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Posted: |
Nov 28, 2015 - 10:53 AM
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By: |
Solium
(Member)
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Jem and the Holograms (2015)- 2-5 Since I never saw the cartoon series this movie was based upon, I really can't comment on all the fan "outrage". It's not exactly the worst film ever made, by a long shot. Yes, the script is pretty silly, illogical, and cliched. But the film has heart, likable characters, and a positive message for kids. (and a cute little robot named Synergy) The script focuses almost entirely on Jem which I thought was a mistake. While Jem is the lead character, she's also part of a group. We never got to know the rest of the band members, and they seemed isolated from Jem's world even when they were sharing scenes together. The small budget is evident. It never felt like Jem was a world wide sensation. I don't think they had more than a hundred extras for any crowd sequence. And one concert was obviously filmed inside a parking garage with the lights turned off! More to it's disadvantage, the songs and vocal talents were pretty mediocre. They needed a break out performer with songs that could resonate with the audience. Ironically though, I found the electronic underscore very enjoyable. Bottom line, not a great movie, but I don't understand the pounding this film got. The plot and script was no worse or better than say Jurassic World which were universally loved.
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Posted: |
Nov 29, 2015 - 3:55 AM
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Tall Guy
(Member)
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Seance on a Wet Afternoon - 10/10 - Stunningly acted, wonderfully shot and with a very good, eerie score. A fairly harrowing topic to be sure, but still manages to be gripping and entertaining. It makes me want to watch all Dickie Attenborough's films he acted in. The film also has one of the best scene transistions i've ever seen; from the sound of a motorbike roaring away it cuts to what almost feels like a creepy throaty gurgle (is in fact water rolling down a drain), as an arm writhes up into the frame with a dark, stained fist. Just a really striking scene change and composition, the arm is searching blindly for something, just like the character. Great film. Sheer poetry, mate. Wanted to repeat it so that all the people who have you on ignore can see what they're missing (just wanted to share in it, really ...)
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Posted: |
Nov 29, 2015 - 10:15 AM
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TominAtl
(Member)
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Creed The 7th film in this long running series is the best since the original. While I enjoyed the last film much more than I expected, this one very well done and wonderfully acted, especially by Stallone and this is not his movie. It focuses on Apollo Creed's son Adonis, a son that virtually no one knew he had from an illicit tryst no less, and who was rescued from oblivion by Apollo's wife Mary Anne. There are several things that make this a standout. First, after being rescued as a young boy from a life of juvenile jail and violence, he was raised in a rich persons environment and has a college education, and he was well on his way to management material. But he wanted more out of life than sitting behind a desk pushing number, with boxing coming to him as a calling. In an effort to make himself the best he could be, he sets out from his posh LA life and moves to Philly to find his Dad's best friend and one time nemesis, Rocky. Rocky of course is long retired and runs a restaurant, leading a very quiet life. Rocky of course is stunned at this revelation of who this kid is, and initially refuses but Adonis's dogged determinism and Rocky's guilt of feeling responsible for Apollo's death ends up taking the bait. The rest is a really well done example of how new faces, good screenwriting and good actors can take a worn out tale and make it fresh again. Make no mistake, this is Adonis's story, not Rocky's. Michael B. Jordan is not only very talented, but his body is certainly like an Adonis. And his love interest played by Tessa Thompson is a huge plus in this film. Everyone is damaged somewhat and in an emotional twist during the final fight writer/director Ryan Coogler gives us Adonis's real reason on why he is in this fight, why he is taking the punishment that he is experiencing. It gives a real emotional heft that elevates this movie from a more than a decent sequel to one of the better movies this year. Coogler does harken back to the original in more than one scene and they work. And seeing Sly Stallone in his best performance since "Copland" is a wonderful surprise. He does not hold back on showing his characters age and frailty and just may in fact get a well deserved Best Supporting Acting nod come Oscar season. Yeah, he is really that good. Good work all around. 8/10 The Good Dinosaur While this is definite step back from Pixar's incredibly good "Inside/Out", it nevertheless is still a beautiful film to look at and is ultimately heart warming film that kid's will really like. But it is a story that has been told time and time again and this time with characters that look very animated against a spectacularly rendered environment that really is out of place. All of the animals, who talk of course since the Big Meteorite moment never happened in this history buster movie, look, well, goofy. The dinosaurs have homes and storage houses for grain and rustle cattle. But the characters don'treally ever gel. The only character that I enjoyed was not the child dino Arlo but his very funny and wildly cute "human pet" named Spot. Spot is actually a human/dog combo but it works and his character keeps this film from really dipping to something less than being mediocre. 5/10 Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 A rather disappointing end to a franchise that in my mind kept getting better and better until this one. Everyone complained about how Mockingjay Part 1 was more of a set up, but I rather enjoyed it and found it emotionally captivating at times, and indeed it was setting up to the final showdown in part 2. But part 2 doesn't really crescendo into a much desired and warranted pay off. Instead of racing and sliding into home plate it just kinds of rounds the bases and jogs in for the win. The much vaunted showdown between Katniss and Snow doesn't even really happen either. Yes, I can understand the filmmakers wish to avoid the stereotypical Hollywood Bigger is Better type of showdown, but damn if this film just flat out runs out of steam about midway. Yes, the sequence with them going into the capital and dodging Snow's ultimate "Hunger Games" traps is intense, especially when the "mutts" arrive in the sewers. And yes the ending is bittersweet and was expected. But overall this is the least compelling or engaging film what has been a very well done series. Just a shame it didn't end on their highest note. 6/10
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Posted: |
Nov 29, 2015 - 11:30 AM
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By: |
Xebec
(Member)
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Seance on a Wet Afternoon - 10/10 - Stunningly acted, wonderfully shot and with a very good, eerie score. A fairly harrowing topic to be sure, but still manages to be gripping and entertaining. It makes me want to watch all Dickie Attenborough's films he acted in. The film also has one of the best scene transistions i've ever seen; from the sound of a motorbike roaring away it cuts to what almost feels like a creepy throaty gurgle (is in fact water rolling down a drain), as an arm writhes up into the frame with a dark, stained fist. Just a really striking scene change and composition, the arm is searching blindly for something, just like the character. Great film. Sheer poetry, mate. Wanted to repeat it so that all the people who have you on ignore can see what they're missing (just wanted to share in it, really ...) What the flip? Phelps, Carson, McGann and co., you mean. That shower. It really was a great film. I thought some of the direction and shots were just immense. I remembered seeing it a few times when i was younger and liking it even then, so wanted to get round to watching it again. But i hadn't realised how really great the performances were and how brilliant the direction was. Some great camera work and that shot transition blew me away.
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Shower? Who you calling a fkn shower??!!! Cheek. In the words of Terry-Thomas: What an absolute shoa-war!! Hey tg - whats going on in that mind of yours ? Jason statham garbage 8 out of ten? Marathon man - one of the best thrillers of the 70s, with olivier chilling portrayal of the weisser engel? And you give it a 7?? Youre 'avin a laugh? Are you on drugs?!! Mind you, there are some very peculiar insanely-generous marks out of ten in this thread! Subjective or not, the marking needs to be a bit more clinical, critical and sensible and a bit less blindly-enthusiastic raving fanboy who cannot be taken seriously !! Ha ha
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INLAND EMPIRE (2006) 6/10 I first saw this, David Lynch's most recent feature film to date, a few years ago in the midst of an exploration of all of Lynch's work. IE was absorbed in the overall awesomeness of the Lynch output and I considered it on par with his best movies. But after watching it again last night, I find that it doesn't hold up as well as most of his others. It's a good film, but I cite three problems: 1. Much of it seems like a retread of themes, effects, and tactics that Lynch has used previously to better effect. 2. The use of digital video was an economically efficient means to make this challenging & uncommerical movie, but it also gives the whole project an amateurish, "home movie" feel - it also exhausts the eyes a bit, a significant problem for a three hour film that demands patience for its unconventional narrative. 3. My biggest problem with IE is that empathy for the characters is subverted for a lot of not-very-original what is reality/fiction gamesplaying and narrative theory. In the past, Lynch's strangest creations, Mulholland Dr, Blue Velvet, even Eraserhead, have all kept their characters front and center, plumbing psychological and emotional depths to stunning effect. As fine as Laura Dern's acting is in IE, her character(s) remain obscure. Even the Polish "Lost Girl", whose plight we are meant to care about, is a pale remake of the Dorothy Vallens character from Blue Velvet.
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Im afraid i will have to tell you what you should like and what you shouldnt TG and the difference between class and total crud when your judgment is so...well....shit, frankly. I know you are from the north and therefore not of this earth but thats like saying Ride Beyond vengeance is better than the wild bunch!! Marathon man is a classic iconic movie which should get a score of at least 8 in any sane persons criteri,a, even yours. One of the best films of the decade. Jason statham has never been in anything that credited a 6 let alone an 8!! Leeds lost again so you probably been on the Warringtons Bodingtons old shredded sporran??! Ha ha
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