Mr. Seven Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 I'm currently reading Glamorama! It's excellent so far but I feel I've barely scratched the surface. The main plot hasn't even kicked in yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van_Dammer Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 (edited) The Jacket A wounded war veteran who suffers from amnesia, Jack Starks (Adrien Brody), is accused of murdering a police officer. He is then sent to an asylum, where he becomes subject to the controversial experiments of Dr. Becker. Whilst undergoing 'therapy,' Starks has visions of the future. Â The Jacket has a decent story to it. Although it's rather slow to begin with, it definitely becomes more intriguing as everything unravels. Â The performances are quite disappointing, though. In this film, Adrien Brody is mediocre and Keira Knightley is terrible. Her American accent is totally unconvincing; you can tell that she's putting it on and isn't comfortable with it. Additionally, Knightley appears to have no idea of how to portray an alcoholic. I could be wrong, but chewing your own face and biting a glass isn't the right way to do it. Â Overall, The Jacket is about average. It's an alright thriller that'll help you kill two hours. Edited July 17, 2006 by Van_Dammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members JLM Posted July 19, 2006 Paid Members Share Posted July 19, 2006 Finder's fee  I watched this for three reasons.  1) It was in our house because the parents put it on their Blockbuster online list.  2) James Earl Jones is in it.  3) Carly Pope is in it.  Reason three is largely redundant because a) it's horribly shallow and b) she's in it for less than five minutes.  However, I still liked the film in a watch and forget kind of way. The main thing that struck me is that it felt more like a play than a film because of the small cast, claustrophobic single room setting and presumably real time pacing.  The idea is pretty simple. Guy finds wallet in the street. Guy phones number inside wallet and leaves a message with his address and says the owner can come and pick it up. However, he then discovers a lottery ticket inside the wallet with that week's winning numbers on it and decides to try a bit of ticket switchery. However, the major spanner in the works is that his friends have a weekly tradition in which they each buy a lottery ticket, bet them in a winner-takes-all hand of poker and then check the numbers.  A coincidental chain of events leads to the protagonist playing poker against his friends and the man who has come to collect the wallet with all of their tickets, including the six million winner, on the line.  This premise sets up some interesting possibilities. James Earl Jones plays the guy who has come to collect the wallet, and his character is something of an unknown quantity. He is at times suspicious and almost threatening, whilst at others apparently naive and quite vulnerable. Matthew Lillard plays a fine role as the protagonist's slightly hyperactive and very short-tempered friend. The group is rounded off by an almost Ned Flanders-like whiter than white friend and another somewhat unknown in Ryan Reynolds' character. The latter is one of the weaker parts of the film for me. His acting is fine but the character's transformation as the film goes on isn't entirely convincing.  Still, the film is an intriguing watch as it takes some fun twists and turns as you wonder if the main character has been rumbled, and if so how many of the others are onto him. Suspicion is frequently cast upon JEJ's character too, and then there's the constant feeling that Lillard's character could snap violently if pushed. Unfortunately I didn't feel that the pay off was up to the build up, because what would have been a decent ending is spoiled by a terribly executed and illogical twist that feels completely tacked on and thoughtless.  Watchable and entertaining but flawed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Finally got around to watching Serenity this week. It’s immensely good, but in a bitter sweet way, because you can’t help but imagine how great the story would’ve been spun out across five series instead of two hours. Funny, grisly, moving and involving, the effects and fight scenes are great for the limited budget. Also, the central performances are excellent – Nathan Fillion is so great in his role of guy who gets battered emotionally and physically for the entire film, he needs more film roles. And Summer Glau does a great crazy without being annoying, and is supernatural in her sheer cuteness. She also did all her own stunts and fight scenes, which mental. Adam Baldwin is also fantastic.  If you saw Firefly, then you’ve probably already seen this. If you haven’t, watch Firefly first, it’s the biggest loss to TV ever and while the series wont spoil the film for you, watching the film first kind of negates a lot of the series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van_Dammer Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 (edited) Carly Pope She's extremely underappreciated, in my opinion...Animal HouseSet in 1962, this comedy is about the Delta House Fraternity at Faber College and Dean Vernon Wormer's (John Vernon) efforts to have them all expelled. From start to finish, I really enjoyed this film. Essentially, the premise is very basic, but the execution is flawless. Animal House is filled with an abundance of funny scenes and classic lines, some of which are totally random, like during the mini-road trip and toga party, and a great set of characters.This movie works well because the characters that you're supposed to support are all incredibly likeable. John Belushi, who plays Bluto, delivers a showstealing performance. He's excellent as an idiotic drunk and everything he does on-screen is brilliant. Stephen Furst and Kevin Bacon, in his film debut, are pretty good, too. Released in 1978, it's obvious that Animal House acts as the blueprint for nearly every other college comedy that's followed it, in terms of the story, content and characters. If you liked Old School, you should definitely check this film out...In short, Animal House is a funny and entertaining film that you can't help but love because it has so much charm. It's an immature, lewd and perverted classic. Toga! Toga! Edited July 19, 2006 by Van_Dammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam G Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Just watched Lucky Number Slevin again, but this time it was a proper DVD not one of those taped from the back of the cinema deals. Absolutely awesome film, the bloke that played The Rabbi was especially great I thought.According to Amazon Memento and The Usual Suspects are similar to it, are they any good? I know nothing of movies.Also, its seems impossible to find Narc. Did you download it Van_Dammer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van_Dammer Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 (edited) Just watched Lucky Number Slevin again, but this time it was a proper DVD not one of those taped from the back of the cinema deals. Absolutely awesome film, the bloke that played The Rabbi was especially great I thought.According to Amazon Memento and The Usual Suspects are similar to it, are they any good? I know nothing of movies.Also, its seems impossible to find Narc. Did you download it Van_Dammer?I've never even heard of Narc.As for Memento, it's not really similar to Lucky Number Slevin, but it's still a tremendous film. I haven't seen The Usual Suspects, so I can't comment. Edited July 19, 2006 by Van_Dammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members cdm316 Posted July 20, 2006 Paid Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Narc is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam G Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 Just watched Lucky Number Slevin again, but this time it was a proper DVD not one of those taped from the back of the cinema deals. Absolutely awesome film, the bloke that played The Rabbi was especially great I thought.According to Amazon Memento and The Usual Suspects are similar to it, are they any good? I know nothing of movies.Also, its seems impossible to find Narc. Did you download it Van_Dammer?I've never even heard of Narc.Sorry, it was Mr Seven that suggested it . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted July 20, 2006 Paid Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Carly Pope She's extremely underappreciated, in my opinion...Animal House a classic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van Dammer Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 The Hudsucker ProxyCapturing The FriedmansBoth good but Capturing is fascinating, such a heavy story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Pepper Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 Eddie Murphy RAW.All of Chris Rocks Jokes made years earlyer, and funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van_Dammer Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 (edited) The Omen (1976) Katherine Thorn (Lee Remick), wife of the an American ambassador, has a stillborn child. Unbeknownst to Katherine, her husband, Robert, then immediately 'adopts' a baby boy and passes it off as their own. After a few years, a series of horrific incidents occur as it is revealed that the boy, Damien, is the Antichrist. Â The Omen is superb. Fundamentally, it tells a brilliant story that gradually escalates and builds perfectly. The number of bizarre happenings that seem to involve Damien have a great impact, during which, you can't help but think about the position that his parents are in. Likewise, every aspect of the plot is interesting. You genuinely want to know how it's all going to develop and about the true involvement of the other characters, like the photographer and the nanny, Mrs. Baylock, who appears to be very close to Damien. Â Billie Whitelaw, who plays Mrs. Baylock, definitely delivers the best performance in this film. She's incredible in her portrayal of a creepy, evil individual. Gregory Peck and Lee Remick are well-cast, too, but Whitelaw deserves a lot of praise for being, arguably, one of the scariest things about The Omen. Â Overall, The Omen isn't necessarily scary in the sense that it'll shock you or make you jump, though, like most modern horrors do. It's a chilling, haunting movie that relies heavily on the concepts presented and the atmosphere that it creates. The result is exceptional and the film features many memorable scenes. However, Damien vs. the red-assed baboons could have been better. Â Anyway, The Omen is, undoubtedly, a classic that'll stay with you for a long time. Edited July 20, 2006 by Van_Dammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members bAzTNM#1 Posted July 20, 2006 Paid Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Right...I watched today an Ernest movie. God bless Jim Varney.It was called "Ernest Saves Christmas", and sadly wasn't the best one.(**/*****)Also watched a DVD called "Baby Boy", that was directed by "Boyz n tha Hood"'s John Singleton. I loved "Higher Learning" so I bought it. Decent enough movie. Ving Rhymes is awesome in it.(****/*****) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lava_boy Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 Carly Pope She's extremely underappreciated, in my opinion...Animal HouseSet in 1962, this comedy is about the Delta House Fraternity at Faber College and Dean Vernon Wormer's (John Vernon) efforts to have them all expelled. From start to finish, I really enjoyed this film. Essentially, the premise is very basic, but the execution is flawless. Animal House is filled with an abundance of funny scenes and classic lines, some of which are totally random, like during the mini-road trip and toga party, and a great set of characters.This movie works well because the characters that you're supposed to support are all incredibly likeable. John Belushi, who plays Bluto, delivers a showstealing performance. He's excellent as an idiotic drunk and everything he does on-screen is brilliant. Stephen Furst and Kevin Bacon, in his film debut, are pretty good, too. Released in 1978, it's obvious that Animal House acts as the blueprint for nearly every other college comedy that's followed it, in terms of the story, content and characters. If you liked Old School, you should definitely check this film out...In short, Animal House is a funny and entertaining film that you can't help but love because it has so much charm. It's an immature, lewd and perverted classic. Toga! Toga!One of my favourites, and I'm off to my first toga party tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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