What Did You Watch Today?

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Hero - 8.5/10

Very good film right here. I went with two friends, one thought it was great and one found it boring, mainly because it was all in subtitles. I thought it had some great fighting scenes, and the story was very hard to follow at times which made it so interesting. Glad I went to see this film.

Open Water - 5/10

See this last week and I thought I'd say it is boring. No good action, and it isn't good enough to even be classed as a good film if that makes sense. So let down with this movie.

[BlackFlagg]

Hero - 8/10

[Ananas]

Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - 9/10

For a classic like "Empire Strikes Back", it would be foolish to expect anything other than 5 stars. Widely though of to be the best of the "Star Wars" saga, it's easily the darkest of the series. Mark Hamill really gives a crucial performance in this film (helped by the fact that he was a few more years mature than in "A New Hope"), and is able to establish Luke Skywalker as the most watchable character. The "Luke, I am your father" line is perhaps the most famous in movie history, and this is a classic that will be enjoyed for generations to come. Thumbs up.

Edited September 25, 2004 by Jar Jar Beatnik

[BlackFlagg]

Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope - 10/10

[St. Dubb]

Office Space - 9.5/10

I LOVE this movie, and unfortunately don't have it yet but I know I will be asking for it for Christmas. Tonight I got to catch it on Bravo (admist continuous ads for the absurd Manhunt reality show and Celeb Poker Showdown) and even through the censoring its still funny even on repeated viewings.

[BlackFlagg]

Shaun of the Dead - 8/10

[ADG]

Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back - 10/10

Going into this having heard a lot of people give it glowing reviews I was sceptical whether or not it could live up to the hype. I am happy to say it did as truly loved every moment of this film. Although I'm never hitch-hiking in America!

[ROC]

I Know What You Did Last Summer - 6/10 or (**1/2) Ahh, the late 90s. Those were the years of the teen horror film. This movie, while flawed at times, does its job of scaring you. The story makes you care about Hewitt's character versus all the shallow people she's around. It's a meh movie, but a good guilty pleasure.

[Ananas]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 9.5/10

After 4 viewings, this film still has the ability to completely catch me off guard. Even putting aside the phenomenal performances by Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey (who I am still shocked to realise half way through that this is the same guy who made Ace Ventura), even putting aside the breakthrough direction from Michael Gondry (who seems to flawlessly recreate the dream world), it's Charlie Kaufman's completely astute and nearly flawless script that really makes this movie what it is. The movie's soundtrack also clearly aides the film, with an eclectic mix of artists such as Beck, The Polyphonic Spree, ELO and the composition of Jon Brion, whose score for the movie really strikes a chord in some of the more emotional sequences. Still the best movie of 2004, and still a thumbs up.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Hero

9.5/10

Phenominal film, wonderfully acted, amazing use of colour and classy camera work. Lovely soundtrack, great fights, some real emotional moments. I loved this film.

Saw trailers for:

House Of Flying Daggers (Definitely NEED to watch!)

Old Boy (Definitely NEED to watch!)

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (Milla Jovovich + Jill Valentine + Nemesis = Gonna watch)

Alien vs Predator (POSSIBLY not as bad as I'd feared but ain't gonna go see it unless Empire tells me otherwise)

Bad Santa (Not my thing)

[ROC]

National Lampoon's Vacation - 8/10 or (***) What better way to rebel from watching the terribility of the recent Gold Diggers, than by watching this classic.

[Your Mom]

Mean Girls: 9/10: I thought it was a really great movie. Not so sure if you guys would though as I found it funny all the way through and Christopher only liked a few parts.

The Ladykillers: 6/10: The second half was good, but I almost fell asleep in the first half.

[Ananas]

Shaun of the Dead - 8/10

Whenever a British comedy makes its way to North American theatrical markets, I'm always excited to check it out for a two reasons. First, it's always refreshing to check out films that are made outside the North American mainstream, which those of us who live in the continent are completely overexposed to, and grow tired of before long. Second, when a movie is successful enough to be taken out of Europe and thrown in to the sharktank with other North American movies, there has to be a damn good reason. With Edgar Right's Shaun of the Dead, the reason is simple: it's really, really good. As opposed to the two dimensional and overly childish satires generally produced in Los Angeles, this film is witty, sharp and consistently hilarious, all the while delivering an acceptable amount of horror and gory action sequences. The cast is filled with British TV actors such as Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Spaced), Lucy Davis (The Office) and Dylan Moran (Black Books), not exactly an A-list cast from an exposure perspective. However, for the purposes of this film, a cast of up and comers is perfect; everybody delivers solid performances, and the film benefits. Thumbs way up.

[ROC]

National Lampoon's European Vacation - 6.5/10 or (**1/2) While still with its funny moments, it's not as funny as the first vacation.

Runaway Jury - 7/10 or (**1/2) A good suspense yarn. While the ending is not that surprising, the story chalks up another solid flick for Mr. John Cusack (not to mention the great genre-defier Jeremy Piven and the great Rachel Weisz).

Edited September 26, 2004 by TheROC-Revolt

[Ananas]

Star Wars - Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi *****

The culmination of the original Star Wars trilogy came in the form of the audacious and inventive Return of the Jedi, which was both the brightest and most commercially friendly of the series. Whether it be the heartwarming tale of father and son, the relationship between Leia and Han Solo, or even the irresistibly cute Ewoks, most viewers of this film would acknowledge that there's definitely a different tone to this film. Sure Yoda and Anakin Skywalker dies, but in the end, the Emperor is dead, and the Rebel Alliance has triumphed over evil (and apparently Lucas Film has gone back and revised history again, this time including Hayden Christiansen as Anakin the spirit). It was the perfect way to end perhaps the greatest trilogy of movies ever made. Two films into the prequel trilogy, one can only hope that Lucas can manage to end it on a high note somewhat akin to this, but we all know that Revenge of the Sith cannot end on such a happy note. Never the less, this film was brilliant. Thumbs up.

[SeanDMan]

Donnie Darko

If you had to do it all again, would you?

8/10

[ROC]

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare - 4.5/10 or (*1/2) The NOES series got really absurd after this point. Seriously, some of the deaths were silly as anything. Good thing, FvJ came around to help us not remember this.

Pitch Black - 6/10 or (**1/2) This is a pretty decent sci-fi thriller. It's easily Vin Diesel's best flick. (XXX and The Fast and the Furious weren't exactly good films, though, from my experience.) It's an entertaining flick that serves its purpose.

[public enemy]

Intolerable Cruelty - 7/10

[ROC]

Creepshow - 6.5/10 or (**1/2) Good cult horror. The comic style and the storyline makes it work well. Look out for appearances by Ed Harris, Ted Danson, and Leslie Nielsen.

[Your Mom]

Hellboy: 5/10: Kinda funny but missing alot of thing needed to make an interesting movie. On the other hand Christopher was a huge fan. Probably because he likes the comic.