ukedge87 Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 Alien vs. Predator is easily the worst movie ever made.No, that would be Waking Life. Anyways, I watched a couple of films lately, and they are:Hannibal RisingI've never really been all that fascinated with the character of Hannibal Lecter, and I feel that Brian Cox's portrayal in the underrated Manhunter was far superior to the hugely overrated Anthony Hopkins version from Silence Of The Lambs. Hopkins went on to turn the character into a pantomime villain in the dire sequel Hannibal and the unneccessary plodding remake of Manhunter, Red Dragon. However, Thomas Harris was persuaded to write another Hannibal book and so here we are, with an incredibly pointless and unneccessary origin tale where the titular character is stripped bare and demystified and rendered utterly hollow by the end. If you really cannot come up with a better birth for your anti-hero and his reasons for murder and cannibalism than "Lithuanian Nazi-wannabes ate my sister" then you really should just leave well alone. In this abortion, Hannibal even learns the ways of the samurai. I'm not joking. Judging the film solely on it's merits, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that everybody involved in the making of this film should not be allowed make a film ever again. With the exception of how hot Gong Li is, I cannot think of one single redeeming feature that this film has. Not one. Gaspard Ulliel, who plays Hannibal, is so terrible I cannot believe he was cast. Incapable of portraying emotion, he is unable to flesh out the character or add any depth to him, and as such, it's impossible to care about him one way or the other. Ulliel is merely a pretty-boy with no range who manages to sound like he's from England, Germany, Ireland and Austrailia when speaking one sentence, who somehow grows up to be well-rounded Welshman Anthony Hopkins. It doesn't work, he's shockingly miscast, as is Rhys Ifans, leader of the aforementioned Nazi-wannabe gang. I don't understand the casting of this film. I can picture the meeting now:"Right, you want someone thin but animalistic and brooding for Hannibal's nemesis, someone who can portray evil but also have a sense of confidence about them.... have you seen Notting Hill?" Ifans also plays his character like a smarmy Bond villain. His lackeys are shit too. Seriously the entire film is a mess, and Thomas Harris deserves most of the blame, for not only did he consent (in the face of a truckload of money no doubt) to write another Hannibal book purely so there could be another film, but he even wrote the screeplay to this debacle. Avoid.You don't happen to perhaps listen to the Kermode podcasts do you? And perhaps learn them off by heart? And live by his teachings? I can tell you with 100% honesty that no, I do not listen to Mark Kermode's podcasts (until I saw your post I was unaware that he even had one) nor do I know what magazine/newspaper he reviews for. I'm guessing my opinion matched his and the thought of two people having the same opinion was too much for your delicate little brain to handle.Edit: Just noted that you highlighted the Brian Cox thing. It's an opinion I've held for years and Brian Cox just happens to be my favourite actor.I haven't seen Manhunter, so I wasn't opposed to your statement. Its just it is pretty much EXACTLY what Kermode said in his podcast last week, not just oppinion but the comparision of Hopkins as panto like etc etc.And that was too much for my delicate little brain to handle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Seven Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 Oh well I clearly copied him. After all, I'm a robot with no opinions of my own. Right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukedge87 Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 (edited) Yep. Thats the general impression on the front line.You'll be hearing from Mr. Kermode's lawyers in the morning. Edited February 16, 2007 by ukedge87 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted February 16, 2007 Paid Members Share Posted February 16, 2007 The Core - one of them 'fuck, the worlds gonna end' movies, similar to stuff like Armageddon (without the mushy shit) and Deep Impact...does exactly what you'd expect, a group go on a crazy mission to save the earth, everyone runs smoothly but they run into problems along the way, crew members die in a bid for the mission to continue, the shit needs reparing etc. it's cliche stuff and it's as predictable as you can get but it's still a decent movie. Worth your time if you like these kinda movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancuniankid Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 The Hard Corps - Just you nowadays typical Van Damme action movie. Nothing to exciting but not to bad either. If your a fan of any of Van Dammes recent work you will proberbly enjoy this if not it will proberbly just be average. ***The Illusionist - Fantasic film, Norton being great again as Eisemheim a brilliant illusionist or person with magical powers? He finds his childhood sweetheart again but she is now enganged to the Crown Prince, who is dirty and has the chief of police on his side. Brilliant from start to finish with a superb ending. ****1/2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pro-rebeluk Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 EPIC MOVIE AVOID IT LIKE THE FUCKING PLAGUE......... that is all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finbar Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Stander - set in South Africa in the 70's and based on a true story about a white cop who kills and unarmed black man whilst trying to control a demonstration/riot and kinda goes off the rails due to the sheer amount of predjudence inherent in the police force at the time. Decides that as most of the police's efforts are taken up with controlling the black community he'll take advantage and starts robbing banks, lots of banks. Really enjoyed the film and thought Tom Jane(from The Punisher remake) put in a really good performance, also has Dexter Fletcher, with a remarkably decent South African accent, putting in an appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted February 17, 2007 Paid Members Share Posted February 17, 2007 The Hard Corps - Just you nowadays typical Van Damme action movie. Nothing to exciting but not to bad either. If your a fan of any of Van Dammes recent work you will proberbly enjoy this if not it will proberbly just be average. ***i'll check that, Van Damme's recent movies aint actually that bad (compared to Seagal/Snipes who's are abysmal), Wake of Death & In Hell were good lil' actioners...i'll grab this next week from blockbuster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam G Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 The Van Damme movie where he had an twin was good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainCharisma Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 The Van Damme movie where he had an twin was good.Double Impact. Fuckin' ace it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam G Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 (edited) Yes, that was excellent. I meant the more recent one, actually it might have been a clone not a twin.Edit: It was Replicant, he played a serial killer who the cops clone in order to catch him. Edited February 17, 2007 by Adam Gard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted February 17, 2007 Moderators Share Posted February 17, 2007 Van Damme has at least 4 different films in which he plays two different characters. He has been his own brother, a clone of himself, and himself from the future/past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BionicRedneck Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Yeah. In Maximum Risk he plays twins. Both of them shag that bird from Species, IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukedge87 Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 Whats Eating Gilbert Grape  The acting talent in this film stands out a mile; Johny Depp, DiCaprio and Mary Steenburgh are breathtakingly good. I thought it would be hard to watch the flick as I would constantly be aware of the big name tags on the back of the actors, but the method acting is done so well that they connect with the viewer instantly.  I wasn't that impressed with the film itself - despite the praise I have heard of it in the past. It seemed to superficially glide over all the interesting sub-plots it had created (e.g. the mass production of commercalism hitting the small time, and the fragility of life), never seeming to really dig into the points it was making. Instead it relies on the superb acting skills, before making some daft poignant point such as "Life always presents opportunities".  Well worth a watch, and is a true credit to the leading cast, but not the classic its branded as. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted February 20, 2007 Paid Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 Brotherhood of Justice - my sister brought me home a couple of 97p dvds from tesco's the other day...i gave this one a whirl mainly due to the fact that Keanu Reeves & Keifer Sutherland are in it. This is an old tv movie from 1986 (before Bill & Ted, Before The Lost Boys) so both guys were unknown quantities at the time. This was actually pretty decent, it's about a group of boys who decide to form a vigilante group to act against the bullies, theifs at school etc. But things get a little out of hand. It's low budget and whatever but the acting is solid and it's a pretty cool story (which is based on a real event). Its the kind of thing you'd flick onto on channel 4 about 2 in the morning and end up leaving on. Not bad for 97p. Â The other two my sister picked up look like stinkers though, Dark Waters & The Sender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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