Movies (recently seen) [Archive] - Page 4

Ryan_DuBois

04-30-2010, 07:24 PM

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

8

*MINOR SPOILERS*

It certainly topped the Friday the 13th remake, in my opinion, and it might have even been better than the Halloween remake; not a great film, but among the horror genre I guess this is about as good you can expect.

I've always like two things about Freddy, which put him a cut above the other super-serial-killers: he's completely perverted AND he can pop up just about anywhere. You could be doing your dishes one minute, and the next you might be lying on the floor while blood spews out from the stumps where your hands just were, and a quintuple of knive-laden fingers waves at your from the sink. With that damned Krueger, you just never know.

So did the film maintain these two things? The answer in both cases is yes, but expecially in the case of the former. Freddy is actually far MORE perverted in this film, being a creepy sadist who almost certainly molested a shitload of children (while I thought this made Freddy more entertaining, the girlfriend of that enigmatic "Original YazZMaN" maintained that it sucked, saying that no matter how perverted the original Freddy was, he was definitely not a creepy child-molestor). And he's still got the whole dirty mind-set as demonstrated in one scene where a victim says to Freddy: "Fuck you." and he replies that this "sounds like fun". As for popping up everywhere, our villian did do less of that, but his hand still made a cameo in a bathtub scene, so that was pretty cool.

Overall, it was probably slightly scarier and better than the original. The acting was alright, the plot was predictable, and the graphics were okay. But the movie as a whole was solid. Jackie Earle Haley was a good Freddy. Not perfect, but good. Which is good. Good, since he's playing Freddy in two more installments. Good.

There was some corn at the end. Just a little. I could turn a blind eye to it.

End Master

04-30-2010, 09:14 PM

I saw it tonight as well, I thought it was alright. I still liked the Friday 13th and Halloween remakes better.

They did do a better job of establishing him as a child molester this time around. When Freddy got popular they seemed to always downplay his molester stuff, since people were more comfortable to enjoy him as "just" a child killer.

Ryan_DuBois

04-30-2010, 09:25 PM

So wait... the original Kruegar DID definitely molest kids, then (before he got murdered)? I actually don't remember that, but it's not like I'm suprised or anything...

End Master

04-30-2010, 09:56 PM

There's always been some debate about it between horror fans. As I remember I think Wes Craven said in an interview a long time ago he saw him as a child molester/killer, but again it's one of those things that people still debate about.

Personally I always saw him as a molester as well since he had a tendency to say demented things regarding his female victims. Though he probably got off on killing a lot more.

If you go by the movies, the first one sort of hints at it when he does the whole "I'm your boyfriend now." and tries to slide his tongue in Nancy's mouth through the phone. The other one where it's a little more apparent is the Freddy vs. Jason movie since he's a little more blatant about the sexual innuendo. (Licking the picture of a little girl, fucking the corpse of some dead teenager, etc)

apotheosis

05-24-2010, 09:40 PM

Movie warning: The Human Centipede.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it already (or if I have), but regardless, its worth saying again. Don't watch it. I watched a few of the more gruesome clips. First thing I've had to turn off because of how revolted I felt (and not because it was poorly done). But, if you really want to, last I checked it was on youtube.

End Master

05-24-2010, 10:16 PM

I heard all about Human Centipede, and I absolutely MUST see this movie to see if it lives up to the "hardcore hype" since they're supposedly going to come out with a sequel involving more bodies.

Oh and speaking of "shocking movies". I saw Scrapbook (surprisingly it was available on netflix), it sucks and I've seen better pseudo-snuff movie attempts. The August Underground series did a better job.

Ryan_DuBois

05-26-2010, 06:08 PM

I just saw The Road and I thought it was good. Not a perfect adaptation (the book is still easily the best), but way better than I had feared. It didn't hold back back on the gritty scenes.

Low on corn, too.

The music was almost annoying, but I didn't mind it too much. I definitely would have prefered it if they had gone the route of "No Country for Old Men" and not used music at all, though.

The only thing that really bothered me was that the voices seem too quiet. I'd recommend using subtitles. The film (like the book) is monotonous, so being able to catch the dialogue is pretty important.

[EDIT]

I've also been trying to rent this Human Centipede, but can't find it anywhere. For the life of me, I can't figure out why there's such a big taboo on this film.

So a couple of girls eat shit. So what? Doesn't anyone remember Two Girls, One Cup?

Even if it is as sick and twisted as people are making it out to be (I don't believe it is, based on the three or four clips I've watched), everyone's talking about how the doctor who "proved" it was medically accurate should have his license revoked and how the director should burn in Hell.

Can't a person eat shit on TV anymore?! Jesus Christ. And I was under the impression that the world was making moral progress...

End Master

05-26-2010, 07:25 PM

I don't think it's just the shit eating (though Salo pretty much covered that a long time ago) but rather the horrific way in which it's done. Having your mouth fused to someone else's ass and then at the same time having someone else's mouth fused to your ass would be pretty fucked up.

*insert joke about people having their heads up their asses here*

My only concern about this is I already know about the novelty of the movie, so is there going to be enough other twistedness for me to enjoy it? I'm hoping the insane surgeon is entertaining throughout (ranting, telling sick stories while experimenting, etc), from the clips it seems like he might so I'm optimistic.

I figure I'm going to just roll the dice and buy it off the internet, because I doubt if I'm going to find it in any local Best Buy or someplace.

Ryan_DuBois

05-26-2010, 09:18 PM

Hmm. For some reason it just doesn't gross me out; obviosly it would be awful to have your mouth stuck to another person's asshole, but things in the "Saw" movies (like poking out your own eye, splitting your arm and hand down the middle, etc.) are more unsettling to me.

Maybe it's the fact that this is the first movie to combine both twisted antatomical disfiguration AND shit-eating?

I just don't get it.

I do think The Doctor looks like he does his part well, though.

End Master

05-27-2010, 05:05 AM

Maybe it's the fact that this is the first movie to combine both twisted antatomical disfiguration AND shit-eating?

Takashi Miike's Audition already had something like that, though it was vomit rather than shit.

The_Writer

05-27-2010, 04:08 PM

So a couple of girls eat shit. So what? Doesn't anyone remember Two Girls, One Cup?

How could we ever forget

Ryan_DuBois

05-27-2010, 06:31 PM

How indeed, KingMalice. How indeed.

Oh, nice quote, by the way. I see someone's been reading their EndMaster!

End Master

05-27-2010, 08:46 PM

Geek always was an underrated story.

Finally saw The Road. I thought I was going to like this movie more than the Book of Eli, but I probably liked it about the same.

The scenery was probably one of the best portrayals of a PA wasteland I've seen because it looked pretty damn bleak and everyone in it was suitably grungy and filthy looking.

I think I (and Katie since she watched it with me) was just too annoyed with the boy (and the dad) to completely enjoy the movie to its fullest. I assume to an extent the boy was supposed to represent the idea that one should still be a "good guy" and help people even in times of hardship and the father was desperately trying to teach his son the harsh realities of the world they were living in, but it sort of wasn't working for me.

First, if the dad was really that concerned about it, he really should've been starting this lesson a lot sooner (like while the mom was still alive) since it seemed like he hadn't been teaching the boy much of anything until about midway through the movie. Instilling the lesson of not trusting others because they might be fucking cannibals/thieves didn't really take until about the end of the movie and even then not really.

I can only figure that the dad was either a terrible teacher or the kid was a really slow learner. (Kept getting the impression the kid was supposed to be an aspie or something, which might explain his behavior a little more but maybe it was just his acting) Just seemed liked the dad was still coddling him a little too much on some level which sort of defeated his goal.

Plus there were points in the movie where the father and son's actions made you wonder how the hell both of them had managed to survive that long at all. An example would be the dad's handling of the cannibal house which was pretty poor for someone that is supposed to know better, even the kid was initially a bit more savvy about it.

I dunno it was like watching a horror movie where people do obviously dumb things that get themselves killed, which I normally don't mind since that's a pretty standard formula there, but here it was just face palm inducing.

I'm guessing the book explains things better though.

Ryan_DuBois

05-27-2010, 10:15 PM

Ya, I really liked Viggo in "The Lord of the Rings", and I thought he'd do a pretty good job here; I still don't think he did terrible or anything... He just didn't feel the same way the father did in the book. As for the kid, I always had the impression that he was a lot younger while reading the book, and so his "innocence" (or whatever you want to call it) made more sense.

In the book, the father still failed to teach the kid much about survival, but it felt right somehow. Like the kid was really the one teaching the father about stuff he'd forgetten.

The reason for them doing the seemingly reckless stuff was because they were flat-out starving and basically had no other choice. It didn't go over in the movie quite as well, I guess, but in the book you get the impression that there is no food left at all. There's a few scattered scenes where they find like two green beans in a grocery store or a couple morel mushrooms that they have to live days on.

I probably enjoyed the movie better since I read the book before watching it -- everyone I saw it with didn't like it.

Hi! My name is: Katie

06-09-2010, 07:52 AM

The Time Traveler's Wife- I thought I would hate it, but actually really enjoyed watching it.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus- Got this one off Netflix, but I hope we buy it eventually, it was artistic enough I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

The Burrowers- I'd never heard of this movie. End saw it advertised as a preview to another horror movie and expressed interest. I'm glad he did, because it was an interesting film. Wild west horror flicks are kind of rare. I saw it awhile ago, but it is worth mentioning.

Up- I haven't liked a lot of Disney movies lately, but I liked the emotional weight of this one.

The Road- Major disappointment. I have come to love post apocalyptic films almost as much as End. This one left a lot to be desired in the character department. I'm sure the book is better, but the film really let me down. I like kids, but not the one in this movie. He just had no survival instinct.

Dragavan

06-09-2010, 03:24 PM

Up- I haven't liked a lot of Disney movies lately, but I liked the emotional weight of this one.

Don't you dare insult Up by calling it a Disney movie... It's a Pixar movie... The only reason Disney still gets to put their name on it is they paid Pixar a buttload of money to sign up with them again once their initial contract ran out. Pixar always rocks... Disney, not so much any more.

Ryan_DuBois

06-09-2010, 05:25 PM

Don't you dare insult Up by calling it a Disney movie... It's a Pixar movie... The only reason Disney still gets to put their name on it is they paid Pixar a buttload of money to sign up with them again once their initial contract ran out. Pixar always rocks... Disney, not so much any more.

What -- you don't think Disney rocks anymore?! Clearly, you aren't aware of the upcoming Disney movie: "Toy Story 3"!

(Just joking, of course!)

(... Just joking!)

End Master

06-09-2010, 08:30 PM

Saw Wolverine: Origins

Surprisingly I liked it, though I didn't have high hopes for it in the first place since I didn't like the first X-Men movie and had no desire to see the other two.

Superhero movies in general tend to be hit or miss with me, I think I have to at least have some sort of interest in the character for me to even be bothered to see the movie. Still haven't been motivated to see any of the Spiderman or Fantastic Four movies for example.

But Marvel certainly comes out with more super hero movies than DC does. DC's got Batman (The Schumacher ones sucked), some crappy Superman movies (Well Superman 2 was ok) and that's about it.

Usoki

06-09-2010, 11:39 PM

I have to admit... the only reason I even bothered to go see Up was the Pixar name. Who else could take such a weak, flimsy, and limited-sounding premise, and make it amazing?

...That being said, Toy Story 3 makes me a bit nervous. Sequels that are not specifically set up in the previous movie are hit-or-miss in a very big way, and there's no quality guarentee. Shrek 2 was surprisingly good... Shrek 3 should be dragged out back and shot. Hell, even Disney disowned Bambi 2, so it's not like sequels age like wine. I'm putting my trust in Pixar; I hope they don't let me down.

Dragavan

06-10-2010, 02:49 PM

Usoki, I agree with you there... but I have not been let down by Pixar yet, so I'm keeping pretty high hopes for this one. I mean, I was really worried about Cars when I first heard about it, but I ended up liking it (even though I don't think was their finest film by a long shot).

The_Writer

06-12-2010, 03:39 AM

I love comics so naturally I'm a little "iffy" on movie versions. I thought X-men origins of wolverine was pretty good but had two big problems Deadpool and Cyclops. Like Wade's amazing combat expertise and teleportation wasn't enough you had to give him eye beams. And Cyclops shouldn't have even of been there it was a lame cameo and with the expansiveness of Marvel Universe I just thought it could have been someone else, Psylocke imo. Oh and casting for Sabretooth was WEAK. Zakk Wylde would be a bad-ass sabretooth

Hi! My name is: Katie

06-15-2010, 07:10 AM

Cars- SUCKS!!! My nephews loved Cars like coke fiends love coke, but personally I didn't get it. The idea was lame. The graphics for Pixar stuff are usually pretty good, but in this I was not impressed. Underwhelming, and slightly annoying. Or maybe that's because I had to watch it and hear about it a lot.

Wolverine: Origins- Eh, it was fine. I thought I would enjoy it more than End, but as it turns out that was flipsy-doodle. He liked it, I didn't. The end was satisfying I guess, but the rest of the movie was not so much.

And while I'm on the subject of movies I didn't like. I'll add The Assassination of Jesse James. I like Mary Louise Parker. Sometimes I like Brad Pitt especially when he is playing a hick. I didn't like much else. Westerns aren't my thing.

JJJ-thebanisher

06-15-2010, 02:51 PM

I really really want to see Robin Hood (despite the reviews). It sounds like they transformed him from "take from the rich / give to the poor" into badass libertarian motherfucker. Plus, I'm infatuated with the whole Robin Hood legend/myth/history. Anyone seen it?

I get the hugest feeling that I'm going to get let down by it but I still really wanna see it.

Ryan_DuBois

06-15-2010, 05:08 PM

I've sorta had a secret thing for Kurt Russel movies ever since "Gladiator", but I haven't seen this one yet. I probably won't, either, unless I hear that it's super good...

Maybe once the disc comes out.

End Master

06-15-2010, 05:18 PM

I've sorta had a secret thing for Kurt Russel movies ever since "Gladiator"

Kurt Russell?

Don't you mean Russell Crowe?

Unless you meant you've had a secret thing for Kurt Russell movies ever since Escape From New York.

Ryan_DuBois

06-15-2010, 08:55 PM

Haha, yes -- I meant Russell Crowe. Whoever played the protagonist.

End Master

06-16-2010, 06:58 AM

I've been hearing mixed stuff about the new Robin Hood movie too, some people are saying it might as well been called "Gladiator 2" but others say it isn't similar at all.

I think it's supposed to be like that King Arthur movie a few years back. Showing Robin Hood before he became "Robin Hood" so to speak and mixing some very shallow historical stuff along with the myth.

I'll probably wait for it. I like the "historical fantasy" action movies, but I tend to like the ones set in ancient times better.

ChubbyTeletubby

06-16-2010, 04:37 PM

Russel Crowe needs to die a horrible death.

On a completely unrelated note...I can't tell you how much I don't want to see the new Robin Hood.

Anyone who goes to see this fucking travesty on opening night needs to die a horrible death as well...on another completely unrelated note.

Dragavan

06-16-2010, 11:11 PM

Just saw A-Team.... had a blast... Leave brain at door and just enjoy the movie for what it is. They did a great job both recreating the characters and being true to them at the same time.

And if you stay through the credits you get a couple short nice additional scenes for fans of the old show.

End Master

06-18-2010, 05:47 AM

I suppose this suggestion will be more for Ryan since I know he's interested in PA settings.

I finished this series called Jerimiah. I heard about it before, but I didn't have cable so I never watched it until recently. It was done by the same guy who did Babylon 5 if you're familar with that show.

The basic concept is this virus killed everyone over 15 leaving the kids to fend for themselves, but it takes place another 15 years after that happened so everyone's a grown up now.

The world isn't excessively as bleak as far as some PA settings go (Certainly way more hopeful than Road Warrior, let alone something like The Road), but I think they did a good job of balancing the total chaos/rebuilding ratio. It managed to capture my attention a lot better than Jericho.

I liked season 1 a lot, but apparently the creator was having arguements with MGM who wanted to take the show in another direction or something and it sort of shows in season 2 which is still good, but there's a few dud episodes during that time.

They only did two seasons, but it doesn't end on any real cliffhanger and they more or less tie up the major stuff so you won't get pissed if you finish it.

Hi! My name is: Katie

06-18-2010, 09:39 AM

Is anyone else looking forward to the next Twilight movie? No? Just me. Well, ok then. I have a love hate relationship with the book series and the movies. I am annoyed by how many other better books are passed over so people can read Twilight. Nevertheless having discovered the series long before the mania began I feel a sort of affection for it all, just because a younger version of myself kind of liked the first book.

Personally I'd rather see the Anita Blake series on film, but that's never going to happen.

Maybe I am more into the Twilight series since the summer is producing nothing else of interest? I hope so, I feel like I need an excuse or else I'll have to wallow in my own shame and that's no fun!

I might go see The Last Airbender and the Sorcerers Apprentice, but those aren't out until July.

And why are they doing a Paranormal Activity 2? Granted, the first one was creepy and kind of sort of fun to watch. It slightly exceeded my LOW expectations, but a sequel? Oh no.

Ryan_DuBois

06-18-2010, 10:31 AM

Thanks, End -- I'll try to check it out before the end of summer. I have to admit that my list of movies/series I want to rent (but never do) is building pretty damned high, though.

:)

[EDIT]

And I'm totally not looking forward to next "Twilight" movie. I'm sure the books are probably a little better than everyone makes them out to be, but if I ever read one or watched one of the films and word got out... oh man. It'd be the end of me.

I liked "Paranormal Activity", though, so I'll have to check out the sequel (my list is getting taller again!), even though I doubt it could be as creepy as the first one.

End Master

06-18-2010, 06:43 PM

Toy Story 3 ruled. Best one of the trilogy.

If they insist on making any more Toy Story movies they'll probably ruin it, so I hope they end it here.

Hi! My name is: Katie

06-18-2010, 07:36 PM

I loved the new Toy Story 3D. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did. Toy Story 2 was kind of a step down from the first one, and I was afraid Toy Story 3 would just suck. BUT, it was so much fun! I really enjoyed it.

The short before the movie was a lot of fun too. Day and Night.

I want a Lots-O-Huggin Bear so freaking bad!!!

Ryan_DuBois

06-18-2010, 10:36 PM

+1 more movie to Ryan's List.

End Master

06-19-2010, 07:35 AM

Sadly I will have to see the new Twilight movie, but the rest of you can run. RUN! RUN! BE FREE!

The key thing for me to get through it, is trying to look at the positive aspects from what I've heard about the books such as:

The whole story is about an emotionally abusive relationship which borders on potential murder anytime the girl gets a paper cut.

The werewolf becomes a pedo. The vamp probably qualifies as well, but the werewolf "bonds" with a baby whereas the vamp is just fucking a dumb ass teenage girl.

The girl wants to kill her little vamp baby (KILL THE FETUS!) Later I think she gets some sort of pleasure nursing it too or something, but I'm not sure about that one.

People get genuinely pissed off about the books (for various reasons) to the point where you wonder if Stephanie was just trolling everyone. The funniest of these is when people say the series is going to fuck up young girl's perspective of what a "healthy relationship" is. (Yeah right, like there hasn't been years of stuff like that way before Twilight came out)

Despite all this, I'll never ever EVER be able to look past one thing...

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c50/Phototyrant/TheCount-1.jpg

Ryan_DuBois

06-23-2010, 09:04 PM

Hi! My name is: Katie

06-23-2010, 11:20 PM

Yup. Toy Story 3 was damned good. A little short, in my opinion, but definitely a great film to cap off the trilogy. Aside from having a good plot/characters/etc., I liked how detailed and clever the animation was.

I'm not gonna lie, though -- that baby was just fucking scary.

9

And the Night and Day short was clever/artistic/whatever, too.

Big Baby gave me nightmares! Some people think Monkey was creepier, but I'd take Monkey over Big Baby any day.

I want my very own special edition Lotso Huggin Bear!

Ryan_DuBois

06-24-2010, 08:17 AM

Yeah dude, that thing was fucking creepier than Hell. I'm predisposed to be a little scared of the mokey too, though, after watching "Euro Trip".

:)

Hi! My name is: Katie

07-17-2010, 03:19 AM

I dragged End along with me to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice. The reviews suggested it was a horrible film with no inspiration or sense of magic. Going in with my expectations low I rather enjoyed it.

The main character was terribly annoying, I really strongly disliked him. End appropriately compared him to a young Jerry Lewis. I strongly dislike Jerry Lewis, so that works for me.

Once I got past the annoying protagonist, it was a good escape from the summer heat. Don't watch the preview for the movie, they put all the good stuff in the preview, just go see it... or don't. If you want to pre-game, go watch the Sorcerer's Apprentice from Fantasia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2Rfriax4DY).

We also went to see Despicable Me last week. It was one of the few movies that really took advantage of what 3D can be. I loved the minions. The little girls made me want to adopt American children.

mizal

07-17-2010, 09:14 PM

Yeah, Sorcerer's Apprentice was surprisingly entertaining.

...but seriously guys GO SEE INCEPTION THIS INSTANT.

I came back after a two month hiatus just to post that.

xnull

07-18-2010, 09:54 PM

Eh, Inception was... alright? It was essentially The Matrix. If you liked that, see this movie. Like the Matrix, it certainly wasn't deep or insightful or even creative. And like The Matrix it had some wall walking, kung foo, giant guns, pick pocketing, grenade throwing, slow motion, alternate physics, etc. Probably enough get you off.

ChubbyTeletubby

07-20-2010, 09:01 PM

New Harold and Kumar filming right now, folks!!!!

New Harold and Kumar!!!

Filming!

RIGHT NOW!

FOLKS!

yay!

Sorry. I'll go now.

Sorry. I'm sorry.

Dragavan

07-22-2010, 02:46 PM

Wow... Kal Penn left his government job to come back for this movie... I am shocked, considering he left a successful and growing career in acting (including a regular spot on House) to accept the position in the first place.

Ryan_DuBois

07-22-2010, 11:59 PM

I have to admit I'm excited for this. I know Christmas movies are usually the ones that fail a series for good, and I know the sequel wasn't all that great, but the original Harold and Kumar is still one of my comedy favorites.

Dragavan

07-24-2010, 09:20 PM

Saw Inscription... I mean Incision... No, wait, Conception? No, umm... Inception.

What a great movie. I really enjoyed it... I will be purchasing that one placing it with Nolan's other film, Memento, on my shelf of great movies. Memento is my all time favorite film (most of the time when asked, at least). But this means Nolan will be the only one on that list twice.

I would say more, but I don't want to spoil anything for those who have not seen it yet... it's worth not being spoiled on.

ChubbyTeletubby

07-26-2010, 03:03 PM

Good to hear!!!!

It looked really interesting in the previews!!!! Cool. I might have to go check this one out while it's in the theaters.

There was one scene in particular that piqued my interest. There was this sort of redundant skyline in the background that looked really creepy for some reason. It's always some small detail that draws me in. Thanks for the review, Drag.

I was wondering about it.

End Master

07-31-2010, 06:51 PM

Saw Inception. (I'm late as usual)

I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I didn't have high hopes for it since everyone seemed to say it was like The Matrix. The only similarities with the Matrix was the wall walking/slow motion stuff which they use in a lot of movies nowadays anyway. I thought it was more like Total Recall to be honest. (Both of which are way better movies than the Matrix)

Spoiler for those that have also seen Shutter Island...

Not that these movies are related, but I briefly entertained the far fetched idea that all the stuff that happened in Inception was in the mind of DiCaprio's character who got lobotomized in the end of Shutter Island.

Ryan_DuBois

07-31-2010, 09:17 PM

Well, after hours of fighting dinosaurs and doing side-quests, I finally climbed up the tower and bitch-slapped Kefka (using Ultima magic, of course).

It was definitely good, but I still like FF7 better, and maybe even SMRPG. Impressive stuff, though. The music in it was great (to be expected), the characters were fleshed out (with a few exceptions, like Mog and that mime-freak-weirdo who lives in the caves), and there were a lot of memorable scenes (I loved the opening with the magitek suits marching through the snow, and the whole opera fiasco).

The best thing about it, was probably Kefka and his eccentricity. Do I like him as much as good old Sephiroth, though? Nope!

:)

Kefka was the more lively character, but Sephiroth was just this innately talented, smart, principled, and enigmatic being. Sometimes you admired him, sometimes you felt bad for him, and sometimes you were intimidated by him.
Kekfa, by comparison was just totally out of his mind and wanted to ruin everything (he too, was pretty smart, though). He was easy to simply hate.

My favorite character from the party was probably Celes -- the opera and the scene where she was deserted on the island after the apocalyse appealed to me in some weird way.

Anyway, next on the list -- "Chrono Trigger"!

Usoki

07-31-2010, 11:07 PM

I have to admit, there's something to be said for playing games after they've been released for years- you don't suffer from nostalgia-bias. I, too, prefer Celes over Terra, though most people would rather have her and Locke. And for whatever reason, I also enjoyed Gau, even if he was an impractical character. What I will say for Kefka, though, is that the back-fired experiment which made him insane also made him the most unique villain. He has no motivation beyond chaos. He's not bitter or inhuman or cold or fulfilling a prophecy. He just does what he wants. And in the end, he's arguably the most effective villain in the series. Yes, the ending defeats his reign of terror. But the massive world-shift cataclysm isn't reversed, repaired, or even lessened. You defeat Kefka... but not his plans.

By the way, you should take Sabin, Gau, Edgar, and Locke to the house... near the Veldt? Anyway, there's a hilarious extra scene involving Gau's father, but you have to take those exact four to the house in the NE to get the full scene.

I personally enjoy SMRPG over FF7, but that's mostly nostalgia bias. That, and I appreciate humor over plot and function. Still, having Yuffie in the party makes much of the game that much better. I considered Cait Sith, but the only thing funny about him is his appearance. In the end, I went with Tifa. And, honestly, I found Sephiroth to be an overrated villain. I found his characterization and motivation to be too much of a stretch.

Chrono Trigger's another one of those games that people freak out if you've never played it. And...yeah, I can see where they're coming from. It was a pretty awesome plotline, with some great characters. And I also appreciated that there were no noticable character tier rankings. People still get into arguments about the best party to use- and unlike the FFs, there's no clear answer.

EarthBound, though... that shit was terrible. I collected three out of eight whatever-the-hells to see if it would pick up, but it never really did. There's no escaping the fact that Ness of notable Smash Bros fame comes from a shitty game.

Ryan_DuBois

08-01-2010, 01:19 AM

Haha, damn! I just downloaded Earthbound a few minutes ago, too!

Anyway, I definitely agree that nostalgia makes games seem way better. SMRPG was probably the first RPG I played, too, followed by FF7, so I've got a definite bias on those two. Man SMRPG... it just makes me feel good!

I remember playing the first castle part at the beginning couple times (this before I even really knew about RPG games), and thinking the game seemed kinda lame. Then one day I got so bored I finally went a little further and... man.

Anyway.

My thumbs are STILL sore from all those super jumps!

Anyway.

I downloaded "A Link to the Past", too, so I'll see how it all goes.

Concerning FF3/6...

I figured there was some special scene! I know that dude's Gau's dad, but that's all I know so far. I can't say I liked Gau myself, but he was aight'. I'll check it out.

Apart from Celes, I liked Edgar, Mog, Shadow, Terra, and... Umaro? The one who grunts? Ya. Personality-wise, anyway.

I didn't like Locke very much, at all. He seemed too much like a... "nice boy"? I think you know what I mean. Someone who isn't very smart or tough or rough, but always tries to be nice. Plus he was a damned treasure-stealer! I also didn't like the grandpa and his girl. The other characters were okay.

For Kefka, I basically agree. And I still think he's a great villain. Kinda reminds of The Joker actually, although I'm sure he's already been compared to
The Joker like a million times already. And I agree that Sephiroth's motivation (finding out he was basically lab rat or whatever it was) shouldn't have really been enough to push him over the edge. Aside from that, though... I just remember how strong the Midgar snake seemed in that one swamp, and then you get across to other side to find that Sephiroth has effortlessly impaled one on a stick. And then there was that battle where you see Cloud do like 100 damage and Sephiroth does like 9999.

He just seemed impossible to beat.

Anyway, it's like 4:00 in the morning. I'm droning on.

Locke

08-02-2010, 09:42 PM

Loved Chrono Trigger/Cross. I was never heavily into RPGs, but those were favorites.

Ryan_DuBois

08-02-2010, 10:42 PM

Yes, I like it a lot so far. One thing that bothered me in the few Final Fantasy games I've played (it especially frustrated me in the caverns of FF3 for some reason) was the random battles. Not that it's a huge deal or anything (especially once you find a moogle charm, etc.), but I'm glad that Chrono Trigger has enemies that you fight more-or-less by choice, kinda like SMRPG.

Ryan_DuBois

08-05-2010, 12:06 PM

This is probably pointless now, but I saw "Inception" with my brother and we both liked it. The only bad thing was that we missed like the first four minutes, so when we started watching it, it was like this crazy-ass dream.

Didn't take long to catch on, though.

Sorta like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" meets "The Matrix" meets "Bride of Chucky". If you catch my drift. The visuals were just sweet.

Every time I see that Scarecrow guy, he reminds me of The Scarecrow, though.

Dragavan

08-05-2010, 03:10 PM

All you missed was the confusing flash forward (which you didn't know was a flash forward yet) that paid off when you saw the same scene set up later in the movie... It then jumped right into the crazy confusing dream, so you pretty much got the same experience that we all got on that part... Loved the movie.

Usoki

08-05-2010, 03:42 PM

I do have a soft spot for games where you can see the enemies. When I'm focused in on the dungeon, I tend to run from anything that takes more than two rounds to beat. Especially if the encounter rate is ridiculous. I'm playing through Breath of Fire II, and certain dungeons are driving me insane.

Well, Ryan, you might actually like Earthbound, if you're more patient and methodical than I. My biggest complaint is the menu system. It's a talk/look/use system with a ton of quirks. You talk to phones, but use ATMs. Key items can't be dropped, even if they're one time use, so you have to pay to store them. The game does a poor job of telling you where to go, and the item system is downright terrible. Overall, there's a lot of redundancy with no present storyline to save it. There's the big "go fetch these" quest, with smaller "here's my trouble" quests in between... with no real bridge. You just do the small stuff until the big picture magically falls into place.

How have you never played "Link to the Past"? It's arguably the best Zelda game out there. I... seriously, finish Chrono Trigger and play THAT next.

Inception Minor Spoiler Risk:
Honestly, missing that first four minutes didn't confuse you much- the movie just starts with a crazy-ass 'dream', for a few moments, but then shifts into a different crazy-ass dream. There was no need to start the movie with that limbo scene, although it did allow for the second scene to be carried- they didn't have to show him rescuing him. Still, I don't often see movies, and I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. I was expecting multiple, subtly related heists, not one big, complicated one... but, ehh, it was rather amusing. I enjoyed it, and I might even want to watch it again some day. I've also decided that the top falls at the end of the movie- it's far too depressing otherwise.

Ryan_DuBois

08-05-2010, 08:18 PM

I played a little bit of "Earthbound", and it seemed okay, but the biggest draw for me in turn-based RPGs is the storyline, followed by the characters. If you say "Earthbound" doesn't excel in those areas, then I'll probably just take your word for it, and skip it.

I actually agree with a lot of what Dragavan was saying about turn-based video games -- the fights are generally boring and repetitive as hell. Sometimes they can be fun when you get new weapons to try out on your party, but that's only like 1 - 2% of your battles.

Apart from just having a good story, Final Fantasy usually has great graphics and music (even though these two things are usually irrelevent to me in video games, I think they're almost integral to turn-based RPGs), that probably helps with all the sweet nostalgia I get from it.

For "Zelda"... I've already got it planned as my next game, and I goofed off in the beginning of it already. It seems a little odd, but oh well. I'll post about it when I'm done.

Hopefully it will be on to StarCraft 2 in like a month a so.

(And I hope your still playing, Chubby, because [oddly enough] I'm looking forward to a serious challenege on PvP. The way all my friends are talking, this game is better than Heaven.)

(And make sure to save some meth, so I can play you at your best.)

[EDIT]

Ya, I figured it wasn't too important (the first four minutes). I even thought the movie was easy to follow, after the first dream sequences ended. There's a few minor details I'm still unsure about, but I think that's mostly because I'm about deaf from listening to records and can't pick up all of the exact dialgue.

Usoki

08-05-2010, 08:39 PM

The beginning of Earthbound seems awesome, I'll admit, but once you leave the area around your house, it quickly goes downhill.

I'm curious what you found odd about the beginning of Zelda. Oh, and you should totally wait for your uncle to return. ;)

Surprisingly, I'm not usually bothered by turn-based fights, unless they happen too frequently. Every now and then there'll be a boss fight with too much health and not enough threat, but... I dunno. Given my numerous quirks and expectations about video games, I'm surprised they don't bother me more than they do.

[spoiler watch]
Parts of that movie still weird me out. I have to admit, after hearing him mention that they'd missed the first jolt, I just looked at my watch. It was fairly suspenseful, I guess... but with that much time left in the movie, it loses impact. I mean, seriously... after that, I just kept envisioning a tacky little video game-esque timer on the side of the screen: a white van slowly ticking down the remaining time until the second jolt.

ChubbyTeletubby

08-05-2010, 09:23 PM

Ryan,

Starcraft has actually helped me in my actual life. These are actual happenings.

1. Isn't this a movie thread?

2. Starcraft has actually focused my mind. I wake up in the morning and I'm like, 'fuck Jesus, what would Raynor do?'

Literally. I have been focusing my thoughts and managing my micro/macro RL problems as if I was tackling a Starcraft battle. It sounds fucking silly but its true. It really is.

It's been working. I've like...had a zen moment. WITHOUT DRUGS! I'm in the zone. I'm just...in the zone. Well, there's been some weed involved. And beer. Sorta. I usually just save my epic close-calls and replay them later while I kick back and eat popcorn.

The replay option is so awesome I cant put it into words. The new battle.net breaks down EVERYTHING. You can analyze your mistakes, learn from your opponent, and move on.

The online pvp isnt that hard, folks. You just gotta get the rythm and go with flow. Action with reaction. Scout. Anticipate. Educated guesses. Allies who know a wide variety of rushes and counter rushes. It all starts to become cookie-cutter. Until some NEW rush becomes trendy. Some new cheese. Its great. Its all so balanced. Its amazing.

Games like Starcraft i think are actually healthy for the brain. Video games in general get a bad rap but honestly I think they help neurons connect and communicate and when balanced with excercise and diet can end up being a good thing. It's better than just vegging out watching TV. At least you are DOING something.

Then again, they can become as addictive as heroin and make RL pale in comparison. That's why ive ALWAYS avoided world of warcraft. I wont touch it. Ever.

3. What were we talking about?

4. Battle.net demands allies on the same page as you. I have a handful of friends Ive made in the last week. We can read each others thoughts. We dont have to talk. We can see what the other is doing and go from there.

We are on our way to the diamond league. We really are. Everyday we get better. I have gotten to the point to where the first five to ten minutes of the gameplay are second nature to me. The game is decided within the first ten minutes. That simple.

Its such a great RTS.

Id love to play online with one of you cats. We'd have a blast.

My online handle is 'Defacto'. My bud dkilla is the 'bad cop'. I start each game with a 'glhf' and he starts with a 'DIE'

Our ratio is still 50/50 though. God dammit.

We will win 5 2v2 games in a row and then loose 4 in a row. Its uncanny.

The new battle.net is great. Its actually FUCKED in a lot of ways, but still great. Its fucked in a LOT of ways. But the balance is there. The way its set up you get placed with people in your general skill set so when you suck balls at the game like all of you ball-sucking RTSers are you get matched with similar ball-suckers at your same ball-sucking level.

Its great for ball-suckers and those getting their balls sucked alike.

I tried the campaign today and its fucking sick. Just great. Clever, fun (funny), and it allows me to polish my micro skills.

Macro I got down pat. Micro I need work - hotkeys, ect. Ive been learnign exponentially. But so has everyone else. The first day on battle.net everyone was like in a daze. A week out and its starting to get fucking HARD.

Its cool because you unlock achievments and your get rewards like different avatars. Everything is EARNED.

I dunno. Im gonna go see Inception on Saturday, catch a mat

I'll bring this thread back on topic.

Dragavan

08-05-2010, 09:47 PM

1. Isn't this a movie thread?

I've been wondering that myself... They should have started a video game talk thread, but at least there is posting going here on at all.

I'll bring this thread back on topic.

I wait with baited breath.

and while talking about the lack of movies... where's the reviews of Human Centipede in this thread? Hasn't anyone here seen it? I mean, with this crowd I expected that to happen right away... and I am sure not interested in actually seeing it... Daniel Tosh's spoiler alert review of it reminded me that It hasn't been reviewed here AND that I really don't want to see it.

Ryan_DuBois

08-05-2010, 11:51 PM

I've tried to pick it up several times, but I don't think it's something that your typical Family Video carries. My brother said he's going to see if he can get it at any of the local movie stores in Grand Rapids.

I recently rented "Death Proof" and "True Romance". Both were okay, but I thought "Death Proof" was quite a bit better. Bonnie and Clyde style movies don't really work for me. I still think "Kill Bill" was (insert hard-to-spell name here) at his best, though.

Chubby,

Your posts, along with my friends' repeated praise have awoken a fire inside me to master this RTS. My current pastime game is that flash shooter called Stick Arena, but it's gotten boring lately since after years of playing in my spare time, I've probably become one of the top 50 players on there. With SC2, or even SC, you can play for years and not even scratch the surface of true skill.

I'll get it, I'm just not sure when... Actually two friends have offered me their trial disks, so if I get one of them, I'll hit you up and you can pwn me for a couple hours.

End Master

08-06-2010, 05:35 AM

I'm just going to go ahead and buy Human Centipede, unfortunately it won't be released until October 5.

I thought Death Proof was probably Tarantino's worst movie, not that it was completely terrible, but it comes off as a bit boring in places and I didn't particularly like any of the characters in it. I liked the Planet Terror half of the Grindhouse movie better. Hell, I liked the fake trailers better than Death Proof and it still sucks that they haven't released Grindhouse as a complete movie on DVD instead of selling both of the movies separately (and eliminating the cool fake trailers!)

I liked Kill Bill (the whole thing), but I don't think it was his best stuff. I'm sort of glad he didn't end up directing True Romance though, I don't think it would be my favorite if he had.

Saw Predators a few weeks ago, sort of. That was a lot better than I thought it would be as well. The only problem was a bad thunderstorm occurred and all the power in the theater went out and they couldn't get it back on so I never got to finish the movie (Pretty sure we saw most of it though) We ended up getting free passes which we later used to see Inception.

They also showed the trailer of Machete (one of the "fake" movies from Grindhouse) which they actually made into a full length movie. I definitely have to see that one.

More Spoiler Stuff
As for Inception I figured the top kept spinning and that he (and Saito) didn't get out of Limbo. Though since DeCaprio defeated his guilt/ex-wife he at least wouldn't be "living" in a nightmare.

Ryan_DuBois

08-06-2010, 11:13 AM

The reason I ended up liking "Death Proof" was for the car scenes (and Kurt Russell [it IS him, right?] did a good job playing his character just right; charismatic, but still somehow creepy). Still, the dialogue in Tarantino's movies is one of my favorite things, and neither of these two really had it for me.

End Master

08-06-2010, 05:23 PM

Yeah Kurt Russel's Stuntman Mike was alright, but since I usually like the villains anyway, I wasn't really counting him. I found just about all his victims or potential victims really annoying though so I was sort of hoping he'd kill all of them.

Odd that you didn't like the dialogue in both movies though since I thought the dialogue in True Romance was similar to that of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.

I thought Death Proof's dialogue was pretty Tarantinoesque as well, it was just that his characters seemed to be discussing things I didn't particularly find interesting that time around and they were doing way too much of it.

Ryan_DuBois

08-06-2010, 08:44 PM

I thought Death Proof's dialogue was pretty Tarantinoesque as well, it was just that his characters seemed to be discussing things I didn't particularly find interesting that time around and they were doing way too much of it.

Yeah, that's exactly it; the style elements were the same, but the conversations themselves were not really insightful, interesting, or funny (some of them were okay, but I think "Kill Bill", "Reservoir Dogs", "Pulp Fiction", and "Inglourious Basterds" all had better dialogue).

With "True Romance" I don't even think the style seemed all that similar, though (except, perhaps, for the "nigger scene" involving Christopher Walken). They were okay films, but they are my two least favorites from Tarantino.

End Master

08-07-2010, 05:24 AM

Did you see Jackie Brown yet? That one gets a lot of hate even by people who usually like his movies, but I thought it was underrated. I think people were expecting another Pulp Fiction and it just had the misfortune of coming out after that one.

Ryan_DuBois

08-07-2010, 10:32 AM

Nope, I thought I'd finally seen all of his movies; I'll have to check it out.

:)

I think "Pulp Fiction" is probably most peoples' favorite out of his films, but for me it's only like fourth on the list (I liked the "Kill Bill"s and "Inglourious Basterds" better), so I might like this one. I still like "Pulp Fiction" a lot, though.

[EDIT]

I saw "Changeling" (by Clint Eastwood) last night, and thought it was probably just as good (if not better) than "Gran Torino". The whole thing is pretty frustrating, but I guess that's just a mark of how well it gets you to hate some of the characters.

Ryan_DuBois

08-24-2010, 09:35 PM

Saw "Memento" and "Almost Famous" (a perfect pair, right?). I liked them both in different ways. "Almost Famous" is one you can enjoy with a likable main character, while "Memento" is more of a puzzle that you admire while trying to work it out (there's a few details I'm still confused on, so I'm paying Wikipedia a visit).

I'd put them both in the 8 - 9 range.

Of course, these movies are so old that you've all probably seen them, anyway.

End Master

08-24-2010, 10:17 PM

Saw Piranha 3D.

Cool for what it was which was basically a lot of naked chicks and a lot of people getting gruesomely eaten alive by prehistoric piranhas. Pretty over the top. I fully expect them to gain the ability to fly again when the 4th comes out.

Dragavan

08-25-2010, 12:02 AM

Scott Pilgrim vs The World is a fantastically fun movie. I am so going to have to buy it when it comes out. Character motivations are pretty thin, but they aren't why you are watching the movie. It's a video gamer geeks perfect movie, as well as just a strong stylized comedy/action movie. It's a living video game, comic book and anime combined into one sweet package.

It also brought back the onomatopoeia of the old 60s Batman TV series, only updated for the modern age. Seeing sound effects in a new way was way cool.

I will own the DVD, if that tells you anything.

And tomorrow I should be seeing the Expendables... my friends said it was either the Expendables or The Other Guys... I told them I would be all in for Expendables, but if it's The Other Guys I had some ear wax I needed to sculpt into scale models... So they said Expendables it was. (I really can't stand Will Ferrell and will never pay to see any movie he's in... same goes for Adam Sandler, actually.)

As for Memento... my favorite movie of all time. Yeah, it's a great one. Glad you liked it.

Ryan_DuBois

08-25-2010, 11:09 AM

I actually like Will Ferrell to some extent -- some of his old skits on SNL are funny to me, and he has a couple older films I like -- but "The Other Guys" was horrible. When I see a Will Ferrell movie, I can expect what you'd call "stupid humor", so I was prepared for it, but I still felt mentally diminished by the time it was over.

And Mark Wahlberg should NOT be in comedy films!

It's 4 - 4.5 material.

End Master

08-26-2010, 07:02 AM

Speaking of stupid humor, why the hell is "Vampires Suck" #2 at the box office? I think I probably complained about this before, but Jesus Christ, these recent parody movies are NOT FUNNY and they haven't been for years.

I haven't read the Scott Pilgrim comics, but I've only heard good things from people who saw the movie. The only thing that's really putting me off on seeing it, is Michael Cera. Something about him is really annoying and I can only tolerate him in small doses. (Sort of like Will Ferrell actually)

donteatpoop

08-26-2010, 03:22 PM

Yeah, the parody movies that have been coming out are not funny. That's a rough style of film to make, actually. Just about the only person who was able to pull it off successfully was Mel Brooks. I don't think I've seen any parody flicks by anyone else that were worth watching. (minus the Monty Python troupe).

Will Farrel is very hit and miss for me. Overall I still like him. I might be the only one who thinks so, but Land of the Lost was hilarious.

Movies I've seen recently were Kickass (excellent), Predators (had its moments), and Death at a Funeral (very funny).

Dragavan

08-26-2010, 03:50 PM

Mel Brooks (not including his later movies) was the master of it, but the Zucker Brothers (Airplane, Top Secret, etc.) were also quite adept at doing it well in their early films too. But both of them have lost the touch. Almost none of the later ones that came out were any good, although there were a few that had good moments or sections... but not enough to make them great.

The Expendables was fun. I was just expecting a big action movie with lots of guns and explosions... I was NOT disappointed there... What I didn't expect was as much actual plot and acting the movie had in it as well... And Dolph really surprised me. It was well directed and written for a bit action blow stuff up movie.

Still, out of the recent movies I've seen. Scott Pilgrim vs The World is the top of my chart... and the Soundtrack album is really good too. What I didn't know before was that all the actors playing the band were ACTUALLY the band. They played all the music themselves. Go Bob-ombs!

Ryan_DuBois

08-26-2010, 10:25 PM

I liked "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" less than I thought I would, and so did the two friends I saw it with. I can't say that it was bad, though. The main thing is has going for it is that it is unique (at least among the movies I've seen), so if you place a high value on originality, then you'll definitely appreciate it. It's entertaining, and Michael Cera plays a similar character to those he played in his other movies (big surprise, I know [oddly enough, though, I don't think he was a virgin in this one]) but since I think he's still funny, that was fine.

I just found it to be kinda confusing (at first) and it didn't really leave me feeling good or different. I'm still not entirely sure what it is that makes me like or dislike a movie, but I can only give this one like a...

7.5

I also saw "Death at a Funeral" and thought it was pretty funny. It's mostly just shock laughs, though -- "The Hangover" and "Hot Tub Time Machine" were both funnier and better in my opinion.

For the parody movies... I liked "Scary Movie", "Scary Movie 2", and "Date Moive". After that, they lost their humor for me.

"Scary Movie 2" wasn't great or anything... I just loved the "little hand" thing.

End Master

08-27-2010, 06:50 AM

The parody movies for me started sucking a lot probably after the third Naked Gun movie came out around the mid-nineties.

There's been a couple of exceptions, but most of them just stopped trying.

End Master

09-10-2010, 11:19 PM

Saw Rampage.

There's a guy and he goes on a shooting spree in a small town. That's it, that's the movie! Well okay there's a little more to it than that, but that's the basic plot. Doesn't need to be said that I liked it, however considering that it was made by Uwe Boll I'm more surprised at myself that I liked it.

It sort of shows he can make a decent movie if he stays away from video game adaptations (Which he REALLY needs to stop making)

Though oddly given the nature of the movie it almost had a video game like element, because the protagonist isn't just "shooting people", he's walking down the main street dressed in black kevlar swat armor with ceramic plating mowing down people with two sub-machine guns. I half expected a point score to start popping up in the corner of the screen.

Uwe's also making a movie called Auschwitz and judging by the trailers he's bound and determined to piss off most folks with it. (Nothing really new for him I suppose though) He says he's trying to show the truth, but it looks more like a throwback to those Naziploitation flicks back in the old days. In any case it's got my interest.

Dragavan

09-10-2010, 11:31 PM

I went and say Machete... It was brilliant... Don't expect fine art, but it was perfectly done for what it was trying to be... This is truly the next grindhouse movie done right. Grainy film, odd cuts, pointless nudity, over the top violence, and everything. I loved it.

Also saw a real trailer (not at the theater) for what looks like the next grindhouse movie. Hobo With A Shotgun. It looks to be a hell of a lot of fun too.

I hope they keep this going. I want to see Agent Orange, Don't, Werewolf Women of the SS, and pretty much all of them get made (with the exception of Thanksgiving). And I want to see other filmmakers jump in and make their own as well. Bring some of this classic fun back to the big screen.

ChubbyTeletubby

09-11-2010, 02:42 PM

Finally saw Inception.

All I can say is nicely done. There were a couple of things that really struck home with me. What a really deep, insightful movie.

As someone who has lost someone very close to them, and then had them haunt my dreams for YEARS, this movie really hit a nerve. There would be times in my dreams I would KNOW this person was dead, and I would get in these heated arguments with them.

I'd be like "YOU'RE DEAD!!! YOU DIED!!! What are you doing here!?!?!? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

They would never answer the question, they would simply change the subject. It was maddening. It was a real problem for awhile.

The sense of loss is just overwhelming. And then your mind gives you this hollow shell of a person that ALMOST fills the gap. But in the end it just makes your loss that much more painful. The scene where his wife jumps off the ledge showcases some amazing acting from DiCaprio.

I knew from the beginning he was in a dream within a dream. Or I should say I THINK he was in limbo from the very beginning.

I know it's been said a million times before, but this movie deserves a 2nd and 3rd viewing to REALLY get a grasp on what's going on.

I'd have to give this one a 9 at least.

I'm glad I caught it while it was still in the theaters.

Ryan_DuBois

09-11-2010, 03:11 PM

I actually did end up paying the $15 to see it twice. It was just as good the second time through, and though the movie isn't all that hard to follow, I did get a better grasp on the minute details from the last dream sequence(s).

I also saw "Iron Man 2" and "Prince of Persia" since then. They were both decent, although I think that "Iron Man 2" is slightly overrated, while "Prince of Persia" is slightly underrated.

They're both about at 7.75.

Ryan_DuBois

09-18-2010, 09:34 PM

Saw "Robin Hood". It's nowhere near as bad as its critical reception would suggest, but it's not great either. I honestly think one of its biggest problems was the accents of the characters. I couldn't make out a lot of what was being said, it was so bad. The war scenes were pretty cool, though. I think a lot of people just went into it without knowing that it was a prequel and were then disappointed when they didn't get to see an outlaw Robin Hood stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.

7.5

And it looks like I was wrong about the main site coming back up; sorry, I really thought it would be better by now.

Ryan_DuBois

09-25-2010, 08:02 PM

Saw "Devil" and "Karate Kid". The second one was predictably bad; although I liked Jackie Chan's character, that Jaden Smith was so annoying that he just slaughtered the movie.

"Devil" was actually better than I thought it would be, though. It doesn't necessarily do anything inventive, and it has a little bit of the crazy religious stuff that these kinds of films usually do, but it's still a fun mystery movie.

[EDIT]

Whoops. Triple post.

:(

End Master

09-26-2010, 01:39 PM

Finally got around to seeing Machete.

It was cool, but it sort of dispensed with the "grindhouse effect" after the first 20 minutes of the movie. It still felt like an old grindhouse movie though.

Unfortunately I didn't get the Hobo with a Shotgun trailer before the movie started (I didn't get any fake trailers), though I've seen that one on the internet before anyway. Never heard of the Agent Orange one.

End Master

10-06-2010, 09:30 PM

Saw HUMAN CENTIPEDE, so here's the review of it, though I imagine only Ryan will actually be interested in it.

As far as I'm concerned its reputation far exceeded its actual content. Like I said before I saw it, the main problem was you already knew what to expect going into the film, I mean they even show the human centipede in the trailers, so the shock is sort of diminished severely by the time the good doctor gets around to fusing people's mouths and asses together. Sure it's still disgusting and the victims are going through a fate worse than death, but eh, the execution of it all still could've been a lot worse. I can imagine Takashi Miike doing a better job with the same concept or Cronenberg if he still did horror movies.

That being said, I still liked it. The main draw is the mad doctor who acts like an appropriate lunatic throughout the film. He sort of fucks up too much at the end though. I felt like he would've been more careful about everything given how long the movie implies he's been planning to do this experiment. But I suppose it could be argued he suffered from super ego syndrome common to most movie villains.

Ryan_DuBois

10-07-2010, 01:50 PM

Yes, I figured the actual shock of what the doctor does to those people wouldn't be that impressive -- even when I first heard of the idea, it didn't really surprise me, given that there have already been a ton of super-shock horror movies (like Saw... Maybe just Saw, actually) since 2003 or so. Maybe way before then. I don't know.

I'm glad to hear it's still good, though! How did you finally get a copy?

End Master

10-07-2010, 02:12 PM

Surprisingly I found it yesterday in Best Buy of all places. I wasn't even looking for it at the time, but when I saw it I figured I'd grab it. It was about 15 dollars.

The copy I got was the unrated director's cut, so I'm guessing I saw the most "shocking" version of it.

I can see how it would probably disgust or shock most people, but if you're the sort of person that's already seen horror movies like this and actively seeking more of them out, yeah it's not the worst thing out there.

Ryan_DuBois

10-08-2010, 08:32 PM

I saw "The Social Network" and it was really good. Maybe slightly overrated, but good.

8.33333...

Ryan_DuBois

10-09-2010, 04:21 PM

How to Train Your Dragon was pretty awesome, and the 3D was done just right. Might have liked this one better than even Toy Story 3.

8.75

[EDIT]

Looks like I gave "Toy Story 3" a 9, so maybe this one was a little worse; I don't know, though, they were both really good. I don't think I've seen a good animated Dreamworks film since the first "Shrek", either, so that's kinda cool.

Usoki

10-09-2010, 11:16 PM

It's not something I'd feel the need to go out and buy, but I certainly wouldn't object if it were a gift. It's just that there are many other things I'd rather get first. That being said, I appreciated that it was a viking movie- they're starting to run out of 'fresh' settings for animated movies, so the change up was nice. The opening was pretty well awesome, and I really loved how the ending was happy, without being a flawless victory.

Still... I hated pretty much all of the support characters. The heroine, aside from taking far too long to win over, wasn't all that appealing as a person. The other kids were obnoxious, terrible, and really not all that funny. In fact, that was pretty much the entire movie- really not all that funny. Certainly it was upbeat and charming, it made you happy as you watched it, and it was enjoyable... but I never found it laugh out loud funny.

And there's nothing wrong with that, I guess. Shrek was the same way to me. To each their own.

Ryan_DuBois

10-11-2010, 07:09 AM

Aw, I thought this one would be right up your alley, Usoki. I agree with pretty much the whole post, though -- I just enjoyed it more for some reason. Maybe it's because I'm more of a plot-over-characters kinda guy.

Usoki

10-11-2010, 09:53 PM

Well, it was up my alley- one of the best movies I've seen in theatres all year. It ranks in at number two- but I've only seen five or so.

And when I say "I wouldn't buy it", keep in mind I only own about twenty DVDs. There were plenty of positives, but they were all intangible, adding to that fun, charming quality. And- again, I highly appreciated that the ending came at a cost. I thought that added much more depth to the cheesy happy finale.

JJJ-thebanisher

10-14-2010, 01:26 AM

I saw "The Social Network" and it was really good. Maybe slightly overrated, but good.

8.33333...

Going to see this on Friday, super excited. Haven't seen INCEPTION either and I really want to see it as well.

Ryan_DuBois

10-14-2010, 10:09 AM

JJJ-thebanisher

10-16-2010, 02:42 PM

Oh, "Inception" was far-out; it's too bad that you weren't able to catch it in the theater, just for some of the cooler dream-sequences, but it's awesome anyway. Not sure exactly why everyone loves it so much, but the idea of having vivid lucid dreams and/or creating whole dream worlds does have a strong appeal. Everything about the movie was just good.

"The Social Network" did what I hoped it would and focused on the lives of Facebook's creators, rather than trying to send out a message about how Facebook is good or bad (I have to wonder about some of the critics who said that this movie puts Facebook in a bad light... Sure they don't exactly make Zuckerberg look good, but that's as far as it goes). Ultimately it's a just a story about two friends who use their brains to achieve success and then how they finally get driven apart.

For some reason, I felt my self cheering for Zuckerberg, and I don't really know why. I think maybe it's that I see a part of myself in him, minus a bunch of the asshole. I really liked the acting job done by Jesse Eisenberg but the real strength was in its direction and production. I knew Fincher would rock in the directors chair (this movie isn't on the caliber of Fight Club but it's still great) and I think Kevin Spacey did a great job producing it. High quality team behind the movie, that's for sure.

I also loved how they went and grabbed Trent Reznor for the soundtrack, awesome choice.

Finally, I really liked how the trailer for the movie didn't include all of the best parts.

I think that all things considered, the movie rocked for what it was, but I should have known going in that the ending would be a little disappointing and the like.

I give it a 7/10, it was a good movie.

Ryan_DuBois

10-16-2010, 03:05 PM

JJJ-thebanisher

10-17-2010, 11:43 PM

I leaned somewhat on Zuckerberg's side as well -- I think mostly because (as he was depicted in the film) he was the heart, brain, and soul of Facebook. I didn't like how he screwed his good friend over, and maybe the twins even deserved some credit, but he's still the one who actually went out there and got the ball rolling.

But I liked Eduardo, too.

I know what you mean about the ending being disappointing -- it was a bit too sudden and unexpected. I thought they'd at least finish the lawsuit.

I thought Eduardo got what was coming to him.

SPOILER--------------
Don't cut off a man's accounts without telling him, that's not fair business and could easily have fucked with the whole operation, so that he got fucked with seemed fitting. Still, I think it was righteous to settle with him.

Ryan_DuBois

10-18-2010, 11:18 AM

Yeah, they both had a couple dick moments; the main difference (at least how the movie portrayed it) is that Eduardo never intended to screw Zuckerberg over, but just regain some authority over the company (after all, he was supposed to be completely in charge of the business side of things, like they had agreed). And he started funding again right after Mark confronted him about it.

The_Writer

10-18-2010, 11:31 AM

[QUOTE=Ryan_DuBois;12124]Yeah, they both had a couple dick moments; QUOTE]

I think that statement describes most friendships. It's just the majority friendships don't have that kind of money at stake.

Ryan_DuBois

10-18-2010, 01:46 PM

Absolutely. I'm fortunate to say that I rarely (if ever) fight with my current friends anymore, but I know what you mean. I see my roommate and a couple of his buddies fighting and apologizing like every week.

And, of course, when two friends go in on an important project together there's usually going to be a bit of a power struggle.

ChubbyTeletubby

10-19-2010, 06:29 PM

Have had some Inception-inspired lucid dreams lately. Wont bore you with the details. Needless to say, I was wearing a digital watch. I couldn't tell the time. I knew I was dreaming, yet somewhat cognisant. Created worlds, sex objects, ect...

Quite amazing. But unfortunately...boring once in the 'real' world.

Saw 'Jack Ass 3-d'

Nearly threw up.

Not as good as Jack Ass 2.

Still a worthy attempt. If only for the fact that I nearly threw up. I came SO close.

Criticisms?

Too many dong shots. Like Eminem, they lost the PASSION of their younger years, and it shows. That's all. Youth and poverty are GREAT inspirations. Once those are gone, it's kind of downhill....unless you really got some kind of creative edge. Which only one in 100 million do.

It's true.

Ryan_DuBois

10-22-2010, 06:32 PM

Saw the new "Paranormal Activity", although I think I'm one of the few here that liked the first one.

This one was basically the same; it had a wider cast of characters, and the demon's motives were given a little more foundation (a mistake in my opinion, but still not a big deal), but it was still just video camera footage of paranormal stuff. Also, 95% of the movie is a prequel.

So if you didn't like the first one, you probably won't like it. If you did like the first one, you'll probably think it's alright (like me). The characters are better (the two from the first movie annoyed me endlessly [especially that damn Micah]), but the what little novelty there was is gone.

And the ending was a little bit corny, I have to say.

Locke

10-22-2010, 06:49 PM

Saw 'Jack Ass 3-d'

Haggard is the only Bam-related movie I've liked (Nitro Circus was okay during those rare daytime doldrums when the alternative was Oprah or a soap opera - is that a Bam thing?). Haggard was terrible and ridiculous (and quite quotable), but they hit that perfect edge that made it funny and good, too. The sequel, Minghags, is the worst movie known to man, topping Manos: the Hand of Fate and the Wesley Willis documentary.

Because I found Haggard so hilarious, I WANT to like Bam's other stuff, but there's just nothing there.

Inception was better than most of the stuff at the box office, but tried to cram too much into its runtime. There were a couple moments near the end I actually found moving, which is rare. I was hoping for something that would "wow" me like the first time I saw the Matrix (I was 12), and in that I am always disappointed. Several segments of the Animatrix and the movie Ink (the latter for sheer poignancy and aesthetic beauty - comparable to the movie Perfume) came close, as did Fight Club and American Beauty when I saw them, though those two have lost stature in my mind over time.

Avatar was cool and stimulating for the obvious reasons, but it's not quite the same thing.

ChubbyTeletubby

10-23-2010, 06:51 PM

I dislike Bam.

Always have, always will. I dislike his parents. They are in on the joke. I wish them all the best. But they're in on the joke. In such a way...

It's not funny OR clever.

Never has been, never will. How it has turned into such a profitable venture is really beyond me. But then again, so is everything else I see in human culture.

Bam himself is a worthy sort of athlete. He just isn't funny. Unless you're stupid. He's funny if you're stupid.

It's a factual happening that is indeed actual...

...Locke.

(P.S. he looks like Justin Bieber. Same haircut and everything. Also he has a peg leg - Locke, that is. Also, he doesn't enjoy nachos. Not sure why.)

Hi! My name is: Katie

10-23-2010, 09:45 PM

End and I watched the first Paranormal Activity. It isn't one of our favorite horror films, but we are both pretty enthusiastic about seeing the second one. We liked one of the alternate endings better than the ending they used in the theatrical release. Maybe it will be the same way with this one? I'm a sucker for a good ghost story, sometimes I even watch those corny ghost hunting shows even though they scare the bejeezus out of me.

I haven't seen Jackass 3. I really liked Steve O on Dancing with the Stars (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPlGRD5x5dw) though. Love that song. I'm also kind of looking forward to watching The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3ysuG2O0zw) which was produced by Johnny Knoxville. But, I don't have any interest in watching Jackass 3. Maybe I'll catch it on Netflix.

Ryan_DuBois

10-24-2010, 12:59 AM

I'm assuming it's the throat-cutting ending? Heh, I actually liked the theatrical ending best, just because it was more mysterious. But yeah, ghosts/supernatural is probably the only genre of scary movie that can manage to creep me out from time to time, so I'm always seeing those kind of films.

And... In honor of Halloween week, I've changed my avatar. Pretty classy, eh guys? Well, Halloween is on Sunday, actually, but I didn't want to only change my avatar for one day.

Locke

10-24-2010, 03:38 PM

Also, he doesn't enjoy nachos. Not sure why.

Surprisingly, you got that part right. It's the cheese, by the way.

In honor of Halloween week, I've changed my avatar.

Now I'll never find Waldo.

ChubbyTeletubby

10-24-2010, 03:52 PM

Surprisingly?

Fuck you.

AND your nachos.

Wait. What?

I'm looking forward to the next new movie.

*dies of kidney failure*

Ryan_DuBois

10-24-2010, 10:35 PM

Apparently they've been doing a REAL "Where's Waldo?" contest in downtown Chicago every July since 2009. Some people dress up like the characters and everything and then they go hang out in The Loop until Waldo-watchers find them.

Sucks that I stayed there in the summer of '08, since I would totally have gotten in on this Waldo-hunt. Can't imagine it'd be TOO good, though, since I'm sure impostors come from everywhere. Still, it'd make for a good story.

End Master

10-25-2010, 06:14 AM

Jack Ass 1 was sort of amusing, since they were actually trying to do different "wacky" stunts in that one.

Jack Ass 2 just seemed like it was primarily going for the gross out factor (eating cow shit, drinking horse jizz, shitting themselves, etc) and it got a little boring midway through. I imagine Jack Ass 3 will just be more of the same.

Bam is pretty annoying no matter where he is though.

Yeah, I liked the throat slitting ending in Paranormal Activity better, the theatrical ending seemed a little Hollywoodesque. Though I wouldn't have minded seeing their original ending for the movie where she gets shot by the cops. Still, I probably like the movie a lot more than I thought I would considering I hated Blair Witch Project.

Ryan_DuBois

11-30-2010, 10:03 AM

Saw "Due Date" and about half of "The Expendables". The latter one was predictably bad, and "Due Date" was predictably not all that great. I think I'm just not a big fan of Zach Galifianakis (although I liked him in "The Hangover).

I heard that "Saw 3D" is pretty awful, too, although I'll still probably be seeing that one eventually -- I'll just wait until its out on video.

mizal

11-30-2010, 12:21 PM

My aunt dragged me to see Tangled this weekend. Despite what the trailers had tried so fiercely to make me believe, it was actually good. The animation was absolutely gorgeous, with the plot being a throwback to classic Disney, but in a good way.

Also, hurray for cute animal sidekicks that don't talk. This is a trend I want to see more of.

ChubbyTeletubby

12-18-2010, 07:16 PM

TRON: Legacy

I WAS going to see 'The Fighter' but at the last minute changed my mind and saw Tron instead.

I'm glad I did. The movie is visually stunning in 3d, the music score by Daft Punk is SICK, and the plot isn't as horrendous as some critics make it out to be.

Definitely one to see in the theaters. At least download the soundtrack. Electronica at its best.

EDIT: Without the soundtrack the movie's visuals would have fallen flat, however. The plot is awful, don't get me wrong, much like Avatar. When I'm at home, chilling out and watching a flick, I like understated movies like Reservoir Dogs or Office Space or American Beauty or even My Dinner With Andre. When I'm in the theater I like to be blown away. Ever since I saw the first Matrix in 1999 this has been my mantra. Many flicks I find to be spectacular on the big screen fall flat when released on DvD. TRON will surely be among those.

It could have been so much more. But the setting was spot on. The visuals were clean and stunning and even understated at times. It was worth the 12.50.

Alas, if only I had had some shrooms...

EDIT #2: And really the opening scene was one of the most vivid scenes I've ever seen in my life. It was like I was right there. For about three seconds I felt like I was RIGHT there. Every reflection, every detail was spot on. It was even more amazing than my Avatar experience. The new 3-d has been gimicky and overpriced, but it has its strengths.

As I said before, my last time seeing a 3d flick was a year ago. Since then it has gotten a little out of hand. But it has its place. I felt that Tron employed the 3d as expertly as Avatar did.

That opening scene (for me at least) was worth the 12.50.

Ryan_DuBois

01-05-2011, 08:30 PM

Saw True Grit with my parents. We all thought it pretty good (the Coen brothers rarely disappoint), but my parents said that it was almost identical to the original. Except that that the original was a little bit better.

Since I haven't seen the original myself, all that I can really compare it to is No Country for Old Men, which is a much better and more interesting film in my opinion.

It had good acting and scenery, but the plot just isn't all that great. And Matt Damon wasn't exactly perfect for his role.

8

donteatpoop

01-05-2011, 08:51 PM

Recently saw Jakass 3d. It was funny as hell. If the Jackass guys annoy, you won't like it. But if you are amused by them it's damn funny. Much better than the second one.

Also saw Machete the other day online. Holy crap is that movie great.

Locke

01-06-2011, 03:43 PM

I did see True Grit around Christmas with the family. One of three I've seen this year (I think it was three) at theaters (two if you discount Salt - I do - which I saw with a friend as a popcorn flick). I'm not stingy; it's just that I feel like I've already seen most of the stuff that comes out in theaters (half actually are remakes or throwbacks of some sort), and of the movies that seem at least somewhat original, few have anything in the way of true plot/depth. Inception had potential, but to really fulfill it would've taken at least three hours, probably closer to four.

All the 3d stuff is enough eye candy to start bringing me in slightly more often, at least, although the big 3d movies seem to somehow concentrate so hard on it they have no plot even when compared with other blockbusters.

Anyway, True Grit was at least something I hadn't seen, and breathed a little life into the Western genre. I felt like some of the dialogue, particularly the girl's, sounded so unrealistic (not completely sure if that's the writing or her delivery - probably each could've been tailored a little better to the other) it spoiled the movie a little, as witty as some of it was. I also didn't remember the names of anyone but LeBeef; I think they said his a few times past the beginning, and it's odd enough to stick. Worth a see if you've got a few hours to kill, but only just.

Haggard was the only thing I've liked of Bam's (guilty pleasure), but I find it oddly cool that slackerskaters like his crew can still make it in the world.

I wish I knew where to see more indie movies, other than flying/road tripping to a film festival, or Netflicks/piracy. An indie theater would be so cool, particularly in a college town like mine, but I've never actually seen a decent one.

End Master

01-06-2011, 04:28 PM

Over Christmas break, I saw the new Narnia movie. It was okay, didn't really need to be in 3D though and added nothing to the movie.

Saw Megamind too, liked it. The 3D worked better for that one probably due to it being animated.

I'm basically already sick of the 3D rebirth, it doesn't make me enjoy the movie any better, if anything it's more likely to drive me away due to the inflated pricing and wearing the annoying glasses. If there's a choice between seeing it in 3D or "normal" I'll go for normal every time.

Other movies I saw over Christmas:

Paranormal Activity 2: I liked it about as much as first one.

Cloverfield: After watching PA2 I figured I've seen all of the mainstream "found footage" movies except this one, so I caught this one on TV. Better than I expected.

Crunchyfrog

01-12-2011, 03:24 AM

The men who stare at goats.

Whaaa?

Locke

01-12-2011, 01:57 PM

Thanks, Crunchy. I'd actually managed to forget that one, you know? Not in the same league as "Minghags" or the Wesley Willis documentary, but not good by any stretch of the imagination.

Ryan_DuBois

01-14-2011, 07:09 PM

Saw that Piranha 3D movie at the college theater. I still prefer movies in 3D, although I'm not so sure it's worth an extra $4 - $5. Luckily, they only charge $3 (in 3D or not) here.

Anyway, I loved the over-the-top gore and all the hot people, but the plot is pretty much what you'd expect and almost all of the characters are easy to get annoyed with.

ChubbyTeletubby

01-15-2011, 02:41 PM

The three movies I've seen in 3d were all enjoyable and more importantly well done (Avatar, Tron, and Jack Ass)

There was a moment in the beginning of Tron where I felt like I was RIGHT THERE. It was pretty amazing. Both Tron and Avatar were AWFUL movies, don't get me wrong. They just rocked in the theaters. Total eye-candy. I'm a convert.

Ryan_DuBois

01-28-2011, 07:31 PM

Yeah, I just got done watching Jackass 3D. It was pretty damned disgusting (probably the worst out of the three in that area), but I ultimately liked it and still thought it was funny. It's at least better than the first one, although Jackass 2 had more hilarious scenes in my opinion.

I'm kind of hoping they'll show Tron here, since I've seen quite a few 3D movies, but never one that really focused on making "eye candy".

apotheosis

02-03-2011, 12:54 PM

Don't watch Exam. One of the worst endings I've seen in a while. A really good premise destroyed by a beyond idiotic, almost nonsensical ending.

JJJ-thebanisher

02-03-2011, 01:01 PM

End Master

02-03-2011, 05:29 PM

I saw 'A Serbian Film'. Definitely the most disturbing thing I've ever witnessed. I came into it thinking, "nothing I see on screen can phase me" but by the end of that movie, I felt legit disturbed.

Okay, now I gotta put this one on the list. After Human Centipede failed to live up to the hype (though still okay in parts), let's see if those crazy serbs live up to the challenge.

I'm guessing they probably will. I imagine they don't play up any sort of humor in the film and is probably unrelentingly grim in its content.

JJJ-thebanisher

02-03-2011, 05:33 PM

Okay, now I gotta put this one on the list. After Human Centipede failed to live up to the hype (though still okay in parts), let's see if those crazy serbs live up to the challenge.

I'm guessing they probably will. I imagine they don't play up any sort of humor in the film and is probably unrelentingly grim in its content.

No humor. Not one scene of it. It's thoroughly disturbing. Very well done but exceedingly damaging to the psyche (at least temporarily). It's also the most censored film in history. Before it was allowed at midnight screenings in the UK, they took nearly 5 minutes of the film out. If you think about how long a disturbing scene lasts (in the realm of seconds), that's a fucktonne so make sure you get the uncensored version.

Subtitled as well. It's meant to be an allegory for the way the Serbian government causes good people to do horrible things through various means of manipulation. Not sure if I was able to get that out of it, I was too engrossed by the brutality.

Yeah. Just make sure you actually want to see it. Haha.

End Master

02-03-2011, 06:57 PM

Yeah, I think the internet stripped away any last remaining vestiges of shock value, due to footage of actual murders and suicides or the famous past time of people inserting various objects inside themselves that they really shouldn't be inserting.

Still, I do like to see if there are genuine movies that can manage to push that shock value level while still maintaining a watchable story, since I tend to try to collect these movies. I find they usually fall into three categories.

1. It's gruesome and disturbing, but it has that element of dark or gallows humor so it makes the movie less shocking than it might be. (Probably is still too hardcore for the average person though)

2. It's gruesome and disturbing, but it's ultimately boring because the story is nonexistent. At best, the shock value and gore are good enough that it's worth watching once, but afterwards I don't really have any desire to sit through it again.

3. It's an "average" movie, but it has that ONE scene (or maybe two) that goes so over the top that it skyrockets the movie into that "shock movie" zone, when it wouldn't otherwise be there.

So far most of the hardcore shock movies I've seen that tend to avoid these pitfalls are a few european or asian ones. Though even as brutal as some of the asian ones are, they still tend to have some of that dark humor injected into them too.

JJJ-thebanisher

02-03-2011, 07:54 PM

If it's going to fall into one of those categories, it would be number 2. The plot isn't spectacular. The political direction, impressive cinematography and solid acting might make up for it though. Not sure. It definitely didn't bore me, but I'm not sure it's worth watching again.

Locke

02-03-2011, 08:09 PM

It's gruesome and disturbing, but it has that element of dark or gallows humor so it makes the movie less shocking than it might be. (Probably is still too hardcore for the average person though)

Old Boy comes to mind, but I'm sure you've seen that one. Gore just doesn't matter; there's a creepy kind of existential or psychological horror that affects me if done right, but it's rare, and most of the rest of the genre doesn't interest me. I thought the first Cube movie had some good moments in that way.

There's a perfect scene where they're thinking that what's happening to them might not have a purpose (the whole scheme was put together in such a decentralized way that it's possible nobody specifically "planned" what happened or is "in charge.") Then there's the "deja vu" moment, of course, but that's exquisite, and I don't want to spoil it on the off chance someone hasn't seen the Cube series. Gave me chills at the time.

There are other movies that incorporate such things - "Avalon," for example, had a couple of good existential moments - but aren't horror/shock flicks themselves; sometimes it's best when worked in like that.

Couldn't hurt to mention it if anyone's seen some good examples of the above.

ChubbyTeletubby

02-03-2011, 08:12 PM

Back in the '90s it was Faces of Death for me. Back before the internets gates had been fully opened.

It was just raw footage. 1. Some of it was funny. 2. Some of it made you sit back and ponder the greater meaning of things. 3. Some of it made you want to throw up.

Most of it was a blend of all three. In a sick way. I remember sitting in the computer lab (while the teacher wasn't looking) watching that shit.

Good times. Good times.

Locke

02-03-2011, 08:29 PM

Yeah, I saw Faces of Death. Managed the shock factor at the time. I haven't seen much in the way of overt snuff since then though; it never held a lot of appeal.

Hey, why'd you leave CO for Kentucky?

Ryan_DuBois

02-03-2011, 08:43 PM

We used to have a "Faces of Death" movie at my place when I was like six or seven. Can't remember if my dad or my older brother bought it, but since my parents never really made any attempt to restrict what I watched, I ended up seeing a lot of it. Some of it was definitely disturbing (in particular, I can remember a guy who had elephantiasis in the worst place you can get it -- he was bouncing all over the place), but I'd always get over it and go back for more.

With all the far-out internet stuff I've seen, I'm not sure if I could find a movie that "disturbs" me anymore... I don't really hunt down those kinds of films or anything unless I hear about them, though, so it might be out there.

Were the "Cube" movies pretty good, Locke? I think I might have to rent those in a couple days.

End Master

02-03-2011, 08:59 PM

Couldn't hurt to mention it if anyone's seen some good examples of the above.

Yeah Old Boy is good.

An example of psychological or existential horror, well off the top of my head Gozu is pretty damn strange even as Takashi Miike movies go. Not really gory, but probably pretty disturbing to most people.

It's about this Yakuza hitman stuck in this really weird town searching for his boss and it only gets weirder from there.

You've probably seen John Carpenter's The Thing. I thought the horror in that relied more on the psychological and the isolation, rather than any of the gore or monster effects.

I'd also say In the Mouth of Madness is pretty good in capturing a similar kind of setting of isolation and the horror in that one doesn't rely on blood either. Also by John Carpenter.

Yeah the Faces of Death series was one of the big shock things before the internet, turned out most of the death scenes were fake though. Still remember when the ROTC teacher showed us "The Worst of Faces of Death" (compilation of the last 5 movies) in class.

EDIT:Yeah go ahead and see Cube, it's good. I actually liked the sequel and prequel too.

ChubbyTeletubby

02-03-2011, 09:26 PM

End: Nah, dude. You didn't see the Faces of Death that I saw, evidently.

These were dead people. For real.

Wasn't my cup of tea. Most of it. Some of it was funny. None of it was fake.

Trust me, brah. Or was it? Ah fuck, now you got me wondering. Going off gut instinct though, I don't think it was fake.

Anyway, seeing people crushed like ants can be somewhat amusing. Before your morality kicks in.

Stupid morality.

Locke: I'm back in Kentucky because everyone in Colorado went to jail.

Seriously. I'm back and forth between the two states like every two years on the dot since 2004.

It's fun. Refreshing. Can't imagine staying in one spot for more than two years. Scenery change is good. Thanks for noticing. No homo.

No? Yes?

Yes homo?

NO!!!!

No homo.

no homo...

End Master

02-03-2011, 09:50 PM

Seriously some of the Faces of Death was fake and mixed in with real news footage. So yeah, you'd get a very real gruesome body of someone who just got hit by a truck, but then you'd also get some fake shit like the guy getting executed in the electric chair.

They came out a long time ago and admitted that half of it was fake.

ChubbyTeletubby

02-03-2011, 09:54 PM

Sounds right.

I think the bottom line is that shit is fucked up and sometimes we here in America are a bit spoiled.

Cause shit is fucked up.

For real.

And movies. They're even more fucked up. Have you SEEN Jersey Girl?

It's bad.

God help us.

End Master

03-08-2011, 10:40 PM

Finally saw Tron: Legacy, I imagine this was another movie I was supposed to see in 3D, well I didn't and I still liked it. In fact I liked it better than The Matrix.

Next on the list for the theaters- Battle: Los Angeles

Not expecting too much except big explosions and mass destruction. Sort of holding out the minor hope that the humans lose just to change up the predictability though.

Locke

03-09-2011, 05:41 AM

I saw that one in 3d - pretty, but not like Avatar. I don't think you missed a whole lot. A lot of mainstream movies are pretty. I can't remember the last one with substance, though; I'm thinking The Matrix, but a lot of that is probably the minor cultural implications and the novelty when I saw it. There must have been at least one since then, anyway. Maybe I'm just jaded. (insert pop culture rant here)

I'm not completely sure what it would take for a movie to have "substance." I think the best kind of experience changes the way I look at life (usually a good thing), or at least some aspect of it, but at this point (in my life and with the current entertainment zeitgeist), that's asking a lot from the box office.

A complex plot with a few twists for intrigue (at its best, there's a sort of stomach drop - when they break through the wall in Dark City, if you've seen it, or the scene near the end in Frequency) goes a long way, I guess. Inception had potential, and there was a minor moment in the last scene. Actually, plot and eye candy and all the other aspects aside, I think it's about those moments, for me (like music, or poetry - life, if you get right down to it), when there's some kind of heavy, ineffable feeling as everything comes together.

The Matrix was probably the last time I got that in a theater (the movie Ink, more recently, but nothing on the big screen), and I don't know that I'd get it now, were I watching it for the first time, even if the effects were still novel and the "how do I know this is real" thing hadn't been done to death (Existenz framed that question a little better, dated as it probably is now. Actually, so did Inception).

It's possible there have been a lot of moments in recent movies for some people, I guess (a few come to mind, particularly just in day-to-day living, where everything somehow comes together for a few seconds, and I get that distinct, gut-level feeling of awe, but no one else around me notices). Maybe that's the whole Zen thing: you have to be aware, and involved, and receptive to get it (maybe Zen masters see every instant as perfect poetry or something).

I know I at least have to be emotionally involved in whatever it is. It's easy with music, because sometimes the artist's soul is right there, and other media add so many layers that all have to mesh perfectly or become noise that distracts from the experience. In movies, a lot of times, it's feeling for the characters (and that's one of the core issues, because it's been a very long time since I really got absorbed in the theater and cared about what happened to anyone). There was a certain existential moment in The Cube I talked about a page or two ago, and I'd never have gotten it, but the focus in that movie is so strongly on the characters (the setting and premise are as basic as it gets) that I was emotionally absorbed/vested in them at that point.

Sometimes pure art and technical panache are enough to elicit emotion and absorption. Music is probably the best example, but going with the movie theme, the Animatrix had several beautiful scenes that manufactured it successfully. Avatar didn't have a particular moment for me, but that's what worked so well for it: the 3d and sheer vibrancy (and the novelty factor) made such good eye candy that when Jake (I think that was his name) got his Avatar and started moving around, you could feel the rush; it just felt good to be alive (that's so what life should be like, not this dull and interminable sameness).

That's just the vehicle, though; whether you feel for the characters or the beauty of the art/visuals or music makes the connection, the moment still has to happen. This is getting closer to the "substance" question, I think, because that's what Hollywood and the politicians and everyone else in pop culture seems to be getting hung up on. They've made the same kind of granola bar for thirty years, and they've been beating their heads against the wall, completely outdoing themselves in a certain artistic sense, designing better wrappers to sell more product. And there's a shelf full of really flashy packaging, so you buy the one that looks the most appetizing, take it home and tear it open (you're salivating at this point, because the wrapper is just that good), but when the taste hits you while you're trying to get it down, you realize it's the same damned granola!

I actually saw this on Futurama back in the day. They'd got to the point where television ratings were determined by how much eye contact a program elicited with the screen. The top-rated show was called "Hypnotoad," and it was just that: a toad that stared nonstop at the camera while literally nothing else was going on, keeping everyone's eyes right there (I guess I can't help ranting about pop culture). I'd really like to get at "substance" more, but it's late and my mind is stuck on "emotional honesty" (the words themselves; I'm a zombie and I literally can't get past them).

This is mostly just thinking out loud, so apologies if you don't like reading long pointless ramblings and for some reason forced yourself through it anyway. It started out as a forum post, though, and I guess there's no harm in hitting reply.

End Master

03-09-2011, 05:31 PM

Watched the 1st season of The Walking Dead. Not as good as the comic, but they're doing an okay with it so far.

ChubbyTeletubby

03-10-2011, 09:51 AM

Sometimes pure art and technical panache are enough to elicit emotion and absorption. Music is probably the best example, but going with the movie theme, the Animatrix had several beautiful scenes that manufactured it successfully. Avatar didn't have a particular moment for me, but that's what worked so well for it: the 3d and sheer vibrancy (and the novelty factor) made such good eye candy that when Jake (I think that was his name) got his Avatar and started moving around, you could feel the rush; it just felt good to be alive (that's so what life should be like, not this dull and interminable sameness).

Brilliant observation! I had that same rush when Jake first gets his Avatar. I'm sorry but the eye candy in Avatar just totally drew me in like no other movie has except maybe....of course....the Matrix.

Nothing will probably ever beat the first Matrix for me, however. It was just so new! And I had no idea what the movie was about going into it!

JJJ-thebanisher

03-10-2011, 05:45 PM

Brilliant observation! I had that same rush when Jake first gets his Avatar. I'm sorry but the eye candy in Avatar just totally drew me in like no other movie has except maybe....of course....the Matrix.

Nothing will probably ever beat the first Matrix for me, however. It was just so new! And I had no idea what the movie was about going into it!

Same. 1999 was so good though: The Matrix and Fight Club.

End Master

03-11-2011, 07:17 PM

Saw Battlefield LA.

About what I expected, started off all right, but got a little too hollywoodesque towards the end. Fortunately it didn't get too ridiculous like say uploading a virus into the mothership to destroy the whole alien invasion fleet and showed that humans were still far from winning the fight. Overall it felt more like a war movie with scifi elements rather than a straight up scifi movie or even a disaster movie.

I also have been watching season 1 of Spartacus: Blood and Sand. I'm liking it so far. They definitely over do it with the 300 slow mo effect during the fight scenes, but overall it's an entertaining series and I've always been drawn to settings during the Roman or ancient era.

ChubbyTeletubby

03-11-2011, 08:01 PM

I want to see that other Roman flick that just came out. I think it's called the Eagle?

Battlefield : LA ldidn't really pique my interest. The whole alien invasion thing has been done to death. I saw an interview with the main character (forget his name) and he said he spent a month training with the marines and he insisted they tried to keep it 'realistic'.

End Master

04-11-2011, 07:13 AM

For all of you who liked Grindhouse and Machete, they're doing it again and making an actual movie of Hobo with a Shotgun.

With Rutger Hauer playing the hobo, I don't see how this can't possibly be one of the greatest movies ever.

Here's the trailer.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3655703833/

donteatpoop

04-12-2011, 02:02 PM

That sounds pretty awesome.

apotheosis

05-16-2011, 12:43 PM

I've had the inexplicable urge to see the movie Breakin' lately.

Actually, I know exactly why I want to see that movie...

http://204.45.110.156/bin/g6011619998.gif

End Master

07-15-2011, 09:17 AM

Been a while since this thread got some attention so here it goes...

Saw the last Harry Potter movie, it was cool. I liked the battle scenes. Still would've been funny if J.K. really had made Neville the chosen one and No Nose was just fooled into thinking it was Harry the whole time (along with the readers/audience).

Also saw a movie called Black Death. I liked this one a lot. It's set in medieval times during the plague where a religious fanatic and his group are going around hunting down people that they believe are causing it.

BatCountry

07-16-2011, 07:28 PM

Black death...never heard of it. Is it a foreign or straight to dvd movie or was it actually in theatres at some point? Sounds interesting though.

I recently went to the movies and saw "Super 8". Pretty good movie, I always enjoy young kids as main characters as long as they can act and luckily these kids can. Probably what I liked the most about this movie was the fact that they didn't show off the alien until almost the end. Fear of the unknown and unseen is always scarier in my opinion. HOWEVER, when they did show off the alien, I loved the look of it, should get its own spin off movie. "Super 8 alien does Dallas" or something, idk I just thought the thing looked badass.

Another movie I actually just viewed for the first time was Reservoir Dogs. I know its old but I had never seen it. GREAT FREAKING MOVIE. If you haven't seen it yet then rent it, download it, whatever you gotta do. I will not spoil anything but lets just say listening to the song "stuck in the middle with you" will never feel the same again.

End Master

07-16-2011, 08:51 PM

I forgot to mention I saw Super 8 recently as well. Yeah it was a good movie I thought.

I saw Black Death on Netflix and I hadn't heard of it until I was scanning through stuff. Probably qualifies as foreign since it was a joint effort between England and Germany and probably only played in theaters over in Europe.

Dragavan

07-16-2011, 09:14 PM

I saw Black Death on Netflix and I hadn't heard of it until I was scanning through stuff. Probably qualifies as foreign since it was a joint effort between England and Germany and probably only played in theaters over in Europe.

A quick visit to IMDB shows me it was on a whopping 3 screens in the US upon release and 56 screens in the UK... So, yeah, not really released here. Only enough of a release to make it qualify for certain awards and official listings here. The US release was also almost a year after the UK release, also not unusual for this kind of movie release here.

BatCountry

07-16-2011, 10:37 PM

Found it on netflix. Excellent. Netflix has ruined normal television/video rental for me, probably forever. Love it. I would never even be aware of half the movies/shows I enjoy now because of it.

JJJ-thebanisher

07-17-2011, 12:38 AM

Anyone followed the 'Game of Thrones' TV series? Absolutely phenomenal television. Each season covers 1 book in the song of fire and ice series of books.

dreamshell

07-17-2011, 09:15 AM

Anyone followed the 'Game of Thrones' TV series? Absolutely phenomenal television. Each season covers 1 book in the song of fire and ice series of books.

Agreed. The first season was an incredibly faithful adaptation.

Locke

07-17-2011, 05:38 PM

Another movie I actually just viewed for the first time was Reservoir Dogs.

Pulp fiction was better.

donteatpoop

07-18-2011, 12:07 AM

Pulp Fiction was an entirely different movie. Comparing them is pointless. Resevoir Dogs relies on one central plot point while Pulp Fiction has several intricately interwoven storylines.

Also, Game of Thrones rocks. The books are amazing and the series is great too. It stands well on its own, I think. New scenes were written for the series that were never read in the books, but they fit well and seem inspired and accurate to the feel of the books to do well. Excellent series.

Locke

07-18-2011, 04:15 AM

Pulp Fiction was an entirely different movie. Comparing them is pointless. Resevoir Dogs relies on one central plot point while Pulp Fiction has several intricately interwoven storylines.

I wasn't saying Pulp Fiction is objectively better (I could try to argue that, but I don't care that much), just that I enjoyed it more.

End Master

07-18-2011, 09:17 AM

Just saw Hobo with a Shotgun. Pretty much what you'd expect. Over the top violence and a simplistic storyline. I still think Planet Terror was the best of the Grindhouse movies, but this one comes in second for me.

Anyway if you like these sorts of movies, then you should like this one.

Heard a lot of good things about Game of Thrones, I'll probably buy the first season when it comes out and watch it then.

ChubbyTeletubby

07-18-2011, 11:14 AM

Going back to what you said earlier, Locke:

I haven't had a real WTF moment since 1999, either.

As I've said before, Avatar and Tron were great. The eye candy factor was spot on. But there really weren't any plot twists that just made me get up off my seat.

And other such things. And stuff.

Also I think it's kind of a waste of time to compare pulp fiction and reservoir dogs. And stuff.

End Master

07-20-2011, 08:07 AM

Well, it's nearly been 4 years since Nappi first created this thread to take the focus off the fact that Apoth was bragging about fucking Ves in every thread.

Or Nappi's words: "diddling"

Anyway, did anyone see any of the new super hero movies that came out? (Thor, Green Lantern, yet another X-men movie) The only one that's sort of catching my interest is the Captain America one which can't possibly be worse than the version that came out in 1990.

Not a super hero movie, but I definitely want to see Cowboys & Aliens next week.

donteatpoop

07-20-2011, 11:04 AM

Cowboys & Aliens next week.

Hell yeah, Cowboys and Aliens is finally coming out. They've been making or talking about making that movie for like a decade or some shit. The comics were awesome, I'm hoping the movie doesn't tongue ass.

Dragavan

07-20-2011, 02:23 PM

Anyway, did anyone see any of the new super hero movies that came out? (Thor, Green Lantern, yet another X-men movie) The only one that's sort of catching my interest is the Captain America one which can't possibly be worse than the version that came out in 1990.

Not a super hero movie, but I definitely want to see Cowboys & Aliens next week.

Yes, No, Yes... Thor was actually far better than I expected. Still no Iron Man, but way better than I expected. X-Men: First Class was also pretty good. Definitely better than X3 or Wolverine Origins. I just had little interest in GL, so I will wait for NetFlix or whatever for it.

I will most likely be seeing Captain America this weekend, as my friends are really excited to see it (and I have to admit that I am sorta too).

C&A also keeps looking more interesting the more I see of it.

dreamshell

07-20-2011, 07:15 PM

I can vouch for the shittiness of Green Lantern. I haven't see any others yet.

End Master

07-20-2011, 11:09 PM

Other than Batman, DC hasn't been very successful at making super hero movies it seems. They do a lot better with cartoon series.

Dragavan

07-20-2011, 11:26 PM

Other than Batman, DC hasn't been very successful at making super hero movies it seems. They do a lot better with cartoon series.

I would argue for Watchmen, but that's not really part of the normal DC universe of character.

Then you get into the far less related ones that were actually good... Like V For Vendetta, Stardust and Red.

Usoki

07-21-2011, 12:29 AM

I really don't understand the fascination with Captain America. He doesn't really... do anything. He's just... strong. Does he do anything else? Does he even have any recurring villain? Does he have any weaknesses? Other than Bucky? I have no idea. I think his shield is a boomerang, but I might be confusing that with Thor's hammer. He's average, but at least Batman has the utility belt to add variety. Or, if he's more like Superman... at least Superman has a wider variety of powers.

Ugh. I understand that they need to get this one out of the way so that they can release an Avengers movie, but... ugh. I'm not even remotely interested in this one.

Dragavan

07-21-2011, 01:33 AM

He is the Super Soldier. Strong, smart, tactical, and patriotic. He does have the unbreakable shield that he can throw and it comes back to him (usually), but mostly by skill of the throw and not some magical power.

As for enemies.... umm Nazis, Communists, Terrorists, etc. If you want named bad guys his major villain is the Red Skull (a Nazi). He is also often leading the charge against HYDRA (an evil organization in the Marvel universe)... But really, do you need more than Nazis?

End Master

07-21-2011, 06:02 AM

I don't really keep up on super hero stuff, but I've heard that Red Skull is generally considered one of the worst villains in the Marvel universe terms of flat out evil shit he's done without even the advantage of any superhuman abilities. He's just an evil genius with some above average fighting skills.

That might also help explain some of Cap's popularity too, as heroes tend to be only as good as their villains. Certainly works for Batman and Spiderman.

BatCountry

07-23-2011, 01:06 AM

Very true endmaster. The most popular super heroes tend to have the best bad guys. Thats why Batman, Spiderman, X-Men and to a lesser extent, Superman have always been popular. Kinda proves the importance of well written antagonists eh? Magneto and the Joker my personal favorites because they are usually so well written.

While on the subject of super heroes I did see Thor and the new x-men and thought both were done very well. X-Men I was suprised with in fact, while Thor was similar to the first IronMan. Good humor, lots of action while telling the basic story of the hero. I also like to say movies like Iron Man and Thor are just fun to watch. Mindless summer fun. The Dark Knight and Watchmen are probably my favorite comic based movies of all time, but they are so dark and heavy, I like to have a mindless fun fest sometimes where the hero comes out the clear victor.

Probably going to end up seeing Captain America today, I'll post my thoughts later.

And to the earlier responses, Pulp Fiction and Resevoir dogs are both equally great in different ways. If i had to give one the edge though it would probably be Pulp Fiction imo.

Usoki

07-23-2011, 02:30 PM

Okay, no. I agree with EndMaster's statement, but BatCountry is trying to apply it to too many things. Take the average John Q. Idiot, since popularity has to come from the masses. Batman has 4-5 recognizable villains. Spiderman has 2-3. The X-man have... eesh, a bunch, unless you don't count flip-floppers. Superman just has Lex Luthor. I'm not convinced that Brainiac and Bizarro are well known, and they don't show up much even if they were.

Superman is popular because he is one step away from becoming God. Some of the plotlines involving Superman are utterly painful to watch, because it's clear that they're trying to balance out his god-mode powers.... but they can't. Not very well. It's boring to have a hero that can't ever be defeated, so they have to come up with some really dumb stuff to try and make it work. Kryptonite has become ridiculously easy to find for being a special rare rock, and the cancer really doesn't help much. And, seriously... the light of a red sun? Really?

BatCountry

07-23-2011, 03:06 PM

Mmm...I'll agree with that Usoki. Superman is too powerful hence why all the superman movies, to me at least, are somewhat boring. There are incredibly well written Superman comics such as "A Superman for all seasons" and "Red Son" which if put in movie form, would be fantastic as it captures the true fears and weaknesses of Superman.

I consider Braniac, Bizarro and Doomsday to be well known superman villians besides Lex Luthor, but tbh they are all quite weak plot wise usually. These villians obviously don't even matter though because they are never used in the movies. It's always Lex Luthor, Lex Luthor and nobody cares about him anymore. He's not a dangerous enough threat to a god like being, most movie goers don't buy it.

End Master

07-23-2011, 03:25 PM

I don't know why they didn't at least try to use Brainiac in one of the movies. They could've even used Darkseid who is a credible threat to Supes, being an evil god and all.

Well he's in better shape than Wonder Woman, I guess. Who the hell is even in her rogue gallery? Cheetah? Lol.

BatCountry

07-23-2011, 03:52 PM

Wow idk how I forgot Darkseid. Not well known but he would probably be the best Superman villian for a movie. Yeah, Wonder Woman is screwed lol. She can stick to tv.

Superman deserves a good movie though, he's a cultural icon for petes sake. Batman seems to always take the crown though.

Usoki

07-23-2011, 07:12 PM

I have no idea who Doomsday even is. Is that the guy who is responsible for one of Superman's deaths?

I did remember that Darkseid existed, but as I only know about him through the Justice League, I didn't know whose hero canon he came from. I wouldn't have pegged him for a Superman villain, but I guess it makes sense. I dunno who else could be powerful enough to stand up against him.

Yeah, I can't think of anyone else for Wonder Woman. ...Wait, what about Toyman? Or, whatever his name was, with the weird Jester head?

...and who has Solomon Grundy?

End Master

07-23-2011, 07:30 PM

Toyman oddly enough is primarily a Superman villain. Yeah real threat there, but I'm guessing he does stuff like threaten a bunch of innocents rather than Superman himself.

I think Solomon is just a random villain they use against any hero when they feel like it.

Hi! My name is: Katie

07-23-2011, 08:40 PM

I feel like I am late to the party, but...

I saw Green Lantern with the girls, we went so they could enjoy drooling over Ryan Reynolds. There's something innately annoying about him, but I guess if you turn off the sound? EH. I wouldn't recommend it.

X-men was worth watching. The little blue girl was so CUTE, I wanted one until I realized that she grew into the girl that is playing Katniss in the Hunger Games movies then I was less enthusiastic. I can say though that it was the first Kevin Bacon movie that didn't make me hate his face. But seriously, on a less shallow level, there were nazis and good explosions and the scenery was decent, so not bad.

I saw HP7P2 twice. The first time with i-max in 3D on opening night at midnight sitting beside a mouth breather that I kind of wanted to throw over the balcony. I kind of felt like the 3D stuff was a distraction. In Avatar it was all about the 3D graphics, but in Harry Potter there's a story, so why use all the extra junk? I love Maggie Smith, I want to be like her when I grow up... a wizard that turns into a cat and brings stone men... oh, wait, I don't want to spoil anything. Anyway, I preferred the movie in a crap theater with 2D effects, but that might be because I didn't have to focus so much on saying goodbye to the characters. Man, I'm going to miss those characters. I was shocked to discover that Bellatrix is actually my favorite character in the movies.

I fell asleep during Black Death... so I wouldn't recommend it, but maybe I just didn't make it to the good parts?

Can't wait to see Cowboys vs. Aliens or Game of Thrones.

I usually watch a ton of movies during the summer, but I guess I've been catching up on my summer reading.

End Master

07-23-2011, 09:08 PM

I fell asleep during Black Death... so I wouldn't recommend it, but maybe I just didn't make it to the good parts?

You were half asleep when we started it, and you missed a lot of the good stuff as well as the thrilling conclusion.

Locke

07-24-2011, 12:07 AM

It's boring to have a hero that can't ever be defeated, so they have to come up with some really dumb stuff to try and make it work.

Well, there's technically suicide, or maybe old age. I don't think anyone has resorted to that yet. Luthor works more as an antihero than a villain, I think; too bad none of the movies went that route.

Dr. Manhattan and Adrian of the Watchmen had kind of a Superman/Luthor vibe. I think it worked out better, though; Adrian's intelligence evened the playing field (at least superficially), and that both characters worked together and wanted some of the same things for the world gave them a chemistry Clark and Lex share, to an extent (although it's rarely touched upon).

With most of these things, you always know who the hero and the villain are, and their roles don't change, which gets old.

donteatpoop

07-24-2011, 08:27 AM

The best Superman plot came from Marvel's rip of off Superman; The Sentry. He was used by government agencies to commit terrible attrocities, they manipulated him into doing this shit while he thought he was doing things for the betterment of mankind and really he had no idea what he was doing. Then he realized what had happened, went ape-shit, and turned himself over to a maximum security prison for supers where he spent his time in solitary.

If DC ever did something like that with Superman, it would be worth watching. More drama than action, really; but at least it's interesting. Instead of the invincible Superman. No one can bond with a character that cannot be defeated.

I mean, I know he came out during a time when the nation needed someone like him to give hope even in the form of fiction; but he should have been killed off long ago. It's not like DC doesn't have some quality heroes; The Flash (why are there not more movies about him?), Batman, Nightwing, Green Arrow, and Blue Devil (how cool would a demon hunting super hero movie be?). But instead they focus on the supid ones, Superman & Green Lantern (watch out for the color yellow). At least they were only joking about Aquaman on Entourage and not actually filming it.

Batman is pretty much the only thing these assholes got right. I mean, that and Watchmen.

End Master

07-24-2011, 10:20 AM

It's not like DC doesn't have some quality heroes; The Flash (why are there not more movies about him?)

The Flash is another one I still don't see having a lot of credible villains. The dude is so fast he can vibrate through walls and travel through time. He's even faster than Superman. How the hell is someone like Captain Cold or Gorilla fucking Grodd supposed compete with that? I mean unless the super villain also has comparable speed, I'm not seeing a true threat to him.

Yes, I know, it's a comic book. Suspension of belief and all that, but still, he seems pretty overpowered.

ChubbyTeletubby

07-24-2011, 05:21 PM

I don't think apoth's 'Breakin' post is getting the credit it deserves.

Thank you, apoth.

Thank you.

Thank you.

BatCountry

07-24-2011, 07:45 PM

Yeah I never understood how a super intelligent gorilla could stop a man who nearly runs at lightspeed. I would think the fights in a flash movie would also just be ultra-lame. He's too quick and the audience would never see the action unless they matrix styled the fights for every single fight scene. I'm sure that wouldn't go over well! I'm sure with the right group though, a decent Flash movie could be produced.

Anyway I did go see Captain America and my consensus was that it was pretty good. I personally thought Thor was a bit better and I wasn't a huge fan of Captain Americas ending. Seems like they are trying too hard to tie all these movies into "the avengers" while sacrificing what could of been a great cap movie into just a good one. Anyone who does see the movie though , make sure to watch the scene after the credits are finished rolling.

End Master

07-31-2011, 05:27 PM

Saw Cowboys & Aliens. Pretty cool, I can't say anything bad about it.

Also saw Sucker Punch. Wasn't really as bad as everyone said it was. It probably could've done with some better songs though.

ChubbyTeletubby

08-01-2011, 07:01 PM

Broke into someone's Tahoe and stole a toddler.

Not a movie, but I was eating popcorn.

The market has TOTALLY fallen out on the toddler market though.

Fucking China.

Again, not a movie. But I was eating popcorn. Thank God for the Ohio river and its undercurrents. And the Amber alert system malfunctioning.

dreamshell

08-02-2011, 04:54 AM

Saw Cowboys & Aliens. Pretty cool, I can't say anything bad about it.

Same here, but for Captain America. It was a thankfully entertaining movie. Much better than that pile of dog shit that was Green Lantern. I'd even be willing to say it's on par with Iron Man.

End Master

08-07-2011, 10:39 AM

Saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Best Planet of the Apes movie I've seen so far.

Next on my must see list is the new Conan movie coming out soon and I also want to see the John Carter of Mars movie coming out next year.

dreamshell

08-07-2011, 03:45 PM

Conan and Immortals both look very slick, but I'm worried one or both will be repeats of the Clash of the Titans remake debacle, so I've got reservations. Actually, that's pretty much the norm with me for any new movie nowadays. =\

That said, Jason Momoa did well as Khal Drogo, so hopefully he's just as competent in the Conan remake. Will the same be true for those around him, writers, director and FX artists included? Only time will tell.

End Master

08-13-2011, 11:33 AM

Saw Rubber.

The concept of this movie is weird, but rather simple. There's this tire and it somehow comes to life and starts killing people. Though its not killing in the traditional way you've expect a sentient tire to kill people. It's killing them by using its psychic powers to blow up their heads. (Basically like Scanners)

To top it off, the movie breaks the 4th wall right from the start by having an audience watching all the events of the movie unfold in the middle of the desert. Every once in awhile they're arguing or commenting on what's going on.

It's basically a B-movie masquerading as an art film, or maybe its an art film masquerading as a B-movie. Doesn't really matter, I mostly liked it for the spectacular head explosions and some of the dialogue was amusing.

I suppose one could go on an intellectual tirade about how the movie was going for a David Lynch feel and some sort of post modern deconstruction stuff etc etc, or someone could just say it was a dumb concept that sucked. But I wouldn't really agree with either statement. It probably should've been a little shorter and it might've even worked better if they hadn't gone the whole film within a film role. The ongoing theme is the movie has "no reason", but I think they sort of defeated their purpose by breaking the 4th wall, movie acknowledgment, etc. which sort of explained "no reason".

At any rate I still liked it better than most horror movie attempts of trying to be "clever". (Like Funny Games or the Scream series for example) And I'm glad to have it for my weird movie collection.

ChubbyTeletubby

08-13-2011, 03:20 PM

I always wanted to see Funny Games.

I'm not into horror movies anyway.

End Master

08-22-2011, 06:34 AM

Saw the new Conan movie recently. I liked it better than I thought I would. My only major complaint is one I've made before about movies... it REALLY didn't need to be in 3D.

Conan's main sidekick sucked compared to his in the original movie, but fortunately he wasn't in it as much and his warrior woman/love interest had sort of a dull personality, but really you're seeing this for the fighting and killing anyway and it does pretty well in that department.

The villain was slightly a little deeper than the usual "I'm getting ultimate power to world the world" sort of thing (Not much deeper, but for a movie like this he a least had a secondary goal which was just as important to him), there was an slight incestuous tone with his witch daughter, and he had more than a few unique henchmen, so the bad guys were cool. Ron Pearlman was good as always even for the short time he was in the movie.

There haven't been any good sword and sorcery movies lately and this one did a suitable job.

dreamshell

08-22-2011, 09:01 AM

Awesome, End. I'm a little less anxious now.

End Master

10-23-2011, 09:42 PM

Saw The Thing remake er... I mean "prequel".

Okay so it was a legitimate prequel, but it really did feel like a remake of Carpenter's movie, though I suppose part of that was inevitable given the setting of the film.

It's okay, though really it doesn't capture the paranoia feeling of the other movie, they kill way too many people so damn fast in the movie and while normally I don't mind seeing a blood bath of bodies, here it just doesn't work and the pacing of the film seems a bit rushed at times and then it drags towards the end because they killed just about everyone off too damn quickly.

I also thought it would've been better had everyone at the station had been Norwegian rather than having the clumsy explanation of having Americans at the base, would've simplified other things as well. I mean they could've still gotten over the audience language barrier thing like they do in most movies with non-English speakers: Just have them all speak English anyway and imply that they're all speaking they own language. Or if they wanted to get fancy they could've had them all speaking Norwegian and had the entire movie in subtitles.

Anyway like I said, it's okay, but Carpenter's movie was a lot better.

Usoki

10-24-2011, 02:12 AM

There's this tire and it somehow comes to life and starts killing people. Though its not killing in the traditional way you've expect a sentient tire to kill people.

I know this is from an old post, but I can't but laugh hysterically whenever I see it. As if there are so many movies featuring people-killing sentient tires, that there is clearly a traditional way that these living tires kill. In fact, there are so many people-killing sentient tire movies, we need a movie like this to subvert the trend. We salute you, Rubber, for taking the tired old people-killing sentient tire trope and breathing new life into it.

I'm trying to think of any movie, new or old, that I watched in the past few months, but I'm coming up blank. I did snag some comedies at the local Blockbuster's closing sale a few months back. The Gods Must Be Crazy, Pleasantville, and Spaceballs. I haven't seen any of them before, but I hear they're all really good.

End Master

10-24-2011, 09:19 AM

I thought Spaceballs was funny, never saw the other two though.

I meant to mention I also saw Paranormal Activity 3 yesterday as well. Basically if you're into the series, you'll probably like this one as well. If not, well you can continue not watching the series since it's basically more of the same. I thought the movie was okay, though like with most prequels it left a few plot holes open, though that could've been intentional so they can do another movie which fills in some gaps.

While I can appreciate the movies on an entertainment level, I'm still not sure what is supposed to be so scary about these movies that's causing the audiences to scream their heads off though. I suppose there is a certain element of creepiness factor in them, but I don't think it's really jumping out your seat scary. Plus it's the third movie, you sort of know what to expect by this point.

The audience I saw it with was ridiculous though. They were getting scared over the smallest things. Even stuff where you pretty much knew something was going to jump out and try to scare you. Some of their screaming and yelling was sort of amusing though.

Dragavan

10-24-2011, 02:35 PM

I did snag some comedies at the local Blockbuster's closing sale a few months back. The Gods Must Be Crazy, Pleasantville, and Spaceballs. I haven't seen any of them before, but I hear they're all really good.

They are all good for what they are. I really enjoyed The Gods Must Be Crazy and think it's the strongest of the three, but it's also the one that I think will be dismissed by the largest number of people because it's not at all a typical movie in any sense of the word. Spaceballs is just classic silly Mel Brooks comedy taking on Sci-Fi movies and I still quote the movie from time to time. Pleasantville is the most "mainstream" of the three, but it was good for what it was. Not great, but good.

As for things I've watched recently... umm... Other than the original The Thing (to get ready to see the new one, mostly to watch the scenes in the Norwegian camp to see how they will line up), I mostly have been watching TV series' on Netflix. I have now officially seen everything officially put out as Star Trek (since the animated series was added a couple months ago) and slowly going through DS9 again, since I haven't watched it since it originally aired. The only other movie I've watched was Memento, but that's just because it's my all time favorite movie and I love to watch it again every once and a while. Brilliant filmmaking. Hopefully I will see the new The Thing soon.

JJJ-thebanisher

10-24-2011, 11:55 PM

Saw Paranormal Activity 3. Apparently they had all this awesome stuff in the trailer that wasn't in the movie (why the fuck does Google Chrome think movie isn't a word?) but I haven't seen the trailer and thus was not disappointed. In fact, I'd say that it was the only movie (!?) I've ever seen that's legitimately freaked me right out. It's not the kind of scared that leaves you thinking about it for any time once you leave the theatre, but while I was watching it, I was delightfully scared. Really well done, especially the scene with the oscillating camera.

But yeah, don't watch the trailer first.

(Also, I thought the first one was decent and the second one was shit. I'm no fan of the series as a whole, but this instalment was really, really good.)

dreamshell

10-25-2011, 09:56 AM

Since 'The Thing' is being discussed so much recently, I'd like to recommend this great short story based on the Carpenter movie I came across the other day:

http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/

Locke

10-25-2011, 01:09 PM

Actually read that awhile back and really liked it. Since you're pulling from Clarkesworld, do you read a lot of contemporary SF? Any authors to recommend?

A couple of mine:
Ted Kosmatka (http://www.freesfonline.de/authors/Ted_Kosmatka.html)
Ted Chiang (http://www.freesfonline.de/authors/Ted_Chiang.html)
Greg Egan (http://www.freesfonline.de/authors/Greg_Egan.html)

EDIT: The last line seemed really forced in "The Things." But I love that shift in perspective, and the rest of the story came off nicely.

I watched "Chronos" recently, and it's definitely one of the best I've seen. This copy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJKOsPQ40cc&hd=1) is of surprising quality at 1080p. It's art film, though, and if that's not your thing, you'll probably be bored. The director (Fricke) came out with a movie called Samsara several months ago, which took something like five years just to film. One of very few I've looked forward to (the forthcoming - and last - of the Batman trilogy is also up there).

dreamshell

10-26-2011, 11:32 PM

Actually read that awhile back and really liked it. Since you're pulling from Clarkesworld, do you read a lot of contemporary SF? Any authors to recommend?

I don’t read as much as I’d like, but some writers/stories I’m a fan of are;

Charles Stross (Accelerando, The Atrocity Archives & its sequels)

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom & Little Brother by Cory Doctorow:
http://craphound.com/down/
http://craphound.com/littlebrother/

The Ray-Gun: A Love Story by James Alan Gardner:
http://www.thinkage.ca/~jim/raygun.htm

The Gentle Seduction by Marc Stiegler:
http://www.skyhunter.com/marcs/GentleSeduction.html

Three Worlds Collide by Eliezer Yudkowsky:
http://lesswrong.com/lw/y4/three_worlds_collide_08/

Locke

10-27-2011, 08:51 AM

I like Doctorow, too. I'll definitely check out the others.

End Master

11-06-2011, 12:21 PM

Since RPGs have been a topic lately, I figured I'd mention this movie.

Recently saw a movie called Wild Hunt. The basic premise surrounds this medieval fantasy LARPing community and this guy who got out of it to take care of his sick dad, but his girlfriend and brother are still into it. His brother is so into it he's practically delusional and his girlfriend dumped him for some wizard.

He goes back to the LARPer hang out to try to convince his girlfriend to get back with him and he gets caught up in the in-game faction power struggle. Pretty much gets worse from there since some are taking the game really seriously and he's RUINING IT FOREVER.

Now I imagine a lot of real LARPers would look at this movie and say it was making them look bad (Like Mazes & Monsters with D&D Players) but I think the movie was done well. It didn't really come off as "LARPing is evil!" propaganda. It was more like an examination of a mob mentality when things get really out of hand.

If anything the documentary I saw called Monster Camp painted LARPers in a worse light than this movie did.

Vesnic

11-06-2011, 02:08 PM

That reminds me of watching Darkon, which was a documentary that followed the lives of a few LARPers in the Baltimore area. I don't remember if this came up before in the movies thread, but it's been quite a while now since I saw it and it's really stuck with me. It seems like each of these movies takes a sort of different "slant" on the whole scene. Darkon made an interesting point about how some people turn to LARPing out of a sense of dissatisfaction or alienation. Unfortunately, the guy who really seemed to need his alternate reality the most and who was getting kicked around the most in real life came out underneath in the game world too, under this rather smug guy who'd just gotten a promotion at work. The movie teetered just on the edge of making an almost "survival of the fittest" kind of argument, but it had a great deal of compassion for its subjects and didn't fall into too many stereotypes. It actually sort of provoked my interest in that whole scene for awhile.

Dragavan

11-19-2011, 11:47 AM

Just watched Red State, by Kevin Smith. I knew very little about it going in, other than he based the main bad guy on Fred Phelps of the Wetborrough Baptist Church (the "God Hates Fags" people), so I wasn't expecting it to be a horror/political movie at all, but it was amazing. Probably his best film to date.

Now, I admit that I'm a fan of Kevin Smith's usual style, with the long string of "View Askewnaverse" movies he made (starting with Clerks). Sometimes he tries to have a basic message of some kind, but mostly they are witty, raunchy, and just plain fun. That's kind of what I was expecting with Red State, only with him making fun of Fred Phelps' skewed take on religion. Instead I got an amazingly well paced slow horror film about a group of sex crazed teen boys trying to get laid that are lured into a trap, where they are going to be killed in the name of god... and eventually the AFT gets involved in a Waco style stand off.

Even the way he has the credits broken down tells you that this movie was made to make a statement. He has the actor lists broken into three categories: Sex, Religion, and Politics. The three topics you avoid when in polite conversation.

If you want gore in your horror, this doesn't have much for you. It's not that kind of horror movie. If you want something that's just really well done and might make you a little uncomfortable as you watch it (possibly even depending on where you stand politically), with great realistic dialog and good pacing, this is a movie you should see.

JJJ-thebanisher

11-19-2011, 06:44 PM

Dragavan

11-19-2011, 08:22 PM

Hahahahhaa, my mum watched that accidentally (was led to believe it was a comedy) and I went to visit her a few days afterwards and she couldn't stop ranting about how evil the movie was and how she regretted watching it so much and that due to the nature of it; her life was now less good.

Is she a fundamentalist Christian and/or a super right wing FOX News watching republican? Because I can see how those groups might have that strong of a response to it, but most people who wouldn't like it would just not like it.

JJJ-thebanisher

11-22-2011, 03:34 PM

Is she a fundamentalist Christian and/or a super right wing FOX News watching republican? Because I can see how those groups might have that strong of a response to it, but most people who wouldn't like it would just not like it.

No, luckily she's not either of those things. I think she's just hypersensitive to violence; one of those people who can't sit back and realize that she's watching a movie and that's it.

Vesnic

11-28-2011, 05:40 PM

The Muppets

I was beginning to run the risk of taking the word of Rotten Tomatoes as gospel truth. Time after time, I felt that I was at one with the great RT, that my mind harmonized with the frequency of the Grand High Tomatometer.

Then something happened.

Increasingly, I found myself asking "Huh?" in response to reviews. A new zeitgeist of charitableness seemed to be seeping into that old bastion of snark. Another thing occurred to me as well. A movie with a 98% tomato rating is not 98% good; it is just considered to be more good than bad by 98% of reviewers. I find this highly misleading and plan to sue RT at my earliest possible convenience.

This past Turkey Day weekend, I gathered up my dysfunctional family and, working on the sunny 98%-sure assurances of Rotten Tomatoes, dragged them off to the movies where we took in The Muppets. I thought it was a fail-safe way to keep us all from committing homicide for at least two hours on Sunday afternoon.

Wow, was I wrong.

I'm not saying that I murdered Auntie Mimi and stuck her dismembered body in a dumpster just because I saw a shitty movie. But I sure did want to. After a tortuously protracted string of previews and a superlatively unfunny Toy Story short in the Death by Disney mode, the big event finally began.

The plot in as few words as possible: Jason Segel has a freak homunculus brother who's a muppet and they decide to go on vacation to see the muppet studios in L.A. His girlfriend, poor long-suffering Amy Adams, (who, despite being 37 years old, a mother, and the owner of an impressive resume of big-girl roles is still not allowed to grow up) brings her usual sunshine and passive-aggressive finesse to the screen. Our three heroes arrive in L.A., where they discover the decrepit muppet studios in serious financial trouble, stumble upon sinister plans by the compound's new owner to drill baby drill under the site, introduce themselves to Kermit, come up with a half-cocked plan to save Muppetland, assemble the old gang, have adult relationship problems, sing childish songs, kidnap Jack Black and finally stage a massively dull telethon featuring lots of unnecessary cameos leading to the inevitable and inevitably improbable happy ending, despite the fact that they have only reached 1/10 of their fundraising goal.

Did I mention there are lots of forgettable songs strewn throughout? The movie could never quite figure out if it was trying to be farcical or sincere, and in the midst of all the waffling never succeeded at either one. The numbers weren't big and flamboyant enough to be muppet-worthy, but they were far too self-conscious to be taken seriously. It was during one of the duller ditties that the little monsters behind me started kicking in earnest at the back of my chair. I kept trying to concentrate, but it just wouldn't happen. Now, just a day after seeing this dud, I can't seem to put it back together in my mind at all, and I'm sure this isn't just because I dedicated a good half hour to turning around in my seat and beating down those little feet with my umbrella. You see, I can't even hold this review together. I think at some point this movie was trying to make a statement about the "trashification" of our culture and how only the stupid soulless shit makes it big these days; but the argument was put forth so feebly and unconvincingly that it just didn't fool me, or the other members of my family, or the bruised little bastards crying in the seats behind me, or probably even itself. There were nearly a dozen cameos in the film, in true muppet style, but not a one of them contributed anything of substance. Suddenly Doogie Howser was shown answering a phone and complaining that he should have been hosting. Then he was gone. Actually, come to think of it, that was the only time during those excruciating two hours that I actually remember laughing. Miss Piggy failed to deliver, as did Kermit, Gonzo, Animal, Rolf, Swedish Chef and all the other regulars from whom we've come to expect so much more. The movie was so frenetic and dissolved, never managing to genuinely reintroduce any of those beloved, flawed and furry creatures we love so dearly. And by furry creatures, I am not referring to Jason Segel's wang. In my opinion, anyone who has done a full-frontal dong extravaganza just isn't eligible to do a kiddie flick. Oh, fuck the kids. The truth is it was traumatizing to me. Every time he was on screen, all I could see was a huge talking wiener. A huge talking muppet wiener. The new muppet character wasn't named Walter. He was named Wiener, and he bore a striking resemblance to Jason Segel. In summation, the bad guys weren't bad enough, I didn't give a shit about the good guys, the musical numbers were eminently forgettable, and I swear to god, if you kick me one more fucking time, I will twist your little pigtailed head right off your fucking shoulders!

Don't see this movie. It was more bad than good, and only manages to look slightly passable against the background of the drooling shite cyclone constituting this year's movie selection. The people who made it don't need more money. If you want to see something truly worthwhile and full of characters who act like puppets on a string, go see Martha Marcy May Marlene. If you still have a yen for the Muppets, there's a lot of original stuff up on the Tube.

And in the privacy of your own home, you won't even get a foot up your ass when you watch it!

Vesnic

12-04-2011, 09:25 AM

It's time for another movie review from your friend Veshy-poo!

Melancholia

I have long been a von Trier fan, ever since the day when I was home sick from school and tuned in to the IFC to catch the bleak and beautiful Medea. So inspired was I by this film that I named my first laptop after the Greek heroine and long pondered the wisdom of murdering one's own children just to get back at their daddy for finding someone younger and prettier to run off with.

Von Trier has been called gloomy and nihilistic, racist and vicious. Yes, yes, yes. I agree, at least to some extent, and I don't believe that all those words must have undesirable connotations. I don't really mind if he mumbles nonsense about Nazis as long as he keeps making challenging, irritating, elevating and mind-exploding movies. No one seemed to mind when they made a movie about Coco Chanel, despite the fact that it has been proven she not only liked the Nazis but went out of her way to collaborate with them. Why is it ok to be evil in an A-line suit while it's not ok to be magically troubled, yet unadorned? I think the answer is that people just can't stomach it when a celebrity, especially one of von Trier's stature, just doesn't give a shit what you think. The complete lack of sycophancy drives people to distraction; the sight of raw, unpretty, tumultuous talent acts like some sort of chemical irritant, and the backlash is severe.

While Melancholia has generally been well received, the fact that it has scored a full 20 points lower on Rotten Tomatoes than the aforementioned Muppet horror is unforgivable. What von Trier has achieved here is a perfect balance of temperament, a quiet yet insidious examination of a dark side too ineffable to be romanticized. I would not hesitate to call this his masterpiece. He has grown beyond the heavy-handedness of some of his earlier works and the pure visceral gross-out of the hideously unwatchable Antichrist to ascend to a new height of spiritual resonance. Anyone looking for a lesson in show, don't tell need look no further than this film. Those seeking ambiguity and the ability to determine their own sort of meaning from a true work of art will be likewise satisfied. Some have argued that Melancholia is a metaphor for depression, and indeed there are many ways in which it is a cinematic Dark Night of the Soul, beginning at the exterior level and moving ever inward even as the consequences grow to be literally astronomical in scope. Others have posited that the film is a comment on our times and society, and I believe this is so, but in a very non-didactic sort of way. The film hovers in a sort of nondescript time and place, so it is easy to apply its generalities to multiple specific situations. However, this very fluidity of applicability implies that interpretation cannot reasonably be limited, but must remain broad and open and perhaps for some, maddeningly inconclusive.

Besides the brilliant direction by von Trier, a great deal of credit is also due to the cinematography, musical score, and performances. Kirsten Dunst thrives in her role, though I think the true stand-out performance was by Charlotte Gainsbourg, who plays Dunst's long-suffering sister whose compulsively optimist energy serves as a gravitational counterpoint to Dunst's immobile nihilism.

There is so much more to say about this film on every possible level, but I'll just cut to the end now and say See it see it SEE IT!

ChubbyTeletubby

12-05-2011, 03:46 AM

I shall!

Thanks for the great reviews!

End Master

12-14-2011, 11:27 AM

Okay here's some half-assed reviews of some movies I recently saw.

Downfall

Yeah, this is the Hitler movie that everyone does Youtube parodies of. The funny thing is, I'm so out of the loop I didn't even know about the parodies until I stumbled upon them earlier this year. In fact I didn't even realize the movie was as old as it was (2004). For some reason I thought the thing came out like 2008-2009, of course they do so many movies about Hitler I can't possibly be expected to keep up with all of them. Anyway I read that it was one of the better Hitler movies, so I figured I'd check it out.

I'd have to go with the general audience on this one and agree that it is a really good movie. The overwhelming hopelessness of the situation was sufficiently grim. The delusional mindset (Germany might still win!) of a lot of his followers seemed to be captured pretty well along with those that were rightfully cynical about the whole affair and basically just waiting to die. Definitely liked how they had Hitler going back and forth between both of those mindsets and basically just saying "Fuck it, let all of Germany burn, they failed, not I!"

Certainly a better portrayal of Hitler than the one movie I saw where they had him kicking a puppy into mush just to reinforce the idea he was evil or something. They also did a good job of making actors look very much like the various Nazi elite.

The Devil's Double

In keeping with maniacs in power, this one was about Uday Hussein, or rather the guy that was forced to be his body double.

I'd heard about this one when it first came out, so it was one I had been interested in seeing for a while.

Overall it was okay. I've read enough about Uday before to know they probably weren't straying too over the top on the depraved stuff he was involved in. I think there was a weird complaint that the part where he fucked a tranny as being unecessary slander since as a Muslim he wouldn't have been doing that.

But considering he was torturing people to death, raping and killing little girls and fucking everything that moved in general, I don't really think it's completely out of the realm of possibility. He was hedonistic enough to try it and powerful enough that he could've gotten away with it with nobody stoning him to death or whatever.

Anyway like I said, it's okay. Sort of losing something towards the end though.

Superbad

While this had a bunch of actors I don't particularly care for, it was better than I expected. Still pretty standard stuff in the quest to get laid movies though. I think if they cut down on the scenes with their other friend and the cops and focused on a few more "wacky events" that occurred to the two protagonists I would've liked it more. Though I suppose Seth really wanted to be in his own movie a lot.

Vesnic

12-14-2011, 12:26 PM

They also did a good job of making actors look very much like the various Nazi elite.

Tell me about it. The guy who played Goebbels was fifteen flavors of sexy, and I don't even usually go for the psychotic homicidal type. Interestingly, the actor who played him, Ulrich Matthes, was in another highly acclaimed WWII-era movie called The Ninth Day, except this time he was a Catholic priest forced to make a harrowing decision. Classic good vs. evil stuff. Made me proud to be a wafer muncher.

On a similar note, try taking this quiz: Which Nazi Leader Are You? (http://quizfarm.com/quizzes/new/ivyclarice/which-nazi-leader-are-you/)

I got Rudolph Hess: in other words, too batshit insane to be truly evil. That fluffed my ego, it did.

Hi! My name is: Katie

12-14-2011, 12:46 PM

You Scored as Albert Speer

You are Albert Speer. With a mind geared toward structure and engineering, you’re a natural administrator. You habitually use your skills to get in good with the top, and you’re generally given a lot of duties which you’re able to juggle with ease. Because of your ordered thinking, you’re extremely efficient and formidable, and may often be tagged to lead projects because of this. Despite your fresh-faced look, you are as much of a viper as the others with whom you nest and have no qualms about switching sides to stay with a winner; anything to make you look good.

Albert Speer
83%
Josef Goebbels
69%
Reinhard Heydrich
58%
Martin Bormann
58%
Adolf Hitler
56%
Rudolf Hess
47%
Heinrich Himmler
44%
Ernst Röhm
39%
Hermann Göring
25%

End Master

12-14-2011, 12:46 PM

I got Heinrich Himmler (78%)

You are Heinrich Himmler. With your incredible grasp of Machiavellian politicking, your keen and calculating mind, and almost superhuman gift for organization, you have the potential to get far in life. The problem is that you may be almost obsessed with the dark side of life and death and don’t have a firm grasp of right and wrong. You’re a control freak, pure and simple. Everything in your life is scheduled, alphabetized and sanitary; God help anyone who messes that up. With your quiet little smile, people scarcely suspect you of great wrath, but you do not suffer fools gladly.

Works for me.

The other ones were ranked like this:

Gobbels 61%
Speer 56%
Bormann 53%
Rohm 47%
Heydrich 47%
Hitler 44%
Hess 39%
Goring 14%

Fun footnote: When Albert Speer was locked up in Spandau Prison he claimed that Rudolph Hess would routinely steal the other prisoners' socks for no apparent reason.

Locke

12-14-2011, 06:46 PM

You Scored as Reinhard Heydrich

You are Reinhard Heydrich. ‘Live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse’ is your motto. You almost seem to have a death wish as you do nigh-suicidal things like drive your sportscar or fly your airplane too fast in treacherous conditions. Embodying the duality of the sign Pisces, you have two faces: at work, you’re cheerless, grim, brutal and violent; at home you’re sentimental, romantic, warm and affectionate. You are ambitious and wish to climb to the top of your chosen path in the shortest time possible. Despite this, you have a surprising weakness and talent for the Arts.

Reinhard Heydrich 53%
Rudolf Hess 47%
Josef Goebbels 44%
Hermann Göring 42%
Heinrich Himmler 39%
Albert Speer 36%
Ernst Röhm 36%
Martin Bormann 33%
Adolf Hitler 14%

Dragavan

12-14-2011, 09:00 PM

I just watched Green Lantern (the live action one, for those who know that several animated ones also came out in the last year).

It was not as bad as many of the reports about it said it was... but it was not really good. It relied too much on the CGI and not on the acting and story. It worked for what it was, but what it was I didn't really want to see. It was nice to see they treated some of the supporting cast (like Sinestro and the other members of the GLC) with respect for the source material, but none of that would have mattered to non-comic geeks.

If I was going to give it a Netflix rating (which I am going to do, since I got it from there) I would have to put it at 3 stars. Totally middle of the road. Not good enough to suggest my friends see it, but not bad enough to ridicule it when talking about it with my friends. Totally not worth talking about either way.

dreamshell

12-15-2011, 01:55 PM

Just caught up on some movies, too; Hanna, Eastern Promises and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Interestingly, not a one of them took place in America, which was really quite refreshing.

Hanna
Hanna is a young girl who’s been raised by her father in some remote frozen wasteland. She’s skilled in hand-to-hand combat and archery, speaks several languages fluently and has an amazing retention of memory. But she’s also pining to know more about the world than what her father reads to her out of an encyclopedia. So her father gives her a transmitter that, once activated, will bring all kinds of hell down on them. With a flip of the switch, Hanna’s adventure begins…

I was unsure of this one when the trailers came out, so I never really made the effort to go and see it in theaters. But, man, do I wish I had now. Gorgeous cinematography, classic spy-fi tropes, weird, campy villains and a teenage girl trained to be an assassin. Also, a soundtrack composed by the Chemical Brothers. What’s not to love?

Eastern Promises
When a pregnant, drug-addicted Jane Doe gives birth and dies in her hospital, midwife Anna takes the young woman's diary, written in Russian, home in the hopes of finding someone to translate it. Determined to locate the new baby’s family, she eventually finds a clue leading her to the owner of a Russian restaurant, Semyon, who offers to translate the diary for her. She also crosses paths with Nikolai, chauffeur to Semyon’s son Kirill, who has connections to the vory v zakone. As she looks for answers, she soon discovers she is intruding on the business of the Russian mafia…

Though Anna’s role in the story is ultimately less interesting and kind of unnecessary, Naomi Watts does a solid job of it. But it's Viggo Mortensen who really shines as the enigmatic Nikolai. He proves his chops easily in the “bath house” scene with all its brutality and pud-flopping glory. Special mention also goes to Armin-Mueller Stahl who gives Semyon a depth he might not otherwise have had (not to mention bizarrely beautiful blue eyes - and yes, I am referring to an old German man’s eyes as beautiful).

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Journalist Mikael Blomkvist, fresh from losing a case of libel charged against him by a powerful CEO, is hired by retired powerful CEO Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance of his favored 16-year-old niece, Harriet, gone missing 40 years prior. As Mikael begins his research, he is unwittingly sharing all that he learns with Lisbeth Salander, an antisocial hacker hired to dig up dirt on him but inadvertently has come to admire him. When Lisbeth sends him an email pointing him in the right direction, he tracks her down and suggest they put their heads together. Soon, they begin to delve deep into a series of ritual murders in the unlikeliest of places (Sweden) that lead them ever closer to the identity of the one they suspect is behind Harriet’s disappearance…

Ever since Let the Right One In, I’ve wanted to watch more Scandinavian cinema and this didn’t disappoint. There are some amazing and/or brutal scenes in this movie that showcase how great a character Lisbeth is; both resilient and cunning and a pretty capable fighter for her size and build. I hope the American remake does it justice, though since it’s Fincher at the helm, I feel pretty confident it will.

dreamshell

12-16-2011, 08:44 PM

Hey, End Master, I saw Rubber. I liked it. d(^_^)

Another movie I saw a little while ago was Super, with Rainn Wilson. Great blackly comedic deconstruction of the "what if there were really superheroes?" idea. It's been done before with the more popular Kick-Ass, Defendor and even Watchmen, but Super might be my favorite take on it thanks to being so unflinchingly fucked up about it. Also, it's by James Gunn, who also directed Slither.

And I just got back a little while ago from seeing the Sherlock Holmes sequel. I found it as enjoyable as I did the first movie, though I'm not sure if I was expecting much. Fun dynamics between characters, some good action and I was happy with how they subverted the use of the slo-mo concept from that fight scene in the first movie. It was cool to see Jared Harris as Moriarty and Stephen Fry as Mycroft. Also Noomi Rapace, who played Lisbeth Salander in (the original Swedish) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo had a minor role, which was a cool coincidence considering I'd just seen that movie. Nothing too special about her character, but the girl can clean up. My only major beef was how little there was of Rachel McAdams in this movie... and why. Still, I suppose they wanted to keep the Sherlock-Watson bromance alive and she'd just get in the way... I guess. All in all, I'd say I'm happier with the sequel to Sherlock Holmes than I was with the one to Iron Man.

End Master

12-20-2011, 01:54 AM

And in honor of Kim Jong Ill's death, re-watched Team America World Police. One can only hope that the Dear Leader's son can prove to be just as much of a source of amusement! (Hasn't been a good year for dictators this year.)

I wonder if this will affect the new Red Dawn movie coming out since they changed the occupying enemy to North Korea. Still say they should've kept China as the invaders for it to be at least a little more plausible.

End Master

12-29-2011, 08:35 PM

So I got the complete set of Batman The Animated series as one of my gifts and I've been watching them. Its been since the early 90s when I first saw them, but I think it still holds up as one of the best cartoon series of all time.

Katie also wanted to go see the new Tin Tin movie that came out, so we went and she ended up hating the movie. Surprisingly, I ended up not minding it despite not really having any desire to see it in the first place. I didn't really know anything about TinTin going into the film, but I kind of liked the fact that they didn't even bother explaining any of his background in the movie.

It was like: "This is Tin Tin, he's a teenager that gets into adventures, he's got a dog and fuck you if you can't keep up."

Overall it was okay due to the action sequences being well done, but it probably could've been a little shorter and it wasn't something I'd watch again.

Vesnic

12-29-2011, 09:49 PM

I haven't seen any movies lately. There were several that I wanted to see, but never got to for various reasons, most of those having to do with various people bailing on me at the last minute. I am serious about my movies and I don't like it when people flake out because it was "only a movie after all. Just relax and I'll take you to Friday's." I don't need fucking fettuccine. I need Scorsese. Never got to see Hugo. Because someone fucking bailed on me. Now I am relegated to the ignominy of flying solo in front of my computer watching reruns of Sex and the City, which I had successfully ignored since graduating from college.

How is it that that cunt Carrie has a column which pays her enough money to buy fucking designer shoes every other day while I'm lucky to be able to afford a pot of rice for the translations that I slave over with the utmost care and precision. Why? I say. WHY?!

Yeah yeah I know this is the wrong thread, but you know, fuck that. So I had a few chocolate truffles tonight. So sue me. I'm the one who'll pay the ultimate price for it anyway. Fat pants, here I come. And I was doing so well, too. Shit.

Fuck you all. I want to watch a movie. More than that, I want to watch a good movie, in good company, with people who won't fall asleep, tune out, talk inanely or worst of all, force feed me more truffles.

End Master

01-11-2012, 10:12 PM

Saw a Norwegian film called The Troll Hunter

Best "found footage" horror movie I've seen. I especially liked the fact that they showed the trolls rather than resorting to only show quick glimpses or not at all. It was cool to see a movie based on some of the folklore on the variety of trolls too and they even have a scientific way of explaining why they either explode or turn to stone when exposed to UV/sunlight.

Funny in parts as well. The Troll Hunter himself is really burned out on his job which is supposed to be a government secret, but when the student film crew won't stop following him, he's like "fuck it" and says they can tag along even when his superiors are continuing to yell at him about it.

Dragavan

01-12-2012, 12:58 AM

I love that movie. Wasn't sold on it at first, but by the time the first real Troll encounter finished I was all in. And the start of that sequence when the hunter comes running out of the forest and just screams "TROLL!" at the camera made me laugh so hard.

Locke

01-12-2012, 01:37 PM

I may see Troll Hunter now.

Saw Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a few days ago. I thought the book was readable, but not great (I don't get why it's been so heavily praised/bought, unless it's the abuse of women angle). The movie was mostly very slow and dull. I didn't like the music (Trent Reznor), and the scenes were usually dark/shadowy. It has a long runtime, but does stay true to the book, for what that's worth.

I didn't mention it, but I saw Contagion at some point awhile back. It's about as good as a disease movie can get. Nothing you wouldn't expect in terms of plot, but the visuals/production values were outstanding, so much so that I enjoyed it on the strength of its aesthetics rather than what was happening on screen.

Vesnic

01-12-2012, 03:10 PM

I didn't mention it, but I saw Contagion at some point awhile back. It's about as good as a disease movie can get. Nothing you wouldn't expect in terms of plot, but the visuals/production values were outstanding, so much so that I enjoyed it on the strength of its aesthetics rather than what was happening on screen.

I thought The Crazies was a pretty good example of a disease movie too. It had some awesome make-up work which was designed to look specifically "disease-y" rather than zombified or otherwise alien. I think the idea of the familiar and harmless suddenly turning on you is one of the few tropes in horror that always works on a purely psychological level. I'd rate it high for aesthetics and it even had a decent plot and acting. It's probably been mentioned here before by End, but I thought I'd bring it up again since we're on the topic of disease flicks and I haven't seen any euro-fag hits recently with which to torture you all.

End Master

01-12-2012, 03:50 PM

Which The Crazies did you see, the original or the remake? I liked them both, but I give the edge to the remake.

One thing that I thought the original did better though was not every crazy was a homicidal psycho (Most still were of course). They had a little more variety and showed a few of them having harmless crazy behavior (Like sweeping up a grass field for instance) or in one case plain old sexual deviancy.

Vesnic

01-12-2012, 04:32 PM

Which The Crazies did you see, the new one or the remake?

I saw the new one. Loved the British guy putting on a somewhat convincing Southern, if perhaps not specifically Iowa accent. I'm sad to have missed out on some of the more varied Crazies behavior though. In the commentaries they mentioned that the original film divided its POV pretty equally between the townspeople and the military, while the new one was shot strictly from the perspective of the sheriff and his little gang of (mostly non-) goonies.

That whole sweeping a field thing reminds me of a blonde joke:

Q: Why did the blonde break her arm?

A: She was raking leaves when she fell out of the tree.

Tee hee!

End Master

01-12-2012, 06:28 PM

Bah, that should've been "did you see the original or the remake?" but doesn't matter, since you knew what I meant.

Heard they were going to do an american remake of Troll Hunter, which seems like a bad idea in this case. It's fine the way it is and the troll lore/myths don't fit the americas. (I'm guessing they'll shove an american camera crew in Norway or something)

The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo movie just didn't look all that interesting to me when I saw the trailers, so I guess I'll continue to skip it. I want to finally get around to watching 13 Assassins sometime soon anyway.

Dragavan

01-12-2012, 09:00 PM

13 Assassins was surprisingly good. I don't normally go for those kinds of movies, but it was better than I expected.

Vesnic

01-13-2012, 05:30 PM

Speaking of Nordic gloom and the urge to remake what's already been done, I just watched Valhalla Rising on DVD. It's like the legendary Aguirre, except with a great deal of violence that is both gratuitous and misplaced, some very threadbare philosophical underpinnings, and a self-awareness that borders on preciousness. I'm not sure why so many films these days seem to have had the color leeched right out of them, but it doesn't say much for a movie that literally has to darken its palette in order to convey a sense of dread. The overall impression I got was that the filmmaker first saw Aguirre a long time ago, has loved it for years, and remade it with his own unique personal stamp, not the least of which is a cast of "Vikings" consisting almost entirely of Scots. The imitation, however, is vague and thin, silent where it should speak and ultimately unconvinced of its own purpose. Long passages took place utterly without explanation, only to be cut short by a sudden, loud impact of some blunt metal object crushing someone's skull. No expense was spared in making the death and gore as vivid and inescapable as possible. While this might have jolted me on three separate occasions from the stupor this movie otherwise induced, it never built up any tension or fear that could go on being felt even in the most seemingly innocuous of situations. In Aguirre, the mere sight of a tree swaying in the wind could be pants-pissingly terrifying.

Valhalla Rising is clumsy and trite, a non-recommend.

donteatpoop

01-19-2012, 11:41 AM

Just watched Defiance last night.

Holy shit. Excellent fucking movie. Gripping drama, exciting action, great acting, easy to identify with characters. Bad ass movie.

Locke

01-19-2012, 11:04 PM

I did see a zombie movie called "The Horde" that wasn't bad for what it was. Amusing if you see it with the right crowd.

Vesnic

01-20-2012, 10:13 AM

There are lots of trends in the movie world that I find pretty disturbing: the increasing vapidity of all movies, not just the big blockbusters, but the more "intimate" or "indie" ones as well; the apparently indomitable downward slide in acting ability, especially in American film, where even the supposedly talented young actors seem to be more concerned about getting their good angle on screen than about making even the slightest attempts at real emotional resonance; the crapification of our cinemas with unbridled cell-phone use, that newest of tacitly accepted cultural phenomena, and the mysterious trend in cranking the volume so high, the speakers distort and you start to wonder if that tinnitus is indicative of permanent hearing loss.

There are two things especially that I noticed in my last venture to the local Regal Cinema. First of all, what is the deal with re-releasing old movies that have already had their day and made their money, only this time in 3D? I suppose I am negatively biased since I happen to fall into that not statistically insignificant proportion of the population (about 10%) that cannot see 3D properly. I go in with the glasses, but rather than making the image "pop", they just darken it. However, even for my more binocularly inclined friends, it seems like a terrible gyp to spend eleven dollars on a movie that you've already seen and maybe even bought on VHS or DVD, just so you can reach out and fondle Nemo's tender little tummy. Do they really think we're that stupid and anxious to part with our hard-earned money, especially in today's world of sinking wages and high unemployment? The answer would seem to be a resounding YES! However, I have a very difficult time getting over the immense insult being dealt to me by these "gilded palaces of sin" making unfathomable amounts of money on less and less effort. It's at moments like these that living in Inverse Proportion World really rubs me raw. Their ever-declining commitment to anything like quality or artistry somehow delivers profits undreamed of just a few years ago, when movies were still being made that might actually have deserved said profits.

Baffling.

Another trend, which isn't exactly new, but is still in my book obnoxious and highly suspect, is the intense upswing in the number of films that could rightly be called "propaganda". They have been advertising a movie called Act of Valor, all about real Navy Seals and their admittedly hammy inability to perform, for so long that I assumed the movie had already come and gone and I had miraculously missed it. Such is not the case, however; like one of those over-long Memorial Day parades, the Sousa-march prelude has merely stretched itself out to lengths so extensive, they come full circle. I fear that we are now suspended in an endless loop of rah-rah militarism and special-interest spending that has abducted and absconded with what was once known as the entertainment industry. Just as making 3D versions of pre-existing films is an easy way to make a buck, so is hiring a bunch of actual Navy Seals who won't command Christian Bale's millions to make a movie about themselves: slacker-level input in, massive profit out. Even when this particular piece of pain has arrived and subsequently vanished into the annals of forgotten history, I know I will still be subjected to those deafening commercials for the National Guard which they insist on playing before just about every movie at Regal. If I'm going to be forced into deafness, I would much prefer losing my hearing in some ecstasy of incredible music than by the military-industrial complex having its rough way with my eardrums.

What happened to anti-war movies? I don't mean namby-pamby liberal weeper-fests that just seem to add fuel to the Neo-con fire (though of course this begs an entirely different question), but real, manly, shoot-em'-up war movies that nonetheless manage to leave their audiences with a deep feeling of sick in the pit of the stomach. No one will forget the famous Russian roulette scenes from The Deer Hunter, nor will they forget the terror inspired by these images of humanity gone utterly off the rails. Nowadays, I can see them doing a remake of such a classic, except this time hiring real infantry instead of the greatest young actors of their generation, skipping out on the whole war-actually-hurts-quite-a-bit thing in favor of blood-n'-guts glory and, most naturally of all...

presenting it all in awesome, surround-sound, HD, fist-in-yo'-face ...

3D!!!!

Locke

01-20-2012, 11:00 AM

Hey, we agree on something.

Vesnic

01-20-2012, 11:03 AM

Hey, we agree on something.

Oh Locke, you silly savage--sometimes I think it is our remarkable similarity which makes us chafe one against the other like a pair of corpulent thighs.

End Master

01-20-2012, 03:19 PM

Preaching to the choir about 3D, I'm not a big fan of it, but I haven't really been keeping up with the war movies lately. I haven't even heard of the one you're talking about.

But don't they usually put in an anti-war message in most war movies nowadays? Seems like there are always a few scenes where the protagonist or some character will go on a monologue about how they hate fighting or they don't find any pleasure in it.

Granted it probably isn't a very deep message other than "war is bad".

ChubbyTeletubby

01-21-2012, 08:16 AM

Meh. I don't think some of these movies are THAT bad. I think we're just inundated with a lot MORE movies and such these days, and of course there's going to be a LOT of crap. But there's still gems out there. I don't think the acting abilities of these (admittedly overpayed and overrated in most cases)....actors....has diminished. Necessarily. There's a lot of old movies where the acting is awful. Over-acting I call it. They did that a lot in the olden days of yore.

And television has actually gotten BETTER. The shows have gotten SMARTER in many cases (Look at AMC and others). Now OF COURSE there's TONS of trash on our screens. But that's cause we're inundated with WAAAAY more options. So of course there's going to be crap.

As far as the 3d stuff goes...well. I happen to enjoy it. Especially if I've gobbled some magic mushrooms. It really makes the experience memorable. I saw Avatar once in the theater. I payed my eleven dollars and had one of the best movie experiences of my life, even though the plot was AWFUL. The theater I go to is also REALLY REALLY nice and it's just down the street. It's like the nicest theater in Kentucky (which isnt saying much I know but Louisville is a pretty big metropolitan area) Do they over-charge? OF COURSE! That's the name of the game.

The craftsmanship of the visuals was to be applauded. Some real hard work went into these movies. It's the unsung heroes behind the scenes that deserve the applause.

And there you have.

*sips his brandy slowly*

Ahhh,

EDIT: Saw I Am Thor. Kinda liked it.

End Master

01-21-2012, 04:44 PM

Finally saw 13 Assassins. I liked it, though it reminded me of a variation of 7 Samurai. Instead of defending a village they're trying to kill a decadent noble in a village. (And there's 13 instead of 7)

Basically a lot of fighting and blood, some brutal scenes and the bad guy was suitably rotten, though given that Takashi Miike directed it I wouldn't expect anything less.

ChubbyTeletubby

01-21-2012, 06:11 PM

Moneyball

Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt actually did a pretty decent job at making a movie about baseball statistic analytics fairly watchable.

Pretty interesting how they (the real life people they were portraying) sort of turned the game topsy turvy and led the Oakland A's to a 20 game winning streak in 2002 the likes of which had never been seen.

They still ended up losing the next game.

And they still haven't made it to the World Series.

And the Red Sox, who offered Brad Pitts character (he's the GM of the team, Hell if I remember his name) 12,500,000, ended up winning the World Series two years later. After Brad Pitt's charaCTER REFUSED THE OFFER.

Oops. Caps. Anyway, pretty entertaining movie. I liked the wheeling and dealing.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but it was an interesting true story and an interesting movie.

I give it two thumbs up, because I only have two thumbs. Well, even if I had more than two thumbs I dont know that I'd give it more. But....

...

End Master

01-23-2012, 07:36 PM

And now it's time for another one of End Master's Reviews of Fucked Up Movies!

As an added bonus they could both potentially qualify as Eurofag art films (For movie snobs like Ves)

A Serbian Film

Okay I finally got around to seeing this after all the hype surrounding of how sick, twisted and hardcore it is.

My verdict is: Yeah it lives up to the hype as in it didn't disappoint or lack in what awfulness it was trying to accomplish (As opposed to say Human Centipede).

First off the film is well made and there is a story there. Not an ultra complex one, but it doesn't need it. It's not a low budget grindhouse film even though it's certainly exploiting the whole graphic sex and ultra violence thing. Definitely fits under the Torture Porn category, and actually it probably does it a hell of a lot better than Hostel did. In fact when I first went to see Hostel, I expected to see something more like A Serbian Film.

So on that basis alone, the movie worked for me. I got to see a well made movie with an adequate plot which involved a bunch of fucked shit. Cool, I can proudly add it to my collection.

Now the bigger question, is there any more to the movie than human suffering and sexual depravity?

Well...I suppose the argument could and has been made about it having artistic merit or even a political statement on Serbia, but I didn't really give a shit about all that. Art is usually something that most can't agree on anyway, so I'm not going to bother. Personally like I said, I thought they put effort into making the film, but I'm not exactly sure if it reaches "art" level. (I know Katie didn't think so) As for the political statement, yeah there's some off hand remarks by the snuff director about how Serbia's a shithole and he's looking to prove they're worth something etc etc. but really you could just chalk that up to the snuff director being mentally deluded enough that he thinks he's actually shooting art and part of his motivations have political meaning. I didn't really take it very seriously.

I suppose another thing that might not qualify it as "art" to me, would be I didn't particularly feel any sort of emotion for any of the characters. Granted I'm probably a borderline unfeeling sociopath at the best of times, but the protagonist and his family just didn't stand out to me. About the only thing interesting about the protagonist is that he's this super porn star that got wrapped up in all this because he wanted to make more money for his family to be set for life. Really change it to any sort of movie protagonist that has a criminal background (one last job before going straight) and you've got the same plot.

The protagonist isn't an unsympathetic sort, he's not really unlikable, and he certainly doesn't deserve any of the stuff that happens to him, but eh, I just didn't care. His family is the same way. As for the bad guys, they're even less compelling. Just regular mooks really and I've seen better over the top villains than the snuff director (Like the doctor from Human Centipede if we compare "shock movies").

Anyway like I said, I think it lived up to it's shock/horror value, but I don't see anything deeper in it. If you are into watching these sorts of movies I do recommend watching it at least once though.

Okay moving on...

I Stand Alone

This one is an older French film. Technically it's also very loosely connected to a later movie the same director did called Irreversible. (Which is another twisted film) since the protagonist in I Stand Alone pops up in the beginning of that film. Right from the get this one comes off as an artistic film, and it works better probably because the French tend to excel in this sort of thing.

The basic premise of this film surrounds the thoughts and actions of an out of work butcher with a criminal record and a severe case of misanthropy. And I mean A LOT of misanthropy. The funny thing is, he's not some serial killer or anything like that, he's just some damaged guy that hates life in general because his life has been pretty shitty.

All throughout the film he's basically going on about how life sucks, people are worthless and being miserable. He does a few bad things, but nothing on Serbian Film level, but he doesn't really need to because the movie probably more invokes a lot more hopeless nihilism just in one of his monologues than compared to all the torture porn that was in A Serbian Film.

Now the protagonist in this one is a complete miserable fucking bastard, but I liked him. Or rather I found him a lot more interesting that anyone in A Serbian Film. Hell I even agreed with some of the stuff he was ranting about and despite all the nihilism, there's actually a happy ending, of sorts.

Anyway I liked this movie better (And definitely liked it better than Irreversible). I proudly add this one to my collection and it's another one I recommend that you watch at least once if you're into these sorts of movies.

That's it. Guess I better start hunting down Human Centipede 2...

Vesnic

01-23-2012, 08:18 PM

Thanks for the reviews, End. I actually came very close to buying Stand Alone "reel unseen" at the local discount DVD emporium before I was edged out of the aisle by the herd of men vying for position in the adult section, which was conveniently placed right next to my favorite genre of Euro-faggotry.

I think you and I have even talked about A Serbian Film before, and certainly your review has solidified the position I have always taken on this one: I refuse to watch it. I have seen a lot of Serbian films, but never one that announced itself as such. It is of course very hard for anything from Eastern Europe to see the light of day beyond the European continent, or quite often, beyond its own national borders. In order to be a successful international filmmaker, a Serbian must also be a savvy businessman with a keen sense of pop culture and marketing. Maybe you're right. Maybe the film has some value from the vantage point of, "So this is all you think Serbia is? You are so fucking stupid." But that's not much to go on, and certainly not much to draw out into feature length. At that point it's just like a reflection of a reflection of a reflection, more of that annoying identity politicking where Person A says something wrong about Person B, then person B sends it back to Person A, except this time with irony, to which Person B gives a surprisingly realistic and self-aware twist, to which Person A just responds with total absurdity, and eventually the copy-fade phenomenon degrades to the point where it all just ends in SNUFF PORN!!!!!. Blech.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you want to see a real Serbian director, liked by both Serbians and the rest of the world, who is a completely crazy fuck (he is Serbian, after all) yet dripping with originality, check out the work of Emir Kusturica.

Kusturica's best, according to me:

1. Underground (Won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1995)
2. Black Cat, White Cat
3. Time of the Gypsies

In that order.

There's still plenty of rape and murder, but there's also symbolism, heartbreak, hope and, yes, feelings.

Here he is, the hunk!
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/6300/kusturica.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/28/kusturica.jpg/)
I would totally hit that!

There's also an old favorite goes by the name of Montenegro. Involves a strangely hot sex scene involving a rickety chair, or maybe that's just how I remember it, as a movie inside a movie, with a young girl, a gypsy and a turkey watching intently.

There are some interesting recurring themes in Kusturica's movies. Nearly everything he does has:

1. An ethereal floating bride, or bridal attire.
2. An anthropomorphic animal who has a deep attachment to a central character and is often a lot smarter than many of the people.
3. A self-hanging, sometimes comic, sometimes not.

In that order. Or...

End, I think you knew you'd get me going on this one. As you all might have guessed at this point, I am totally crazy about film from this undeservedly ignored region. I have quite a few more recommendations, and I may very well decide to share this knowledge with you all someday...if you're lucky and worth enough, that is.

EUROFAGS FTW!!!

End Master

01-24-2012, 01:54 AM

End, I think you knew you'd get me going on this one.

Yeah had to bring up reviews of both movies with you in mind, especially since protagonist's wife in ASF was also a translator. Ha ha.

But yeah ASF is one of those movies I didn't really expect anyone on here to want to watch. (Well Ryan and Apoth might be interested if they're out there lurking.) Like I said it's quite possible I missed the point of the movie and there was some sort of deeper message in between all the mouth rape, anal rape, corpse rape, baby rape, father-son rape, and eye socket rape, but I'll be damned if I could find one!

(And I now just spoiled the "best parts" of the movie for all of you. Lol.)

I do think you'd like I Stand Alone though and I'll try to get around to seeking out some of the other Serb movies you mentioned some time.

Vesnic

01-24-2012, 07:33 AM

I do think you'd like I Stand Alone though

Luckily for us, they just happen to currently be hosting this movie on YouTube!

I Stand Alone (http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=/watch%3Fv%3D4IBMwqX64lk%26skipcontrinter%3D1)

...and I'll try to get around to seeking out some of the other Serb movies you mentioned some time.

Hooray! Just a quick note about the three--the first one is a huge sweeping historical epic, generally considered to be his masterpiece. The second one is just a lot of fun. The third one is hella depressing but has a couple of scenes that are impossible to forget for their visual qualities alone. I've only seen Montenegro in fits and starts, but that too seems to be up on the Tube, though I'm not sure how they worked around the X rating of the uncensored version.

End Master

02-12-2012, 09:36 AM

So I watched another "Found Footage Film", this one was called Grave Encounters.

Basically these ghost hunters filming their show go to an old insane asylum which is rumored to be haunted (aren't they all?) and it just gets worse from there.

While nothing in the movie is excessively original, the one thing that caused me to appreciate it a little more is the fact that it's a blatant parody of all those "real" ghost hunter shows like Paranormal State, Ghost Adventures, etc. Having seen episodes of those shows before because they're good for a laugh sometimes, the movie does a pretty good job of imitating them. (Locking themselves in, "tough guy" host, overly dramatic psychic, occult girl, dramatic build up of the haunted area, etc)

The other thing I liked was the distortion of reality effect going on in the movie. Made it more believable that they couldn't escape at least and added to the downward spiral of doom that was going to befall all of the characters.

Anyway unlike those ghost hunter shows, you actually get to see some ghosts in this at least.

End Master

03-17-2012, 06:17 AM

Just finished watching the 1st season of Game of Thrones. It is one the best series I've seen in a long time. I don't think there's a single thing bad thing I can say about it.

Favorite characters so far are Tyrion and Daenerys.

Vesnic

03-17-2012, 09:19 AM

I'm a huge fan of the books, one of the people drooling vociferously over the distant release of the mysterious Book 6. I think the general consensus is that books 2 and 3 are really the best, although the first one (from which the name and the content of the HBO show were taken) is exciting for introducing such an incredibly complex and sometimes uproariously dysfunctional cast of characters. I can't wait for the new season to start. In the books, I'm a fan of Sansa and the Hound, and also Cersei, though by "fan" I just mean the characters whose chapters I look forward to because they're always guaranteed to be interesting, if also toe-curlingly cruel. Peter Dinklage stole the TV show though, hands down. Tyrion is probably the best developed character in the whole series, and I was hoping ahead of time that they would choose him for the role. I first saw him in The Station Agent, and then in Death at a Funeral. Wonderful actor. I'm glad at least some people have evolved past confining dwarfs to freak shows and circuses. Not that these don't also have their place. But yeah. April can not come fast enough.