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BLACK WATER (6/10)
Not too bad Aussie swamp-slasher, well made on a technical level, occasionally suspenseful.
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Posted: |
Dec 14, 2013 - 6:58 AM
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By: |
Francis
(Member)
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Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance 3d 7/10
Enjoyed the first Ghost Rider and this is ok for what it is, basically a cheaper sequel with a thin plot but still decent sequences involving the ghost rider (love the iconic look). It's nothing you haven't seen before really but nice to see Christopher Lambert in it. Not the best 3D, I imagine it's another post transfer.
The World's End 6/10
I wanted to like this comedy about past group of friends reuniting to redo an epic pub tour ending in alien invasion, but I found it nowhere near as funny as Shaun of the Dead nor Hot Fuzz, to me it felt like that other failed comedy/sci-fi vehicle with Ben Stiller and Seth Rogen "The Watch", why exactly do we need the aliens in it when the start of premise is actually good enough? In that regard the special effects circus in "This is the end" was better, even though it also had dull stretches where nothing funny happened. Ghostbusters remains the perfect mix, these movies try too hard.
Evil Dead 2013 8/10
My first feelings after seeing it in the theater was that it didn't feel like an evil dead movie because it didn't have Ash nor any of the college humor of the original trilogy. That said, having seen it again I can appreciate it for what it is, a good but not great horror remake. The new cast is serviceable and the events definitely horrific, though the movie tends to establish too many rules whereas with the original that was more a sidebar; I do like the look of the picture, if they did improve on the original it is definitely in that department.
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The new cast is serviceable and the events definitely horrific, though the movie tends to establish too many rules whereas with the original that was more a sidebar; I do like the look of the picture, if they did improve on the original it is definitely in that department.
Well, the budget must have been 20,000x times more than that of the original. 
Jane Levy , who's the lead in the movie, is actually a very promising young actress. She's co-starring in the sitcom "Suburgatory". Plus, when she's not frantically running around a forest, she's actuallypretty darn cute.
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Yesterday, Friday, was a strange day for me. I received "Shanghai Calling" from Netflix, which was a cute movie. Then I watched my Blu-ray of "Gladiator," and found myself confused by all the derision that has been directed towards it over the years. I think it's an excellent movie and has a thrilling soundtrack. Next I put on the Blu-ray of "Funny Girl" (truly an odd juxtaposition with "Gladiator"!) and both of those movies sounded great with the new speakers I've added to my surround array. But what an odd triple bill!
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Posted: |
Dec 15, 2013 - 11:10 PM
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By: |
Solium
(Member)
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Creator- (1985) 9-10
In honor of the great Peter O'Toole I watched this on Netflix tonight.
Over all a very sweet, charming, funny, beautifully made film. There are some very poignant ideas, heartfelt moments and a few surprisingly realistic scenes when it came to character interaction. The script over all was quite intelligent and clever. I did find one thing strange about the film, and I'm not sure if there was a subliminal bias in it's messaging, but I won't go into that.
Fails just short of a perfect 10 because the film felt over indulgent at times. A bit to dramatic, a bit too romantic, a bit too long. The characters were at times a bit too annoying as well. If the director could have reined it in some, I would have given this a 10.
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Posted: |
Dec 15, 2013 - 11:12 PM
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By: |
Michael24
(Member)
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I had heard so many things over so many years about so many people love it so much, a holiday classic, and so on. I like Chevy Chase and I thought the other two Chase Vacation movies were good (haven't seen Vegas) but this one absolutely didn't do it for me. I don't think I cracked a smile or laughed one time. Maybe too much hype? Very disappointed. Some amusing concepts and seeing Julia Louis-Dreyfus in it was nice but the whole thing just felt so limp. I thought it would be better because I like Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki too, but I never could stand Randy Quaid in anything and for someone who doesn't like that actor, this is a hard movie to like! It's really the first dud Christmas comedy movie I've seen in the series of Christmas comedies I've been watching this month. Just don't see what the big deal is.
Wow! Nothing about that review makes any sense to me whatsoever. Haha! One of the best Christmas movies ever, IMO. Oh well.
Wyatt Earp
Director Lawrence Kasdan bites off a little more than he can chew in this overlong but still watchable western from 1994. Kasdan proved himself a fine director of drama in the 1980's with Body Heat, The Big Chill and The Accidental Tourist but I don't think directing large scale action is his thing (though I have not seen Silverado, so I may have to retract that statement in the future). Kevin Costner has the title role as an ambitious young man who wants to fight for his country and follows his father's advice to complete work at home before moving on to bigger and better things.
Many familiar faces pepper the cast with small roles. Betty Buckley, Isabella Rossellini, and yes, Martin Kove playing yet another bully who gets what's coming to him. I also enjoyed seeing Jobeth Williams and Adam Baldwin. Costner is basically a one-note actor for me. His read-off-the-page acting style can grate at times and this film came near the end of his hot streak just prior to his precipitous fall from Hollywood Grace (perhaps Waterworld sealed his fate?). Dennis Quaid does well as the tubercular Doc Holliday and Gene Hackman is convincing as the patriarch of the Earp family.
I'm going to watch the film again to more properly judge JN Howard's score. It certainly fills the gaps and supports the lovely cinematography throughout. It has one big centerpiece theme that I liked. The next viewing I'll pay more attention to the more subtle aspects of the score. I hope it convinces me to buy the soundtrack from LLL.
The film has a certain flatness when it comes to the action set pieces. Shootouts and gunplay are expected in this kind of film and there is certainly no shortage here, but they have little oomph to them. Even as the big confrontation between the lawmen and the Clantons builds to a bloody climax there's nothing we haven't seen before in better films.
Overall I'll give the film a 7/10 rating, as it is well made and has a satisfying enough ending. I would trim a good 20 minutes out of it to tighten it up a bit, though.
I remember seeing this in the theater with my dad, and while I agree it might be a good 20-30 minutes too long, I was incredibly taken with it. I prefer it much more over the previous year's Tombstone. (Which was originally going to star Costner, until he left over creative differences with the director and decided to make his own Wyatt Earp film his way.)
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Posted: |
Dec 17, 2013 - 3:11 AM
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By: |
Francis
(Member)
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Will have to check Wyatt Earp out as well and been planning to revisit the Lethal Weapons too.
Battle Royale 2000 special edition 10/10
I am speechless. I am without speech. Once in a while a movie like this comes along to remind me why I love watching movies, so much to enjoy and experience with this one. I will definitely get the soundtrack, brilliant!
Troll Hunter 2010 5/10
I have to confess I've committed a sin here, I watched the english dub of this movie, I wish I saw it in original language though. That said, I thought it was nothing special, the found footage concept is really starting to bore me as most of this movie it's just uninteresting people sitting around waiting for large CGI creatures to emerge from the woods. The whole cover-up angle is silly and I've seen X-files and 90s Twilight Zone episodes tackling the troll mythology with better and more entertaining results.
Twixt 2011 8/10
There is nothing like seeing double chin Val Kilmer play a funny Stephen King wannabe writer who needs to find a new story desperately and does so in the haunted past of a small hick town. He's forced to team up with the local sheriff to co-write a murder mystery. Though the acting is so so, the limited visuals are interesting; it reminded me a lot of Coppola's use of different effects in Dracula, but don't expect anything A-level like it or Godfather, Apocalypse. The mood it creates is good and I even like the inclusion of a well known literary figure in the flashbacks, but it does feel out there at times. I looked up a Q&A with Coppola where he said that he felt like the main character in this movie while he directed Godfather, Apocalypse, ... strapped for cash and desperate to get a new hit movie. There is a lot of autobiographical feel in the movie, but I thought that only added to the mood.
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Posted: |
Dec 17, 2013 - 7:58 AM
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By: |
MikeP
(Member)
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Today I watched "Man Of Steel," and I have to agree with most here who've said it wasn't that great a movie. I need to thank Netflix, which has saved me maybe $20 for a Blu-ray I would have bought before I started previewing movies through their service. I do feel that Zack Snyder did a fine job of directing it, and it's very well produced. And I very much liked the earthiness of Henry Cavil's Superman -- there was none of the air-brushed perfection of a Christopher Reeve with his Crest smile -- and I must say that Amy Adams was the LEAST annoying Lois Lane I've ever seen on film. And Russell Crowe was fine -- the ensemble acting was very good. But the problem was in David S. Goyer's screenplay, or maybe Christopher Nolan's story, though the movie DID have its moments. But the story was in great need of more heart, which made it hard for me to invested myself and my emotions in it. But I must say that I was relieved not to have to see the masquerade of Superman as the mild-mannered but bumbling Clark Kent hiding behind his thick glasses!
This was a Redbox Blu Ray rental for me, under $2 and I still got screwed. I pretty much agree with you Ron.. Synder handled the film well, Amy Adams was nice, Crowe was fine, Costner under-used... but the awful, awful script and Shannon's mugging, eyebrow waggling Zod destroyed the movie. Zod was a really terrible bad guy...shouting and growling to the point of being a cartoon.
The opening 20 minutes were painful...a CGI orgy that did nothing at all aside from provide eye candy. The similar opening to Donner's film was much more effective. All the "codex" mumbo jumbo, the entire terraforming angle ( an I won't go into the unproduced script I wrote for a producer about 2 years ago that has a very similar terraforming climax, my lawyers will be contacting Warners  ) was again just an excuse for CGI. The ENDLESS, ENDLESS fighting in the last hour ... it was exhausting .
I enjoyed Zimmer's score very much however  . But the movie... a 3 of 10.
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and the way the opponents size each other up and move slowly towards each other like silent predators about to pounce, with the atmospheric and evocative torrential downpour of rain and Michael Kamen's single orchestral hits and Chinese percussion punctuating the silence. Very effective.