What Did You Watch Today?

[DMN in the House]

Alien v. Predator 2: Requiem

5/10.

A BIG PILE OF MEH! Seriously. Maybe I expected too much, but this was just meh after meh after meh. The only good part was the kid getting face huggered, which made me laugh. Otherwise, it was your standard action movie with aliens thrown in, and just... disappointing.

[GA!]

G-A mini reviews, now with scores out of ten!

Frenzy (1972) - 9/10

Hitchcock's final great film? I agree. It's a fantastic gritty thriller set in London that's quite uncompromising in its actions. You really feel uncomfortable when Brenda Blaney is strangled to death by Rusk, and quite angered when Rusk then frames Blaney's ex-husband for all the "neck-tie" stranglings he's done. I quite liked the ending too, in the continuing trend of abrupt endings I'm noticing in Hitchcock films, having no sense of satisfaction over Rusk being caught adds to the overall feel of this film. If I had to make a list of my top 50 films, something which I'm planning to do sometime, this would easily be in the top 15.

-----

And now into the films I've watched in 2008...

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) - 6/10

Film #4 in the Hitchcock set, and the third best so far. There's nothing wrong with the plot at all, and its a rather entertaining two hours. However the Hitchcock cliches aren't as well executed here - the dumb cops seem forced, and abrupt ending was at the expense at several loose ends... What did happen to the men who were about to take Hank anyway? One scene to note is in the Albert Hall, a well done fifteen minute scene with no dialogue whatsoever. Doris Day's overacting was a bit much in that sequence and everywhere else, but then again Doris Day and her terrible singing can go suck-a-fuck.

The Number 23 (2007) - 6/10

I really enjoyed this. The atmosphere was fantastic and it kept me interested throughout. But looking at it in retrospect, this film is incredibly flawed. The constant chopping and changing of how to reach the number 23 is silly. Oh look, Extreme Warfare Battleground has 26 letters in it, take away the number of words and you have 23. It's as legitimate as Countdown's version of mathematics where you can string numbers together at random in order to reach a conclusion. Secondly, holy hell is it over-directed. This film could have worked without throwing fancy CGI camerawork and filters against the wall in one big shitstorm. Other than that, I felt the film was good. It doesn't warrant the 8% rating on Rotten Tomatoes at all.

[Your Mom]

I recently saw Deathproof and that is not only the worst Tarantino movie I have seen but it may be the worst movie period.

Why do you wanna tear my heart out of my chest? Grindhouse (both of them) is my favorite movie of 2007 and possibly my favorite movie-going experience of all-time. And in my opinion, Death Proof was the better of the two movies, but I'm a sucker for a good car chase movie. And an even bigger sucker for Zoe Bell. It bugs me that they released the two movies separately on DVD because it was essentially everyone just admitting "okay, people did not get this at all."

Of course, a lot of Tarantino marks just come out and say, "well he was TRYING to make a bad movie" as an excuse, but that's not really the point either. Yeah, the whole Grindhouse experience was suppose to be an homage to old school exploitation films, but I feel like Death Proof was a great little movie. You just have these four chicks doing what chicks who haven't seen each other in a long time do and some sick fuck trying to kill them. To me, it is the most realistic slasher film ever made, but maybe I'm just nuts.

I think it being so realistic or whatever is what made it so terrible for me. It was like why the hell am I sitting around for an hour watching these girls just talk bullshit? And then it ended and I was relieved and then IT STARTED ALL OVER AGAIN! I didn't make it through the second time.

[Hobo]

I am whatching Still Crazy right now. I remember seeing it for free in the cinema a long time ago, still a great great music movie.... to bad no one knows it (at least in germany)

Still Crazy

[Boogey131]

Children of Men

I'd already seen the movie when it came out late 2006(or was it early last year) but I finally picked it up on DVD and having watched it a second time still think it's a great movie. The direction takes what could have abeen a good action/drama and has made it something special, the continously shot sequences make you feel like(for instance in the first car scene) you're in the car with them and all the way through the movie I felt completely immersed in the world. Definately, in my eyes at least, one of the better movie achievements this decade.

Final Verdict: 9.5/10

Die Hard 1,2,3

It's Die Hard. It has evil Germans, explosions and a wisecracking cop to save the day(everyday) There's nothing more I can really say about it, I didn't pay attention to the direction, I didn't much care about character depth, I watched it to see shit get blown up.

DH1: 8/10

DH2:7/10

DH3:7.5/10

[Chris the Human]

Eastern Promises

A really classy movie. I didn't expect a great deal, having not heard much about it, but it really was a tremendous film. Viggo Mortensen shows why he's probably long overdue for an Oscar nomination with a very gritty performance, the plot is slick and well written, and that fight scene... one of the best I've scene, copius wang shots aside.

9/10

I think it being so realistic or whatever is what made it so terrible for me. It was like why the hell am I sitting around for an hour watching these girls just talk bullshit? And then it ended and I was relieved and then IT STARTED ALL OVER AGAIN! I didn't make it through the second time.

Edited January 9, 2008 by Merry ChrisWalkerBushmas

[Jayzon]

I just watched Metal - A Headbanger's Journey by Sam Dunn. An ok film, albeit a bit on the short side. It just touches on the different subjects without any deeper analyzing. And the interview bits with the musicians could've been longer, too. Also, the "family tree" of different metal categories is laughably incorrect.

The best part of the film was, without a doubt, Dunn's visit to Norway to interview the Norwegian black metal musicians, with the highlight being the interview with Gorgoroth's Gaahl:

Dunn: What is the primary ideology, or the primary ideas that fuel Gorgoroth's music?

Gaahl: ........ Satan.

I mean, Gaahl's delivery is so dry, humorless and blunt, it's hilarious and scary at the same time.

[Pepsi]

Just now watched "The Black Book"

9/10

I wasn't expecting too much from the guy who brought us "Showgirls" but then again I do love Basic Instinct and it had a whole bunch of film festival awards on the cover so I rented it. Wow, great movie. I was expecting something a little more raunchy based on the film critic quotes but it's actually a really really good suspense movie. Wish I would have caught this in the theaters.

[Jimmy]

Eastern Promises

A really classy movie. I didn't expect a great deal, having not heard much about it, but it really was a tremendous film. Viggo Mortensen shows why he's probably long overdue for an Oscar nomination with a very gritty performance, the plot is slick and well written, and that fight scene... one of the best I've scene, copius wang shots aside.

9/10

What's Vincent Cassell like in this film?

[livid]

We Are Marshall: 6.5/10

The movie was pretty good but by no means a great movie. Matthew McConaughey did well as Jack Lengyel but a lot of the football stuff in the film is kind of ridiculous, especially the last game that they play in the movie. Probably McG's best movie though so props to him.

The Insider: 9/10

For some reason, I hadn't seen this movie until last night and well, it didn't disappoint. Michael Mann, per usual, did a great job directing the film while Al Pacino and Russell Crowe showed why many consider them to be 2 of the top actors in the business. The run time was a little long (2 and a half hours) but it doesn't feel that long. I can see why it nominated for 7 Oscars.

[OGpistolpete]

The Matador - 8.5/10

I thought this movie was a great dark comedy. The storyline is brilliant, and how they were going to end the movie really had me thinking. It stars Pierce Brosnan, who is a hired assassin for many people that starts to undergo and mid-life crisis, and Greg Kinnear as a businessman who is hoping to land a big contract in Mexico. They end up meeting, spending time together, and eventually part ways, but their lives are brought back together, and Greg ends up helping Pierce in one of his jobs. It is well directed, and at the end of the movie everything seems to fit together. This is one of Pierce Brosnan's best works to-date, and he was recognized with a nomination for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy at the 2005 Golden Globes.

[TGC]

Black Snake Moan - 9.5/10

This movie sat here for a month as I just couldn't get to the point where I wanted to see it. What a mistake. A really good film from beginning to end. I have never seen the director's other film, Hustle And Flow, but considering how much I enjoyed this one I now have a great desire to check out his first. The performances by Samuel Jackson, Christina Ricci, S. Epatha Merkerson, and Justin Timberlake are all top notch, as is the script, the direction, and damn near everything abou the movie. Watching a documentary of sorts in the Special Features, I agree that this movie is more of a tale, a parable of sorts, and a journey. Highly recommended.

[Chris the Human]

What's Vincent Cassell like in this film?

[EddieRuckus]

Shawshank Redemption-9.5/10

Can't believe I didn't watch this movie before, glad my friend told me to sit my ass down today and watch it. Great performances, plot, and setting. I thought the end, although great, could have been better in some sort of fashion. Just something about it didn't sit right with me. Not everything that went on mind you, just the way it was told or portrayed. Great movie though, loved it.

[Chris the Human]

No Country for Old Men

I'm one film off having seen all of this year's Golden Globe contenders (still need to see There Will be Blood) and I think this is my new favourite. Atonement was ahead early, but the amazing cinematography, superb casting, and Javier Bardem's performance won this one over for me.

I loved the continual cat and mouse and the way roles were constantly being reversed, and my only criticism would be the way in which one of the main characters is removed in what is essentially an 'off screen' way. It's realistic, I guess - nobody's death is ever as dramatic or heroic as they'd like to imagine it, but it confused the hell out of me for a while.

Still, the best movie I've seen in a long while.

10/10

[TGC]

Ocean's 11 - 8/10

Recently I decided I wanted to watch the Ocean's films, so I decided to start over at the first one. I remembered having enjoyed it, but it had been so many years I just wasn't sure if I still would. I did. A fine ensemble of actors, including the very spectacular quartet of Clooney, Pitt, Damon, and Garcia, is perhaps the real reason to watch this. The plot is good enough and pretty easy to follow, while being ridiculously convoluted at the same time if that makes any sense, and Soderburg's direction is good, but to me it is the acting that makes this a truly memorable film. All in all a fun little caper flick that when it was over two hours later I didn't feel like I had completely wasted my time.

[TheArsenal]

Sin City

9.5/10

Never watched this before but decided to give it a whirl and man, am I glad I did. The stories, the cinematics, the use of colour in a black and white film was all superb. The casting and acting was brilliant. In particular, hats off to Elijah Wood, as I never thought he could pull off that role, and Mickey Rourke, who was excellent as Marv. Bruce Willis did what he does best, and did it well. The girls are all pretty damn fine, especially Alba and Murphy, so no complaints from me there. All I can say is I can't wait for Sin City 2 to come out.

[Toe]

The premier episode of the new Terminator TV series. It was pretty cool, I'll be watching the second part of the premier tomorrow at 9 on FOX.

[Herr Matzat]

i just started whatching the first episode of the Terminator TV show, only a cupple of minutes in it alreay looks like shit.

[Hellfire]

Terminator TV show yesterday. Was pretty good. Going to watch the next episode tonight.