What movies have you seen lately? Now with reviews!Movies 

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Starsky & Hutch- Comical recreation of the TV show from the 1970's. Just like the show, the movies follow the lives of David Starsky and Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson. In the movie, they are trying to make the biggest drug bust in the history of Bay City. For fan's of the original TV show, the movie is something completly different. There are some similarities, most noteably the inclusion of the 1975 Ford Gran Torino known as the "Red Tomato," but it ends there. One surprise was that Snoop Dogg played the role of Huggy Bear, and was pretty good at it.

I've only seen parts of the actual show, but I found the movie quite good. Also, David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser, who together played the original Starsky and Hutch, make a cameo apperance towards the end of the film. 7.5/10
 
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Just watched Old School...
Soooo good! Another masterful performance from the Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn partnership!
It was only until teh credits that I noticed that Luke Wilson is Owen's brother. I jus thought they were two guys that looked scarily alike one another.
9/10 - absolutely brilliant!
 
Iron Man 2 - 8/10

I loved the first Iron Man. It was the best. That's why I bought it. I had high expectations for the second one and they were met, and possibly exceded. Granted the action was not as fast-paced as the first one (this is why it gets the 8 and not the 10), but it's a sequel so what do you expect? In any case I liked the plot, I loved the special effects, the soundtrack was pretty good (not at the level of Transformers though), AND it introduced a handful of characters in the Avengers, making further progress towards the inevitable Avengers movie. Overall, I loved it. If you go in expecting awesome kit and action sequences, you can't go wrong with this.

👍
 
Death Note & Death Note 2

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Stunning Movies! Seen them on Film4, so I bought the Death Note/Death Note 2 DVD set.
Great, High-Budget Japanese movies adapted from a Manga series of the same name.
Yet again, foreign cinema wins me over.
 
Dude, you're from Scotland! Everything for you is foreign cinema! :lol: j/k

Just saw:



Buio Omega (a.k.a. Beyond the Darkness) (Joe D'Amato, 1979) -- An Italian horror/exploitation movie about a taxidermist whose methods are a bit unorthodox and manages to lose his fiancée to voodoo doll mischief on the part of his housekeeper who is jealous of his attentions. It's one of those erotic horror movies that sprouted in the 70s, but this one focuses more on the horrific side rather than the sex. Because of that, it's quite graphic in the maiming and blood spurting side, as well as being a cult favourite of the genre. D'Amato had previously directed a few of the Emanuelle movies' saga, though this was his first attempt at horror, followed in 1980 by Antropophagus, which is even gorier. Either way, this movie isn't more than a B-movie, yet it holds many claims as most disgusting horror movie. As such, expect tons of bad acting, bad sound, bad acting, bad lighting, bad acting and immense plot holes. Did I mention the acting isn't up to par? Oh well. 4/10
 
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Harry Brown (Daniel Barber, 2009) -- The UK's own version of Gran Torino or Deathwish, starring a slightly decrepti-looking Michael Caine, who also shows he can still do it, especially because his acting is excellent and it's great to see him play more interesting characters than Alfred or whatever it is he does in the idiotic American comedies of lately. What this movie has that neither Deathwish nor Gran Torino have is the bleak realism and actuality of the circumstances. A lot more down to earth and entertaining. 7.5/10
 
Joey D
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Into the Wild: I didn't know what to expect of this movie and really the only reason I put it on my Netflix was that I love the sound track from it. Eddie Vedder put together a fantastic bunch of music for the movie including one of my favourite songs "Hard Sun". I really did end up enjoying the movie in the end though!

Into the Wild is about a guy who graduated from Emory University, says screw it and goes off to live life eventually wanting to end up in the wilds of Alaska. That's pretty much the whole movie in a nutshell without giving anything away. I guess what I liked so much about the film was that it's something I've wanted to do. Falling off the grid and just going to live off the land seems like the best way I can imagine to live and I wish I had the willpower to follow through with it.

It's definitely worth a watch and is a really good story about how one becomes their own person. It does get you thinking about what Chris (the main character) stood for and the message he was trying to leave to the world.
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Probably one of the best movies from 09'
 
Law Abiding Citizen

A good film, keeps you watching all the way through, but not that clever a plot in the end. 8/10
 


Sin Nombre (a.k.a. Without Name) (Cary Fukunaga, 2009) -- This movie is about two important, though often overlooked subjects in latin America. The first is gangs and their impact on people of little resources. The second is immigrating (illegaly) to the US. However, this is where the movie draws the parallels, and it's in that both gangs and immigration are the only ways people have of belonging to something and making a living, though neither of them are right per se. The movie in itself is particularly good, the score is great, cinematography is really good, and acting (being a movie with Latin American talent) is above average. But more important, this movie was wirtten and directed by an American who isn't of Latin American descent, yet it portays the life of these people almost perfectly. My only qualm with it is that the accents are off, but that's a minor technicality and somethin I'm used to in movies like this. The movie is great and even if you're against the subjects, I'd still recommend it, even if it is just to give you a glimpse on what these people go through. 8/10
 


Brothers (Jim Sheridan, 2009) -- A young man comforts his older brother's wife and children after he goes missing in Afghanistan. Definitely a powerful movie, very emotionally charged and with some amazing acting, especially from Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal, both of whom I had put out of my mind years ago. Granted, Gyllenhaal made a decent enough effort in Brokeback Mountain (though I didn't like the movie) and in Zodiac (and of course, Donnie Darko), but here he had a dramatic and highly emotional part; same with Maguire. I have to say I'm impressed. As for the plot, I have to say it's maybe two levels above a made-for-TV drama, and were it not for the acting talent of the three main stars, this movie would've been little more than that.

Brothers is a great movie because of its characters and while the story is intense in terms of the theme and the fact that it deals with family loyalty, redemption and living through difficult relationships, it's a movie that could've easily been killed by wrong actors and followed the sad road of Hollywood clichés. Thanks to the acting this is a solid drama. My only issue is that it's a remake of a Danish movie called Brødre which is fairly recent (2004), and thus, lacks originality and for me, that is a major flaw. 7/10
 


Three Kings (David O. Russell, 1999) -- In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, 4 soldiers set out to steal gold that was stolen from Kuwait, but they discover people who desperately need their help. Though the setting of the 'guys who are looking for gold and end up finding themselves, ethics and the true meaning of solidarity' theme has been intensely exploited ad nauseaum, this one has a certain inkling that makes it likeable because it's possible some of it actually happened. The this is that this movie suffers from two problems that act quite detrimentally towards its overall quality. The first is the soundtrack, which is apparently made up of drum solo after drum solo, making it though a bit tense-building, not very entertaining. The second is the length: although the movie is about 125 mins long (or not very long), the story could've easily been told in 45 minutes less, meaning there's lots of dead time and pointless scenes. Overall, the movie is enjoyable, but too long for its own good. 6/10
 
Tom Servo


Three Kings (David O. Russell, 1999) -- In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, 4 soldiers set out to steal gold that was stolen from Kuwait, but they discover people who desperately need their help. Though the setting of the 'guys who are looking for gold and end up finding themselves, ethics and the true meaning of solidarity' theme has been intensely exploited ad nauseaum, this one has a certain inkling that makes it likeable because it's possible some of it actually happened. The this is that this movie suffers from two problems that act quite detrimentally towards its overall quality. The first is the soundtrack, which is apparently made up of drum solo after drum solo, making it though a bit tense-building, not very entertaining. The second is the length: although the movie is about 125 mins long (or not very long), the story could've easily been told in 45 minutes less, meaning there's lots of dead time and pointless scenes. Overall, the movie is enjoyable, but too long for its own good. 6/10
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Burn After Reading - I honestly had no idea what the movie was about but I rather enjoy dark comedies. I found myself laughing quite a bit even though I probably shouldn't have. John Malkovich is always awesome too. Essentially from what I got out of the movie it's about everyone sleeping with everyone else, a computer disc and the Russians. It's hard to explain any more then that without giving away everything. Honestly if you enjoy dark comedies and a case with big name actors I suggest checking it out if you have not already done so.
 
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Jerome Bixby's Man from Earth (2007)

John Oldman is a college professor who, after some prodding from his coworkers about his sudden departure from college, begins a discussion about the possibility of someone surviving from the Upper Paleolithic to modern day thus putting him at 14,000 years old. They think that he is working on a book so they indulge him and a discussion ensues. After a bit, some come to realize that he's actually referring to himself. Disbelief kicks in for some while other contemplate the possibility. Is he? Isn't he? Couldn't be, could he?

I was taken in by this movie very quickly. The entire set is John's house, which is quite small and places the actors very close together. The up side of that is you kind of get the feeling that you're there with them in this thought provoking discussion.

10/10
 


The Swimmer (Frank Perry, 1968) -- After spending the summer away from home, a man returns to his very posh neighbourhood and meets again with the people he hasn't seen for a long time. The movie starts out quite odd, with Burt Lancaster swimming in a pool and noticing most of his neighbors have pools as well, and decides to 'swim home', jogging from one pool to the next. At each pool and house he meets someone and it's through these interactions that the viewer discovers what the main character's life is about. I really didn't know what to expect from this movie and only watched it because it was next in line, though I have to say I liked it a lot because it's a very powerful allegory for the failure of the American Dream. Lancaster's characters starts out being loving and powerful and through his interactions with people we see a ruined and despaired person forming. Great movie with a great soundtrack. 8.5/10
 
Jerome Bixby's Man from Earth (2007)
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Watched it... and I'll never get that time back. Thanks a lot (j/k :sly:)

You seriously didn't mind the abysmal acting? I only made it through about 20 minutes. The horrid acting/writing made it tough to sit through anymore.

Nice idea, but not well done at all. It felt like an after school special.

The Swimmer (Frank Perry, 1968) -- After spending the summer away from home, a man returns to his very posh neighbourhood and meets again with the people he hasn't seen for a long time. The movie starts out quite odd, with Burt Lancaster swimming in a pool and noticing most of his neighbors have pools as well, and decides to 'swim home', jogging from one pool to the next. At each pool and house he meets someone and it's through these interactions that the viewer discovers what the main character's life is about. I really didn't know what to expect from this movie and only watched it because it was next in line, though I have to say I liked it a lot because it's a very powerful allegory for the failure of the American Dream. Lancaster's characters starts out being loving and powerful and through his interactions with people we see a ruined and despaired person forming. Great movie with a great soundtrack. 8.5/10
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Sounds very interesting. I'll check it out.




;)
 
Tom Servo


8/10
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Cool this is next on my queue...👍

Last night I tried to watch Sherlock Holmes...
All I could say is that was boring...turned it off after 30 minutes and even then I probably only watch a good 10 minutes. 👎
 
The Informant - 5/10 (6/10 on the best day of my life)

I didn't care for the style or narration of the movie. The first third was pretty painful, but luckily it got just that bit better to make it barely worth watching.
 
American Psycho-8/10

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I have to say Christian Bale is probably one of the most convincing serial killers I've seen in a movie. The only reason it got knocked down to 8 was because I felt the storyline was lacking a little and some of the other actors weren't that great.

Stranger Than Fiction-6/10(8/10 on the "Will Ferrell Scale")

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I had started watching this during my senior year in high school in one of my classes, but since it was a last day thing I never saw the rest. I finally got around to seeing it and I'm a little disappointed. The storyline was actually pretty good at first, however it got boring and predictable towards the end. Most of the acting is good, including Will Ferrell(I know, hard to believe).

I feel the movie would have been much better if they had Harold Crick die instead of live.
 
Tom Servo
I'm interested in hearing from someone who at first doesn't relate to the issues (unless you're an immigrant or something)
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I have added it to my queue on Netflix and moved it to 15 so I should have something for you in about a month, unless of course someone beats me to it.

Side Note: My queue on Netflix is nearing 300, didn't think there were that many movies I wanted to watch.:lol:
 
American Psycho was a real surprise - I wasn't expecting much from it, but I think the humour is judged absolutely perfectly, and Christian Bale is superb. Last night I watched an old favourite - The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover by Peter Greenaway (1989). It just occured to me that there are some parallels between these two films insomuch that the lead character is a complete psycho and that both lead actors are frighteningly convincing. Otherwise, the two films couldn't be more different. The Cook, The Thief... is a visually stunning arthouse movie that is genuinely shocking in places, but also very darkly humorous in places. Michael Nyman's music adds so much to this film, but it is Michael Gambon's unhinged performance as Albert Spica that steals the show. 8/10
 
Justin
I have added it to my queue on Netflix and moved it to 15 so I should have something for you in about a month, unless of course someone beats me to it.

Side Note: My queue on Netflix is nearing 300, didn't think there were that many movies I wanted to watch.:lol:
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Awesome! My queue is at about 700 movies... :indiff: I have enough movies to watch with my grandkids right now, me thinks.
 

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