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

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Shutter Island, thought the story line was quite predictable early on, but still enjoyed it. Great acting by Di Caprio.
 
Really? I didn't find it predictable at all.
 
The Road - 7/10

It's a movie set in post-apocalyptic America about a man and boy heading south. That's about as deep as the story goes. The movie is focused around the characters. The man is trying prepare his son to be able to survive in this world alone. As you may infer from the setting, the movie is not exactly filled with happiness.
 
I have The Road on queue for some time now, but I had no idea what the story was about until I've read your post, ROAD_DOGG33J. :lol:

Maybe I'll watch it this weekend, but I have to finish watching Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut first.
 
So I caught Toy Story 3 & it's brilliant. Simply brilliant. But the end is where it truly shines, imo. After 11 years since the 2nd, Pixar manage to bring this incredible ending of passing the Toy Story name many of us saw as younger kids on to the next generation. Pixar have managed to show that they understand how the original Toy Story 1 viewers have grown as much as Andy & relate to us so well.

I won't lie, it's a very bittersweet ending & I heard a few sniffles. But, it's a perfect ending. I think the end of Scrubs Season 8 was the last time I thought, "That is how you end something".

The movie itself is typical Pixar: fantastic. Woody's characteristic hasn't changed, and there's still the debate of what will happen to them. But again, it's the ending that pulls this movie together.
 


Bande à Part (a.k.a. Band of Outsiders) (Jean-Luc Godard, 1964) -- Not your typical Godard movie, it's about two crooks who convince a student to help them commit a robbery. Starred by Anna Karina, who at the time was Godard's muse as well as his wife. Her acting is superb and though I haven't seen that many movies with her, I have to say she's really worthy of all the praise Godard did for her. When I say this sin't the typical Godard movie it's because there's very little experimentation and the narrative is very linear. Because of that, it may not score very high if you're a Godard fan; had it been by any other director, it would be good enough, especially if you're a Truffaut fan. Myself, I appreciate Godard a lot, but do not idolize him. Despite all that, Bande à Part is a very good movie. I wouldn't be at all surprised if John Hughes drew a lot of inspiration from this movie when making Ferris Bueller's Day Off, though the plots are completely different, there's a bunch of visual cues that'll reminisce. 7.5/10
 
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Zombieland (Ruben Fleischer, 2009) -- Having heard a lot of great things about this movie, I had some pretty high hopes for it. It certainly delivered as far as entertainment is concerned. It won't go down in history as any sort of masterpiece but it keeps you in your seat and laughing till the end. I've heard a few times it being likened to Shaun of the Dead but really the only similarity is that it falls into the same genre of comedy/horror. This move struck me as a cross between Dawn of the Dead and Superbad. Columbus is a socially inept kid suffering from IBS with a list of rules that have helped him survive the zombie apocalypse. He teams up with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) whose sole purpose is to find a Twinkie. There are some genuinely funny exchanges between the two as they travel across what remains of America. By chance, they stumble across two surviving sisters Wichita & Little Rock. There is not a lot of character development as this is not a deep movie but its bloody brilliant as far as comedy/horror goes. 9/10
 
Starsky & Hutch -2004

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Having never watched the series I had no idea what to expect. It was a decent movie that was good for a few laughs, the story was rather awful and cliche though. -4/10

The Hunt for Red October -1990

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As a fan of the book I wasn't sure how this would adapt to the screen, turns out it doesn't. It just doesn't do as good of a job making you feel like you are on the sub's in a rather hostile situation like the book does. Overall the acting was solid and convincing it's just that this is a book that doesn't work on screen as there is really little action for a majority of the film. I also was appalled at the horrendous CGI that the film featured, if Star Wars can have awesome CGI in the 70's surely you can have realistic water in 1990.-5/10
 
I watched "From Paris with love" the other day. It was a damn cool until the end of the movie. If you seen it, you know what I mean...It gets cheesy..and that good artificial cheese too, lol
 


Pierrot Le Fou (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965) -- A man escapes his boring society and travels from Paris to the Mediterranean Sea with Marianne, a girl chased by hit-men from Algeria. They lead an unorthodox life, always on the run. As if the setting sounds predictable enough, the plot takes a backseat in this mvoie because this is pure art-house cinema, and of the best kind indeed. This is what has come to be known as revolutionary cinema, made at perhaps Godard's most difficult time in his career, where he struggled to not make a commercial movie, yet needed the cash to be able to survive. I haven't seen that many of Godard's movies, but I have to say this one is his best and most accessible, a true masterpiece of avant-garde filming. Anna Karina (Godard's wife at the time and star of about 6 of his movies) is stunning in both her acting and her looks, and the fact that the movie was filmed in (extreme) widescreen, something pretty much unheard of at the time really lets you see the genius that was Godard, as well as his iconic narrative and amazing use of colours. If you want to watch it, be sure to check out the Criterion version, as the remastering is excellent. 9/10
 
Sorry if this post is incorrect but this weekend in NZ I'm gonna watch Shrek 4 Ever after.
 
gtone339
Sorry if this post is incorrect but this weekend in NZ I'm gonna watch Shrek 4 Ever after.
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Not really but come back and give us a spoiler free review once you've watched it 👍
 


The Painted Veil (John Curran, 2006) -- A British medical doctor fights a cholera outbreak in a small Chinese village in the 1920s, while also being trapped at home in a loveless marriage to an unfaithful wife. It's a movie about rekindling love you thought was lost and finding one's true purpose in life. Despite all that, it is a slightly light movie which is very well acted by both Edward Norton and Naomi Watts (who are both the movie's producers) and very well told, if a bit slow and in need of editing on certain parts that seem to drag along too much. The tension in the plot is increased by the threat of death throughout the movie from the epidemic, as well as the political unrest of the country at the time. The film is also shot with a hazy green look, making the cinematography much more mysterious and beautiful. The soundtrack is very well chosen. My issue is that despite its length and its subject, the movie seems too forgettable. 6.5/10



Låt den Rätte Komma in (a.k.a. Let The Right One In) (Tomas Alfredson, 2008) -- Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl who turns out to be a vampire. First off this isn't a vampire movie per se, also it's not a romantic movie either. It's a movie about love, but the search and eventual finding of it in life, it just happens to have a vampiric/horror backdrop, but come to think of it, it wouldn't have the same impact if it didn't have it. Aside from the story, the cinematography and overall atmosphere is stunning. Also, the chemistry between Oskar and Eli is typical of two children, making it completely believable and outstanding. Because it is a vampire movie, there's bound to be blood (unless you're into those New Moon movies), but I think it's the first vampire movie I've seen that doesn't deal with the fangs. Other than that, we see a humane vampire who isn't particularly proud of her condition and just goes on living, and loving. Definitely one of the best movies of the decade. 10/10
 
Visual Acoustics

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Inspiring, well worth a watch if your into Architecture or Architectural Photography. Can anyone suggest some more photography films I should watch? War Photographer, a documentary about James Nachtwey is the only other I've seen.​
 
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:

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"..."
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Tom Servo
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? :lol:)










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.
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I finally saw Moon tonight and agree it is a great film. I knew about a bit of the concept but really didn't see the proper twist coming. You'll be proud to know I resisted looking at the spoilers and also didn't get the link before hand. I'm going to go with 9/10 just to be different
 
You are aware that you can't give Moon a 9 and expect to keep on being a member of GTP, right?
 
Tom Servo
You are aware that you can't give Moon a 9 and expect to keep on being a member of GTP, right?
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Agreed.

Insta-Ban... It's in the AUP somewhere, I'm sure of it... :sly:



;)
 
:lol:

Toy Story 2 on TV :D
Bored outta my mind lol
 


Naked Lunch (David Cronenberg, 1991) -- Sheesh... where to start? Alright, I saw this movie last night and I didn't understand even half of it. In my defense, the phone rang every ten minutes and I wasn't really in it, plus I knew I was in for an intense movie, as it is directed by David Cronenberg, written by William S. Burroughs and it ranks high on the dystopian chart, and I haven't read the book (kill me now!). However, I've heard from a lot of people that it's an awesome movie, and decided this morning to watch it again. It's about an exterminator who has developed an addiction to the substance he uses to kill bugs, and accidentally murders his wife and becomes involved in a secret government plot being orchestrated by giant bugs in an Islamic port town in Africa.

Still with me? Alright. First off, this movie warns you to 'exterminate all rational thought', and while it seems like a funny line in the movie, it's the basis for everything that is to follow. To understand this movie you need to 'get' William S. Burroughs and definitely get David Cronenberg, since they're both really out there. The movie itself has no real plot, but an amalgamation of no less than six plots all going on at once and the central character tries to discover the relationships between these plots. And in general the movie is more an issue of that central character trying to make sense of the connections between these plots.

The end result is a very engaging movie that really transmits Burroughs' essence (I have read other books by him) and it's great that Cronenberg directed it and he made it well, since Burroughs' work tends to be very self-conscious and personal. The cast really does a good job in each other characters and it seems (from what I've heard) that they really wanted to be in this movie: Ian Holm, Roy Scheider, Peter Weller (probably the best acting he's ever done), Judy Davis and Julian Sands. The movie's art direction and production design are quite disturbing and disorienting, keeping in touch with the whole Cronenberg/Burroughs atmosphere.

If you liked Lost Highway, Mullholland Dr., Twin Peaks, The Last Wave, Heavenly Creatures or Dead Ringers, this one's for you.
7/10
 


She's Out of My League (Jim Field Smith, 2009) -- The classic story of a complete zero who falls for the classic blonde bombshell and she actually falls for him. At least this one didn't try to paint the guy as becoming popular and amazing like her, nor did it turn her into a geeky prude either. I have to say I was expecting this movie to be a clone of The Hangover and maybe at times it tried to be, but the plot is quite different. The main character in the movie (the guy) actually is pretty believable and adds to the story, while the acting of the secondary characters is funny enough to keep the movie going. Although the movie adds nothing we haven't seen before in all these romantic/stupid comedies, at least the movie never tried to be anything else. It still is a pointless movie, but I found it entertaining and worth watching. Don't expect to be laughing throughout the whole movie, but do expect a better-than-average plot. 7/10



The Lovely Bones (Peter Jackson, 2009) -- This movie is a bit odd. It's centered around a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family and her killer from the 'in between'. The movie itself is bad-ish, because IMO Peter Jackson weighed too heavily on the CGI, and though it doesn't detract from the story, it sometimes seems he overdid it to compensate for a mediocre plot. If you've seen the 1998 Robin Williams movie What Dreams May Come, you may notice many traits inspired in it, but the plot is different. The main problem is that the end product looks like something taken out of the Lifetime channel, since it's a massive drama with music and scenes made out to jerk tears, but most of the acting is top-nothc, except (and again, this is my opinion) for Mark Wahlberg. The thing with this movie is that it can be great for some and pretty wishy-washy for others. I'm sort of in-between and while I thought some parts were okay, there's a sense of "un conclusion" in it that really bothered me. 5.5/10
 
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Punisher: War Zone (Lexi Alexander, 2008)

First off, let me start by saying how in the hell does someone remake a remake? I'm not even going to bother putting in the effort reviewing this because it just isn't worth the time. All I will say in conclusion is that after seeing this (should you ever be so profoundly bored and/or whacked out of your mind to do so) you will honestly appreciate Batman & Robin as if it were The Dark Knight.

0/120,000 (If that's even possible).
 
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Crank (2006)

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The premises for this film sounded very promising, unfortunately it didn't wind up being very good. The first 45 minutes or so were good, after that I was just wishing it would end already. -4/10
 
Justin
Crank (2006)

The premises for this film sounded very promising, unfortunately it didn't wind up being very good. The first 45 minutes or so were good, after that I was just wishing it would end already. -4/10
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I'm wondering if you missed the point, or if you don't enjoy movies that are campy on purpose.

I love Crank because it is exactly what it was created to be: A movie that finds a believable boundary and flies past in a supersonic jet, while having fun with itself the whole time.
 
FoolKiller
I'm wondering if you missed the point, or if you don't enjoy movies that are campy on purpose.
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Or I just didn't like it.💡

It just got bland, repetitive and there were several parts that just didn't fit very well into the plot.
 


Once Were Warriors (Lee Tamahori, 1994) -- A Kiwi movie about a family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts. This is defintely a powerful and realistic movie, a modern day tragedy dealing with all the realities of the native indigenous people to their own country who because of social and financial matters, are forced to live in the slums. Acting by Temuera Morrison, as the permanently angry Maori warrior is excellent, as is Rena Owen in the role of the battered wife. A crude and hard movie to watch, but definitely worth it. Consider watching it with subtitles. 8.5/10
 
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The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009)

It's a film by Rob Zombie so I was expecting it to be out there, have to say I was actually disappointed. Granted, it was indeed an odd movie it was really rather tame(for a movie by Rob Zombie). As far as the movie itself, the animation and voice acting is actually really good, the story wasn't that great but it's a comedy so that doesn't matter as much. On the comedy note, the movie was actually pretty funny and gave me a good amount of laughs, also a few WTF? moments. If you like the "Ren & Stimpy" style comedy you will probably like this as well. 8/10
 
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bleh
 
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Une Femme est une femme (a.k.a. A Woman is a Woman) (Jean-Luc Godard, 1961) -- Angela,a striptease artist, wants to have a baby and tries to persuade her boyfriend Emile to go along with the idea. Emile will have none of it so she goes after Emile's friend Alfred. If more romantic comedies were like this one, we'd have a much better state of world movies. This movie proved he could do somethign else than crime/noir movies, and proved it beautifully. Aside from being one of the first moviemakers to take full advantage of widescreen (in the 60s!), though he also uses some antics to get the audience interested, such as on-screen graphics and very catchy music- There's so many tidbits of genius in this movie that I could spend an entire afternoon pointing them out, and that's just exactly how good Godard's movies are. There are scenes where the actors don't speak to each other, but just communicate using book titles, plus in a genre like romantic comedy, where the subject matter is so trivial, to be able to sustain an entire motion picture just on small talk is no small accomplishment.

In some cases what appears in these mvies may sound like nothing out of the ordinary, but when you take into account that this was the first time any of this took place, you start to appreciate the genius that was Jean-Luc Godard and how amazing his work is. 9/10
 


Breach (Billy Ray, 2007) -- Based on the true story, FBI upstart Eric O'Neill enters into a power game with his boss, Robert Hanssen, an agent who was ultimately convicted of selling secrets to the Soviet Union. While it's a great movie of espionage, counterespionage, deception, lies and spying, the movie seems to rely too much on assumptions and intepretations of what might've happened. Chris Cooper's acting is top notch, though it would seem he had several arguments with the make-up department, since his lips have a suspicious cranberry color while his skin looks like custard. Ryan Phillippe actually proved he can act, though not very thoroughly so he comes out as merely adequate. There's not a lot of action going on, but the story does hold one's interest, but the main issue here is that the movie is just another undercover spying flick in a style very much like Donnie Brasco, so while the movie's entertaining it's nothing groundbreaking or memorable. 6.5/10
 
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