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

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La Zona (Rodrigo Plá, 2007) -- Given my last impression of Rodrigo Plá's quilities as a director (The Desert Within), I was a bit reluctant to watch this movie, but since it was in my queue (link in my sig) I decided to give it a go. The result is a not bad effort with some good acting and some decent quality suspense, though it has some too melodramatic moments and a few bits of bad acting by big names (namely Maribel Verdú). The thing about La Zona is that is apparently tries to emulate Hollywood-type movies, and because of that, it lacks any form of originality. As it also happened with The Desert Within, the production value is top notch, with very well thought composition and cinematic style, but it turned out to be just a movie and at no time did I feel identified with any of the emotions or could feel empathy with the circumstances. 6/10
 
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The Truman Show 1998

Truman(Jim Carrey) is unknowingly the star of a show following his life. It is fairly well done and the storyline works great. Some of the parts are extremely well done, however some scenes are also rather dull. It's premise though is where this movie shines as it's a rather interesting concept, and the ending, while a major disappointment was rather ingenious. Other than some meh scenes and some questionable acting this is a great film. 8/10

At first I wasn't sure of the ending as the film just kind of stopped, but after I gave it some thought I realized why they did it that way(his story was no longer being followed on camera).

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Strange Wilderness 2008

Two TV show hosts try to save their show from cancellation by hunting for Bigfoot. It's the typical comedy of recent years, bad storyline, bad acting and a crapload of marijuana "jokes". I have no clue why Comedy Central made such a big deal of this movie, and I really wish there was something better on last night. The only good part of this film is that if you watch it on TV, there are commercials.1/10
 
niky
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My Neighbor Totoro
Hayao Miyazaki
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Saw this one yesterday (Japanese audio), and I must say that the little girl was very realistic (read: annoying :dopey:)
Haven't seen much anime movies, but it was interesting in a way.
Did remind me of Pokemon and Alice in Wonderland at certain times in the movie.
 
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DustDriver
Saw this one yesterday (Japanese audio), and I must say that the little girl was very realistic (read: annoying :dopey:)
Haven't seen much anime movies, but it was interesting in a way.
Did remind me of Pokemon and Alice in Wonderland at certain times in the movie.
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I was reminded of this picture...


niky
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My Neighbor Totoro
Hayao Miyazaki

So, recently, we got a whole bunch of Hayao Miyazaki films... and we started off with one that I thought my daughter would best appreciate, seeing as Princess Mononoke is violent, Spirited Away is full of monsters and Nausicaa is full of people shooting each other (she hates that).

It's worth noting that the title character, Totoro appears in only four or five scenes throughout the entire movie. And yet Totoro has become an iconic figure in Japanese animation. I won a plushie once at an arcade, which I gave to a girl in Taiwan. (looong time ago). Back then, I watched Totoro in the original Japanese. Didn't understand a single word, and the subtitles were in Chinese. But I loved it.

As I watched this movie a dog's age ago (literally), upon re-watching, I was surprised by how laid-back the pace was compared to more modern children's animations. And yet, it's precisely that which immerses you in the world of Totoro. There is no rush-but between important scenes and there are no "adult jokes" to fill in the "boring" parts. You live the life of two sisters as they settle in and adjust to their new surroundings and as they become acquainted with their new neighbors and the spirits of the forest.

The main characters come off as very authentic (being a parent and a former kid), and the oft-nostalgic way in which Miyazaki views rural (pre-war?) Japan is very touching (having much of my childhood post-US surrounded by rice-paddies, I could relate).

The true litmus test would be my daughter. Despite fidgeting her way through modern children's movie classics like "Up" and "Toy Story 3", she watched the film completely entranced. And then asked for it again the next day. Totoro is a visual storybook that's simple in premise and execution, yet rich in detail. Perfect for kids... and adults... alike.

I guess there's something to be said for the "old-school", huh?

9/10 (not Miyazaki's best work, ending decidedly low-key)
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:lol:
 
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Austin Powers: Goldmember
As is custom in the Austin Powers universe, there's a crapload of double entendres. There's a decent plot, but be honest, that's not the main reason to watch Austin Powers movies, and of course there's numerous incidences of the 4th wall being demolished. If you like comedy, I would recommend this.

Score: 9/10
 
I saw a bunch of old black an white horror movies.
One after the other. A total of approximately 6 hours spent watching these.

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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
This movie is really good. It has a nice surreal tone. All the buildings are sideways, windows are pointy and well... you have to see it. And since there's no talking yet they really did work hard on the music.
The story is interesting too and it has a twist at the end.
I like twists :D

I give this one a generous 9/10


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Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1921)
This one was not as good. It is the first Dracula movie ever made, but at times it really felt like it dragged on. The music wasn't really to my liking either.
That being said it has its golden moments. For example this scene

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and this one

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really sent shivers down my spine.

All in all it's not that bad, but I won't watch it again very soon

7/10



next is...

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Dracula (1931)
I've seen this movie three times now. It gets better and better and the film is really a masterpiece. The actors are all great (especially Bela Lugosi), it's a really pretty film to look at and it is still creepy at times. One of my all time favorite movies. Don't know how much to give it...

9/10?

9.5/10?


Nah
10/10
I love it.


Next up...


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The Mummy (1932)
This one is up to the standard of Dracula quality-wise, although the music seems lacking. Sure both this and Dracula don't have that much music, but what little music Dracula has really fits it perfectly. The story is really good, but to me it's missing something.
Better than the 1999 remake (IMO) for sure and that one isn't even that bad.

7.5/10


And finally...

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The Wolf Man (1941)
At first I thought I wouldn't be that interested in this movie. I'm not interested in werewolves.
But I gave it a watch and it's better than I expected.
It keeps you entertained (and this was the last movie I saw, so I was almost sick of movies that day) and the acting is great.
Lon Chaney jr. really gives you the feeling he's actually going through a tough time with becoming a werewolf and all.

8.5/10






Also my reviews are rubbish. :lol:




IMPORTANT EDIT:
I found out after some reading on teh internet, that both Nosferatu and The cabinet of dr. Caligari are new versions with different soundtracks. The new soundtrack for dr. Caligari is simply awesome and the new soundtrack for Nosferatu is terrible. This means, that if I had seen the original Nosferatu it would probably get a better verdict.
 
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Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009) -- hmmm... interesting movie. The story was engaging and the plot was well thought out. I really enjoyed Sam Rockwell's performance. It was probably the best I have seen from him and he really carried this movie. HAL-esque robot and overall set design was a great little tip of the hast to 2001:SO although GERTY was far more pleasant and likable than HAL was. I found the main plot twist/device was revealed both to the viewer and to Sam far too early in the film. I think it would have worked a little better if it was drawn out a little longer so as to maximize the dramatic impact of the discovery. 8.5/10
 
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Dead Man's Shoes 2004

Richard (Paddy Considine) returns from the Army and gets revenge on the group of people who terrorized his brother. It's a rather small budget film so I wasn't expecting much, Paddy does an excellent job, but some of the other actors could have been better. As far as the storyline goes it was a good start but could have been so much more, it took some time to develop and there is an M. Night Shymalan style plot twist. It also seemed like they were grasping for straws to make the film a decent length for a movie. Overall it's a solid watch, but could have been so much more. 6/10

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Kill Bill Vol. 2 2003

Beatrice(Uma Thurman) continues to get her revenge. This seems much more different than the first, there is less focus on action and more on the story itself, which isn't really a bad thing, but it isn't a great thing either. With the exception of two characters there aren't any other major ones so the acting is the same quality as the first. It's not any better, or worse than the first one, but it gives a good you a good idea of how the whole thing got started and a solid ending. 7/10
 


The Devil's Rejects (Rob Zombie, 2005) -- A very poor attempt at aking a horror/Tarantino-esque movie with eleventy times more violence and pointlessness. The main issue with this movie is that no character is likeable and it just becomes scenes after scene of pushing the limits of the disgusting factor, with women that are supposed to be über-hot, but are just blondes that show butt crack. Acting is mediocre at best and every scene seems to be about 10 minutes too long. I usually like horror movies when they're made well enough and with a degree of good taste, however marginal. Because of that, a good horror movie must be a good movie first and foremost, and that's the main flaw of The Devil's Rejects. Merely dishing out death and misery and bleakness does nothing to build up characters or make up an interesting flick. 1/10
 
Tom Servo


The Devil's Rejects (Rob Zombie, 2005) -- A very poor attempt at aking a horror/Tarantino-esque movie with eleventy times more violence and pointlessness. The main issue with this movie is that no character is likeable and it just becomes scenes after scene of pushing the limits of the disgusting factor, with women that are supposed to be über-hot, but are just blondes that show butt crack. Acting is mediocre at best and every scene seems to be about 10 minutes too long. I usually like horror movies when they're made well enough and with a degree of good taste, however marginal. Because of that, a good horror movie must be a good movie first and foremost, and that's the main flaw of The Devil's Rejects. Merely dishing out death and misery and bleakness does nothing to build up characters or make up an interesting flick. 1/10
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The House of 1000 corpses elicited the same reaction from me. There were some parts that were interesting, but it was too disjointed and pointless for anyone but hardcore horror fans.
 
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This seems to sum up the other flicks I've seen from Rob Zombie so far... along with a plethora of other issues.
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niky
The House of 1000 corpses elicited the same reaction from me. There were some parts that were interesting, but it was too disjointed and pointless for anyone but hardcore horror fans.
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Justin
It's Rob Zombie, were you actually expecting anything more than mediocre?
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I've seen a couple of Rob Zombie movies before and I'm pretty sure I never made it to the end, though I read some very good reviews for this one and was hoping his style would improve. In the end what really ticks me is that there's such an obvious waste of talent being raved as the best type of movie around. Oh well, such is fanboyism.
 
Just finished watching a cracking little movie. Never heard of it before, and am surprised.
It's called The Core. It stars Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank. It's about a group of scientists who have to build a ship to travel to the Earth's core to plant a bomb because it has stopped spinning, threatening the survival of the planet.
Didn't expect much when I seen it on the shelf, but something about it made me want to rent it.
Really enjoyed it. It reminds me of all those Doug McClure movies from the 70's when he travelled to lost worlds and the centre of the Earth etc.
A sleeper hit, if you will.
Anybody else seen it?
 
Well, watched Tomorrow, When the War Began with my sister last night. Read the books when I was younger, have to say I really enjoyed it, here is a brief review (copy pasta from my FB account and previous posts. Don't worry, not really any plotline spoilers):

Tomorrow When The War Began is an epic film, I genuinely enjoyed it. I would recommend it to anyone, whether you have read the books or not, for those who have read the books, it has only minor changes (Ellie keeps a video diary instead of a journal for example) but they don't take away from the plot. Don't knock it out of hand because the acting isn't Hollywood; honestly, its more realistic because it isn't. Oh, one last thing. The soundtrack is EPIC. Look out for a suprisingly good cover of Flame Trees.

Brief review, if anyone thinks that is the work of a deer in the most teal colouring, basically put: Tomorrow, When the War Began= Great Aussie film.
 
Golfman
Just finished watching a cracking little movie. Never heard of it before, and am surprised.
It's called The Core. It stars Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank. It's about a group of scientists who have to build a ship to travel to the Earth's core to plant a bomb because it has stopped spinning, threatening the survival of the planet.
Didn't expect much when I seen it on the shelf, but something about it made me want to rent it.
Really enjoyed it. It reminds me of all those Doug McClure movies from the 70's when he travelled to lost worlds and the centre of the Earth etc.
A sleeper hit, if you will.
Anybody else seen it?
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I've seen that several times, and I enjoyed it. It's not perfect but it does its job nicely.
 
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The Driver - 1978

"The Driver" is specialist in a rare business: he drives getaway cars in robberies. His exceptional talent prevented him from being caught yet. After another succeeded flight from the police, a self-assured detective makes it his primary goal to catch the Driver. He promises remission of of punishment to a gang if they help to convict him in a set-up robbery. The Driver seeks help from the player Isabelle to mislead the detective. (7.0/10)
 
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Deadgirl (Marcel Sarmiento, Gadi Harel, 2008) -- A very odd movie about two high school boys who discover an imprisoned woman in an abandoned mental asylum who cannot die, and she thus becomes their sex slave. Deadgirl is a neverending spiral of implausibility, but the fact that the makers were willing to push the envelope so far deserves some sort of recognition. I mean, this movie has a strong aberrant sexual content, extreme amounts of violence and nudity and a constant morbid feel throughout. This movie stands out amongst a score of other movies that don't really take any chances; it's thought-provoking, tense and nasty enough to be worth considering if you ever find yourself at a loss for a horror movie viewing one evening. 6.5/10
 
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Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg, 2007)

I see that Diego gave this an 8, and I'm going to have to agree with that... I wasn't expecting too much from the film, but it certainly delivered. Very convincing, incredibly brutal and well paced - and it manages to keep a sense of foreboding throughout the film, as you never know just what lies in store for the central protagonists... excellent drama, although it didn't exactly make me homesick for my old neck of the woods :sick: Definitely recommended, 8/10
 
Not this time, but I have had a look at your blog several times, excellent work 👍 It would be cool if you could list reviews in order of the rating you have given them, but otherwise it's a really nice reference site.

I see you gave "The Hottie And The Nottie" -3/10 :lol: Is that your lowest rating ever?
 


Welcome (Philippe Lioret, 2009) -- The story of two people: one is Bilal, a 17 year old illegal immigrant from Iraq in Calais, France trying to make his way across the channel to England. It is also about Simon, a recently-divorced middle-aged frenchman who helps Bilal in his journey. The community of struggling illegal aliens in Calais is captured with authenticity, from the point of view of people who arrived there knowing nothing about France. This immigrant drama, with wonderful performances by the actors, is a strong story which uses documentary austerity and minimalist style to create a great emotional impact. 7/10
 

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