So why it should bug you now when it didn't before seems kinda odd.

My understanding is that the CGI was some of the best ever done on screen, from those who sdeem to know what they are talking about. You're the first I have seen who didn't like the way that was done. I'm not saying your opinion on that is invalid, just that it certainly does not match with what just about everyone has been saying. Personally, I never notice CGI unless it's really, really bad, so I'm not the best judge (and, yes, though I knew intellectually that plenty of ROTK had to be CGI, I didn't notice it consciously while watching).

The four endings was stretching it, and I think everyone generally agrees with it (or the majority opinion is of that). That said, Jackson was bringing to a close a 12-hour movie, essentially. I'll bet by percentage of time his ending was in line with most movie denouements. His dumbest idea was the fade outs, which were mildly irritating to me, and I would imagine very irritating to non-LOTR books fans. As for the gayness, yeah, little too much of that, but a lot of that is gleaned from the books. Two of the endings--the coronation-wedding and the departure at Grey Haven--were pretty necessary in my mind (although the last is from a book fan's perspective, as that was a key part of the book).

Originally Posted by IMetTrentGreen

just out of curiosity, im just wondering if you didnt cringe when bloom rode that elephant. did that not even register on your rediculous scale? what about the entire-scene-in-slow-motion pillow fight? did you not expect the cops from chips to come in and give a smiling thumbs up at the end? am i the only one? what about sam and frodo's spooning scene on the volcano? what about the third, useless ending at the boat? horrible, sappy tripe. how about the deus machina (i probably got that wrong) dead folk coming and totally overrunning the huge bad guy army by its god damned self. why didn't they just go to them in the first place?

Was that scene over the top? Very much so. Was it out of lien with what we knew about Bloom's character previous to that? Not at all. Has he displayed fearlessness before? Many times, like when he stood on top of the troll's head in Moria or his fights at Helm's Deep. Has he displayed amazing agility and quickness before? Throughout the first two movies he displayed this, walking on snow drifts, firing arrows at a machine gun pace, riding shields down stairs without budging a muscle. Have we seen his prowess with a bow? Yes, throughout the first two movies, that was very much on display. So what individual action in the whole elephant scene displayed a skill he hadn't shown before? Obviously, you accewpted the reality of his abilities prior to this, as you're not complaining about his past accomplishments, but here suddenly, you see a "break from reality"? You're watching a movie with elves, dwarves and hobbits for crying out loud!

The pillow fight, Frodo waking up scene, was excessive and very cringe-worthy. But you needed to have him wake up (that was true to the book), and I am betting the outcry would have been even bigger if Jackson ignored the reunion of the Fellowship. Could they have done it less fluffy? Yes, they could, I'm sure. But the scene was still necessary.

The theme of Frodo and Sam's love or what have you is very prevalent throughgout the movies, as you noted. But this is another one you will have to mail up to the Great Post Office In The Sky, because that was Tolkein's idea. Jackson was just being true to the book.

The "third, useless ending" at the boat was also straight from the book. That's how the series ends actually. There is some sort of thematic reason for Tolkein having Frodo leave with the elves, I am sure, but I'm not interested ind ebating literary themes at the moment (had enough of that growing up). Once again, Jackson is just completing the book with scenes like that.

As for your deux ex machina, once again, that is from the book. You have a problem, once again, take it up with the book writer. Also, Aragorn needed the Sword of Elendil to prove he was Isildur's heir to draw the dead out. There was a lot of uncertainty in the move, expressed both in the book and in the movie. Do you automatically go for the high-risk move, or do you try all the low-end, more conventional ones first before going to desperation. My guess is the latter, unless you don't bother to think out your actions before you take them. The army of the dead does indeed win the Battle of Pellenor Fields for Gondor and Rohan in the book. The Sword of Elendil was in the possession of the elves and broken into many pieces. In the book, I believe it was reforged before the Fellowship left Rivendell and Aragorn took it with him (rather than being taken to him as it was in the movie), but the point on not going to desperation moves right away still stands. Only Isuldur's heir could handle that sword (at least among men, I believe; elves can do anything ), and only with that sword could Aragorn convince the army of the dead that he could cure them of the curse laid on them.

It';s not a perfect movie by any means, but at least make sure your criticisms are in line with what you're saying about the first two, and with what was in the book--which was a very critical guide to how Jackson did the movie.

BTW, worst movie ever to win the Best Picture? Seriously? Have you never seen Shakespeare in Love? Or the English patient? I mean, those were awful.

CR

[Easy Mac]

The "you bow to no one" line was by far the best movie line of the past year.

[Abe Sargent]

I should change my nick to IMetJeffHostetler

-Anxiety

[Sharpieman]

The Last Samuari: I can't believe that this movie won awards and got the great reviews it got. Totally unrealistic. That fact cannot be understated. Horrible movie. 3/10

Master and Commander: This was an equally bad movie. Not enough action, boring most the time. Crowe was a pretty bad in this one. It was corny too.3/10

Man On Fire: Now this was a very good movie. Go see it, you'll be surprise. 8/10

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

Although I tend to agree with a lot of your conclusions on Lord of the Ring, there is a right way and a wrong way to critizice. Calling everyone of your intended audience a nerd is the wrong way. Especially when you have one of the nerdiest tags of any poster here. You really need to change that name if you want to be able to insult other people with impudence.

No it's ok, I'm a nerd. Black plastic rimmed glasses and all..........

[WSUCougar]

Outstanding rejoinder, Chief Rum. I just have a few comments to add.

The only minor problem I had with Legolas taking down the oliphant is one that I have with many action movies: the portrayal of balance and momentum. Too often figures are shown riding something, or holding onto something, and obviously defying the laws of physics. I have no problem with Legolas being able to do what he did – as CR stated it’s something his character has demonstrated he can do – it’s just that fake whiplash-ride appearance that bothered me a bit.

The “pillow-fight” scene may have lost some of its impact because of the time separation between viewing the films. The fellowship’s been separated since the fight at the end of FOTR. These are characters who originally set out on an impossible task, and each have been through great trials and tests of their courage and will. They have emerged alive and victorious against impossible odds. Sure, the hobbits act goofy – but they’re hobbits. They’re not hero-types in the grand tradition, they’re little people who normally get out of the way of the big folks.

As for Sam and Frodo “spooning” on the volcano, if you can’t see the emotional power of what those two have just been through together, I guess the whole trilogy was lost on you.

And Aragorn getting the dead army is not a cut-and-dried thing. That’s all about him finally assuming his role as the King of Gondor, which he has struggled with and denied at various times throughout the whole trilogy.

[WSUCougar]

dola

The Last Samurai (with spoilers)

While I enjoyed this movie to a certain degree, it was formulaic and an obvious rip-off of several other films.

The most blatant link was to Dances with Wolves. Solitary soldier comes to know his enemy, learns to respect them, and ultimately joins them against his former army. At times the scenes were so similar it was almost embarrassing. Overcoming the language barrier, the commentary about the tribal culture, the journal, the clothing, the grieving widow, the fierce warrior who comes to respect him, defending the tribe against an attack…sheesh.

Then there’s Glory. You’ve got the cussing Irish drill sergeant. You’ve got the training of the simple men into soldiers. You’ve even got the “load…faster…faster…FASTER” scene, where he’s firing the pistol trying to make the guy nervous, which is taken almost line for line from Glory.

Finally, there’s Braveheart. The over-confident commander falling for the ruse de guerre (they're retreating, send in the attack!) at the last battle. And I’m not certain of the historical accuracy of either battle, but the burning arrows igniting stuff behind the enemy line is copied. You’ve also got some of the “guys getting hit with arrows” which looked suspiciously identical.

[ISiddiqui]

BTW, worst movie ever to win the Best Picture? Seriously? Have you never seen Shakespeare in Love? Or the English patient? I mean, those were awful.

Shakespeare in Love was a brilliant movie. Deserves all its awards. English Patient I can agree with, though.

--

Last Samurai - Kinda fun. Great scenery and Samurai 'stuff', but very cliche-ic story. And besides, the Samurai were the BAD GUYS! They were against the liberal revolution because they enjoyed being the top class in a caste system and didn't want the equalization of classes. You noticed, in the movie, that they had the peasants make their food for them (Samurai didn't farm). 5/10

Master and Commander - BRILLAINT! It captures the books wonderfully. Just a great tale of what it was like to be on a fighting ship in the middle of the Napoleonic Wars facing a very worthy adversary. I loved the fact that the 'Phantom' was not portrayed as evil, but rather as simply an opponent and one deserving of respect. The movie flowed with a nice, leisurely pace, picking it up during the battle scenes (kind of representative of real life at sea). They are a credit to Patrick O'Brian's books. 10/10

Lost in Translation - Perhaps the finest 'slice-of-life' film ever. The story was simply about the extremely close friendship which develops between two strangers in a strange land. In most movies there would have been a torrid affair, but this movie is too smart for that. That doesn't always happen in real life and it shows the beauty of such a friendship. 9/10

School of Rock - A fun diversion. Jack Black makes this film and without his manic energy this film could have sucked royally. Of course, it requires a GREAT amount of disbelief. Especially at the end. But it works. 7/10

Big Fish - What a tale! This underrated movie was absolutely magical. The idea of the old man's tall tales and how close to fact they actually were is a very entertaining and gripping yarn. Ewen McGregor is fabulous as the young man who goes off from the small town and has these utterly fabulous adventures. 10/10

[cthomer5000]

eh, why not?

Shrek 2
Shockingly good follow up to an above-average first film. I almost hesitate to call this a children's movie, as I think a heavy number of jokes will be totally unappreciated or completely missed by kids. The writers did an outstanding job making the new characters fit in, and the occassional tangential little segments are some of the high points of the movie (the "KNIGHTS" bit a definite standout). verdict: Highly recommended for both kids and adults.

The Rundown
I was pleasently surprised. I expected this to be unwatchable crap, but it turned out to be a fairly enjoyable (although admittedly not ground breaking) action film. The Rock is a decent actor, and he makes me wish he could land every role Vin Diesel is being considered for - it might make for a few more decent movies, and a few less terrible ones. Walken was fun as usual, and is a nice change of pace from Sean William Scott (he too easily annoys the shit out of me at times). I like the emphasis on hand-to-hand fight scenes, rather than the standard explosion-fest that is most action films. The action sequences were particularly well filmed. verdict: I don't regret watching it, and would say it makes for a decent rental.