DVRd this off of IFC or Sundance (Don't recall which), it sounded wierd and was rated highly and I hadn't heard much about it either.
The movie is basicly a great story about friendship. The character development is fantastic. The actors are good. Overall, it's a great film that avoids most of the cliches.
A friend and I put up corner bead and finished mudding/sanding all the seams and nail holes. Gonna do the second coat on the corners today. Got the screen mounted, it's recessed into the ceiling and frickin GIANT. I'll be mounting the projector soon, but not sure exactly when as I want to complete the sanding first. Then, patio furniture theater time, woohoo! (untill I get caught up with $$$ to pay for better seating)
Kick Ass - 8/10, way funnier than I thought it would be. Parts of it felt like an homage to Tarentino
The Other Guys - 7/10 - Not as funny as Kick Ass but still pretty funny, one of Ferrell's better pieces of work IMHO (not as funny as Old School). Loved Samuel Jackson/The Rock.
I Sell the Dead - 8.9/10
This movie was awesome. I always cringe at the phrase 'horror comedy', but this one got it done right! The movie is essentially the 18th century tale of convicted grave-robber Robert Blake confessing his sins to Father Duffy on the eve of his execution. Blake started as a kid working with Willy Grimes selling dug up corpses to an unscrupulous doctor. A normal line of work (in some ways) - until they come across an undead buried at the crossroads! Their lives radically change, and they meet up with all kinds of characters, including arch-rival grave-robbers The House of Murphy.
This was a great story with great actors. I would have given a 9/10, but the 'twist' was just way too obvious. However, this movie is definitely worth a watch, and I will be purchasing this very soon.
DVRd this off of IFC or Sundance (Don't recall which), it sounded wierd and was rated highly and I hadn't heard much about it either.
The movie is basicly a great story about friendship. The character development is fantastic. The actors are good. Overall, it's a great film that avoids most of the cliches.
A friend and I put up corner bead and finished mudding/sanding all the seams and nail holes. Gonna do the second coat on the corners today. Got the screen mounted, it's recessed into the ceiling and frickin GIANT. I'll be mounting the projector soon, but not sure exactly when as I want to complete the sanding first. Then, patio furniture theater time, woohoo! (untill I get caught up with $$$ to pay for better seating)
Just finished Kick Ass myself. It was much better than I thought it was going to be. I made the same Tarantino comment to wife during one scene too. I give it an 8 as well for beating my expectations.
The Expendables - 7/10: Fun watch. Saw this on opening day and the full theatre was very into it, which definitely helped the experience. It was great to see Sly in a big, ridiculous action movie and there were a tonne of cheesy lines and big explosions. I actually thought a lot of the fight sequences were very annoying, the stupid quick-cuts that seem to plague all action films these days, so I wish he would have gone retro there, but some of the sequences were still pretty cool. Funnily enough I thought Dolph Lundgren was the standout in the film; he was very cool and funny.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - 5/10: Man, pretty disappointing. I was very much into this for the first 20 - 30 minutes or so, but once everything started happening with the evil exes it got kind of boring. I did not like fights very much and there were just too many of them; when things slowed back down to the interactions between all of the characters, it would get me back, but there was just not enough of that after about half way through the film. I did laugh out loud at a bunch of individual lines, but there was just not enough of them for me. Kieran Culkan was pretty awesome; why don't I see him in more stuff? :hmm:
Solitary Man - 6.5/10: Michael Douglas as asshole, formerly successful and powerful car salesman in New York that ends up pretty much alone and trying to pick up the pieces. Douglas is pretty great as this guy that pretty much uses everyone to the point where he has nobody and is struggling to pick up the pieces, however there just seemed to no be enough meat here, if that makes any sense. Even though things were supposed to be dire for Douglas' character, it never really felt that way. I went with a friend and we both enjoyed the film overall (I think we were the only ones in the theatre) it just seemed as if the writing could have been a bit better.
Blood Simple - 8/10: I had actually seen this before, but it was when I was a kid so barely remembered anything, aside from the closing sequence. Liked it a lot, though it's a bit slow in parts, but I really enjoyed many of the long set pieces (
the one where he buries the husband
is awesome). I'm also a big fan of Dan Hedaya and Frances McDormand, so that was a bonus. Still need to see I think 2 more Coen films before I can go through and see where I rank them all, but this is currently probably somewhere right in the middle of the pack.
Donkey Punch - 3/10: Crappy British horror film about some kids that go out to sea off the coast of Spain; drug consumption and sexual hi-jinks ensue, followed by death and mayhem! Sounds like a winning formula, but it's not.
2012 - 7/10: Well colour me surprised, I actually liked this way more than I expected. My expectations were below ground level, so that may have helped, but the set pieces were pretty damn impressive and there were enough decent actors in here, even though the material was pretty suspect, that it made everything ok. It was not good, but I was not bored at any point and I was interested to see how everything worked out. As I looked at the 2.5 hour runtime I was very hesitant to even watch the thing, but had a couple of beers watching it and the time went by without me really noticing. I really wanted to hate this, but I can't lie, I kind of had fun with it.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - 5/10: Man, pretty disappointing. I was very much into this for the first 20 - 30 minutes or so, but once everything started happening with the evil exes it got kind of boring. I did not like fights very much and there were just too many of them; when things slowed back down to the interactions between all of the characters, it would get me back, but there was just not enough of that after about half way through the film. I did laugh out loud at a bunch of individual lines, but there was just not enough of them for me. Kieran Culkan was pretty awesome; why don't I see him in more stuff? :hmm:
Albeit, I saw it at midnight and was fairly tired throughout the movie (really should sleep more on weekdays )... I had a hard time actually caring about the characters. I thought the movie had a lot of amusing points in it... the (short) Bollywood-esque dance scene with Matthew Pattel (ex #1) was another one of those silly scenes. One thing I found kind of interesting when I read Volume 1 of the comic... they left a line out during the confrontation between Scott and Matt. In the comic, the one person says that Scott is the best fighter in the province. During the movie, I don't recall this ever being mentioned, so you kind of wonder why the heck this aloof slacker can fight like he belongs in Street Fighter .
I'm curious to see how well the script matches the 6 volumes. I think I heard that the movie's script was written when the whole series wasn't complete, so I assume it will be slightly different near the end.
What didn't you like about the fights though? I thought one interesting thing is how they all took a different overall approach and weren't just your usual action fight scenes. The way he beat Brandon Routh's character was kind of amusing and I was even sort of surprised to see Jane (from the original remake of The Punisher and HBO's Hung) appear as well as the guy from Short Circuit. I could probably agree that the Katanagi twins fight was a little dull .
Not bad, stays more-or-less true to the original but doesn't meet the same standard. Entertaining for what it is, but not something I'd feel the urge to watch again.
Albeit, I saw it at midnight and was fairly tired throughout the movie (really should sleep more on weekdays )... I had a hard time actually caring about the characters. I thought the movie had a lot of amusing points in it... the (short) Bollywood-esque dance scene with Matthew Pattel (ex #1) was another one of those silly scenes. One thing I found kind of interesting when I read Volume 1 of the comic... they left a line out during the confrontation between Scott and Matt. In the comic, the one person says that Scott is the best fighter in the province. During the movie, I don't recall this ever being mentioned, so you kind of wonder why the heck this aloof slacker can fight like he belongs in Street Fighter .
I'm curious to see how well the script matches the 6 volumes. I think I heard that the movie's script was written when the whole series wasn't complete, so I assume it will be slightly different near the end.
What didn't you like about the fights though? I thought one interesting thing is how they all took a different overall approach and weren't just your usual action fight scenes. The way he beat Brandon Routh's character was kind of amusing and I was even sort of surprised to see Jane (from the original remake of The Punisher and HBO's Hung) appear as well as the guy from Short Circuit. I could probably agree that the Katanagi twins fight was a little dull .
It was completely unexplained how Scott was such a good fighter; in fact, in the first battle I fully expected him to get is ass kicked, so when that did not happen, I was a tad surprised. Not a huge issue in a movie like this though, when you have to suspend your disbelief so much already.
My issue with the fights is they brought the film to a screeching halt. It was not the fights themselves per se, it was how they were brought into the film; every time I saw one of the new exes coming in, I knew everything was going to stop and the reasoning for these fights was not really explained until the end, so it kind of made no sense to me.
Also your first point is very valid as I was not hugely invested the characters, which would have been fine if the rest of the film kept me interested enough not to care, but it did not.
I did not hate the film at all, but I was kind of bored by it after the first 20 or 30 minutes had passed.
Thirst (Bakjwi) - 9.5/10: Now this is a vampire movie! Korean film done by Chan-wook Park, the director behind Oldboy/The Vengeance trilogy, and he is just masterful here. Not only is this a great a vampire flick, it has a tonne of depth in the story, plus the relationships between the main character and the individuals in his life are very well developed, with some great twists and turns along the way. The woman that plays Tae-ju is absolutely amazing in this (plus she's gorgeous; hot damn!) and she really ends up stealing the show from the main guy, who was still very good (I remembered him from The Host). Some of the scenes Park shot here were just stunning; great, great stuff. I'm going to have to try and track down this Blu-ray.
It was completely unexplained how Scott was such a good fighter; in fact, in the first battle I fully expected him to get is ass kicked, so when that did not happen, I was a tad surprised. Not a huge issue in a movie like this though, when you have to suspend your disbelief so much already.
Hah... I know what you mean, I was sort of expecting the same thing. Although, maybe the ninja video game stuff was meant to show you that he has some sort of agile-ness about him. But hell, I wouldn't bet on the expert DDR player in a MMA fight!
My issue with the fights is they brought the film to a screeching halt. It was not the fights themselves per se, it was how they were brought into the film; every time I saw one of the new exes coming in, I knew everything was going to stop and the reasoning for these fights was not really explained until the end, so it kind of made no sense to me.
Well, the fights sort of reminded me of those sort of Japanese movie... kinda like this:
You have a ninja running through the woods with some purpose (insert generic Japanese ninja plot here). He ducks quickly as a kunai flies over his head and lands in the tree beside him. A quick turn of his head reveals... a rival ninja! They must fight! Only one may leave!
If you take that mentality to it, then that seems to work. :hmm: Although, I'm not really sure that the fights were meant to be hard to understand... I mean, I just gathered that the one guy they kept mentioning (and showed in the trailers) was the one behind everything.
Also your first point is very valid as I was not hugely invested the characters, which would have been fine if the rest of the film kept me interested enough not to care, but it did not.
Yeah... given a film full of a lot of unknowns (or people that can't necessarily carry a film based on name alone), you really need to like the characters. When you look at The Expendables, the movie did truly have a terrible story... mostly because it also did not engage you in the characters. Of course, it kind of tried to with a few scenes, but it did a pretty bad job at it. Fortunately, we know Stalone... we know Statham... we know Li, we already like them from a lot of other roles and can take those roles and superimpose them onto their new characters.
Heck, the story behind The Expendables was pretty much just a clone from the latest Rambo. Reluctant guy (or in this case, guys) goes back to save girl (or in Rambo, a team technically) from an evil group bent on using the area for their own nefarious deeds. Although, I think Julie Benz was more of a looker :sneaky:.
After hearing so much decent things about it but refusing to watch it until now since it really looked stupid when the previews came around I finally watched it and wish I didn't.
It seemed more like half of a random teeny movie with random violence thrown in and half of one of those crappy parody movies they make every now and then.
I was ready to quit watching it 30 minutes in and wish I had as it was a waste of time for a movie.
Scott Pilgrim 9/10. I'll probably get a lot of flak for that (lol Michael Cera), but I loved this movie. My only complaint is that it sort of winds down before the end, but I love the effects. The whole movie is so stylized.
The Kids Are All Right - 7/10 - Good performances in this one, but I felt like it started to drag by the end. I always enjoy watching Mark Ruffalo, even if he suffers from a Clooneyesque tendency to play the same guy in every film. Likewise, I always hate Annette Bening and this movie is no exception, although her character here was supposed to be a bit hateable.
Hah... I know what you mean, I was sort of expecting the same thing. Although, maybe the ninja video game stuff was meant to show you that he has some sort of agile-ness about him. But hell, I wouldn't bet on the expert DDR player in a MMA fight!
Well, the fights sort of reminded me of those sort of Japanese movie... kinda like this:
You have a ninja running through the woods with some purpose (insert generic Japanese ninja plot here). He ducks quickly as a kunai flies over his head and lands in the tree beside him. A quick turn of his head reveals... a rival ninja! They must fight! Only one may leave!
If you take that mentality to it, then that seems to work. :hmm: Although, I'm not really sure that the fights were meant to be hard to understand... I mean, I just gathered that the one guy they kept mentioning (and showed in the trailers) was the one behind everything.
Yeah, I guess that kind of works. It's not that I found them hard to understand, it just sort of stopped the entire flow of the movie. The only one I thought was ok was the Chris Evans battle, which was amusing. If I want to watch a film with those types of fights, I'll pop in Zatoichi, which know how to bring in a fight scene without killing the movie's momentum at the same time.
Yeah... given a film full of a lot of unknowns (or people that can't necessarily carry a film based on name alone), you really need to like the characters. When you look at The Expendables, the movie did truly have a terrible story... mostly because it also did not engage you in the characters. Of course, it kind of tried to with a few scenes, but it did a pretty bad job at it. Fortunately, we know Stalone... we know Statham... we know Li, we already like them from a lot of other roles and can take those roles and superimpose them onto their new characters.
Heck, the story behind The Expendables was pretty much just a clone from the latest Rambo. Reluctant guy (or in this case, guys) goes back to save girl (or in Rambo, a team technically) from an evil group bent on using the area for their own nefarious deeds. Although, I think Julie Benz was more of a looker :sneaky:.
You are right, The Expendables would have been a direct to DVD action film if not for the cast, but it was still fun. I thought Statham did well and Rourke was awesome in his few scenes; I wasn't expecting a character piece, I was just expecting a testosterone filled explosion fest and that's exactly what I got! :awe:
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