What Did You Watch Today?

[Hellfire]

30 Days of Night 8.5/10

I didn't know what to expect coming into this movie, as all I really knew about it was that it had to do with Vampires in Alaska and that Josh Hartnett was starring in it. What I didn't expect, and ended up receiving, was a bloody, violent bowl of kick ass. Seriously, this movie is fucking gory. The scene where the vampires start fucking people up was awesome, going to a wide angle shot of all the attacks on the main street. There are kids getting chopped up, people getting thrown into giant grinding things, I think I saw a guy get chopped in half, just carnage everywhere. Hartnett was pretty good in here too, I've been likeing his movies as of late, and I don't care who knows it. If you haven't seen this yet and you like Vampires (Not the pussified versions of late, but badass ones that just fuck your shit up) give this a watch.

[TheRyno]

Just got back from watching Strange Wilderness and was pretty disappointed. Of course, the fact that I was going pretty much to get to know my friend's girlfriend's friends only for them to be lesbians (and not the awesome ones found in porno) helped but regardless, the movie was kinda there. I got a few laughs here and there but not much. I know it's a Happy Madison film and I shouldn't expect much but still, it was like a Happy Madison movie written under the influence of marijuana, which is saying something after watching Grandma's Boy and enjoying it immensely. Plot points appear then never get followed up and the movie just ends with them practically saying "Here's a happy ending, bye!" I can probably sum the whole thing up in a few bullet points:

-Steve Zahn screams a lot and jumps around like a kid with ADD.

-The fat kid from Superbad has a southern accent.

-Justin Long plays a stoner (surprisingly the character I liked most).

-More of Adam Sandler's friends get work.

-More schlongs are shown than boobs, for some reason.

-EVERYONE smokes weed. Seriously, a joint pops up within the first 5 seconds.

If you're on the fence about seeing this, I ask you this question. You know that shark with the hillbilly laugh from the commercial? Well, that's about the funniest thing in the movie. If you liked it, give it a shot. If you thought it was dumb, don't even bother. If you're looking for some wildery comedy, just get the DVD sets of Wildboyz.

Edited February 2, 2008 by TheRyno

[Summers]

Black Snake Moan.

I'd say it gets about a 6. At times I wasn't sure if I was enjoying the film or not, but eventually I realized it was good. Timberlake wasn't as good as he was in Alpha Dog, but Ricci and Sam L. were superb. Any film with Ricci wearing very little, the whole movie, and plenty of shots of her boobs make it good.

[Jimmy]

3:10 to Yuma 9/10

An extremely enjoyable film. The plot is pretty interesting, in my opinion, and the action is absoloutley superb. The acting is top class, Russel Crowe and Christian Bale give stellar performances. It reminds me why Bale is indeed my favourite actor. I thought the film was extremely well made and very well told. The end sequence is quite thrilling and it makes for a very enjoyable film. I highly recomend this film to you all.

[ROC]

Once - 8/10

A downright amazing film. Once is a very simple film with a plot that seems like mostly nonsense until you finally see it. The music is just breathtaking and the movie is both sad and achieving at the same time. You really get these characters through their songs, and the fact that they're nameless speaks volumes. It's probably the best musical of the last 5 years. (Which I know isn't saying much, but still.) Even if you hate musicals, I think you'll love this movie.

[(həd)]

Running Scared - 8/10

A little over the top, but I thought it was pretty badass. Paul Walker fits the sorta dirty character he played, and it all seemed pretty cool -- despite a little ridiculousness.

[brenchill]

Get Shorty [1995]- 7/10 or ***1/2

Barry Sonnenfeld

It was alot more entertaining than I expected it to be and a million times better than Be Cool. The characters were all great, as you would expect from an Elmore Leonard story, it's just a shame it all seemed to end abit... soon. This would of been great if it would of lasted another half an hour or so.

Edited February 14, 2008 by butchchill

[Timmoru Suzuki]

At home over the last week:

This is England 9/10

This is teetering on the 8.5/9 boundary, but fuck it. This is brilliant, with fantastic performances. Such a powerful film that mades you feel varying and often differing emotions, as well as making you ask a lot of questions about both yourself and England today. A great film. I had more to say after I watched it on Monday, but I've forgotten now. It's one of the few films in ages that has genuinely drawn me in, and shocked, made me nervous, angry, extatic, proud and ashamed. Just superb.

Starter for Ten 6/10

Starter for Ten is OK. A score of 6 maybe a bit harsh as there is nothing bad about it, but there is NOTHING even slighly special about it at all. Its watchable once, but I can't see me ever wanting to see it again. Has a few funny bits. James MvAvoy, like the film is alright.

The Warriors 7/10 (could have been another 9)

(this may contain minor plot spoilers)

If ever I wanted to remake a film, it's X-Men 3.

But after that, it's The Warriors.

Basically, for those that don't knowits a 1979 cheap cult classic, of which the basic premise is that a meeting is called of all the major gangs in New York. The meeting has been called by the leader of the biggest gang Cyrus, who announces that if the existing truce is kept too, then the gangs could all team up and RUN New York.

Only, one of the gangs assinates Cyrus, ending the gang truce, and pins it on The Warriors. Now, miles away from their 'safe patch', the 9 members of The Warriors have to get home, avoiding the thousands of angry gang members as well as the cops.

The Warriors could have been a GREAT film, and very almost is. It's fun, has a bloody brilliant central idea and decent enough performances. The action is good, and I love the little 'comic book' pannels they include to cut between scenes.

However, it feels undeveloped. There are lots and lots of little sub-plots that get set up and are either ignored or are not given the screen time to be developed well enough. The problem is, without them The Warriors would only be about 70 mins (it runs about 90), but with them all developed the film would be about 3 hours....

Also, for what lends (and indeed boasts) itself towards exhilirating action and fights, The Warrirors spend most of the film running from trouble, and for a film with the set up of one gang fighting hundreds od other gangs to get home, there are only about three fight scenes of note in the whole film.

It's one of the things that adds to you not actually believing them to be in any danger at all, and that your just watching them run home. The other aspect that adds to this is the fatct that when they do actually FIGHT the other gangs, they beat them in seconds, again making you think the situation The Warrirors are in isn't that bad. Its actually really fucking annoying, both for the fact the fight scenes are so short and abrupt, and for the fact that you KNOW how much dramatic potential has been lost.

This is added to that out of The Warriors that don't make it home, none of them are killed by ANY of the gangs they encounter on their journey, again makking the other gangs look weak and not adding to the danger element.

Finally, while the fights are decent, they're not breath taking either, and motivations of the gang that set the Warrirors up needs MUCH better explaining.

Still, there is PLENTY to like. The comic book pannels are great, the central premise is SUPERB, and you keep wathcing because the whole damn thing SCREAMS potential. Plus, one of the better characters looks like Colt Cabana.

Overall then, The Warriors is enjoyable, and probably worth the watch, and its easy to see why it's a cult classic (and hey, I wouldn't be bothered to write this much about a film I didn't see something I really liked in), but it could have been excellent, instead it settles for being decent to good.

[livid]

Well good news then, because Tony Scott is re-making The Warriors.

[Timmoru Suzuki]

Not really. They're taking the basic premise, moving it to LA and changing EVERYTHING bar that same very basic premise. It's more a re-imagining than a re-make.

[brenchill]

It would be awesome if they cast The Rock in a cameo role as Cyrus.

Edited February 9, 2008 by brenchill

[Boogey131]

The Bourne Identity

I'm a big fan of the Bourne series, so finally shelled out and got the trilogy collection. The first in the series feels just slightly dated, mostly because I think the things it did so well(the cheorography of the fight scenes/the car chases etc) have been done far more often after the success of this movie, for example would the James Bond series have ever have gone the route of Casino Royale(as in less flashy characters, more humanity within the series) had it not been for this movie? I'm probabaly not educated enough on that particular series to say, since CR was the first Bond movie I could actually say I enjoyed but I definately see mroe similarities between this movie and CR than I can between any of the other Bond movies.

Anyway, a good cast(Brian Cox, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Franka Potente and credit where it is due Matt Damon all provide the goods in their respective roles) with some really cool scenes that really felt fresh at the time and were pulled off well by Matt Damon. Add to that a great soundtrack(I'm nto a fan of techno/dance/whatever you would call Moby/Oakenfield but the music makes some fo the best scenes in the movie stand out and the Moby end-credit track will always be "£the bourne song" for me) and I'm really not surprised this has stuck in my mind since 2002 as one of the biggest surprises in my movie-going experience.

8/10

[Timmoru Suzuki]

No Country for Old Men 8/10

I wasn't sure what to make of this at first. I enjoyed it, but it's not as good as most people would have you believe. It's good, but a little slow, and not as grabbing or dynamic as I hoped it would be. I was going to go for a 7.5/10 rating, but I'm going to give it an 8 because the script is good and the performances are excellent.

Juno 8/10

Good film. Very funny in places, but it doesn't try to be funny in every scene, it's a comedy where they actually allow emotional scenes and character development! Juno also has very good performances from Ellen Page and JK Simmons, and Jason Bateman and Michael Cera are good as well. There is a nice twist on the characters played by Bateman and Jennifer Garner, and overall Juno is well worth the watch.

[stokeriño]

Started watching The West Wing for the first time ever... Got through the first five episodes yesterday afternoon. Can't especially judge it yet, but I want to watch more. This is a good sign.

[Skummy]

Dolls

Wow. This is absolutely incredible, even by Takeshi Kitano standards. Absolutely blown away. The acting is superb, the cinematography is absolutely beautiful, the short and to the point dialogue and extended periods of silence work perfectly, and even through its most bleak moments (and there are plenty), it still maintains an air of joy and wonderment about it. Very conceptual, very "art", possibly not to be recommended to those weened solely on Hollywood blockbuster fare, but easily one of the most stunning films I've ever seen.

If not for the lack of definite resolutions or morals, I'd say it were a modern day fairytale, but instead I'll say it's just as pretty as one.

Edited February 11, 2008 by Skummy

[MalaCloudy Black]

Overnight: 10/10

A documentary about Troy Duffy - writer & director of Boondock Saints - and his rise and fall. Miramax buys his script and agrees to film his movie with a $15 mil budget, but the film is put in turnaround and Miramax starts to ignore Duffy's calls. The film follows Duffy as he shops his film around to various studios while trying to secure a record contract with his band, The Brood. Things go downhill quickly as the fame gets to Duffy's head and he begins to berate and abuse his friends, family and bandmates. The band breaks up, the friends rarely if ever talk anymore, and Duffy - once a hot prospect discovered by Harvey Weinstein - fades into obscurity.

Oh, and Duffy comes off like a total cockmongler in the film. Seriously. What an asshole.

[brenchill]

Eastern Promises [2007]- 6/10 or ***

David Cronenberg

It was refreshing to see a decent film set in London, it's been awhile. It was alot more gory than I expected. Viggo Mortensen was great in the lead, he was really believable as a Russian (looking strangely like Mark Kermode) and unrecognisable from his role in Lord of The Rings. The ending fell a little flat for me, though. Seemed a little rushed and we never got real closure on The Godfather-like character Semyon.

Edited February 14, 2008 by butchchill

[Baddar]

Wedding Daze (Is it even called that? It's got Jason Biggs/Isla Fisher in it anyway) - 4/10

I found it "ok" at best.

Before I watched, I read a review and it said that Biggs' character wasn't that much different from his in American Pie. They were right, but it wasn't neccesarily a good thing.

It definitely had it's laugh out loud moments, but the story wasn't that appealing to me, so I didn't enjoy it all that much.

----

Boogeyman 2 - 7/10

My advice would be that even if you hated the first one, watch this. It doesn't follow the same boring story, but goes on to someone elses, and is actually a good horror movie (although there's not many "jumpy bits") if you don't expect TOO much from it. You probably won't be expecting that much if you hated the first anyway.

----

Wrong Turn 2 - 8/10

I loved the first, and even though the second was a reality type programme like in "The Condemned", I enjoyed it. I hope they do make a third and call an end to it there.

The first two have entertained me, but there's only so many times that a dysfunctional family can kill people in the same "woods" and keep it entertaining, especially with all these slasher type movies having 4 or 5 made these days.

Edited February 13, 2008 by Baddar

[brenchill]

No Country For Old Men [2007]- 7/10 or ***1/2

The Coen Brothers

I'm still not sure if I hated this or loved it. The story unfolded in a different way to anything I've ever seen before, I don't think I've ever come across a film that shows you the aftermath of significant events rather than the actual events themselves. I think I'll have to watch it a third time just to figure out a few things, mainly the characters that Tommy Lee Jones and Woody Harrleson play. On the plus side, that Silencer Shotgun that Chigurh carries around is the coolest gun ever.

Edited February 14, 2008 by butchchill

[MalaCloudy Black]

This Film Is Not Yet Rated - 9/10