Movies (recently seen)

[Dragavan]

Saw Shutter Island... Don't want to say much as anything could be construed as a spoiler these days, and this movie is so good I don't actually want to ruin it for anyone.

The sound design made this movie jump up from being a good thriller/mystery into being a great movie. The acting is top notch and the plot is nice and twisty, but throw in the music and sound and you are on the edge of your seat.

And even though I saw the "twist" coming early on, they did things in a way that still surprised me when it was all explained. So it was like a twist on the twist, making it an exciting surprise still.

All in all, great creepy movie.

[End Master]

Saw "9". One of the cooler cartoon movies I've seen lately. I liked the setting a lot.

Also saw the remake of The Crazies. Liked it better than the original since the pacing was a lot smoother. They didn't have long slow stretches of the film focusing so much on the army or a cure in this one, just got right to the action and survival aspect of it.

It probably could've done with a little more variety of "crazies" rather than making them all primarily homicidal crazy. (It didn't even surpass the original in that aspect) It also lost a few points for having a slightly happier ending. (Though thankfully, not too happy)

[Ryan_DuBois]

I kinda second what Dragavan said about Shutter Island, although I think I liked it slightly less. I'd give it an 8. I went to see it with two friends who didn't really care for it at all -- they were put off by Decaprio's accent and the stange camera angles used.

*SORT-OF SPOILERS*

The highlights of it for me were the dialogue and the surealism of the whole movie. I also thought the gore and music worked well for all the scenes. As for the twist(s)... I'll just say that the movie leaves you uncertain of what actually took place on Shutter Island. It sorta leans one way, I guess, but the film definitely tore apart the idea of any objective reality. This might bother some people, but I don't mind open-ended stories, so...

In fact, a little mystery probably helped spice things up. An important element of creepy movies is the unknown.

It's kinda like Room 1408, if a comparison needs to be made.

[End Master]

Saw Alice in Wonderland in 3D, I almost had a facial expression.

I dunno, this 3d stuff pops up as a popular fad for movies like every 20 years or so, I guess I can't get too excited about it. It didn't really add anything to the movie, which was mediocre.

It did a few things right, and nothing extremely bad, I thought the Red Queen was the best character in the movie and If doubt if I would've even liked it as much as I did if Helen hadn't been cast as that character.

[Ryan_DuBois]

Dang. I was getting pretty stoked to see it, too... If you end up watching it, would you let me know what you think of it, Dragavan? One bad review isn't enough to dissuade me, but if you both think it's just mediocre, then I'll probably skip out on it.

... Did 3D movies even exist 40 years ago?

[End Master]

Yeah they've been around awhile. There were quite few back in the 50s, then the fad wore off and they weren't as popular again until about the early 80s. They were usually either horror movies (especially those with a "3" already in the title) or B-movie scifi. While it was always still around, the 3D stuff didn't get as much mainstream attention again until recently. Now it seems like every cartoon/kids movie has it, or is going to have it.

As long as they don't bring back "smell-o-vision", we'll be fine though.

[Ryan_DuBois]

Ha, I don't think I've ever heard of "smell-o-vision", but it sounds pretty obnoxious.

[Dragavan]

Ha, I don't think I've ever heard of "smell-o-vision", but it sounds pretty obnoxious.

Quite a few movies were made in it... and some copy cat methods (like AromaRama and Odorama)... There was also Sensurround, made for distaster movies of the 70s. Basically they had huge subwoofers placed throughout the theater to rumble along with the movie.

but those aren't the weirdest of the gimmick movie trends they tried back in the day.

I think "Percepto" was one of the weirdest. Where they installed little electrical charge emitting vibration units into random seats in the audience that would go off when the scary scenes in The Tingler happened.

[Ryan_DuBois]

Wow, that sounds hardcore. I guess that stuff could be cool if it was done right, though.

By the way -- a few of my friends have seen the new Alice in Wonderland... they agree with End. I don't think I'm going to see it now. At least not until it comes to the M-Tech theater.

[JJJ-thebanisher]

Wow, that sounds hardcore. I guess that stuff could be cool if it was done right, though.

By the way -- a few of my friends have seen the new Alice in Wonderland... they agree with End. I don't think I'm going to see it now. At least not until it comes to the M-Tech theater.

Do you really think that any of those things could be done right?

[Ryan_DuBois]

Yes. I believe that anything can be done right.

There's even a place where some of them already are -- Universal Studios. It's not great, but it's a part of the life experience.

[JJJ-thebanisher]

Yes. I believe that anything can be done right.

There's even a place where some of them already are -- Universal Studios. It's not great, but it's a part of the life experience.

I can't imagine wanting to be tingled during a movie. At least not by my chair...

[Ryan_DuBois]

Hmm... I don't think I've ever actually been tingled by a chair, but like I just said to Usoki: I'm all for experimenting!

[Usoki]

Actually, I'd agree that everything can be done right. That doesn't mean it should be done- merely that if it were to be done, there is both a proper and improper way. There is a right way to kill kittens- that doesn't mean I support feline infant homicide.

I, too, will do almost anything once- though I must admit my eagerness would depend greatly on both the type of movie, and the precise placement of these tingling probes...

[End Master]

Saw Shutter Island.

I knew it.

BUT!

I was expecting another twist, I just didn't know which way they were going to go with it though. Ultimately I liked how it ended.