[McLovin]

Abyss, on 26 August 2011 - 03:02 PM, said:

THE WHISTLEBLOWER.

Fuck.

Indeed. Saw it yesterday. Rachel Weisz is a talented actress, but I don't think I've liked any of her films. Until now.

[Abyss]

Slow Ben, on 01 September 2011 - 04:41 PM, said:

Ahhhh. I wish i could watch Casablanca for the first time.
...

It's the Classic that givbes meaning to the term classic

Cocoreturns, on 04 September 2011 - 03:33 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 04 September 2011 - 12:39 PM, said:

So I finally sat down and watched THE GODFATHER and THE GODFATHER PART II for the first time ever. I loved the first one and was totally amazed by it....then I watched the second one and it was even better. Seriously, I now totally understand why these films are so revered. Incredible across the board.

For the love of all that's holy, don't watch part 3

Although to be completely fair, part 3 isn't actually that bad a film. It just suffers massively in comparison to the first 2.

If it was an unrelated movie about mafia life, it probably would be viewed as being pretty good. Sadly, it bears the cross of being a follow on to two of the finest films ever made.

I dunno... no matter how generously i try to view it, 3 fails as both a sequel and as a film in its own right. The fact that the first 2 are just so brilliant doesn't help.



Saw...

TRUE GRIT. Great film. Weak ending but otherwise great film, with pure awesome performances especially Bridges.

THE OTHER GUYS. Not Farrel's best work by a long shot, but i chuckled enough to enjoy it.

THE SORCEROR'S APPRENTICE. Fromage-ladden geek empowerment effort tho it was, I enjoyed this far far more than i expected to.

HELLBOY 2. Visually fun but predictable, obvious and boring, so very boring. Not even close to the original.

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 06 September 2011 - 02:10 PM, said:

Slow Ben, on 01 September 2011 - 04:41 PM, said:

Ahhhh. I wish i could watch Casablanca for the first time.
...

It's the Classic that givbes meaning to the term classic

Cocoreturns, on 04 September 2011 - 03:33 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 04 September 2011 - 12:39 PM, said:

So I finally sat down and watched THE GODFATHER and THE GODFATHER PART II for the first time ever. I loved the first one and was totally amazed by it....then I watched the second one and it was even better. Seriously, I now totally understand why these films are so revered. Incredible across the board.

For the love of all that's holy, don't watch part 3

Although to be completely fair, part 3 isn't actually that bad a film. It just suffers massively in comparison to the first 2.

If it was an unrelated movie about mafia life, it probably would be viewed as being pretty good. Sadly, it bears the cross of being a follow on to two of the finest films ever made.

I dunno... no matter how generously i try to view it, 3 fails as both a sequel and as a film in its own right. The fact that the first 2 are just so brilliant doesn't help.

If I EVER decide to watch 3 it will be a long time from now as I don't want it to taint my experience with the other two...maybe in a years time I'll sit down with it...but I've heard enough people tell me that it's not great and having watched the trailer I'm not pumped about it or anything so I'm cool with waiting.

[amphibian]

Abyss, on 06 September 2011 - 02:10 PM, said:

HELLBOY 2. Visually fun but predictable, obvious and boring, so very boring. Not even close to the original.

I very strongly disagree with this. It takes guts on a level that's nearly unreal to make that movie. There's no clear-cut antagonist, once you realize what Nuada's trying to do and why he's trying to do it. And it sets things up nicely for a series capping trilogy with Rasputin and Hellboy's heritage.

That's a brilliant movie and better than the first by far.

[QuickTidal]

amphibian, on 06 September 2011 - 05:40 PM, said:

Abyss, on 06 September 2011 - 02:10 PM, said:

HELLBOY 2. Visually fun but predictable, obvious and boring, so very boring. Not even close to the original.

I very strongly disagree with this. It takes guts on a level that's nearly unreal to make that movie. There's no clear-cut antagonist, once you realize what Nuada's trying to do and why he's trying to do it. And it sets things up nicely for a series capping trilogy with Rasputin and Hellboy's heritage.

That's a brilliant movie and better than the first by far.

This is a tough call. I LOVE the first HELLBOY, but I saw HELLBOY 2 in the theatre in the early days of dating my gf and there was a shitbrain in front of us who she was convinced was her crazy, criminal ex-boyfriend who had stolen $1000 from her...whether he was or not we never found out...but sufficed to say I couldn't really enjoy the film...and though I bought and own it on DVD I've never watched the disc....and I recall only being slightly impressed in the theatre and not more than the first certainly....however, I don't feel it's fair for me to label it at all since I haven't given it a proper re-watch.

[Anomander]

I agree with amph in that Hellboy 2 is better than the first. Although had Agent Myers (I seem to recall that being his name) not been in the first film it would be the superior of the two.

[Abyss]

amphibian, on 06 September 2011 - 05:40 PM, said:

Abyss, on 06 September 2011 - 02:10 PM, said:

HELLBOY 2. Visually fun but predictable, obvious and boring, so very boring. Not even close to the original.

I very strongly disagree with this. It takes guts on a level that's nearly unreal to make that movie. There's no clear-cut antagonist, once you realize what Nuada's trying to do and why he's trying to do it. And it sets things up nicely for a series capping trilogy with Rasputin and Hellboy's heritage.

That's a brilliant movie and better than the first by far.

The movie failed to surprise at every turn. There is not a single action taken by anyone, including Nuada, that isn't scriptwriting 101 level predictable. Not a single bit of set-up that wsn't blatant to the point of beating the viewer over the head with the obvioustick. Even the fights were by the numbers dull. The performances were flat - hard to say whether Hellboy and Liz or Abe and elf-princess chick had less chemistry. There was a thin shred of smething mildly interesting in Nuada's plotline but in the end it came down to get the widget and RULE THE WORLD!

The first HELLBOY was good fun, had a couple of nice twists and turns, and was respectful of Mignola's source material. This was by-the-number sequelitis.

[Dag]

Just saw Conan.

It was bad. OMG, it was sooooo bad.

Two manboobs out of ten. And I'm being very generous here...

[stone monkey]

I also saw Conan today.

How to describe how appallingly bad this film was?

Let's just say that my face hit my palm so often that the other members of the audience thought I was self harming and leave it at that.

We also had plenty of opportunities to see that Jason Momoa won the competition with the lead actress over whose cup size was the biggest.

Apart from that it was actually fun. Although I might have enjoyed it more had I received a hefty blow to the head before entering the cinema..

But it is still an incredibly bad film. It's a shame Momoa won't be going back to AGOT, as the production values on that are definitely a cut above Conan.

I shall give Conan one astoundingly sexist one-liner out of ten, purely for unintentional comedy value.

This post has been edited by stone monkey: 11 September 2011 - 08:27 PM

[Slow Ben]

Watched The Town last night with the ole lady.

About a hundred different movie cliches shoved into one film. Pretty predictable. I still kinda enjoyed it.

5 well planned bank heists out of 10.

[worry]

Just watched Bad Teacher. It was nowhere near Bad Santa in terms of either laughs or outrageousness. Even Bridesmaids went a whole lot further. The main flaw is that none of the characters were actually people. Election did it better with the pitch black humor (Bad Teacher never once approaches dangerous), and School of Rock treated its kids and peripheral adult characters with a whole lot more genuine interest. I hate to keep comparing it to better films, but there was just so little going on here that it's hard not to do. The big deal at first is that Cameron Diaz shows her kids nothing but movies all day instead of teaching, and it really seems like the screenwriters did the equivalent of that instead of filling this one with anything. Big disappointment.

[Obdigore]

Watched 'The Debt'. Good movie if that sort of thing is your bag, mine it is not.

Yet I will give it 7/10 Secret Agent Helen Miriens. And I can't spell her name.

[Traveller]

Was just watching Batman Begins. Was that a younger Joffrey I saw?

[worry]

Indeed!

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 06 September 2011 - 09:07 PM, said:

amphibian, on 06 September 2011 - 05:40 PM, said:

Abyss, on 06 September 2011 - 02:10 PM, said:

HELLBOY 2. Visually fun but predictable, obvious and boring, so very boring. Not even close to the original.

I very strongly disagree with this. It takes guts on a level that's nearly unreal to make that movie. There's no clear-cut antagonist, once you realize what Nuada's trying to do and why he's trying to do it. And it sets things up nicely for a series capping trilogy with Rasputin and Hellboy's heritage.

That's a brilliant movie and better than the first by far.

The movie failed to surprise at every turn. There is not a single action taken by anyone, including Nuada, that isn't scriptwriting 101 level predictable. Not a single bit of set-up that wsn't blatant to the point of beating the viewer over the head with the obvioustick. Even the fights were by the numbers dull. The performances were flat - hard to say whether Hellboy and Liz or Abe and elf-princess chick had less chemistry. There was a thin shred of smething mildly interesting in Nuada's plotline but in the end it came down to get the widget and RULE THE WORLD!

The first HELLBOY was good fun, had a couple of nice twists and turns, and was respectful of Mignola's source material. This was by-the-number sequelitis.

Well I re-watched it yesterday and I feel the need to agree with Amph on this one, having no antagonist...and then going even further and making the person you THOUGHT was the antagonist (Prince Nuada) be TECHNICALLY evcen more of a hero than the heroes are...that was effing BRAVE and I fully feel it pays off. This was like an episode of TORCHWOOD from second season where the good guys think they are fighting the good fight, only to find out that someone else is willing to go to insane lengths to fight the even BIGGER good fight. That scene where Nuada is standing on the top of the building as Strauss is yelling for Hellboy to shoot the forest elemental in the head and Nuada explains how it's the last of its kind and it's not really TRYING to destroy anything...that's a heart-wrenching scene to me. That movie is about how at some point...something needs to keep the human race in check for all the terrible things we do to this place we live in...

[amphibian]

QuickTidal, on 14 September 2011 - 12:32 PM, said:

Well I re-watched it yesterday and I feel the need to agree with Amph on this one, having no antagonist...and then going even further and making the person you THOUGHT was the antagonist (Prince Nuada) be TECHNICALLY evcen more of a hero than the heroes are...that was effing BRAVE and I fully feel it pays off. This was like an episode of TORCHWOOD from second season where the good guys think they are fighting the good fight, only to find out that someone else is willing to go to insane lengths to fight the even BIGGER good fight. That scene where Nuada is standing on the top of the building as Strauss is yelling for Hellboy to shoot the forest elemental in the head and Nuada explains how it's the last of its kind and it's not really TRYING to destroy anything...that's a heart-wrenching scene to me. That movie is about how at some point...something needs to keep the human race in check for all the terrible things we do to this place we live in...

Exactly. Thank you for rewatching it and putting your thoughts up on here.

I think that this shift in tone from gothic horror to a race for the MacGuffin blended respect for the original spirit of the Mignola comics with the bizarrely awesome visuals Del Toro loves to bring us and gave us one of the saddest, best fantasy sequels we've ever had. I recognize that Abe and the Princess being so instantly moon-eyed for each other was a bit hard to take, but I saw it as two eccentrics who are on the same wavelength getting together - much like Hellboy and Liz. The drunk Barry Manilow was awesome. The tooth fairies were excellent creature horror. The plant monster was straight out of Shadows of the Colossus. The Angel of Death was creepy. The Prince and the Army were pretty decent combatants.

I don't view this movie as Scriptwriting 101 at all. There's meaning to just about everything and even the schlocky bits are heartfelt and not trite. In the first movie, Hellboy saved the world, lost his father and got the girl. In the second movie, the relationship with the girl is falling apart, his father is no longer running interference for him with the bureaucracy and he's possibly doomed to destroy the world himself. It sets things up very well for a sequel, which will hopefully happen in a couple years, and does a brilliant job of telling a true Hellboy story - weird, fantastical stuff, but with deeper meanings than "find monster + kill".

[QuickTidal]

amphibian, on 14 September 2011 - 05:17 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 14 September 2011 - 12:32 PM, said:

Well I re-watched it yesterday and I feel the need to agree with Amph on this one, having no antagonist...and then going even further and making the person you THOUGHT was the antagonist (Prince Nuada) be TECHNICALLY evcen more of a hero than the heroes are...that was effing BRAVE and I fully feel it pays off. This was like an episode of TORCHWOOD from second season where the good guys think they are fighting the good fight, only to find out that someone else is willing to go to insane lengths to fight the even BIGGER good fight. That scene where Nuada is standing on the top of the building as Strauss is yelling for Hellboy to shoot the forest elemental in the head and Nuada explains how it's the last of its kind and it's not really TRYING to destroy anything...that's a heart-wrenching scene to me. That movie is about how at some point...something needs to keep the human race in check for all the terrible things we do to this place we live in...

Exactly. Thank you for rewatching it and putting your thoughts up on here.

I think that this shift in tone from gothic horror to a race for the MacGuffin blended respect for the original spirit of the Mignola comics with the bizarrely awesome visuals Del Toro loves to bring us and gave us one of the saddest, best fantasy sequels we've ever had. I recognize that Abe and the Princess being so instantly moon-eyed for each other was a bit hard to take, but I saw it as two eccentrics who are on the same wavelength getting together - much like Hellboy and Liz. The drunk Barry Manilow was awesome. The tooth fairies were excellent creature horror. The plant monster was straight out of Shadows of the Colossus. The Angel of Death was creepy. The Prince and the Army were pretty decent combatants.

I don't view this movie as Scriptwriting 101 at all. There's meaning to just about everything and even the schlocky bits are heartfelt and not trite. In the first movie, Hellboy saved the world, lost his father and got the girl. In the second movie, the relationship with the girl is falling apart, his father is no longer running interference for him with the bureaucracy and he's possibly doomed to destroy the world himself. It sets things up very well for a sequel, which will hopefully happen in a couple years, and does a brilliant job of telling a true Hellboy story - weird, fantastical stuff, but with deeper meanings than "find monster + kill".

I'll even go one further and say that the aspect of Hellboy not being able to "go for the jugular" on Nuada because of his link with Nuala adds an extra tension to the fight in the BPRD HQ and to the fight at the end, for me at least.

[Tapper]

Watched Suckerpunch last night. Prettily made, plenty of atmosphere, somewhat flat acting but still acceptable, yet what broke the movie for me was the incredibly ridiculous, disjointed plot (or lack of it).
Oh well, since I also purchased Black Swan, that one should compensate on all the let-downs of this one...

[Adjutant Stormy~]

So I really want togo see Moneyball, just because it's about my hometown team. But I suspect that it might actually be a good movie.

[QuickTidal]

Adjutant Stormy, on 19 September 2011 - 04:20 PM, said:

So I really want togo see Moneyball, just because it's about my hometown team. But I suspect that it might actually be a good movie.

I saw this on Saturday at the Toronto Film Fest.

It's REALLY good. Everyone in it is spectacular. Just a fantastic movie across the board. It got a standing ovation after the credits rolled.

WELL worth your time!