DVD's and Films You Have Watched Recently

[ukedge87]

Iron ManLoved it!.. Robert Downey was great. The thing I loved about the film was that it wasnt just a good vs evil thing.. it actually had a really good story behind it all. Rotten Tomatoes gave it 92%(and they're usually very harsh in scoring).. I think I'd agree with them!.I saw the Hulk trailer yesterday.. even though it looks awesome.. I cant forget how shit the first film was.. I felt like I was in a 2 hour biology lecture.Just like last year... so many good films coming out this summer! Hancock, Indiana Jones, Dark Knight, Harold and Kumar 2!, Superhero Movie looks funny... hopefully they wont suck as some of the much hyped films did last year.

I thought the first film was rather good, and I'm pretty sure (from teasers etc I have seen) that they've turned the new one into another dull generic comic book film. I don't think I will bother with it.

[DEF]

Speed Racer

 

I can't really put my finger on it, maybe it was because the Matrix sequels were so painfully mediocre or maybe it was because I never really got into the Speed Racer cartoon, but I went into Speed Racer thinking that it was more than likely going to suck. I mean a property like this would more often than not be turned into stupendous nonsensical infantile painful mess by most of Hollywood. I'm happy to report that this did not happen and both the wife and I enjoyed it a great deal. I'd love to hear others opinions because its so garish I'm sure it would still rub some the wrong way. Its not with out its faults, Speed Racer himself and other members of his family certainly seemed a little underdeveloped, but that was forgiveable as they crammed so much thoroughly entertaining action, speed, flashing lights, bright colours, comedy, John Goodman and CG in as you could possibly want. It sure as hell entertained me.

 

If I was asked to describe it in one sentence I would say, Think Wacky Races crossed with Burnout!

Edited May 11, 2008 by DEF

[Murtz]

Iron ManLoved it!.. Robert Downey was great. The thing I loved about the film was that it wasnt just a good vs evil thing.. it actually had a really good story behind it all. Rotten Tomatoes gave it 92%(and they're usually very harsh in scoring).. I think I'd agree with them!.I saw the Hulk trailer yesterday.. even though it looks awesome.. I cant forget how shit the first film was.. I felt like I was in a 2 hour biology lecture.Just like last year... so many good films coming out this summer! Hancock, Indiana Jones, Dark Knight, Harold and Kumar 2!, Superhero Movie looks funny... hopefully they wont suck as some of the much hyped films did last year.

I thought the first film was rather good, and I'm pretty sure (from teasers etc I have seen) that they've turned the new one into another dull generic comic book film. I don't think I will bother with it.

I dont know what the reason was that made me hate it so much... maybe because there was so much hype before I went into see it.. that the lack of action for most parts of the film kinda ruined it for me.Watched Indiana Jones - Temple of Doom today... brings back some memories!!

[JLM]

Might have been the hype, might have been the mind-numbing tedium and the fucking hulk poodle.I need to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Kristen Bell might be my favourite person on earth and I'm also a fan of Mr. Brand. Also I have a soft spot for the silly Judd Apatow brand of comedy.

[Harvey Dent]

caught Thank you for smoking on sky over the weekend. Really good thought provoking film, really enjoyed it.

[Murtz]

I need to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Kristen Bell might be my favourite person on earth and I'm also a fan of Mr. Brand. Also I have a soft spot for the silly Judd Apatow brand of comedy.

Those three things make the film a must then!.. Add to that the fact that Paul Rudd is in it too.. and Jackie from That 70's Show make it even more 'must see'.The way Brand acts throughout made me think that he made most of his lines up! (most of it was very Brand-esque)

[Egg Shen]

Doomsday - if you read the reviews, you'd notice movies like Mad Max, Escape From New York, 28 Days Later + The Warriors (heck, i'm gonna throw in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves!) mentioned. Well they're movies i love so i knew this would be up my alley, fucking great. Neil Marshall has already proven he's one of the most promising directors around and here you can tell he made this purely to satisfy his own love for the above kinda films. Completely ridiculous, violent as fuck and at times pretty funny.

[bAzTNM#1]

Anybody saw that film called "The Cooler", with William H. Macy?Me, Mumzie, and my brothers woman all thought it was rather nifty. You?

[Loki]

Yeah, I really enjoyed it. Macy is an acting God.

 

The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeely long and drawn out. I love a good western, I love a slow-paced character piece, but this one tried my patience to the limit. The premise was fine, in that Robert Ford was a more complex character than his infamy suggests, and the actor playing him did a good job, but the whole thing could have been done in an hour and a half, not the bloated 2 1/2 hours it took. Any sense of growing destiny or danger or anticipation was leeched away by the huge amount of time people spent on-screen together before anything happened. To me this felt like a director noyt sufficiently reined in by the more experienced producers (though one of them was Ridley Scott, not known for his brevity and conciseness).

 

My other problem was Brad Pitt. I really like Brad Pitt, I think he's a great movie star, but he exudes "acting" through every pore of his body, you can see him acting. In his best roles, the quirky characters of Twelve Monkeys, Fight Club or Ocean's Eleven, it works well. In a totally serious, heavyweight drama like this it really jars. I was like "ooh, look, there's Brad Pitt) every time the camera hit him. Compare that with someone like Daniel Day-Lewis - he inhabits the character so such an extent that you forget who is acting and concentrate entirely on the film.

 

So, 5/10. Disappointed as I'd heard good things. It's not the epic that it thinks it is, and Brad Pitt is miscast.

[ultimo the great]

Anybody saw that film called "The Cooler", with William H. Macy?Me, Mumzie, and my brothers woman all thought it was rather nifty. You?

Bet that sex scene went down well After the reviews i was down on the prospect of watching Doomsday but Ebb's got me back on track.

[benbobjr]

ive just watched david lynch's Inland Empire for a second time, its still too long and a bit of a head feck, but im beginning to understand it more

[Mr. Seven]

Yeah, I really enjoyed it. Macy is an acting God.The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeely long and drawn out. I love a good western, I love a slow-paced character piece, but this one tried my patience to the limit. The premise was fine, in that Robert Ford was a more complex character than his infamy suggests, and the actor playing him did a good job, but the whole thing could have been done in an hour and a half, not the bloated 2 1/2 hours it took. Any sense of growing destiny or danger or anticipation was leeched away by the huge amount of time people spent on-screen together before anything happened. To me this felt like a director noyt sufficiently reined in by the more experienced producers (though one of them was Ridley Scott, not known for his brevity and conciseness).My other problem was Brad Pitt. I really like Brad Pitt, I think he's a great movie star, but he exudes "acting" through every pore of his body, you can see him acting. In his best roles, the quirky characters of Twelve Monkeys, Fight Club or Ocean's Eleven, it works well. In a totally serious, heavyweight drama like this it really jars. I was like "ooh, look, there's Brad Pitt) every time the camera hit him. Compare that with someone like Daniel Day-Lewis - he inhabits the character so such an extent that you forget who is acting and concentrate entirely on the film.So, 5/10. Disappointed as I'd heard good things. It's not the epic that it thinks it is, and Brad Pitt is miscast.

Wow, just wow. Alarmingly wrong, especially the Pitt/Day-Lewis comparison. I like Day-Lewis, but come on, what you wrote about Pitt exuding "acting" and looking like he's acting to the point where it's distracting is pretty much what Day-Lewis does in every single one of his roles. He overshadows the films he's in because his performance is straight out of the Greek theatre, consistently dripping with bombastic ostentatiousness. Pitt was not miscast in JJ, he was stunning. Subtle when he needed to be, conveying more emotion with a downcast look from his eyes than Day-Lewis with his BOOMING VOICE and distracting John Huston impression in TWBB. You're so wrong on this one Loki, it's actually unacceptable. Edited May 14, 2008 by Mr. Seven

[Keith Houchen]

As much as I love you, Day Lewis has only been overshadowing in TWBB, a role which demanded it to the role where Anderson wouldn't have made the film without it, and Gangs Of New York, which needed it as a counter to the subtlety of Di Caprio. Also, which Greek Theatre are you comparing it to? I'm sure it's not the piss poor adaptations of the books because it's certainly not the books themselves.(To give the film in question 5/10 isn't a score I'd give either BTW)

[Egg Shen]

Salem's Lot - watched the Tobe Hooper version of this on halloween last year and loved it, so i decided to check out the 2004 version with Rob Lowe...more good stuff (and quite different to the original), it's a mini series kinda thing so it's pretty long but it's well worth checking out if you like Stephen King adaps. Cracking cast too.

[Egg Shen]

** Spoilers Be Below **

 

Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull - just got back from it....mmmmmm, hard to say what i thought. Some of it was pure nostalgia, Indy himself was great as was the rest of the cast (other than a hammy to fuck Karen Allen), some of the dialogue was pure cheese and didn't really know what to think of the x-files ending, strange strange direction to go in. It looked good, but i didn't think it fitted in. On the whole it was fun, fast moving and definatly a couple of hours well spent.

 

Now my one major gripe...the effects!! i read everywhere that this was a throwback to the old days, no cgi etc. just pure stunts...bollocks! there was a lot of cgi and digital effects in this movie, some of the sequences just looked pure awful, i.e. the jeep sword fight scene (which would have been ridiculous even if it had looked good), and another purely awful scene involving Shia Lebeouf swinging through a forest full of monkeys. Just shitty looking sequences. There were other examples too, but im finished