DVD's and Films You Have Watched Recently

[ukedge87]

Blazing Saddles

 

This is the first Mel Brooks directed flick I have seen, and I have to say it was pure comedic brillance.

 

The comic timing of the characters, the self-relisation of it being a movie and the tomfoolishness of the character invites the audience to share the fun that the film obviously was to produce.

 

The basic plot is that a black sheriff in a White Racist Wild West America has to stand up to the evil White Man Mayor's plots of destroying a town so he can put a rail road through it. This creates a lovely, evenly flowing 90 minute film full of sub plots involving the Mayor's plans and the Sheriff's ridiciolous ideas in comparisson to stop him.

 

This film is a landmark in comedy, and despite being over 30 years old it is is still very relevant and enjoyable in a modern context. This is the root of all comedy: bad language, crude, physical humour, oh and fart jokes!

 

9/10

[Mitch]

Smallville: The Complete First SeasonSo according to the mate who loaned me this I unfairly declared Smallville shit based on the handful of episodes I half-watched and if I gave it a proper chance I'd love it. With alot of spare time at the moment and no cash to fill it with I decided I might as well give it a try. I went into it with an open mind and genuinely wanted to enjoy it, honest. I couldn't though because it's shit, which is a huge shame because it starts off great. Brilliant visuals, impressive CGI, subtle nods, interesting plot, fucking around with religious imagery, I LOVED the pilot and was already planning on how I was going to pick up the other four seasons once the credits rolled.But then it all went to shit soon after. Almost instantly it descends into this awful "freak of the week," pattern in which every episode features the exact same plot; random new character is introduced, random new character is revealed to have a superpower (always attributed to the debri left from the Kryptonic meteor shower, no variety to be found here my friend), random dude gets defeated by Clark, the end. Seriously, every single episode. Now even if you can get past how tedious this is (you can't) and how fucking lazy the writing is (you really, really can't), the fact that seemingly everyone in Smallville has super powers completely kills the novelty of Clark having them himself. Why consider him different if he's actually just the king of what's normal? And why is he even hiding his powers if it's a regular occurrence to meet Bug-Man, Fire-Man, Ice-Man, Ability-to-Become-Young-Man or Weight-loss-Girl? By the way, I made none of them up, including Weight-Loss-Girl.Also, to conclude this rant there's this fantastic concept introduced in the pilot where Clark's love interest wears a tiny piece of Kryptonite on a necklace as a tribute to her dead parents, meaning Clark can never get too close to her without feeling sick. It's a great idea and it's used brilliantly in the first few episodes, with who's got possession of the necklace driving the plot forward. Then comes episode five or six and for no apparant reason it no longer affects Clark and he can hang with his woman even though DEADLY POISON IS HANGING FROM HER NECK. I can't put into words how annoying it is to see it just hanging there as they chat over a cup of coffee.I made it to episode nine before deciding I was wasting my time. For all I know this show could have improved dramatically as it moved into seasons two through five. I'll never know though because it's physically impossible to make it through Season 1. It's as if they're gloating at how shit they're getting away with being.

Smallville does pick up (though the fourth season that starts on T4 tomorrow nearly two years after it aired in the USA is rather appalling) and abandons the freak of the week silliness.

' date='Jul 22 2006, 21:20' post='1337814']Alright, so maybe this has been mentioned elsewhere on the board, but Final Destination 3 is out on DVD on Monday.However, you can now change the whole film (if you wish) and decide if somebody dies or not. You also have the opportunity to kill people who didn't die originally.I officially declare this as awesome.Maybe they could re-release the Sixth Sense with an option to have Haley Joel Osment tortured with power tools at various points in the film.

Really? I have this on order and wondered how choose their fate works. This sounds brilliant, I thought it would be a cheap scene swap. Can't wait till Wednesday (website I ordered from can be slow ) Edited July 22, 2006 by mitch_online_uk

[Adam G]

Currently watching Inside Man, anyone seen it?

I know others on here didn't like it, but I found it to be very good.

I'm enjoying it so far, but I'm a sucker for anything with Denzel Washington in it.

[Van_Dammer]

Blazing Saddles This is the first Mel Brooks directed flick I have seen, and I have to say it was pure comedic brillance

You'll love Young Frankenstein. Edited July 22, 2006 by Van_Dammer

[ukedge87]

Smallville does pick up (though the fourth season that starts on T4 tomorrow nearly two years after it aired in the USA is rather appalling) and abandons the freak of the week silliness.

Yay! Its age since the last series aired on Channel 4. E4 has been showing season 4 for ages, but once I had finished season 3 on Channel 4, I wasn't going to pick up the new season mid-way through.

Blazing Saddles This is the first Mel Brooks directed flick I have seen, and I have to say it was pure comedic brillance

You'll love Young Frankenstein.

It's on my rental list. Edited July 23, 2006 by ukedge87

[Onyx2]

Blazing Saddles ...oh and fart jokes!

I was 12 when I first saw that bit. I nearly haemmorhaged with laughter.Yes you will love Young Frankenstein, the rest are really patchy. I quite liked High Anxiety, Spaceballs is overrated.

[Van_Dammer]

Fist Of The North Star

In a distant future, a nuclear holocaust has ravaged the Earth and divided mankind. In a time of great oppression, a man named Kenshiro could become the savior of the weak as he seeks vengeance.

 

This 1986 anime, not to be confused with the terrible 1995 live action film, is awesome. It tells a good story and it's filled with great action, which mainly consists of uncompromisingly violent fight scenes. Combined with cool dialogue and badass characters, the result is a thoroughly entertaining movie.

 

Fist Of The North Star looks fantastic, too. The landscapes mostly comprise of old ruins, barren fields and generally creative scenary. The colour schemes compliment the settings well and truly aid the film in creating its own world.

 

In short, this is an easily enjoyable film that's definitely worth watching if you're anime lover.

 

Stewie Griffin - The Untold Story

After a near-death experience, Stewie tries to find his real father.

 

Mildly entertaining at best and inconceivably overrated, just like Family Guy.

 

Mallrats

Best friends TS (Jeremy London) and Brodie (Jason Lee) have both been dumped. So, they hang out at the mall...

 

Mallrats, Kevin Smith's 1995 film, is a good comedy that succeeds because its main characters are down to Earth. TS and Brodie are typical guys who are too obsessed with their own respective worlds. Their girlfriends, Rene (Shannen Doherty) and Brandi (Claire Forlani), feel as though they're in unfulfilling relationships and go in search of more romance.

 

The characters are essentially in a ridiculous and exaggarated world, though, which works well because of the contrast. Jay and Silent Bob, who are definitely part of that zany world, are used sparingly and very effectively in this film. Jay, in particular, is brilliant and quite possibly the funniest thing about Mallrats, although it does boast some decent material and a number of hilarious moments.

 

Unfortunately, this film suffers because of the hammy storyline. It almost becomes a typical Hollywood teen comedy.

 

Overall, though, Mallrats is a silly and enjoyable movie. Plus, it stars the beautiful Claire Forlani, which is certainly a positive.

Edited July 23, 2006 by Van_Dammer

[Adam G]

Stewie Griffin - The Untold StoryAfter a near-death experience, Stewie tries to find his real father.Mildly entertaining at best and inconceivably overrated, just like Family Guy.

Whilst I dont agree that the movie, or Family Guy in general, is overrated the movie wasnt up to the normal FG standard of hilarity, although I did find it funnier second time around.Also, its seems kind of pointless to split it into three and uses it as episodes to finish off Season 4. Edited July 23, 2006 by Adam Gard

[Van_Dammer]

Stewie Griffin - The Untold StoryAfter a near-death experience, Stewie tries to find his real father.Mildly entertaining at best and inconceivably overrated, just like Family Guy.

Whilst I dont agree that the movie is overrated...

It has an 8/10 on the IMDB. That's higher than the ratings for the likes of Animal House, Gozu, The Big Lebowski, Anchorman, Visitor Q, The Omen, The Exorcist, Audition, Akira, Young Frankenstein, Airplane and The Naked Gun.I don't necessarily go by the IMDB ratings, but for Stewie Griffin - The Untold Story to be ranked above or even slightly below any of the aforementioned films anywhere is insane. At the very most, it deserves a 4 or 5/10. It's a poorly executed film that drags beyond belief. Edited July 23, 2006 by Van_Dammer

[Lexx]

My dad was watching Whatever Happened to Harold Smith today while i was hogging his laptop... could't help but be drawn into watching it though. Definiely recommend you all check this one out, it's a little gem!

[Adam G]

Stewie Griffin - The Untold StoryAfter a near-death experience, Stewie tries to find his real father.Mildly entertaining at best and inconceivably overrated, just like Family Guy.

Whilst I dont agree that the movie is overrated...

It has an 8/10 on the IMDB. That's higher than the ratings for the likes of Animal House, Gozu, The Big Lebowski, Anchorman, Visitor Q, The Omen, The Exorcist, Audition, Akira, Young Frankenstein, Airplane and The Naked Gun.

I havent seen any of those fims.Other than the movie, have you seen much Family Guy, Van_Dammer? Edited July 24, 2006 by Adam Gard

[IANdrewDiceClay]

I watch TMNT, Lost Boys, The Burbs (Corey Feldman marathon), Elvira Mistress of the Dark, Lost in Translation and Loaded Weapon 1 over the weekend.And they were all great. There were some good movies on this weekend.

[Van_Dammer]

Other than the movie, have you seen much Family Guy, Van_Dammer?

Yes. The first season was good and it was lackluster thereafter.

[Adam G]

Currently watching Goodfellas, I'm about an hour in and I'm wondering when its gonna get good.Edit: Turns out it doesnt get good. But I gave it a chance so I'm gonna reward myself with some Family Guy.

Edited July 24, 2006 by Adam Gard

[Guest DJM]

Went to see Stormbreaker yesterday. It is somewhat fun on the whole, and like James Bond for youngsters. It has a good cast, but most are under-used. Donnie Yen(?) helped with the fight scenes, but there were only really about three fight scenes in the whole film (and one was stolen from a Jackie Chan film) so he was also under-used really. About what I was expecting going into the cinema, but nothing I would go out of my way to recommend anyone to rush out to see.