The old movie thread: ratings and discussion' or some shiz

The A Team - 7 Out Of 10

I enjoyed this this film immensely. Probably because I went into it expecting it to be total crap and was pleasantly surprised. I also went with three old friends I hadn't seen in a long time so I guess the whole 'team' dynamic may have contributed to a higher rating.

I remember next to nothing of the old series so that was probably a good thing too. Neeson was good, Copley was hilarious at times and Rampage did a credible job but I found Cooper (Face) to be the best. I laughed quite a bit during this film and not in the cynical way I usually do when watching 'remakes'.

It felt alot like watching one of those old time throwaway action comedies that were prevalent in the 80's and sadly missing from recent film. I recommend it. Not an instant buy but if I saw it going cheap on DVD, I'd probably pick it up.

 

Ghosts of Citi Soleil - Documentary film reminiscent of "City Of God", set in the slums of Haiti. Made in 2006 but I had never even heard of this before watching it a couple nights ago.

Remarkable footage of gang members in Haiti interspersed with footage regarding the political climate of Haiti, the overthrow of Aristade and the following UN occupation.

The camera follows two brothers who are head of a gang loyal to Aristide but we're not sure if they actually have anything to do with Aristide or if they are just using his name to further their enterprise.

The brothers have sort of a Cain and Abel relationship and you wonder if one might actually kill the other by the end or not.

They acquire guns, give money to people on the street for food and school, brag about being killers, and live in fear of being killed every minute of the day. They are the kingpins of their neighborhood, but as a testament to what a shitty place Haiti is, they still don't have shit themselves. They have power in the streets and fear from their neighbors but that's about it. I guess you can't really get rich being a criminal if the people around you don't have shit worth stealing to begin with.

They live in hovels, eat sparingly, bathe in filthy water and rely on a sympathetic French female relief worker for medical care when they have to shoot one of their own men in the leg to keep them in line. This last part happens more then once.

A fascinating ride along. You don't know whether to be repulsed or sympathetic with these guys. They seem to see themselves as Robin Hood's, just looking out for their neighborhood, but you know deep down inside they ain't quite right in the head.

I clicked it on just as I was going to bed, and it kept my attention until the very end.


9/10

 

A-Team---7/10---For a remake, they did pretty good. Excellent casting as well.Liam Neeson is a great Hannibal, the guy from District 9 was funny as Murdock, Bradley Cooper was great as Face and Rampage was solid as B.A (although they wisely kept his lines to a minimum). They kept with the formula of the original series and interjected humor into the missions. Jessica Biel is hot but she did not belong in the role as a military/black ops leader. She actually made the film worse IMO.

Knight and Day---8/10---a solid action comedy similar to True Lies. I'd actually go and re-watch this. Good action and a solid and grounded storyline with a good amount of humor mixed in. Predictable storyline as is the norm but the humor really kept things fun throughout. I'm a Tom Cruise fan and like pretty much every movie he's done but this is some of his best work in the past few years.

 

I agree with your review. I caught a couple of episodes of the A-Team recently and was surprised that the movie stuck to the formula. They pretty much kept the overall style of the missions planning/mission result. I enjoyed it.

 

3 Out Of 10

This movie fucking blows.

 

Wow, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Definitely one of the best movies Ive seen lately.

 

Have to say, Kick Ass I found very poor.

 

It wasn't terrible and had it's moments but as an overall movie it seemed to be confused where it wanted to go and the trailer is actually kind of misleading. At one point it seems to be a comedy, then a series drama, but doesn't merge these themes very well and instead gives you the feeling something is missing. I'd probably give it a 5.5/10.

 

Those are precisely my sentiments. The film could not make up its mind as to what it wanted to be, & you're right --- the trailer was quite misleading.

 

I've read people debating on if Kick Ass is better than Watchmen. Unbelievable. The general public is so dumbed down, just look at the comedies that are being put out. Embarrassingly stupid.

 

Watchmen was never confused as to what type of film it was. People just expected something different.

Kick ass can't decide if it is a comedy or a serious drama and rapidly fluctuates between both. I found the comedy parts of this film felt completely out of place and at the end, I just found the whole experience to be distasteful.

 

The Machinist---8.5/10---Very good movie. Christian Bale looked like a holocaust victim for this role and it was necessary to the storyline. In fact I thought it was a movie about the holocaust so I didn't watch it for a while. Bale's job in the movie is a machinist but his work life goes awry when he starts seeing things. His personal life is clearly troubled from the beginning. The movie's tone is established early. Jennifer Jason Leigh had a good role as a hooker that Bale's character visits frequently. I liked the ending, a bit of it was left up for interpretation but I thought it was decisive and satisfying nonetheless.

 

Bale reportedly had to be talked out of dropping an additional nine kilograms (around 20-25 lbs.) from what you actually see in the film. Goes to show what obsession can drive a person toward. He did a supreme job bulking up immediately thereafter.

 

Watched 44 Inch Chest the other day...not bad, very well acted (although Whinstone's Colin seemed a bit too sniveling at times).

Also saw Avatar finally...hadn't much interest in it when it was in the theaters, didn't have that much interest in watching after that, either, really. Was alright.

Shutter Island's another one I watched recently...had already read the book, so wasn't surprised or looking to be surprised in the movie...maybe that made it more enjoyable. Not great, but overall, I didn't think it was too bad.

 

44 inch chest is better than the reviews it got.

if you liked it check out belgian movie Loft.

 

Where The Wild Things Are: I didn't care for it. Not sure why the reviews were so complimentary, but I think it has something to do with the names attached to it.

Edge of Darkness: Entertaining turn from Gibson and Whinstone. Not sure about some of the plot twists, and reveals, in this one...but it fits somewhere alongside State of Play and some other recent releases.

 

I liked Shutter Island a lot. Didn't read the book. Couldn't figure out why people were disappointed because the twist didn't surprise them. It wasn't supposed to, despite the crappy marketing of this movie as a "Twist" movie.

Sometimes I think M. Night really ruined movie goers expectations with these stupid twists. A "twist" shouldn't make or break a movie, either way.

Anyways. The only twist was when the DiCaprio character would finally figure out who he was. I think the audience was let in on it, fairly early on. :dunno:

It was more of a character study then anything.

8.5/10

 

Yeah, I think the 'movie as puzzle' has gone way overboard...you see plot twists thrown into way too many movies, and it's like the feeling is, well, one may not be enough, so let's throw two or three in there just to make sure.

I agree with you, the enjoyment in Shutter Island is not in the twist...and in that sense, I think it stands up to repeated viewings.

Thought the acting was good, from DiCaprio to Michelle Williams, who I really liked in it, to Mark Ruffalo, on down.

 

Going to watch No Country For Old Men tonight. I have little interest in it, & even though I've heard nothing but good reviews of this movie, I'm just sure it will somehow bore me. I can't see it being interesting to my tastes, but we'll see...

 

Book of Eli - shite.

Carry on.

 

I saw a double feature at the drive in a few weeks ago, The A-Team, and Get Him to the Greek.

The A-Team, if you wanted to see an action movie with explosions and stuff like that, was pretty good. But if you wanted a movie that resembled the TV show even a little, you'll be very disappointed. Rampage did a credible job for a guy with no real acting experience.

Get him to the Greek was ok. Some parts were funny, some weren't. I really can't stand that skinny tall british dude. I just don't find him funny. The movie was stolen by Puff Didley though. He did a great job. Not really worth going out of your way to go out to see in the theater, but when it comes on cable worth checking out if only for Puff's performance.

TFK

 

Quite involving, actually, though it's the second movie in recent memory I've seen with an extremely dissatisfying, closure-deprived ending. That is frustrating, especially when you're watching a film you like.

 

The WHite Ribbon?

 

Put me down as another big fan of Shutter Island. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Also disliked Book of eli, as mentioned, its shit.

 

Cloverfield.

 

Whos hyped for Inception? Is it out in the US yet? Looks amazing.

 

Don't know why you thought you wouldn't enjoy it. Maybe you were listening to Charles Barkley too much.

Book Of Eli was actually a lot better than I expected.

 

I just had that deja vu sense about it. It was better than I'd expected, but then it ended, &...nothing. I also thought Tommy Lee Jones' character was more than a little superfluous --- just added for star value in marketing, IMO. A bit like Laurence Fishburne in that new movie of his. No role beyond starpower.

 

I just watched Inception and liked it. At times it was too much for me as it took me a little while to understand what was going on, but once I understood it, it was very good. Suspenseful and creative. Dicaprio plays a similar character to the one he played in Shutter Island. He's really good at playing damaged characters.

Chris Nolan is brilliant. Definitely one of my favorite directors out there.