A few films recently watched.

Inception - 8.5/10 - Original, beautiful looking, complex, and it explains itself just enough to still have questions but not too many to where it is a flaw of the film. The only problem I have with the film is the way Nolan perceives dreaming and the way that I do. Just a matter of opinion. Dreaming is a pretty broad subject, so his pov is just as valid as most other ideas on mental activity during sleep. This film is a giant middle finger to Hollywood and the remake/reboot epidemic that is now taking place in the film industry. Audiences will leave the theatre either pissed off because they couldn't keep up with the pace of the film, jonesing to see it again and a making of documentary about the film, or not enjoy it because of their own idiotic self-righteousness.

if you want a better opinion, here is Roger Ebert's beautiful writing on the film: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100714/REVIEWS/100719997

  On 7/16/2010 at 3:04 PM, delet... said:

avp2 is terrible, there is no doubt. it's a shame, i like monster movies but noone seems to deliver these days.

it was ok even though corny. i like the fact they are on earth, the a's and the p's/ 1-10 seems low

avp2... is an abomination.

it was even worse because they were totally aiming for an "aliens" homage thing throughout (or else they were just shamelessly ripping it off), what with the alien sound effects straight from aliens during the national guard fight which clearly was meant to look like the space marine fight (right down to the APC), and they had a soundalike score for when the

. the chick character with the little girl is obviously a mirror of ripley and newt, etc etc etc.

but the movie had zero pacing, zero characters, zero plot except "predator comes to earth all alone to clean up a mess that obviously calls for more than one predator and lots of people and things die in the process."

srsly, what the fuck was up with that? was that predator like the mall cop designated for earth? he sees some aliens shoplifting on the surveillance cam and needs to go heave his fat ass after them all alone?

also, just how far away is the predator planet? cause that dude got there really quickly.

i can go on and on even though i was drunk and probably forgot about most of the horrible shit.

tacked-on military-industrial conspiracy to tie into previous movies and throw the next minimum-wage screenwriter a bone.

bums living in sewers.

hot chick (who apparently allegedly was in high school? aight) with dimwit asshole boyfriend that protagonist whisks away.

returning military chick whose military service is there apparently only to establish some sort of sad/complex relationship with her daughter (that's a lol) and then her service is never once cited even during the course of INTENSE ALIEN COMBAT!!

and so on.

Just watched Toy Story 3 yesterday and really enjoyed it ! Technically the movie was great, and the 3D well used. At the end of the movie I was nearly crying. You know I'm very emotive. Pixar made it, again.

Sunshine - 8/10

Visually superb.

Sunshine was alright until the boogeyman appeared. I had hoped it would have explored the psychological aspect but in the end it was just a cheesy monster movie. Lame.

  On 7/17/2010 at 8:06 PM, azatoth said:

Sunshine was alright until the boogeyman appeared. I had hoped it would have explored the psychological aspect but in the end it was just a cheesy monster movie. Lame.

That was the least of its problems, really.

  On 7/17/2010 at 8:06 PM, azatoth said:

Sunshine was alright until the boogeyman appeared. I had hoped it would have explored the psychological aspect but in the end it was just a cheesy monster movie. Lame.

i didn't even get to the monster bit. The movie did not visually stun me at all. Having awe inspiring dramatic music and heavy bass effects to remind you that it's amazing that they're getting so close to the sun, didn't override the pointless dialogue, slow moving plot and average cinematography. So apparently there's monsters ay, that's swell.

Saw the edward norton incredible hulk. I really did prefer the ang lee/eric bana one. The only time the current hulk was involving was at the beginning, they were setting up some characters, had a nice flyover of the favelas. But then they fucked all that off and all the goodwill thye had built up melted away.

ar welL ...

  On 7/18/2010 at 4:25 AM, delet... said:

Saw the edward norton incredible hulk. I really did prefer the ang lee/eric bana one. The only time the current hulk was involving was at the beginning, they were setting up some characters, had a nice flyover of the favelas. But then they fucked all that off and all the goodwill thye had built up melted away.

 

ar welL ...

hulk movies are so bad. what a shame

  On 7/18/2010 at 4:25 AM, delet... said:

Saw the edward norton incredible hulk. I really did prefer the ang lee/eric bana one. The only time the current hulk was involving was at the beginning, they were setting up some characters, had a nice flyover of the favelas. But then they fucked all that off and all the goodwill thye had built up melted away.

 

ar welL ...

Yep, that about sums it up. There was something really unconvincing about Ed Norton. I think he dialed it in a bit, not that I blame him. $$$

watched wolverine as well, bit of a yawnfest. I suppose i should remind myself that these movies are based on comics that in themselves were not particularly sophisticated. But still why can't i expect more, some tension, some release, actors that share the looks and stature of their character they're portraying.

movies is serious business !!

  On 7/18/2010 at 4:29 AM, The Overlook said:

  On 7/18/2010 at 4:25 AM, delet... said:

Saw the edward norton incredible hulk. I really did prefer the ang lee/eric bana one. The only time the current hulk was involving was at the beginning, they were setting up some characters, had a nice flyover of the favelas. But then they fucked all that off and all the goodwill thye had built up melted away.

 

ar welL ...

Yep, that about sums it up. There was something really unconvincing about Ed Norton. I think he dialed it in a bit, not that I blame him. $$$

yeah but norton was involved in doing dialogue rewrites for the script, so there's an impression that he really felt a part of this film. The problem is of course that he's a plain actor, or something. But then again you can't blame any one part of the unwieldy filmic machine, for the failure of this film.

For example, Liv tyler can't help that she's not hot anymore, but someone thought she would appeal to the fanboy demographic. I suppose that i would have been more forgiving of that (it makes the story more realistic given that norton's no looker himself) had the movie not blown and had i not an aversion to love stories at heart of action films, eating through precious time, that could have been better spent on plot development and you know, blowing shit up. For a simple guy, the hulk can lead to some very deep soul searching concepts. It is not necessary to slot in a love story for the sake of a punchline about not being able to get it up.

--- eneewae

  On 7/15/2010 at 1:48 AM, tec said:

Possession: Tentacle sex + WTF =

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke9J-md6pLg

 

Either 1/5 or 4/5, I still have no idea.

so intense

in retrospect the Ang Lee Hulk was pretty interesting.

there was a lot of innovative action stuff in it like in this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itsAA7huvbY&feature=related

the CGI is a little dated for today's standards but not many movies play with huge distances and heights like this in single shots.I don't remember the movie being particularly good but i at least give it credit for trying something different.

Only the Brave - 2/10 - Shite. I was expecting something like Tae Guk Gi from the perspective of Asian-American soldiers during WW2 and got a tv movie with terrible cinematography.

Mad Men Season 3 - 8/10 - Great season. So much better than season 2. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone that hasn't watched it yet but I'll just say I can't wait for season 4.

  On 7/18/2010 at 7:14 AM, Awepittance said:

in retrospect the Ang Lee Hulk was pretty interesting.

 

there was a lot of innovative action stuff in it like in this video

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itsAA7huvbY&feature=related

 

the CGI is a little dated for today's standards but not many movies play with huge distances and heights like this in single shots.I don't remember the movie being particularly good but i at least give it credit for trying something different.

I don't know that I can say I liked it, overall, but I definitely agree that he took some really interesting risks. The undoing of the whole project was the horrible ending and Nolte as a completely WTF villain.

It was a lot better than the Norton one though.

Ronin - 8/10

  On 7/19/2010 at 1:47 AM, abusivegeorge said:

Ronin - 8/10

it's a good and entertaining movie. i used to watch it the first times i had the hollywood channel. it's one of those movies you catch on tv when you are about to go to bed.

  On 7/19/2010 at 1:55 AM, ruiagnelo said:

  On 7/19/2010 at 1:47 AM, abusivegeorge said:

Ronin - 8/10

 

it's one of those movies you catch on tv when you are about to go to bed.

Lol yes, exactly what happened!

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans - 9/10

Really good I thought... It was nice seeing Cage act a bit Raising Arizona/Wild At Heart again. This is probably one of my favorite dark comedies to be released in the last few years. I cant wait for Herzog's latest.

Cruising - 7/10

I went in watching this having no idea what it was about which I think added a lot to the whole experience. It has some really great scenes and overall, written pretty well with some decent depth.

Dirty Harry - 8/10

Re-watched this after scoring the Dirty Harry Blu Ray set... classic.

Rushmore - 8/10

I saw this one time far too long ago and felt it was time for a revisit. Wes Anderson is a genius and has perfect subtlety in film.

Dead Mans Shoes - 6/10

Mildly entertaining, but overall it was a bit too far-fetched/imponderable for me to connect to on any level.

  On 7/19/2010 at 2:14 AM, goffer said:

 

 

Cruising - 7/10

I went in watching this having no idea what it was about which I think added a lot to the whole experience. It has some really great scenes and overall, written pretty well with some decent depth.

 

watch friedkins commentary if you get the chance. really provided another layer to the film for me.. plus he always does great commentaries

  On 7/19/2010 at 2:14 AM, goffer said:

 

Dirty Harry - 8/10

Re-watched this after scoring the Dirty Harry Blu Ray set... classic.

 

i watched it the other day too. pretty good writing and story.

i love when he is holding his gun and says "you got to ask yourself a question: do i feel lucky? - Well do you punk?" ahah

  On 7/19/2010 at 2:20 AM, Z_B_Z said:

  On 7/19/2010 at 2:14 AM, goffer said:

 

 

Cruising - 7/10

I went in watching this having no idea what it was about which I think added a lot to the whole experience. It has some really great scenes and overall, written pretty well with some decent depth.

 

 

watch friedkins commentary if you get the chance. really provided another layer to the film for me.. plus he always does great commentaries

I'll have to track that down... I think it was one of your posts that sparked my interest into pre/post-exorcist Friedkins.

  On 7/19/2010 at 2:29 AM, ruiagnelo said:

  On 7/19/2010 at 2:14 AM, goffer said:

 

Dirty Harry - 8/10

Re-watched this after scoring the Dirty Harry Blu Ray set... classic.

 

 

i watched it the other day too. pretty good writing and story.

i love when he is holding his gun and says "you got to ask yourself a question: do i feel lucky? - Well do you punk?" ahah

Indeed, it's a classic line, sad shame it been mocked to the point it's almost embarrassing now :(

  On 7/18/2010 at 7:07 PM, takeshi said:

Mad Men Season 3 - 8/10 - Great season. So much better than season 2. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone that hasn't watched it yet but I'll just say I can't wait for season 4.

yes.