hagren

What was the message you did not like, hagren?

"Death shouldn't worry anyone because one's decayed body will make an exquisite soil for various plants and trees" :P

 

That isn't the message.

Well, the other one I got is "Immortality is vain"

What did you deduce?

Since, as far as I understood, it's all about the sacrifice of our lives, and the lives before us, the parallel significance and insignificance of our existence.

What was the message you did not like, hagren?

"Death shouldn't worry anyone because one's decayed body will make an exquisite soil for various plants and trees" :P

The fountain

A visually stunning, peaceful, yet provocative, weird and disturbing film. I didn't quite get how bald Jackman came into play (Was he pat of Izzie's book, too?) and the constant jumps confused me, but it was interesting to experience. Don't like the message at all, though.

I disagree. One of the many problems with "that film" was that it tried to spoonfeed the viewer a bizarre and confusing mish-mash of cosmologies that had been cobbled together by one too many, script-writers/producers/stars/grips/assistants/coffee boys.

 

I loved No Country For Old Men.

Well, I didn't get that impression, and I've seen it like 4 times :P And I found that mish-mash ideologically interesting. But hey, I know that I'm in the minority here concerning "that" film.

Yeah, Ncfom is awsome.

and similarly to Constantine, I dug that there wasn't much explanation at all (Except the WTF? ending).

 

But there's literally tonnes of exposition/explanation in Constantine. It's frigging awash with nonsense about half breeds and how the title character gets his super-powers.

Perhaps there was more than in Ncfom, but they didn't spoonfeed the audience every tiny detail like many movies do nowadays. Rather tell me what you thought about the flick I currently "reviewed" :P

No country for old men

A beautifully visceral film, in every sense of the word.

When I first heard about it, I thought "Oh, another one of these overhyped, boring art-movies" and thus didn't watch it right away, but this is the first time in a long while that I don't regret forking out some cash for a DVD.

Even though there wasn't much going on, and the messages weren't all that special, the calm pacing, brilliant writing and magnificent acting made it a unique experience that was matched by the vivid and sharp cinematography (The picture quality, too, was breathtaking).

The texas accents sounded authentic and loveable, and similarly to Constantine, I dug that there wasn't much explanation at all (Except the WTF? ending). I was heart-struck as well that the protagonist was murdered, cancelling a true showdown- tragic, infuriating, but rather innovative outcome.

Great as well: Less and less graphic violence as the time progressed. It takes skill to keep the thrills high this way.

Verdict: Intriguingly sober film. Watch it naoh!

The Apocalypse is upon us, for Hagren speaks The Truth!

I'm not sure which "Hagren" you are referring to, since everyone knows I always speak the truth! :P

Well, I've seen the second half of it yesterday, and I can't recall being this disillusioned by a film for a long time. Why did it turn from a muddled, yet intriguing alternate dimension character study into a sub-par, bland and unintelligent crime thriller? It was also riddled with clichés and mindnumbingly boring. The only redeeming factor was Rorschach hacking and slashing through inmates. Amidst all this simplicity however, there were numerous plot/character points I did not quite get, yet in retrospect don't give a flying dookie about. Why there's love for this flick I can't comprehend. Even V was a better movie, some lame acting and the horrendously botched ending aside.

5/10

Watched the first 72 minutes of the film. What is going to follow is the opinion of someone who has not yet read the book, specifically for the reason to share a view uninfluenced by the source material.

What I've seen does not suck, yet hasn't impressed me on a whole.

My favourite scene so far was the whole Dr. Manhattan segment- Great music, an intriguingly passive character, and well organized scenes. I also found a liking in Rorschach even though his voice gives me throat cancer by just listening to him :P However, so far there's no feeling of connection to either of the characters- it's too bleak and emotionally detatched for its own good, yet by gazillion times deeper than 300. Silk Spectre II and Ozymandias have been the most unconvincing and shallow characters thus far (A spoiled playboy and a nobody) , and I'm not sure that I accept the Comedians way of thinking- Which brings me to the only reason why I'm going to continue watching the film as soon as I find the time- Since what on earth made this animal of a human being weep like an old, lost man? Which does speak volumes about the plot- There's too much time wasted on presenting brief character bios instead of actual drive. I'm also often confused in which time the film plays, as I see no clear (or clichéd) representation of any. Audiovisually, it has been a mixed bag. There were some aesthetic shots, but on a whole, it lacks a distinct style or direction, and the music only works when it's in melancholy mode (Then excellently though). Last note: OTT violence FTL.

So yeah, that's the gist of it. More to come later.

You see, I did not know that. And that is why I come here and endure the long lines and lack of funding: because the folks here know their shit, they sure do! Though it still sucked, at least we know they made it suck due to their lack of creativity rather than having a set story and saying "fuck it, I can do better!" Like those perverted ruinous idiots who wrote the [over-used word]standzine script...

Oy oy, don't even mention those two titles in one sentence! :P

Btw, to anyone who's seen Coraline, is it livelier and funnier than the trailer suggests?

Weak. Like waching some low-budget, amateur schoolplay. Of course, they're only brief glimpses.

Yeah, Coraline seems to be right up my alley.

The Shining

Probably the first film I've seen from Kubrick (I may have seen Lolita if my memory serves me right).

I was impressed with the clean, colourful and contemporarily aesthetic cinematography and gripping music, and it was also surprisingly well paced- 2 hours went by like *that*, which is quite amazing for a film that plays in a singular location, plus the acting was solid, too, aside from the rather dull child.

On the flip side, it wasn't nearly as haunting as the book (Perhaps a side-effect of all the parodies, but one cannot deny how outright hilarious the bathroom scene was), missing quite much characterisation and backstory which could have made the plot clearer for viewers who haven't consulted the book (I read the book more than 6 years ago, and I forget fast).

Jack Nicholson basically played himself, and his wife could have been more cockier- Though I admittedly liked this "Submissive housewife" angle of conflict.

All in all, I'm satisfied having seen the film, but for its lack of story (Isolation or not) I'm rather going to hunt down the book than re-watching this in the foreseeable future. Or not because I'd shit my pants.

Because I linked to GameTrailers? :D

That's where I found it first and I was too lazy to change the link. I'm more of a cineast than a gamer though, I barely play anymore, my love for CnC aside.

Especially this:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermov...aylist=featured

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Probably the worst Indy from an entertainment standpoint, which is owing to unnecessarily prolonged sequences (Primarily the lorry chase and the Temple sequence itself), but also to a lack of immersive tale, lackluster ending and a myriad of redundant or dull characters, prominently Shorty and the underwritten villain. The story itself wasn't awful and fitted the character quite well, but as with all Indy films, Spielberg and Lucas seem to think that they have to reach the two-hour mark no matter how inconsistent the editing or pace may be. The score was as great as ever, as did the main theme annoy me for the lack of subtetly, and it is certain that Indiana Jones is the greatest adventurer of all time, still. I was surprised however that Willie was a somehow symphatetic character in her own way, and drop-dead gorgeous as well. The humour eased the experience somewhat, but was used a bit sparingly. Great intro on a side note, especially the boat ride. As always, lastly, highly aesthetic cinematography.

In the end, it can't touch the sheer entertaining value of Crusade, but at least there was no CGI to to sniff at.

Raiders of the lost ark and The last crusade

Both were visually arresting pieces of cinema with -overall- great scores, a memorable protagonist, superb atmosphere and, imho, partially pretty severe pacing issues. I also felt that William's musical arrangements were a tad overly prominent at times, especially the main theme.

Raiders had the imho, better intro (Hairy spiders and pits rule) but the less significant (if not borderline non-existent) plot. Marian acted lousily and antagonists weren't used to great effect. However, it did feel like an adventure and the opening of the ark-scene is one of the most brilliant and frightening sequences of human history.

The last crusade is, in my opinion, the far more enjoyable movie, cheesy and redundant intro aside, much due to great chemistry between Ford and Connery, frequent use of light-hearted humour and a bit thicker, not to mention more emotionally-involved plot. Lovely.

On a side note, Nazis as villains rule the universe.

Now I just have to track down a copy of "The temple of doom" that comes with a cardboard sleeve like these two did.

Kingdom of the crystal skull

I feel quite similarly about it as Terminator 3, even if it proved to be the more gratifying movie.

In fact, redundant, scenery-setting scenes aside, I felt that for first hour it was highly entertaining and made me joyful seeing Indy again- Until that blasted, goddamn son-of-a-gun jungle chase scene, which displayed horrendous, nauseating CGI work and revealed how unimaginative the whole plot was under the crystaline surface.

I mean, for crying out loud: Greys? Seriously!?

Who came up with this shit (Note: Rethoric question, I know Lucas is responsible for this assfuckery)?

And IF they're using such an obsolete, overused plot device, why not deepen it? "They helped the Mayans, which subsequently worshipped them by elongating their skulls--"- That's all? That's the best they came up with after 19 long years?

The film had every ingredient- gold, mummies, tombs, tribes, pyramids, traps, mystically powered artefacts et cetera and then they fudge it up with this shit.

They even had Soviet spies! !! Like with Nazis, it's a crime in my book to frick up material that features them, a sacrilege, an outrage!

Not to mention how thin all the characters were, even while Mutt at least had a hint of demeanour.

Let alone all the illogicalities ("We justifiedly broke up when we last met...time to get married!) and unexplored story branches (FBI)...

Thus, ultimately, it was nice to see Henry Jones II back in action again, but the end result it nothing short of a disappointment. Tomorrow I'm going to purchase "The last crusade" to wash the Alien-CGI-filth off me.

Urgh.

I've also re-watched Jurassic Park that I got on VHS when I was a kid (Good times).

I liked it more than the last viewing, since while it's predictable and stupendous, it features incredible effects, even for today's standards, and naturally, mindless, entertaining mayhem. The characters were flatout despicable though, with the exception of Goldblum and Neill.

Alien vs. Predator

I actually enjoyed this much more than people give it credit for- myself included.

The story may be a bit over the top and violence greatly tamed down from the classic Predator/Alien movies, but the battle scenes between the combatants, few as they were, were ridiculously entertaining, in a mindless, yet rad way. I also was quite satisfied with the body count. And a Predator throwing shurikens? Awsometastic! The set design was amazing as well as the little background on the Predators, even though it was inarguably clichéd and bland. I'm not sure how true it is to the AvP lore either, especially a Predator joining forces with a human. Bad aspects were the awful CGI renders, fast cuts, terrible Pred masks and bullet-time effects, you know, all the modern nonsense. For that matter, why did the guide insist to talk to the Pred? As if he'd understand our primitive language! Pfft... Not to mention all the plot inconsistencies. And we really didn't need another Alien mother showdown.

Still, I had a pleasant time.

Btw, is AvP2 any good? I heard it's more violent but also sleazy.

Planet of the Apes (1968 version)

Whilst an ultimately much better film than the first minutes and my prejudice made me believe, I don't rate it as an obligatory classic, owing to a rather thin plot, mild hypocrisy, strong suspension of disbelief due to the short period from human downfall to the apes arisal, and the "surprise ending" that the freaking cover spoiled (Not that I could not have filled the blanks in meself, but still *Grmpf!*).

Amusing that this- today massively obsolete- make-up was groundbreaking back then, for that matter.

That having said, it was quite nicely shot and written, and even the acting was somewhat effective, aside from the poor lipsynching. But most importantly, the film sparks food of thought for numerous topics such as religion, evolution, history and animal treatment.

Thus, it turned out to be a very solid movie in the end, rendering myself glad having rented it.

I also tried the re-make but it was so campy it made me cringe- Amazing make-up work, though.

Going to watch Apocalypto when my sister comes back Jan. 23 :)

Hagren, don't bother with the director's cut of Aliens. It's one of those rare examples where the directors version is poorer than the original theatrical release. It has poorer pacing and less suspense. (Not by much, mind you, but still!)

Yeah, I read up on the internet which scenes they cut and I'm glad that they did :D

 

You know, this is probably why you don't enjoy some films as much as you could.

Why spoil it by reading that sort of info about it ?

Because I was curious? Believe me, if I want to watch a film I avoid spoilers like the plague. But in this case, it's not like I haven't seen the main film ;)

Besides, I was only reading up the extras, and it just so happened that they briefly described the scenes as part of the bonus description.

Lastly, I do enjoy a plethora of films. I think I sufficiently explained why the Predator movies weren't part of those, and in that regard I was disappointed exactly for the reason that I expected something entirely different.

Seems I am going to join you :D

Hagren, don't bother with the director's cut of Aliens. It's one of those rare examples where the directors version is poorer than the original theatrical release. It has poorer pacing and less suspense. (Not by much, mind you, but still!)

Yeah, I read up on the internet which scenes they cut and I'm glad that they did :D

Believe me, if I like a film, then it's good :P

And Aliens was, definitely-a down-to-earth and not-overly-futuristic sci-fi-film (My favourites!).

It had everything I expected, and then some. Even though there were sufficient action shots, it's the thrill factor I'd like to highlight, because it came unsuspected: I nervously and shockedly scanned the monitor for Xenomorphs everytime any of the crew members were in danger, in all seriousness! Quite an achievment considering that some of them I didn't even symphatize with- Yet I mourned every of their deaths, even of those who only appeared to be deceased.

A similarly great achievment is that there was a kid involved- without my being disgruntled about it- In fact it may have been the sweetest kid in a movie I've seen; a beautiful, innocent, yet smart kid it was, that newt- That brings me to the acting, which was top-notch across the board, with almost no bumps whatsoever.

I'd also like to honour the effects and music, with the latter being properly repulsive and living, and the latter quite diverse, yet always appropriate and never failing to aid the picture.

It goes without saying that Ripley was a magnificent protagonist, as were Bishop and Biehn, whilst the antagonists turned out to be a pleasant surprise- Since the mother alien could be reasoned with, Burke however indeed transpired to be the true asshole of the movie. Why she'd kill her babies, I'll never know.

There were many times where I would have gladly had some company to chat about what's going on on-screen, for instance when Ripley called her cat "shithead"I almost fell off the chair :D

Finally, I'd like to point out that the game (AVP2) recreated this film meticulously, from the motion detectors through the APCs to the hacking- what I dug about the game I adore in this film, as the influences it had on other movies (Starship Troopers, Matrix etc.) and games (Quake, CnC a.s.f.) I learned to love.

I don't really know what else to say, except that it would be hard for me to find any substantial flaw in this film...and that I'd like to keep my guts where they belong, thank you very much.

Aliens is hereby added to the list of deserved classics, next to T2 and Robocop. And somehow I feel the sudden urge to throw T3's SE DVD out of the window and get out to purchase the Aliens SE-DVD.