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

[Neal]

Follow Me (Anthill Films, 2010)

The new mountain bike film from the people who made The Collective, Roam and Seasons. This time the angle is on riding with your buddies which is what most mountain bikers do most of the time except my buddies aren't the best riders in the world and I don't get to ride in the stunning locations where this movie is shot!

The camera work is unbelievable and makes you wonder how they shoot the sequences flying through the tree tops skimming over the heads of the riders as they carve up the trails and pull off HUGE jumps. (They use wires to hoist the camera man in the air and track the riders but that doesn't make it any less amazing.) Even non-bikers would appreciate the spectacle of the riders making the physics defying tricks looks easy and the beautifully filmed landscapes and scenery.

Makes you want to get out and ride - 9/10

 

[Diego440]

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (Jake Kasdan, 2007) -- This is a biographical movie on fake rock star Dewey Cox and his musical career from the 50s into today. On the one side, the movie is hilarious in the sense that it makes fun of all the clichés rock n' roll music was blamed for throughout history as well as all the lifestyle that went with it, and in that the movie is great. But on the other hand it stars John C. Reilly who is (personally) one of the least funny guys around and who's acting seems as forced as giving birth to a baby sideways. Also, the first 'serious' side of the movie which satirically makes fun of all these things regarding the music industry is quite clever, but at the same time the amount of double-entendres regarding the Cox name and all the jokes revolving about it seems retarded and sophomoric. So most of the time I was confused whether it was a funny movie trying to be serious, a serious movie trying to be funny, or a lame attempt at sarcasm. The music in the movie is not bad, but as predictable as anything you'd expect coming from these guys. In short, the movie is worth watching when you're hungover as long as you set the sound on mute. 4.5/10



L'Année Dernière à Marienbad (a.k.a. Last Year at Marienbad) (Alain Resnais, 1961) -- First off, to watch (and understand) this movie, you must know a bit about movies and the most famous ones at the time. Secondly, this is art-house film, so while many of the scenes may not make a whole lot of immediate sense, you can realise what they mean in the general scenery. And thirdly, I'd recommend reading a bit about the movie before watching it, though not necessarily regarding the plot. With all that in mind, I have to say I heard a lot of mixed stories and reviews about the movie, some said the point of the movie is not to understand it, some said it was too complicated to fathom a notion of understanding. I say it's complicated enough, but I liked it to the point I'd say I understood most of it. If you're a David Lynch fan (I'm looking at you DR!), you really need to watch this one, as it is one of the best early examples of the genre and a very good French movie by director Alain Resnais, whose previous movie I didn't like much (Hiroshima, Mon Amour), though this one follows some of the same senseless monologues. The movie is about a man who meets a woman at a place called Marienbad (or at least that's the impression I had) and he claims they met the previous year there and she told him to meet the following year when they would share their love. Not going to go much more into it, though I have to say it's worth the watch, and at 88 minutes long, it's quite enjoyable. 8.5/10

 

[Neal]

Let The Right One In (aka Låt den rätte komma in) (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)

At first glance this may appear to be a Swedish Vampire movie but in reality that is far from the full story. It seems that the Vampire genre is having a bit of a renaissance at the moment but where other movies play to the exhausted clichés and stereotypes without any originality this is completely unique and is a breath of fresh air for this genre. Whilst it isn't solely a horror movie it does still create tension and fear and has a restrained number of gory scenes but the difference is the realism in which they are portrayed. The cinematography and atmosphere is stunning and depicts a rather bleak view during winter which is a far cry from the Sweden's other side of pretty summer houses and islands.

The real meat of the story is the relationship between an outcast 12 year old boy and 12 year old girl who moves next door and also happens to be a vampire. It is this relationship and their emotions that make it so special and lift it higher than a typical genre movie. All the acting is convincing (the girls "helper" is particularly disturbing) but the stars are the 2 children. They have an amazing chemistry and create very strong emotions that will no doubt be lost in the American remake (featuring Chloe Moretz and titled "Let Me In").

Don't be put off by this being a vampire movie or Swedish for that matter, this is future classic and I defy anyone not to be moved by this beautifully told story - 10/10

 

[Diego440]

L'Oro di Napoli (a.k.a. The Gold of Naples) (Vittorio de Sica, 1954) -- Neo-realism has never been so great... well, unless it's another movie by de Sica, but this one is great nevertheless. Made up of six shorts or segments focusing on different aspects or stages of life (marriage, death, infidelity, getting old, etc) and all as a tribute to the city of Naples and an great example of human emotions at work, and always funny. Sophia Loren is in this movie, and she was a tender age of 20 in it... she's always been sooooo seductive. Without a doubt, this movie is a rare gem. 7.5/10



A Single Man (Tom Ford, 2009) -- Not a hair strand is out of place in this movie, of course, it's made by a fashion deisgner, and I think it's a great first movie. With that said, this movie is definitely not for everyone as it deals with homosexuality in the early 60s and the life of a man who's lost his partner and is planning to kill himself. Fortunately, the emotions and the plot aren't gay-exclusive and though I was watching it with a male friend and 3 female friends, it's a great opportunity to remind women that those hot-looking males are all gay But in general, the movie has an amazing cinematography, with the colours changing (between saturated and dulled) as the character's emotions changed and the 60s ambience was greatly achieved. Colin Firth's acting is impressive as well. Still, it was too much 'out there' at times, and I don't consider myself a conservative type. Fortunately it's not one of those movies where if you make it heterosexual it wouldn't be just another lost love story. 6.5/10



Step Into Liquid (Dana Brown, 2003) -- This is a documentary about surfers and 'secret' sufring spots from around the world. I've never been into surfing, but I've always loved surfing videos like the ones here.... the slow motion, colours and overall cinematography really makes me wish I could be as good as they are and enjoy the lifestyle as much, provided I didn't have anything else to do with my life. I enjoyed this movie, though I missed some of the parts that I've liked in other surf documentaries, like the amazingly huge waves that have you holding your breath and the even bigger tumbles. I guess it's because this movie is made by surfers, for surfers. The rest (the ones I've liked more) are the ones made for couch potatoes and people who are looking at a movie and pointing and thinking what amount of idiocy must one possess to try to ride a wave as big as that and think they're going to make it unscathed. Still, very enjoyable flick. 7.5/10

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Watched Land of the Lost with Will Ferrell in Blu Ray. Terrible movie

 

[DK]

Gran Torino
I watched last night and I have to say that it was excellent. This is definitely Oscar-winning material. I think the best part of it was that Eastwood did a brilliant job humanising the protagonist, a bitter old racist named Walt Kowalski (sp?). He is able to get us to at least understand Walt, a man haunted by past memories. I would certainly recommend it to a friend that isn't going to make cheap racist comments when one of its central themes IMO is racism and looking past it.
Rating: 10/10

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

^Yup that is a GREAT movie.

 

[Neal]

it's a great opportunity to remind women that those hot-looking males are all gay

 

[TheCracker]

All the acting is convincing (the girls "helper" is particularly disturbing) but the stars are the 2 children.

In the book the relationship between the helper and the girl is even more disturbing. It's kind of hinted at in the film, but i think if it was included it would have really changed what is a quite charming film into something much darker. The film also hints that there's something different about Eli(?) which again would have changed things.

I recently watched it again after buying it on blu-ray. I didn't really notice how beautifully filmed it is when i watched it first time, although it's quite bleak and even depressing, there's quite a winter wonderlandness to the location.

 

[Alex.]

Very interesting film, one of my friends compared it as a british 'Gran Torino'. I can't vouch as I've never seen it. Anyway Harry Brown is very watch-able, 20% Pulp Fiction 80% Trainspotting kind of feel to it. 8/10

 

[FoolKiller]

Justice League: A Crisis on Two Earths - (6.5/10)
Why not just call it Justice League vs Watchmen? Seriously, if they had done that they could have dropped the whole parallel Earths thing. Sure, you wouldn't have had Ultraman, but then that would have relieved the oddity of having Supergirl, who was supposed to be the anti-Wonder Woman. And Supergirl wouldn't have looked just like Silk Spectre. Oh, and the incredibly awkward Owlman, could have just been Nite Owl.

Quick comparison:
Supergirl and Owlman

Silk Spectre and Nite Owl

Now, I know that Owl Man has played a villain role in the comics before this original animated feature, but they might as well have ripped his personality here from Watchmen. Oh, and having the villains run some odd organized crime syndicate that imitates old gangster cliches, down to the jersey accent for Ultraman, was pretty bad. An animated feature with thsi topic woudl have been better playing off some Bizarro World concept or even the various existing multiverse storylines in DC's repertoire.

But that would make sense, or be odd.

Crazy Heart - (8/10)
Jeff Bridges places over-the-hill alcoholic country musician Bad Blake, as he performs in bowling alleys and dive bars, attempts to fix his life and come to terms with the fact that the world would rather see his younger, good-looking protege (Colin Ferrell) sing songs he writes than see him sing. Along the way he meets a young small-town newspaper reporter played by Maggie Gyllenhall.

Jeff Bridges is awesome in this, even if I could have done with a few less scenes of him stumbling around drunk in his tighty whiteys. He does a convincing job as a man who really doesn't care about his life anymore and sits around trying to figure out why the world no longer cares about him as he drinks a bottle of whiskey every night. My biggest complaint is that the story focuses probably 80%-90% of the movie on him stumbling around drunk and eventually hitting rock bottom. His recovery is rushed through at the end and made to appear as if he never stumbles along the way. This takes away from screen time that Robert Duvall could have greatly used as the best friend that stands by you in the worst of times and is the first person to pick you up when you fall. He's the kind of friend that never criticizes your life choices, but keeps you on the straight and narrow when you ask for help.

Avatar - (7/10)
Why is this supposed to be so awesome again? Oh wow, the plants light up and the mountains float. Ooh, ah. And now that we are past that we can focus on the 2:47 of cliche after cliche. The soldier who gets mixed in with scientists, thus mocked for being a dumb grunt who doesn't understand anything but shootin' guns. The military leader, barely kept on his leash by the top brass, who wants the soldier to be his eyes on the inside. Hey, guess who the boss climactic fight scene is against.

So, the guy gets lost while in his avatar. Got it. The humans go looking for him, but can't find him. If I created these multi-million dollar genetic hybrid things I think I would have given them some tracking device.

The tribal people all connect to and communicate with the plant life in some way because all the plants have sort of neural network. The source of all this goes back to the Mother Tree. At this point every single Pocahontas joke is deserved. But for those that are unfamiliar with Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game saga I highly suggest you check out the last three books (Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind), where a world with the only other known sentient species is threatened by the interstellar government because the natives are mistaken as violent and a possible threat to humanity. Without giving too much away, let's just say trees that represent a hive mind and the concept of destroying trees (by burning no less) being murder is not new.

The only creativity in this entire film was the visual imagery.

 

[Horde_R35]

On blu-ray is something else!

 

[Northstar]

The Bank Job-(2008)
Based on a true story about a group of bank robbers that unravel a lot more than a bunch of money. They wind up having to deal with crooked politicians who are after some pictures that were acquired in the robbery. Overall it was a great movie, Jason Statham is his normal badass type character and fits the roll rather well. I'm not sure how accurate the movie is, but it made a good heist film. -8/10

 

[Neal]

In the book (Let The Right One In) the relationship between the helper and the girl is even more disturbing. It's kind of hinted at in the film, but I think if it was included it would have really changed what is a quite charming film into something much darker. The film also hints that there's something different about Eli(?) which again would have changed things.

I recently watched it again after buying it on blu-ray. I didn't really notice how beautifully filmed it is when i watched it first time, although it's quite bleak and even depressing, there's quite a winter wonderlandness to the location.

I read around the film after watching it and saw that the character of the boy (Oskar – had to IMDB it as I’m useless with names) had been toned down in the film as he was more disturbed rather than just odd in the book but I didn’t see anything about the helper (Håkan) being different in the book. He wasn’t actually very helpful in the film and it didn’t explain why he was with the girl (Eli…thanks IMDB!) but their relationship did have some pretty odd moments. Is the book good enough to be worth reading after the film to find out?

I’ve been quite interested in Sweden recently, it looks like a fascinating country and the people seem to be pretty cool and are very friendly in my experience so I wouldn’t mind going there some time maybe as part of a Scandinavian Cruise...I best get saving! They only get 4 hours of sunlight a day in winter so I guess that could be quite oppressive which is the feeling I get from the film but it also looks like a fairly poor area which adds to the bleakness but doesn’t make the film any less stunning.

I also found out a bit of trivia that the title of the film (as well as the novel upon which it was based) refers to the Morrissey song "Let the Right One Slip In". In addition, it also refers to the fact that, according to vampire myths, vampires must be invited in before they can enter someone's home (this is shown in the film when Eli asks Oskar to invite her into his apartment).

 

[TheCracker]

I read around the film after watching it and saw that the character of the boy (Oskar – had to IMDB it as I’m useless with names) had been toned down in the film as he was more disturbed rather than just odd in the book but I didn’t see anything about the helper (Håkan) being different in the book. He wasn’t actually very helpful in the film and it didn’t explain why he was with the girl (Eli…thanks IMDB!) but their relationship did have some pretty odd moments. Is the book good enough to be worth reading after the film to find out?

I've not read the book, merely gathered the info from the Wiki page on it.

But yes, the helper Håkan's character in the film wasn't such a rounded one. It did feel like his relationship with Eli wasn't fully explained. It was that that made me look the book up on Wiki.

 

[Neal]

I've not read the book, merely gathered the info from the Wiki page on it.

But yes, the helper Håkan's character in the film wasn't such a rounded one. It did feel like his relationship with Eli wasn't fully explained. It was that that made me look the book up on Wiki.

Got ya I might get it for the missus and read it after her...brownie points and I still get the book

 

[Touring Mars]

Moon

To add to what Diego already said, I really enjoyed this film - had heard good things about it, but didn't know anything else, which was a good thing. 8/10 from me 👍

Question for those who've seen it:

Spoiler

Did you get the Chesney Hawkes reference?? A friend at work mentioned it, and I realised that it had gone right over my head... the song Sam Bell uses on his alarm clock is called "I Am The One And Only"..."

 

[Neal]

Moon is still on my to watch list...must resist urge to view spoiler text.

 

[Diego440]

Wow Chris, I really never thought of that... that is quite insightful, so much is cleared up by viewing that spoiler text. I feel like I'm a more complete person now.

(checked it already, Neal? )

Spoiler

I really didn't get it, Chris... though I don't think I can get the movie more had I noticed them. I did notice something was hinting at clues and hidden messages in the movie, but liked it all the same without noticing them.

 

[Neal]

Not yet mate but it's just been moved up the to watch list Much like men can't help looking down holes to see what's there I need to know what's in those spoilers!

 

[Blitz187]

Not yet mate but it's just been moved up the to watch list Much like men can't help looking down holes to see what's there I need to know what's in those spoilers!

Your quote reminded me of this.... Just for laughs...

 

[Neal]

Your quote reminded me of this.... Just for laughs...

 

[725]

Let The Right One In (aka Låt den rätte komma in) (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)

......They have an amazing chemistry and create very strong emotions that will no doubt be lost in the American remake (featuring Chloe Moretz and titled "Let Me In").......

Oh no, you serious there is going to be an American remake? disaster, this film is indeed very atmosphereric and deserves to be watched before its lost in Hollywood'ness.

I've seen there is an American remake of Death at a funeral! I couldn't believe it, the original is a really good film not sure how it can be made any better, (If you guys want to watch a decent comedy watch the original) out of curiousty I think I'll rent it to see how bad it is at some point in the future....

 

[Northstar]

I've seen there is an American remake of Death at a funeral! I couldn't believe it, the original is a really good film not sure how it can be made any better, (If you guys want to watch a decent comedy watch the original) out of curiousty I think I'll rent it to see how bad it is at some point in the future....

I haven't seen either, but it looks like they only used the name and basic premises from the original film. Still looks crappy though compared to how the original looks.

-----------------------

Cast Away-(2000)

Tom Hanks plays an overly devoted FedEx employee who is the lone survivor of a plane crash and stranded on an uninhabited island. He does a rather good job and the film does an amazing job showing his slide into insanity. My only real gripe is that it really was missing a big chunk of the storyline, although it's understandable why they had it that way(read spoiler for more). I wasn't sure what to expect from it, but it turned out to be a really good movie.-8.5/10

Spoiler

The part in the story I felt was missing is what happened in the 4 years that got skipped. I understand it would have gotten boring after awhile seeing 1 guy on an island, but perhaps a year by year scene would have worked a tad bit better. I also must say that the ending is probably the biggest cliffhanger outside of The Sopranos, it was a rather good send off seeing him looking down a road with you not knowing which direction he would go.

 

[Daniel]

lol Wilson...


Watched It's Complicated last night. Whole family lol'd during the webcam scene .
Watched Fast and Furious about an hour ago. Still love it

 

[Diego440]

Cast Away-(2000)

You are aware the movie is basically a 2-hour FedEx commercial, right?

Anyhow, I've been away for a few days, here's my new ones:



Jean de Florette (Claude Berri, 1986) & Manon des Sources (a.k.a. Manon of the Spring) (Claude Berri, 1986) -- Although sold as two separate movies, it's basically a 4-hour movie split into two parts. The first one is about a greedy landowner who conspires to block the only water source for an adjoining property in order to bankrupt the owner and force him to sell; unfortunately, he doesn't sell and eventually gets killed trying to find water. While the second movie deals with the dead farmer's daughter and her plot to avenge her father on the men whose greedy conspiracy to acquire her father's land caused his death. It's a very entertaining movie with very good music and excellent acting, especially by Gerard Depardieu and Yves Montand. The story is heart-wrenching, all the characters (both good and bad) demand sympathy, and the story is both credible and beautifully told. Although the theme might seem tedious and slow at times, the revealing truth in the end makes it so much worth the whole movie. definitely one of my favourite French movies. 9/10




Public Enemies (Michael Mann, 2009) -- A story on the Feds pursuit and eventual apprehension of American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s. The problem is that having seen Heat and other gangster/bank robber/anti-hero vs. the goverment movies, the movie becomes a series of predictable and unsurprising scenes, fueled by tons of led and enless amounts of blood. Because of the same, the movie seemed extremely (and often unnecessarily) violent to me, as well as too long (140 mins). Dillinger is made to be a believer in love and a person who cares for other people, when in reality he was a cold-blooded killer. Too many stories trying to be protrayed at the same time, and while the acting and overall production design are very good, the rest of the movie is not. 4.5/10

 

[Northstar]

Batman Begins- (2005)

Basically it tells the story of how Batman came to be. It was a great movie with good acting. The action scenes looked really good and the visuals were overall amazing. It did feel like it could have been a good chunk shorter though.-8/10


The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy- (2005)

A rather good, yet confusing story of two "earthlings" who wind up on a spaceship after the earth gets blown up. They venture around looking for the "Ultimate Question" with an alien who was posing as an earthling, the idiotic president of the Galaxy and a manically depressed robot. I felt the story was good, but the acting felt like it could have been better. Although it does contain a rather addicting song.-7/10

​

 

[Diego440]

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (Werner Herzog, 2009) -- Terence McDonagh is a drug- and gambling-addled detective in post-Katrina New Orleans investigating the killing of five Senegalese immigrants. The movie's perception basically falls into two categories: love it, or hate it. The reason for this is Nicolas Cage. I've never liked him, nor have I hated him, but the truth is that in most movies he's been in, he plays the same character, so basically in the credits it could've appeared "Nicolas Cage as Nicolas Cage". I'm aware that this movie is a remake and I haven't seen the original (though I have it queued), but given the character's attitudes, I wouldn't say "Bad Lieutenant", but more like "meanie cop". This movie had the potential for being much better, but they cast Cage in it and he basically played himself. Additionally, the movie's character lacks consistency (if you're going to be bad, be bad. If you're going to be good, be good. But don't jump from one to the other), and that's a major drawback. This is a movie for Nick Cage fans, because if you're not, you'll probably score it as much as I do. 3/10

 

[astrosdude91]

I saw Avatar for the first time. I wasn't all that impressed. I know some people would like to have me condemmed for giving it anything but 10/10 or better, but I'm going to give it a 4/10.

 

[Diego440]

An Education (Lone Scherfig, 2009) -- A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age. The movie as itself is good and definitely different from what movies of this type are nowadays, but it just failed to congeal at some point and lost me completely. I liked it, but wouldn't say it's a great movie in any sense. I also have always had the distinct impression that Peter Sarsgaard hasn't come out of the closet yet, and this movie is yet another one that (IMO) proves it. Then again, the movie isn't really about Sarsgaard or his character, but about Jenny (Carey Mulligan) and the right and wrong choices she makes in her life. By any standard, I think it's a movie that should be seen, albeit once. 7/10