DVDs and Films You Have Watched Recently #2

[Van Dammer]

Last night i got taken out to the ole cinema (or if your of a certain age like me you may still call it the pictures! And im only 22, maybe im just sad), to watch:

 

TRON: Legacy

 

Ok so i hadent seen the first movie, although i was well aware of the general outline of the first movie. I was going to hunt it down before i saw this one, although i got taken out.....so i didnt have time, but it will be interesting to now go back and watch it.

 

From what i'd heard from a few people, the story was a bit cack or generally the film was a bit cack. Well all i can say is, story wise......i wouldnt say cack, more "Straight forward", and im guessing this is for the people who hadent seen the first one like me, as it did a lot of explaining about the general idea of the first movie, and the gap inbetween, thus making the rest of the story fair play......and although maybe not to everybodys taste, to me it made perfect sense.

 

Either way, i found it highley entertaining, but the visuals........WOW. I mean i was expecting something visually good, but by god it was visually stunning. For me this instantly marked it up several notches, as unlike skyline (which in itself was also visually stunning) EVERYTHING was done to a T, and otherwise.....again......just ........WOW.

 

I wont spoil they story, but all i can say about it is the story is good, the visuals/music/Daft punk cameo are awesome, and i loved this movie. I can see how you could be really critical about films ans say "yeah it looked great, but the story was shit", but again the story was fairly straight forward and made sense to me, and otherwise again......WOW.

 

A great movie, maybe more one for the guys who love some great visual scences ,(Dont know why, but id imagine if you enjoyed watchmen like i did, you'll enjoy this), but otherwise a good movie.

 

The only down point is, although i gotten taken to see it by a friend he picked the 3D viewing. The movie displayed a message saying it was filmed in 2d, and was ment to be shown this was......so basically although there is 3D elements, its nearly non-existant.......so go for 2D and save youself the money, as id guess it wouldnt make much difference.

 

So yeh, i loved it!

 

8/10!

 

I thought that message came up because the scenes in 'the real world' were filmed in 2d but 'the computer world' were filmed in 3d and it was just a warning to say, 'dont take your glasses off, some 3d is coming.'

[King Pitcos]

Just watched Catfish. Not what I was expecting. Really liked it. Best not to give anything away about it, but I do recommend watching it.

[BrainBuster69]

just watched FIRED UP! and to be honest it may be silly humor but it really was a decent watch.

[neil's bitch]

Last night i got taken out to the ole cinema (or if your of a certain age like me you may still call it the pictures! And im only 22, maybe im just sad), to watch:

 

TRON: Legacy

 

Ok so i hadent seen the first movie, although i was well aware of the general outline of the first movie. I was going to hunt it down before i saw this one, although i got taken out.....so i didnt have time, but it will be interesting to now go back and watch it.

 

From what i'd heard from a few people, the story was a bit cack or generally the film was a bit cack. Well all i can say is, story wise......i wouldnt say cack, more "Straight forward", and im guessing this is for the people who hadent seen the first one like me, as it did a lot of explaining about the general idea of the first movie, and the gap inbetween, thus making the rest of the story fair play......and although maybe not to everybodys taste, to me it made perfect sense.

 

Either way, i found it highley entertaining, but the visuals........WOW. I mean i was expecting something visually good, but by god it was visually stunning. For me this instantly marked it up several notches, as unlike skyline (which in itself was also visually stunning) EVERYTHING was done to a T, and otherwise.....again......just ........WOW.

 

I wont spoil they story, but all i can say about it is the story is good, the visuals/music/Daft punk cameo are awesome, and i loved this movie. I can see how you could be really critical about films ans say "yeah it looked great, but the story was shit", but again the story was fairly straight forward and made sense to me, and otherwise again......WOW.

 

A great movie, maybe more one for the guys who love some great visual scences ,(Dont know why, but id imagine if you enjoyed watchmen like i did, you'll enjoy this), but otherwise a good movie.

 

The only down point is, although i gotten taken to see it by a friend he picked the 3D viewing. The movie displayed a message saying it was filmed in 2d, and was ment to be shown this was......so basically although there is 3D elements, its nearly non-existant.......so go for 2D and save youself the money, as id guess it wouldnt make much difference.

 

So yeh, i loved it!

 

8/10!

 

I thought that message came up because the scenes in 'the real world' were filmed in 2d but 'the computer world' were filmed in 3d and it was just a warning to say, 'dont take your glasses off, some 3d is coming.'

 

Well aparently according to the message, they'd re-done some parts in 3d, as some of the opening parts in the real world were in 3D, but it means the film was supposed to be shown in 2D.......so the parts that are in 3d, arent really noticable, and you may waste a bit of money.

[Van Dammer]

Really? Thought the 3d bits were very noticeable and really stood out.

[neil's bitch]

Really? Thought the 3d bits were very noticeable and really stood out.

I noticed them, but i think thats the point, some of it was re-edited to be in 3d, where as it may of been supposed to be in 2d all along. Either way i thought it was fantastic, just saying if you fancy saving youself an extra

[FLips]

Finally got round to seeing Scott Pilgrim vs The World last night. Not sure what to make of it. I can't tell whether it's a good or bad film because the effects masked pretty much everything in it. I enjoyed the effects and little nods to games/films though.

[CorpRobinson]

Just Managed to Pick up the Classic :

 

Red Peony Gambler 1-8 Series of Films, looking forward to watching some classic Japanese Cinema from the late 60's

[TysonSL]

Just watched Catfish. Not what I was expecting. Really liked it. Best not to give anything away about it, but I do recommend watching it.

 

I saw this yesterday too and I agree with the recommendation. Don't google it if you don't want it spoilled though, just watch it knowing as little as possible going in.

[Harvey Dent]

Went to see The Green Hornet yesterday and it was far better than I expected. It's obviously no oscar winner, but its fun, funny and really enjoyable. I wish Christoph Waltz had more lines, he's brilliant. Ever since Inglorious Basterds I've really wanted to see him in more, I think he'd make a killer Bond villain. I found it one of my favourite Seth Rogen roles, I know he seems to play the same character in pretty much everything but I thought he fit well.

 

Unfortunately I had to go see it in 3D as for some reason no Cineworld in the country showing it in 2D. It's utterly pointless, there's 2 moments in the entire film where 3D is properly used and they're just throw away things. It's a sad state where more people will go see it just because they get to wear stupid glasses, the sooner this fad dies out the better.

 

Going to see a preview of Black Swan on tuesday which I'm really looking forward to.

[Surf Digby]

Really? Thought the 3d bits were very noticeable and really stood out.

I noticed them, but i think thats the point, some of it was re-edited to be in 3d, where as it may of been supposed to be in 2d all along. Either way i thought it was fantastic, just saying if you fancy saving youself an extra

[Chris B]

Watched Once Upon A Time In America yesterday, as I've been catching up on a bunch of classic movies recently that I keep meaning to get around to.

 

Hated it for a couple of reasons, and that annoyed me, because I mostly enjoyed the first three hours of the 220 minutes running time, even if the relentless nostalgia grated. Plentiful spoilers below.

 

1 - This was the most cavalierly I've ever seen rape handled in a movie. David rapes Deborah because he's angry that she's leaving. This is someone who hasn't given him any real reason to believe that she'd do anything. She's not his girlfriend. He's just fantasised for years that she would be. Then, thirty years later, they meet up again.

 

For some reason, the movie expects us to sympathise with David. They don't acknowledge the rape (or if they do, they really gloss over it), and the scene is basically played that he forgives her for leaving. I'm not saying these things can't be complicated in movies, and I'm not saying it needs some huge apology scene. But it was a rape that had no real consequences, and it was a story about him - not her. She was utterly dehumanised by the end of the movie, turned into nothing but a tool that Max uses.

 

2 - Max's plan was utter bat-arse. Seriously. If he intended to leave David alive in the first place, then why did he leave people there to kill him? If he intended to kill him, why did he knock him out? Why did he replace the money with paper? Why did he think that a plan that involved sending a letter to David informing him of the reburial of his friends (which should alert David and make him scared) would lead to him finding the mausoleum, finding the key on the plaque behind a door, making the association with the lockers, and then deciding to go to a place where he might get killed? It's hardly a foolproof plan, and that's before you get to the idea of someone faking their death and then becoming a very public figure. And evidently assuming David would never read a newspaper or look at a television.

 

3 - Crap storytelling and contrivances. Max's ex happens to work in a hospital which Max funded, but has no idea what the funder looks like, but happens to have a giant picture of the opening night, which the funder didn't attend. Luckily, David looks at the picture. Deborah goes totally against her character (unless her motivation was criminal ambition...), in order to achieve Max's bat-arse plan. Joe Pesci turns up again at one point for zero reason. We never find out who the hoodlums at the start of the movie are, or why they took the time to draw a corpse in bullet holes. We never see David get the invitation to the party, or see the reason behind the connection between the money and the Secretary (and it isn't the trade union leader, because that means David has assumed a connection based on the fact that he saw someone he knew).

 

 

I'd been mostly enjoying it up until then, and it's been a long time since a movie made me so angry. If anyone can tell me what I either missed, or why it deserves the reputation it has, I'm all ears.

 

 

 

Tonight was 'O Brother, Where Art Thou' as a palate cleanser.

[gary v1]

Thought I'd add my thoughts to a few films I've seen recently.

 

It's a wonderful life

 

I saw this with the missus the week before christmas at the Glasgow Film Theatre. Great night and a fantastic film. There can't be many films with a more sympathetic protagonist than this one. You feel for him all the way as a man who just wants to lead his own life but if forced down a different path at each and every crossroads. Tremendous and fully recommended to anyone who hasn't seen it. A perfect 'christmas' film but really doesn't have much to do with christmas and only the climax of the films takes place then.

 

The Bishop's Wife

A nice film in a similar vein to it's a wonderful life but maybe not quite as good and a whole lot more cheesy. Cary Grant playing an angel is great in a Cary Grantish kind of way. The ice skating is lot of fun too. Could be a good watch in 11 months time if you're feeling Christmassy.

 

Harry Potter (whatever the most recent one is)

Not a huge fan of the series or anything but I enjoyed this. It benefits a lot from not being at Hogwarts in any way so doesn't feel constricted to cram the school scenes in like the other films were. My favourite part of the film was Harmione having to erase her parent's memory and then travelling through the scenes of her childhood memories. It felt like they did this in a reasonably understated way and didn't feel the need to drum home "I did this with my dad over here and this with my mum over there" and so on whilst still conveying the suffering and isolation she was going through.

 

My other favourite part was Ron's feeling of inadequacies and how he dealt with his relationships with Harry and Harmione as well as the relationship between the other two.

 

Serenity

Good but not as good as firely. In particular it lost a lot of its "Western" feel. Was a bit surprised at the fate of a couple of the main crew members from the TV series. Well worth watching if you followed the TV series.

 

The girl with the dragon tattoo

Had me intrigued for a bit as a mystery with the premise of nobody getting on or off the island and the photo that was taken and so on. However, lost a bit of interest after this and didn't much care for the Heroine's story. Her getting raped and her revenge seemed needless especially since it seemed like it was the experiences she encountered in her younger life that shaped her and not her sadisitc minder guy. Was alright but felt a bit drawn out and the reveal of the bad guy left me a bit underwhelmed.

 

Naked Gun series

Fantastic. Everyone need to see these. 3rd was probably the weakest but still plenty of laughs to be had.

[The Gaffer]

Rounded up a few stray cattle this weekend that I didn't get the chance to watch yet. Just going to give some brief points :

 

 

 

The Damned United : I assumed this one was a football hooligan epic given it's title but instead it's a rather nice snapshot of the life of manager Brian Clough and his assistant coach - the bloke that plays Scabbers the rat in Harry Potter. Colm Meaney is in it too. He has a habit of just turning up like that. It's an entertaining way to pass two hours.

 

8MM : I loved it. It got panned of course but I found it hugely entertaining. Nicholas Cage plays Nicholas Cage trying to track down the makers of a snuff movie with the help of a flamboyant, lederhosen wearing Joaquin 'I don't know if I spelt his name right' Phoenix who - no stranger to having a riddiculous name - plays the porn store clerk Max California. There's something about Nicholas Cage's wife and child in it too, and something about a dead girl, but the main thing is that Phoenix helps Cage find a snuff movie production company.

 

One brilliant scene in particular sees the intrepid duo blend in with the L.A. underworld for a drawn out ten minute romp through an underground illegal porn supermarket in someones basement. Imagine the bar from Dusk Till Dawn having an S&M night and you're close enough.

 

Funny People : This is the one where Judd Apatow dissapears up his own arsehole. That trusty, loveable Seth Rogan goes with him of course. Two and a half hours for a 'this is my serious comedy movie' disaster that is very rarely laugh out loud funny [apart from the scene where a 'dying' Adam Sandler and Rogan make fun of Sandler's doctor, the actual guy who plays Carl from Die Hard, because he looks like someone from Die Hard - 'I just keep getting the feeling that you're going to be torturing James Bond after this!']

 

It's overlong and the story looses all meaning about an hour in when you find out that Adam Sandler's character is no longer dying. So you get a decent hours movie, then another 90 minute generic Apatow movie about getting the girl, dick jokes and suchlike. Apatow has this knack for covering up the fact that most of his scripts are not all that funny by never having punchlines that amount to nothing. No punchlines, just a constant stream of not really that funny dialogue that's read out endlessly by his casts as if they were normal everyday conversations. It usually amounts to Seth Rogan cut aways as he stands between two people saying 'No, don't do that to his balls!' or 'No, not the mountain lion! What are you sick?'

 

The Book Of Eli : Denzel Washington tries to keep the last remaining copy of the King James Bible from Gary Oldman who wants it for his own evil purposes. Honestly. I found it fun enough though it's not going to blow anyones mind or be either mans best movie. It's got a nice, washed out, overly orange and brown visual style that you will find either incredibly striking or incredibly annoying. The script was penned by newcomer Gary Whitta who is a video game journalist and this one has 'written by a videogamer' all over it. More than once I felt like I was back in Fallout 3.

[Jas]

Book of Eli

Good fun movie, some of the imagery you