|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Both are in love with O and all three have sex and are all OK with that. I remember the trailers, that line, "And yes, I'm with both of them" -- or something like that. And I wondered if that was supposed to be shocking. Like, are audiences going to be surprised that people aren't always monogamous? Anyway, thanks for the review. I've been curious about this. I'm not what you'd call a fan of Stone, but this one looks more like a movie and less like the polemic that some of his recent movies have been. I don't know if I was shocked [actually I was impressed with the nudity] but even knowing that line in the trailer my brother was surprised at seeing a threesome be it the men taking turns on O or both men at the same time. Some people in the audience certainly were shocked I would say that but considering the opening [which sets the tone], the killings, the rape, and all the other brutality...threesome sex was rather tame LOL. John Travolta much to my surprise STOLE the show.
|
|
|
|
|
No Strings Attached (2011) -- 7.5/10
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GHOST SHIP (2002) - 4/10 This was on the telly last night. Not as bad as I'd thought. By the numbers, totally predictable - sure! But there were a number of effective and well-shot scenes, and the cast was better than usual for this kind of tripe. There was at least a modicum of the kind of style we know from old haunted house(seaboard, this time) movies. As well as a few effective jolts. The music by John Frizzell was barely adequate. But then, it's John Frizzell.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Jul 8, 2012 - 1:07 PM
|
|
|
By: |
TominAtl
(Member)
|
Its been a while since I posted here so I have a lot to catch up on but I will make it as brief as I can: As seen in theatres: The Amazing Spider-Man - a good but pointless reboot of an already very good franchise(part 3 not withstanding). The franchise gets a definite upgrade in visual effects as the shots look more organic and less cgi. The acting is quite good as well, but so were the Raimi films. However it takes a while before the story gets going which is fine as the characters are more developed but a tad frustrating because we've already seen it before. Nothing new here but is still a fun time at the movies. 7 out of 10 Magic Mike - a much better film about male strippers than it out to be but not nearly as fun or raunchy as the ads make it out to be. Soderbergh brings together some of the newest and hottest male actors from television and film and makes a decent film overall about the temptation of easy money and the ultimate pitfalls that occur. But I cannot stand his color schemes of late with his recent movies, making them look monochromatic. Magic Mike looks almost sepia tone, like it was all filmed during heavy smog days. By the end I ended up wanting the film to be over sooner than it was. I saw the ending coming a mile away but again for what it was, its an ok movie. 6 out of 10 Brave - another beautifully mounted Pixar film that centers this time on a heroine, a blazing red haired one at that. And any movie that as Emma Thompson in it is a plus in my book. The film had me most of the way until a curse appears that just threw me out of whack and it brought down the film from being great to just another cute fantasy movie with a message...that girls are just as bad ass as men. Good but not great story making, but fantastic and beautiful visuals with a really nice Patrick Doyle score. 7 out of 10 Prometheus - finally, a film that hung with me long after I left the theatre. This is a thought provoking movie that is not what a lot of people had envisioned when they saw it. No, its NOT a true part of the Alien franchise. Yes, at one point, it alludes to it but its less of a prequel than an off shoot. The effects are outstanding because they really make you believe what you are seeing is real. You feel you really are on an alien world and if you see it in 3D the effect is almost disorienting. The cast works well and I cared about them. Yes, the ending is a bit frustrating because it asks more questions that it gives answers and definitely leaves open for a sequel that I would love to see. Good score too with an actual theme that others have already mentioned before. 8 out of 10 Snow White and the Huntsman - I bought this movie hook, line and sinker. I love the story, I loved Charlize Theron, I loved the effects(another film featuring organic looking cgi) and I liked JNH score though I wished it was more lush. The film is very stylish and I was amazed as how well the did the 7 dwarfs with some well known character actors, including Bob Hoskins. The story is decidedly more adult in nature I really liked how it was mounted and executed. 8 out of 10 The Avengers - not among the greatest in the superhero genre but one of the most fun. I was surprised as just how well Joss Whedon pulled the story together with all of the different iconic hero's and made a very fun action film. And I must say that Robert Downey, Jr is the icing on the cake as his character and performance brings the movie up to a whole new level. As far as Silvestri's score goes, as heard in film, well, I don't remember a thing about it. Whether that is good or bad, all I know is that I won't be buying it as nothing stood out to me during the movie that prompted me to purchase it. 7 out of 10 Men In Black 3 - a vast improvement over part 2 but still not as much fun as part 1 but pretty close. And Josh Brolin does a dead on impersonation as a much younger Tommy Lee Jones. The effects are good, the villain is trashy fun and the ending is very very much of an emotional surprise. Didn't see that coming at all and it made it a worthwhile sequel. 7 out of 10 On DVD: The Tree of Life - a frustrating film from a gifted filmmaker. More like a documentary than a narrative that is beautifully shot but is emotionally distant. We don't get to really know the characters as it comes across more like a series of beautifully handheld series of montage sequences. The acting is great and very natural by all, especially the kids. But overall the film is somewhat of a bore. It really straddles the line between greatness and pretentiousness and ultimately falls square into mediocrity. 5 out 10 Man on a Ledge - a tedious comeuppance film that I didn't buy for an instant. Another nail in Sam Worthingtons career. 3 out 10 The Artist - a very cute, clever and well done silent film that is charming through and through. A great film? No. But I was never bored by it, the 2 leads are extremely charming, as is the dog and the music is beautiful and it carries the film. The highlight of the film: the dream scene. Very clever indeed! 8 out 10 Albert Nobbs - a valiant effort but ultimately fails to engage. Glenn Close is very good as a lesbian in 19th century England living her entire adult life as a man but her character is very aloof and we really never get to know her that well. Since she works as a butler in a posh hotel she is required to remain silent and professional and that is what we get. When she tries to make a life for herself outside this hotel is when things go wrong for her and while it is disquieting to see what happens, its nothing that hasn't been shown or done before. 6 out of 10
|
|
|
|
|
|
Relentless and graphic, SAVAGES pulls no punches and its a hard core crime story and I loved it. At least until the ending, which literally rewinds and takes back the AWESOMELY BLEAK ending the movie should have had and replaces it with a total bullshit finale where the bad guys get arrested and the heroes go off to live in a jungle paradise. Totally wrecked an otherwise enjoyable movie. I know alot of people DISLIKE this but I found that the Butch Cassidy comments foreshadowed alot of that. I personally think it works but mostly because of the main 3 who lets face it are Bad Guys fighting Worse Guys and none of very sympathetic or even remotely likable. Had the first end been used it would have made the whole thing... pointless.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ted (2012) - 5/5 The funniest comedy I've seen in a long time. Yeah, it's got a good dose of swearing and some gross-out stuff, but it has a big heart and is actually really sweet at its core, something missing from a lot of what passes for comedies these days. It's nothing original, but what can I say? It made me laugh. A lot. The Grey (2012) - 2/5 Not the action film the advertising suggested, but more of a character drama with some suspense. That's okay, and there are some terrific sequences. But it would have been nice if the filmmakers had bothered to include an ending. Agreed with TED as it was funny as fuck. As for THE GREY, there is a small bit after the credits that gives some conclusion.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Jul 11, 2012 - 10:42 PM
|
|
|
By: |
Thgil
(Member)
|
*SPOILERS HEREIN* I just got X-Men: First Class via Netflix. I don't enjoy the X-Men movies. I only watched the first three for Rebecca Romijin. Naturally, since she's not in the Wolverine movie (to my knowledge) I didn't bother with it. However, as soon as I saw that this one had January Jones in it I was ready to go. I was pleasantly surprised. Michael Fassbender is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors. Having just seen him in Prometheus and loving his performance therein, I had to bump this film to the top of my queue. Not a mistake in the slightest. The movie, while far from perfect, is a bit different in tone from the first three. While I realize there was a lot of social commentary taking place in them (the mutants' civil rights movement), this one had a much more real feel to it for some reason. Perhaps because we weren't seeing superheroes pitted against supervillains for two hours. We got to know Magneto/Erik's story and identify with him. The same goes for Xavier/Professor X (and Raven/Mystique, etc, etc, etc). They were people here. And they got to have much more natural character moments in this film than in the others. I knew I was hooked very quickly. By its end, it was walking a fine line between entertaining and b.s. but I loved Magneto's strike on the U.S. and Russian armadas. I loved how Xavier (played quite well by James McAvoy; this being by no means a small accomplishment considering that he followed in the footsteps/tracks of Patrick Stewart) tried to assuage his anger with humanity by telling Erik that "They're just following orders". I literally replied with, "That was the wrong thing to say!" And, as much as I'm not a fan of violence or revenge, I can see very much where Erik was coming from. I'd probably do the same damn thing. A treat I didn't expect came with Jennifer Lawrence's performance. Not only was she stunning, but she was a pretty good actress, doing far more with Mystique than Romijn was allowed in her entries (though the lovely lady does make an interesting cameo). Not nearly the same effect as when I first laid eyes on Ellen Page in X3 and my jaw dropped, only to watch a decent performance in a crappy film. (I love Ellen Page as an actress, but X3 hardly showed what she's capable of.) Unlike the other entries, I genuinely cared about the characters and was excited by the action, not wanting to wait for what happened next. At the same time, I loved the character moments. The Xavier/Erik scenes were great to watch and finally genuinely showed that this story was indeed a minor tragedy. By the end of the movie, I wanted nothing less than to see Lehnsherr become Magneto. All in all this was a movie that made me feel like a kid again, actually taking a superhero film seriously. This hasn't happened since Tim Burton's 1989 Batman. I highly recommend it, even if you're not into superheroes... I'm not either! 7.5/10
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Jul 16, 2012 - 4:41 AM
|
|
|
By: |
CinemaScope
(Member)
|
My local library had the DVD of John Carter, so I thought I'd give it a spin. Well I gave it a go, but it's not very good, I got bored halfway through & started skipping chapters. It's very...silly, & doesn't even look that great. The short doc, 100 Years In The Making, had some really great pulp magazine illustrations, & if the film had looked anything like them, then they may have had something. I can see why it was a dud. 4/10 After that & in the mood to see a good movie I looked at my old DVD of Little Big Man, now that's a movie. It would be great if they made a western that good & with that ambition these days. It's a fun way to learn history having one character there at all the events. George MacDonald Fraser did it very well with his Flashman novels. And late Saturday night I finished up with an old Hammer, The Curse Of The Werewolf, from the Universal Hammer Box. For my money the best werewolf film ever, & the best make-up job. It was a cheap film but it looks so good, beautifully shot in lovely rich colour (did you here that John Carter..lovely RICH COLOUR!), & fantastic set design.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|