Movies

[Mad78]

Uhhh!!! Now Romero movie. Will have to check it out. Even if it isn't very good it should fill in for my goriness needs.

[Eagle]

  Sinister said:

That is unfortunate. I expected more from Romero.

That is so true. I believe hes just getting too old for that kind of stuff. Also the companies dont care anymore if the scripts are well written. Its enough for them to print the name George Romero on the DVD-Sleeve.

 

Edit:

Tofu, because youre mention of "Donnie Darko" I have to listen to Tears for Fears and songs like "Shout" and "Everybody wants to rule the world" now all the time! Darn!

[DarthTofu]

Bwahaha! My sinister plot is working!

 

I'm looking forward to the movie version of World War Z. I mentioned that book in the "Books" thread, having tried it after SOCL's recommendation; best... book... ever. Well, maybe not the best, but it's certainly my favorite mocumentary/horror book! Max Brooks is planning to help with the film, and I think they'll be hard pressed to screw it up.

[Sinister]

Huh, what? Someone say my name???

 

I saw World War Z in the bookstore the other day, and I was thinking of getting it. That's good the author is working with the film makers. You just can't have much faith in Hollywood these days. Look at what they did to Resident Evil.

[Mad78]

The other day i got to see "Full Metal Jacket". Very good movie but it was bloody dark. Its is very interessting how the movie shows the destructions the soldiers' personnalities. They are wipped clean and replaced with new mentalities.

As usual for any Kubrick movie the ending is raher cryptic. I highly recommend it.

[Sinister]

Full Metal Jacket, along with Apocalypse Now and Platoon are my favorite war movies. All three are set in the Vietnam war era do a great job of showing how hellish war is.

 

And while on the subject of Vietnam War movies, I have to give a nod to Jacob's Ladder. While it's not a "war movie", it deals with a soldier who was in Vietnam, who is now (for lack of a better word) haunted. It's one of the few horror movies that are actually good, rather than a cheap gore-fest.

[Guest Scathane]

Ah! Jacob's Ladder... A very interesting movie, if I may say so... Rather keeps you on the edge of your seat, doesn't it? Of course, we can't say much about it, can we? That would ruin the experience for those who haven't seen it...

 

I happen to be watching a rerun of Elektra as we speak. I must say I still think it's one of the better comic movie adaptations out there... While watching, I checked the web for additional info and naturally came upon Frank Miller... It so turns out that I happen to like a lot of his work... And - imho - a lot of his movie adaptations are rather good...

 

 

P.S. - Have any of you guys checked this?

[DarthTofu]

  Sinister said:

I saw World War Z in the bookstore the other day, and I was thinking of getting it. That's good the author is working with the film makers. You just can't have much faith in Hollywood these days. Look at what they did to Resident Evil.

 

What'd they do to Resident Evil? I heard from some horror-happy friends of mine that the movies were pretty good. I never watched 'em.

[Eagle]

I guess I dont surprise anyone here when I say that Im not a fan of those Resident Evil-flics. But I also have to admit that after seeing the classic Zombie movies "Dawn of the Dead" (the original) and Lucio Fulcis "Zombie" other movies with the same topic have it hard to top that. Even Romero failed by himself to capture the feeling of his first two Zombie-movies again.

[Sinister]

If we are talking about the first two Resident Evil movies, they weren't that bad as far as being movies. However, they lacked the feel of the games. Play the Resident Evil remake for the Gamecube, or Resident Evil 2 or 3, and you will see what I mean. The atmosphere is different. The games are more horror, while the movies are action with some horror added into it.

 

The third movie was like the first two, but it was lackluster. It's the kind of movie you watch once, return to the video store, and never watch again.

 

The main character of all the movies is a woman named Alice, played by Milla Jovovich. Personally, I don't see the point of her being in the movies. She appears in none of the games. However, the main characters from some of the games make appearances in the movie, but they're supporting characters. It would be like making a Legend of Zelda movie, and making Link a supporting cast member to some newcomer that no one has ever heard before. This might be fine for someone who doesn't play the game, but for those of us who do we're like: "WTF chuck?"

[Eagle]

I saw the first two parts of that series and tried to play the PC version of the very first part of Resident Evil, but it was impossible. It has been so badly ported. You were unable to control the character in the game the right way. You always became the victim of these slow moving Zombies.

 

They always try to bring up an explanation why there are zombies in that movie. Either its a pleague, some form of radiation or some kind of chemicals which make them return from dead. I dont need that. Just let them slurp and hunt human flesh. Thats all what is needed.

[DarthTofu]

Oh, totally. Zombies can only be logically explained by something illogical- an act of some supernatural being. Really, I don't think there's anything on Earth (or beyond it, for that matter) that could bring about a Zombie. It's sort of like a Death Star: Really cool, and with an awesome effect, but ultimately and it's entirely unfeasible.

 

I just got back from Wall-E a little while ago. It was a pretty good movie all things considered, if you're willing to tone it down a little bit to a kid's movie. Throw-ins were nice, such as a computer called "Auto" that was a very clear parody of Hal, from 2001: A Space Oddysey, and what looks like a much younger Captain Smith, who captained the Titanic (I may be wrong about the name) as the first captain of an intergalactic vessel.

 

It's a bit campy, so you can't go in there expecting anything beyond the level of Finding Nemo, but it's done well. I don't think anyone on the forum would watch it and not enjoy it.

[Sinister]

That was one thing I liked about Romero's zombie films, that the cause of the rise of the zombies was a mystery.

[Mad78]

Last night i got to see Wall-E. I loved it! I just found it was a beautiful little movie and it is clear that the guys at Pixar are still the best when it comes to computer animation. I also believe they have succeeded in creating one of the most loveable characters up to date.

[Darth_Rob]

We went to see Step Brothers last night. It was pretty hilarious. Will Ferrill totally redeemed himself from Semi-Pro, which was a horrible movie. I laughed the entire movie. You should all check it out.

[Mad78]

I got to see The Mist a few days ago. It was okay. Definitely not a masterpiece but its worth seeing if you need a decent scifi/horror flick. The ending is pretty good.

[DarthTofu]

Two movies to review: The first, which I liked less, is Tropic Thunder. Now, don't get me wrong- I thought it was a good movie. Two and a half stars was too little, but I'd not go above three and a half stars in ratings. It's certainly funny, and it does a great job making fun of dumb action movies. It actually is the perfect formula to have horrifically stupid action sequences that are still, somehow, amazingly awesome. When the humor works in Tropic Thunder, it works very well.

 

Toward the end of the film I was splitting my sides laughing at some of the lines, particularly Robert Downey Jr.'s. I didn't think that his performance stood out that much above the other actors's, he just had better lines. Surprisingly, a no-name actor portraying the fourth actor on the Tropic Thunder team (IE the movie that the movie is supposedly making) pulled the best performance. He came across very much as the sort of no-name actor who was just in the movie to try to get some girls and some sex.

 

Now, as I said, when the humor worked it was ace, and it worked most of the time... but about an eighth of it came off not-so-good. The "special guest actor" (Tom Cruise) was almost never funny, and his chief recurring joke just plain wasn't good. Didn't make me laugh, and it was overused. I giggled a bit when it started, but it went on for far too long. Cruise was either A) misused, or just B) didn't perform well. I'm not sure which.

 

I give it three stars, personally. I can see people raising it to three and a half, but i don't agree with that. Certainly not four, and it really shouldn't be the number one movie right now. Maybe it's the best of what's out there, but it isn't A-level material. that being said, if you want a good, quick, cheap, slightly offensive laugh, go see that movie.

 

The second movie, Smart People, is one of my new favorites. Instant classic- though maybe that's because of my upbringing. The movie centers on an older, middle-aged professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He's a professor of English, and a first-class prick. His students hate him, the faculty hates him, only his daughter really likes him. His son is estranged, despite the fact that he attends Carnegie Mellon, where his father teachers.

 

The professor, being his usual prick self, shoves his estranged adopted brother away, declaring the guy an idiot (he's a "failure" who goes around putting up posters, working low-end jobs, etc.), and promptly needs his help. The prof tries to get his car out of an impound lot, and he gives himself a concussion trying to climb the fence. He meets a "hot" (not) doctor (Sarah Jessica horse-woman Parker), and she was a former student of his. She had a schoolgirl crush on him, and they try to hit it off and.... well, a lot of stuff happens. You have to watch it.

 

The entire cast performs splendidly, and I really got the feel for folks who are very, very bright, and don't fit in as a result of it. The characters are over-the-top enough that it's not going to be like looking in a mirror for anyone, but you can still relate. They're brilliant on one level, and moronic on another. At a certain point, you find yourself wondering just who the "smart people" in the title are.

 

I award the film four and a half stars out of five. Only four and a half because (semi-spoiler alert. Do not read on if you plan to see the movie), good as the "meat" of the movie was, the ending left a lot to be desired. It was open-ended, and I'm fine with that... but it just didn't have a good feel to it. There was the feeling that the professor was getting to be a better person, growing as a man, but there was no closure to any of the other characters, and that pissed me off.

[Eagle]

Watched "The Court Jester" with Danny Kaye yesterday. Still an awesome comedy.

 

Just watch this single scene which has much more gags in it than some movies today in their whole playtime:

http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=LS75NtlH3gI

[DarthTex]

  Eagle said:

Watched "The Court Jester" with Danny Kaye yesterday. Still an awesome comedy.

 

Just watch this single scene which has much more gags in it than some movies today in their whole playtime:

http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=LS75NtlH3gI

Just goes to show you the great acting of yesteryear, before overhyped plotless drab of today, especially without the CGI effects to pull in the crowds. I have that on DVD ... I think

[Eagle]

Ha ha, somehow I knew that you would belong to those people around here who actually ever saw that movie.

[Mad78]

I haven't seen it but after seeing that clip i guess i should.

[Eagle]

Michael Moore will release his next movie on the internet for free!

http://news.yahoo.com/story//afp/20080905/ennew_afp/entertainmentusfilmmooreinternet_080905174259

 

[Darth_Rob]

Im not a fan of Michael Moore. I think he is an annoying piece of crud who really should stop making movies.

[Eagle]

I know. Reps dont like him.

[DarthTex]

Most of the "liberal" active Hollywood actors who spout there political opinions are only high school grads or college drop outs. Michael Moore graduated from high school and dropped out of college his freshman year. So people would rather listen to his "informed" opinion than the gov't officials who have college degress and advanced degrees, and get actual updated info everyday? Good gracious if they do, then this country really is in trouble.