Movies

[boomer]

Leap Year.



Kind of cute and funny, but I'm sick of the 'main girl character being kind of clumsy and a jinx and stressing out the main guy character before they fall in love' bit they always have going. Oh well, at least Matthew Goode was total eye candy.

[neshcom]

Iron Man 2. Nearly 'nuff said. First off, it's decided; Robert Downy Jr. is my new husbando (for those keeping score, Shinichi Osawa is still my waifu). That scene where he makes the new element? Holy hell. What else? Gweneth Paltrow is still great. I really enjoy her. I was a bit surprised at how SHIELD out of nowhere became this big, pronounced superhero organization. I really don't what else to touch on. The effects were fantastic and the action scenes, while being a little fast, were pretty cool. If you've yet to see it, keep watching after the credits.

[Ap2000]

http://www.joblo.com/jackie-brown-prequel-...is-not-involved



I'm not sure what to think of this.

While I absolutely love Jackie Brown, and not only because of the best sex scene in a movie ever, it's kinda weird since all the actors clearly aged ~20 years but it's a PREQUEL.

[Melon]

The Proposal - Betty White is brilliant. Reynolds is great at smartass comments, as always. Too bad there was not enough of either to save this boring film. One half stars.



An American Tale - I love this movie so so much. Three half stars.



Blazing Saddles - Hilarious! So many great lines from some great actors! One of Brooks' best. Four stars.

[al kusanagi]

Prince of Persia didn't suck. It managed to be a decent summer popcorn flick with some decent action. Plus, that princess was sassy.



If anything, seeing that they managed to pull it off fairly well gives me some hope for the eventual Assassin's Creed movie.

[Ap2000]

Mystic River



Good movie, but Jimmy's wife is a completely psychotic whore. (seems like that actress always gets those kinda roles)

[Ap2000]

It's an anime, but a big one !



Just watched Rebuild Of Evangelion 2.22 - You can (not) advance.

I'm a huge NGE fan, but this was disappointing. Not a disaster, but not the high story quality of the original show and the first Rebuild movie.

I even wrote a review on anidb if anybody is interested

http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=...&attid=7418

[Geof]

The difference between right and wrong:





Right:











Wrong:

[Melon]

[quote name='Geof' post='80543' date='Jun 3 2010, 10:38 PM']The difference between right and wrong:





Right:



Captain A looking smexy







Wrong:



Thor looking like a Comic Con reject[/quote]



QFT.

[eri]

Rewatched Labyrinth. Watching it this time around in my late 20s....I found Goblin King David Bowie so hot. What is wrong with me??

[neshcom]

I just finished watching The Lost Coast on Hulu and I could not image a greater waste of 70 minutes short of actually destroying something I own. Here's the breakdown:



(Brokeback Mountain x shame + douchnozzle + faghag)^snails pace



Absolute shite.

[eri]

The Karate Kid



I did not quite remember the original Karate Kid, which helped. We came home and rewatched parts of the original online and it is IDENTICAL. Jesus. But you know, I think Jaden Smith was a better puny, bullied, sad lead than Ralph Maccio was. My favorite character was the mother, who had good comic timing and made a good kind of dramatic balancing wall for the main character. Jayden Smith was surprisingly convincing when doing kung fu but his adversaries were bad ass amazing. Surprisingly unconvincing was Jackie Chan, who only had 1 (great) fight scene but spent the rest of the movie moping around in a pseudo alcoholic blur. Although his backstory was sad, the scene played out way too emotionally manipulative and even cheesy.



The romance felt a little over-done but I suppose it gave them great reason to showcase Chinese landmarks and showoff the supposed classical genius of Chinese superkids haha. Cinematography was gorgeous and final fight scenes were fun. We had a buy-one-get-one ticket so, it was a film worth $6.

[Farrah]

I still kind of wish they'd cast a young Italian actor, since Karate Kid is basically Rocky for kids :x

[Geof]

I honestly wasn't expecting a whole lot out of The A-Team, but wow was it a helluva fun movie! Liam Neeson's Hannibal is considerably gruffier than George Peppard's was, but he still has enough charm & sort of commands a bit more respect as a leader, so it works out as an overall improvement. Quinton Jackson however, is no Mr. T. The guy's just not MEAN enough when he needs to be. There's a moment shortly after his (spoiler alert!) jailbreak where I thought they were about to completely nerf the character of B.A., but thankfully it's resolved by the end of the movie.



Aside from a couple borderline slapstick moments, a borderline annoying villain, and a couple textbook "why the fuck don't you just SHOOT the guy now?" moments, the whole movie's pretty tight & packed with some pretty clever action scenes. "I love it when a plan comes together" is probably the TV show's most famous line, and this movie has a number of plans that are explained at the right moments & in thoroughly entertaining ways. If they make more A-Team movies with this cast (and B.A. gets his REAL balls back) and they can make them at least this much fun, I'll gladly pay to see them.

[Geof]

Saw Toy Story 3 in Disney Real 3-D and wow is the 3-D completely unnecessary. At my theater (Regal Cinemas) it's an extra $4 for the 3-D showing, but I figured what the hell, I haven't actually SEEN any of the recent 3-D movies these past couple of years, might as well start with a movie that I'm pretty sure I'm gonna like anyway.



The movie itself's decent enough, I seem to remember liking the previous two movies a lot more, but there's a lot of fun stuff & good jokes throughout. And, thankfully, far less Randy Newman than I was expecting. The Gypsy Kings cover "You've Got A Friend In Me" during the end credits & I wish I could commission them to redo ALL of Newman's songs in the other movies, GOD his voice is just so STUPID.



But yeah, the story's pretty good & there's some great specific-toy-specific gags, but there's just about NO 3-D SPECIFIC GAGS. This is my gripe with today's 3-D, it's FUCKING USELESS. For some crazy reason, most people seem to regard 3-D gags as something kitschy or cheap or annoying. Excuse me, but what exactly do you THINK the fucking process is FOR? Can you honestly say you want to put on a ridiculous pair of "glasses" for 2 hours & be treated to nothing but subtle environment effects? Any good movie will pull you into it's world already without any extra dimension, 3-D doesn't immerse you any further in it. So to me, it's just an extra $4 to make the picture slightly more interesting to see. But in the future, if I'm paying extra for 3-D, I fucking want shit flying out of the goddamn screen at me.



Oh, and the kicker: On the way out of the theater, you're asked to "please recycle your 3-D glasses". I ended up throwing mine specifically into a trash can since there's no other use I could possibly have for them. But wow is that a lot of balls, asking people to NOT keep something they paid for.

[neshcom]

[quote name='Geof' post='81058' date='Jun 19 2010, 07:12 PM']Saw Toy Story 3 in Disney Real 3-D and wow is the 3-D completely unnecessary. At my theater (Regal Cinemas) it's an extra $4 for the 3-D showing, but I figured what the hell, I haven't actually SEEN any of the recent 3-D movies these past couple of years, might as well start with a movie that I'm pretty sure I'm gonna like anyway.



The movie itself's decent enough, I seem to remember liking the previous two movies a lot more, but there's a lot of fun stuff & good jokes throughout. And, thankfully, far less Randy Newman than I was expecting. The Gypsy Kings cover "You've Got A Friend In Me" during the end credits & I wish I could commission them to redo ALL of Newman's songs in the other movies, GOD his voice is just so STUPID.



But yeah, the story's pretty good & there's some great specific-toy-specific gags, but there's just about NO 3-D SPECIFIC GAGS. This is my gripe with today's 3-D, it's FUCKING USELESS. For some crazy reason, most people seem to regard 3-D gags as something kitschy or cheap or annoying. Excuse me, but what exactly do you THINK the fucking process is FOR? Can you honestly say you want to put on a ridiculous pair of "glasses" for 2 hours & be treated to nothing but subtle environment effects? Any good movie will pull you into it's world already without any extra dimension, 3-D doesn't immerse you any further in it. So to me, it's just an extra $4 to make the picture slightly more interesting to see. But in the future, if I'm paying extra for 3-D, I fucking want shit flying out of the goddamn screen at me.



Oh, and the kicker: On the way out of the theater, you're asked to "please recycle your 3-D glasses". I ended up throwing mine specifically into a trash can since there's no other use I could possibly have for them. But wow is that a lot of balls, asking people to NOT keep something they paid for.[/quote]

Just watched this and I completely agree in all aspects. Still, the film is an absolutely fantastic feel-bad feel-sad feel-good movie.

[nihonjin_berryz]

I watched The Karate Kid recently, It was so good. I haven't seen the original. But If the original is anything like this remake. I'm going to go watch it now. The only downside to this movie was the length. But it was full of action. I really enjoyed it.

[Ap2000]

[quote name='Monkeypretzels' post='81074' date='Jun 20 2010, 06:44 PM']But If the original is anything like this remake.[/quote]



It even IS about Karate, contrary to the new movie, Kung Fu Kid.

[eri]

I LOVE Toy Story 3.

[Shoujo Q]

[quote name='Geof' post='81058' date='Jun 19 2010, 07:12 PM']Saw Toy Story 3 in Disney Real 3-D and wow is the 3-D completely unnecessary. At my theater (Regal Cinemas) it's an extra $4 for the 3-D showing, but I figured what the hell, I haven't actually SEEN any of the recent 3-D movies these past couple of years, might as well start with a movie that I'm pretty sure I'm gonna like anyway.



The movie itself's decent enough, I seem to remember liking the previous two movies a lot more, but there's a lot of fun stuff & good jokes throughout. And, thankfully, far less Randy Newman than I was expecting. The Gypsy Kings cover "You've Got A Friend In Me" during the end credits & I wish I could commission them to redo ALL of Newman's songs in the other movies, GOD his voice is just so STUPID.



But yeah, the story's pretty good & there's some great specific-toy-specific gags, but there's just about NO 3-D SPECIFIC GAGS. This is my gripe with today's 3-D, it's FUCKING USELESS. For some crazy reason, most people seem to regard 3-D gags as something kitschy or cheap or annoying. Excuse me, but what exactly do you THINK the fucking process is FOR? Can you honestly say you want to put on a ridiculous pair of "glasses" for 2 hours & be treated to nothing but subtle environment effects? Any good movie will pull you into it's world already without any extra dimension, 3-D doesn't immerse you any further in it. So to me, it's just an extra $4 to make the picture slightly more interesting to see. But in the future, if I'm paying extra for 3-D, I fucking want shit flying out of the goddamn screen at me.



Oh, and the kicker: On the way out of the theater, you're asked to "please recycle your 3-D glasses". I ended up throwing mine specifically into a trash can since there's no other use I could possibly have for them. But wow is that a lot of balls, asking people to NOT keep something they paid for.[/quote]



3-D movies are only good in an Imax and only if they were shot in 3-D and not later turned into 3-D. (I'm looking at you Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland AND Clash of the Titans!) It's just another way the man can get your money. There are far to many 3-D movies now, more are coming out everyday! It's insane!



As someone who has to wear glasses on a regular basis because I can't wear contacts, it's annoying because those stupid disposable glasses don't fit very well over my other glasses and it just looks very stupid. I'm hoping this fade dies a quick death or someone finally figures out how to make 3-D without the glasses.



Anyway, I saw Toy Story3 and it makes me want to go see the other two movies again, it's been a long while. They introduced far to many new characters in this and it left me kind of overwhelmed that they just kind of went from one new toy to the next and I wanted them to go back but they didn't and it just left you kind of overwhelmed by the end of it. Oh and Lotso Best villain ever! He even smells like strawberries!!!.

[neshcom]

Watched Up In The Air today. I had a very interesting take on the film because it doesn't follow a by-the-books romantic-comedy and I could really connect to Clooney's character. It got to the late-middle of the film (at his sister's wedding) and I was really worried that this very atypical plot would become a happily-ever-after resolution where he wakes up and realizes being older and an adult means having 2.3 kids and a mortgage. It was at this point that the twisted part of my brain fired up and wanted to see a bad-end ending to this (like if in TS3, the toys weren't saved from the incinerator and life goes on only as a distant memory that Andy remembers every so often). I suppose I got my wish, but, in a sense, so did Clooney's character.



There is a deleted scene on the DVD that sticks out from all the rest. It takes place after Clooney's character is grounded in Omaha to manage the CTC internet-based service. In it, it follows his kinda funny assimilation into "normal life;" buying groceries and a condo, setting up toiletries, acclimating to his new job. He tries to get his love-interest to visit him, but she get's delayed by work. Eventually, he goes to his XX Conference and the scene returns to the final cut where he runs back and finds out about her family. I am ecstatic that that entire sequence was cut.



In the end, the movie is a subsection of these characters' lives and shows us the defining moments of their lives, but it is definitely more of a study of these characters and how they interact to change rather than a story around a twist of fate or a death-defying adventure. It's poignant, charming, and still gripping.

[neshcom]

Watched The Road with Viggo Mortissen and a little Australian boy. It's a touching story, but, much like life in a post-apocalyptic world, there really isn't an endgame. It's a great look at morality and humanity. I'd recommend it if you're looking to be a little bit sad without a whole lot of action.

[al kusanagi]

I do not see the reason for all the blind hate The Last Airbender is getting from critics and so-called fans. Is it as good as the series? No, but it's a decent enough Cliff's Notes version. Besides, the girl who plays Katara is cute, and Yue's pretty hot. Also, since the movie establishes that the Earth Nation is basically Japan, we now need Momoko to play Toph.

[Melon]

[quote name='Al Kusanagi' post='81461' date='Jul 1 2010, 02:43 PM']I do not see the reason for all the blind hate The Last Airbender is getting from critics and so-called fans. Is it as good as the series? No, but it's a decent enough Cliff's Notes version. Besides, the girl who plays Katara is cute, and Yue's pretty hot. Also, since the movie establishes that the Earth Nation is basically Japan, we now need Momoko to play Toph.[/quote]



As one of those "so called fans" I'll fill in the reasons. Avatar is quite possibly the best animated series to come out in the past decade. So the movie had big shoes to fill.



Then Shamalabada was announced as director. For any instance of why we were unhappy, just take a look at all his films that are not Unbreakable or The Sixth Sense. I for one, despised the man before his name was tacked onto the film. Of course, I thought that a plot that he did not come up with would mean we could get a decent film because he does a decent job at the directing stuff. But no, he "rewrote" it with the same hollywood sleaze I've come to expect from these adaptations.



Then the white washed cast came. Yes, I do get upset about that and yes it is a valid complaint especially when the villian is a man of color. If you had a chance to read the casting sheets, it would infuriate you more. Avatar would've been the perfect film to prove that an asian/minority cast can bring in the money. The "people don't like to see minorities in films" needs to stop twenty years ago.



Mostly though, it's bad acting is bad. The rest can be summed up by Ebert, who gets it the most.

I hope this film ruins Shamalabadadadada's career. It won't, but I hope it will. He had a chance to make a poignant film with a strong mythology and action elements and he chose to make it into a "summer blockbuster" that is so bad it makes us forget that JONAH HEX exists. I hate him more than the retard who ruined His Dark Materials. And for the record, I know I can do a better job than those hacks.



Oh god, I need to get off this soapbox because I can stay on it forever. :|

[neshcom]

[quote name='Petit Melon' post='81471' date='Jul 1 2010, 08:44 PM']Then the white washed cast came. Yes, I do get upset about that and yes it is a valid complaint especially when the villian is a man of color. If you had a chance to read the casting sheets, it would infuriate you more. Avatar would've been the perfect film to prove that an asian/minority cast can bring in the money. The "people don't like to see minorities in films" needs to stop twenty years ago.[/quote]

This has been my biggest issue with the film since I heard about the cast. I mean, it's not a major plot point, but it's a part of their character. My friends have told me that it's inconsequential, but I firmly disagree. Take a look at this and tell me that isn't bad casting.



And so but then, from Wikipedia: "Aasif Mandvi will play Commander Zhao." <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /lmfao.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':danceman:' />

[al kusanagi]

Hey I've watched the series a few times myself, you know... And it could be FAR worse. Sure, they probably shouldn't have made it into a movie, but it's not fucking Dragonball Evolution/Legend of Chun-Li bad. As for the acting, they're freakin' kids. I don't have any love for M. Knight, however, and hope they can at least manage to make a second without him.



As for the whole "whitewashing" thing, it's not like the movie is a Klan rally. One nation is represented as being Caucasian, the Water Nation, and even that looked primarily to be the Northern Water Tribe. The Southern Tribe pretty much did look Inuit other than Katara, Sokka and their grandmother, but wasn't she originally from the Northern Tribe anyway?



According to the movie mythos:



Water Nation = Caucasian (with heavy Russian influence)and Native Americanish peoples



Fire Nation = Indian with what seems to be a hybrid of Inrian and Thai culture



Earth Nation =Japanese-like culture with Chinese influences (although most of the actors looked Chinese)



Air Nomads = Tibetan, although they had the most diverse racial mix of the movie, most likely due to being nomads and a lot of the kids being orphans from places they've traveled too.



Now if the second movie gets made and Toph is a little white kid, then you can complain about it again, but it was pretty damn culturally diverse.



Also, I'd view this the same way as any first superhero movie. This is the origin and they've got to get all the boring exposition shit out of the way, so the next one can have the better everything else.

[Melon]

Hey I've watched the series a few times myself, you know... And it could be FAR worse. Sure, they probably shouldn't have made it into a movie, but it's not fucking Dragonball Evolution/Legend of Chun-Li bad.

I forgot those movies existed... <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... pyeyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':danceman:' />

As for the acting, they're freakin' kids. I don't have any love for M. Knight, however, and hope they can at least manage to make a second without him.

I'll agree on the Shabalakaha thing.

As for the whole "whitewashing" thing, it's not like the movie is a Klan rally. One nation is represented as being Caucasian, the Water Nation, and even that looked primarily to be the Northern Water Tribe. The Southern Tribe pretty much did look Inuit other than Katara, Sokka and their grandmother, but wasn't she originally from the Northern Tribe anyway?

There's only one point to be made about the "diversity" of the movie, in which case proves it's not really diverse at all...



Water Nation = Heroes = White



I see where you're coming from, but the heart of the issue comes down to the fact that the show made an effort to have heroes with darker skin (which is even more rare in animation than live action) and the movie stepped on that and made Caucasian heroes.

[al kusanagi]

Yes, Katara and Sokka's skin was darker in the show, but remember, they still had blue eyes.



Again, it's not Citizen Kane or a masterpiece like Cannonball Run 2, but it does not deserve all the raw hate it's getting. It's like, people were so ready to savage the new Twilight movie, but when it didn't totally suck, they had all this extra bile build up that they just had to fling at the next target. And in a world where Jonah Hex and fucking Marmaduke came out in the previous month, Airbender doesn't even deserve to be called the worst movie of the summer.



Also, I have to root for it because as was mentioned with the Golden Compass, I don't want to see the franchise absolutely shunned by Hollywood and moviegoers so we will never have a chance for a (improved) follow-up.

[Melon]

[quote name='Al Kusanagi' post='81477' date='Jul 1 2010, 09:13 PM']Yes, Katara and Sokka's skin was darker in the show, but remember, they still had blue eyes.



Again, it's not Citizen Kane or a masterpiece like Cannonball Run 2, but it does not deserve all the raw hate it's getting. It's like, people were so ready to savage the new Twilight movie, but when it didn't totally suck, they had all this extra bile build up that they just had to fling at the next target. And in a world where Jonah Hex and fucking Marmaduke came out in the previous month, Airbender doesn't even deserve to be called the worst movie of the summer.



Also, I have to root for it because as was mentioned with the Golden Compass, I don't want to see the franchise absolutely shunned by Hollywood and moviegoers so we will never have a chance for a (improved) follow-up.[/quote]



I'll concede that point. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' />



The only sad thing is a followup would likely be directed by Knight. In which case I'd rather no followup existed.



With the Twilight thing, I think it's not cool to hate on it anymore. Or they're blinded by Sharkboy's shirtless physique and long gazes of constipation. Perhaps with Avatar it's more of the fanbase was hyped and sourly disappointed.



Superhero origin movies are the best superhero movies. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... ryalot.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':danceman:' /> I'll admit I liked Iron Man over The Dark Knight, no matter how many nerd points I lose.

[Geof]

Despicable Me - Now THAT was a 3-D movie. I don't know if Toy Story 3 is a better story or not, but it sure could've learned a thing or two from this movie when it comes to actually UTILIZING 3-D & making it something you actually feel okay about spending the extra money on. On the minus column is the fact that the story's pretty predictable, but on the plus column, it's got a lot of fun gags (usually involving Minions, which are the greatest thing in movies this summer) and is an overall fun time. I came out of the theater thinking I'd have really missed out if I'd gone with my original decision to see the standard 2-D version.