What Did You Watch Today?

[TAFKA Castroneves]

Saw II - 7/10

I went and caught this on opening night tonight...and I'm glad I did, while it was always going to prove difficult/impossible to outclass the original this is a sequal that is respectable. The first thing to note is how the movie goes a completly different direction at the beginning than what you expect - and I saw that as a good thing. Another main positive for me was how you get to see Jigsaw in more detail than before, learn more about the character and what makes him tick, while I always had my thoughts about him it was nice to see it on screen. The third major thing I loved about this movie was the twist(s) before the end, some you could see coming, others you couldn't and this provided a great compromise. Finally, there was more gore - this movie was personally a lot more harsh than the original, some moments I really wanted to look away from the screen, but I didn't.

However with all this there were a few things that weren't so good. The movie dragged in the middle and the main story (the people in the house for those that have seen the trailor) wasn't nowhere near as good as the story in Saw, while they were in danger it didn't seem like it really and I didn't at times really care for any of the characters. The acting (excluding Jigsaw and the main police officer) was poor, the big guy in the house was abismal and I really couldn't get into him - and that made an impact on the story. And finally with the negatives I wasn't a fan of the final ending, I can see why it was done and it sort of made sense...but I still didn't like it. Saying that I forget about that ending and just love one of the swerves so much more instead that it almost covers up for it.

Anyways if you liked Saw check this out, if you like gore check this out, otherwise it isn't your thing really. 7/10 for a solid effort of a sequal that delievered a decent movie.

[Chris the Human]

Taking Lives - 6.5/10

Moderately enjoyable thriller. Great performances from Jolie and Hawke. Predictable twist ending. Jolie boob action, always a good thing.

The Ring 2 (Japanese) - 7/10

Better than the US remake, but I didn't really like it that much. The whole 'water/spirit dissipation' thing just confused me. Will need to re-watch it after re-watching the Japanese original.

Edited October 29, 2005 by chriswalkerbush....walkerbush

[Reflecto Is My Favorite Poster]

Conduct Zero:

I don't know why, but I've been getting into Asian teen movies for some reason. This was decent enough as a teen film, pretty much par for the course. (However, it wasn't on par with American teen fare- my longtime guilty pleasure.) It also had the weakness most imported movies will have in that the English dub (like most dubs) was more humorous than the original Korean, but the dub was nothing short of horrible (a rare miss by ADV, who often tend to make capable-enough dubs.) 6/10.

[The LBTN Express]

Matrix Revolutions

9/10

Final part of the Matrix trilogy. Comes close to beating the first one for me and is a good conclusion to the series. I won't go into detail as everyone should pretty much knows what happens.

Life or Something Like It

4.5/10

It was on TV last night so I watched it. The story is that Lanie Kerigan (Angelina Jolie) is told by a homeless man who can see the future that she will die next Thursday, she continues to lead her busy and hectic life, wondering whether the prophecy the homeless man gave her will come true. It all comes together with not much effort, with an ending that feels rushed and anti-climatic as everything is solved pretty easily. It was a good performance from Jolie, who's a better actress than most give her credit for, the platinum blonde look suited her. The only other good performance was from Tony Shalhoub as the homeless prophet. Overall it wasn't very good and I wouldn't recommend unless you haven't got anything else to do. If it wasn't for Jolie's performance I'd have rated this at least 2 points lower.

[ROC]

Doom - 3/10

The first true big-budget work from the director of Cradle 2 The Grave, Romeo Must Die, and Exit Wounds, Doom exemplifies the absolute weak camp appeal of those flicks...and even less. For one, it seems to take itself way too seriously in the first act, when it the end it's just bleh acting and mere fluff preparing for violence. Then, there's the blood violence. Yep, that's fun for a little bit, but mere violence doesn't hold a picture nor does it always make a picture entertaining. But Doom's biggest problem appears to be its rushed attempt to pay homage to the game in its final sequence...and then suddenly turn into another scene that looked ripped out of director Bartkowiak's other three films. That leaves me with a reaction to give a movie that's merely a B-movie with a little entertainment a 3/10. Still, it wasn't House of the Dead bad...

[EWFan2004]

Caddyshack - 10/10

One of the the best flims of our time. What more can I say about it.

[Chris the Human]

They Nest - 0.5/10

A movie that's apparently about flesh eating, fast evolving death cockroaches. I thought it'd be a laugh, and it was, but not even in the good sense. The dude from Melrose Place is in it, and is as wooden as ever. Absolutely awful movie with a cop out ending and every hallmark of horror cheese.

Thunderstruck - 6/10

An Aussie movie about four AC/DC fans who re-unite when one of their former band-members dies. Their goal? To scatter their friend's ashes alongside Bon Scott's grave. It has its moments of being hilarious and tender, but can't seem to decide which it prefers to be.

Edited November 7, 2005 by chriswalkerbush....walkerbush

[stokeriño]

The question is, how many times can I repeatedly watch Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children before it can be deemed a waste of my time, or some kind of psychological illness?

Answer: As yet uncertain. I grow to love this movie more and more each time I see it.

Edited November 7, 2005 by stokeriño

[BlackFlagg]

over the last 2 weeks<thank god for generators>

What Women Want - 5/10

Pacific Heights - 6/10

Phonebooth - 9/10

Halloween - 9/10

The Big Lebowski - 9/10

Dead & Breakfast - 7/10

Batman Begins - 9/10

Jaws 2 - 7/10

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

American Pie 4 - 8.5/10

Wow, never saw that coming. I heard about this ages ago, and once I realised there was no original cast outside of Jim's dad, I thought it'd fail in every way possible. How wrong do I feel now? Maybe it's because I love these sort of films, but either way, I thought was ruled. Not as good as 1 or 2, slightly better than 3 though possibly. The role of Matt Stifler is played awesomely IMO. For some reason, I also find Crystal Lightning rather hot in this, as well as Arielle Kebbel and Tara Killian.

Overall, certain thumbs up, five times better than I ever expected (Y)

[BlackFlagg]

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith - 9/10

[Reflecto Is My Favorite Poster]

Advertising Rules

This taught me a lesson I still need to learn. Foreign entertainment may be great to watch, but it really sucks as background noise. N/A.

[Reflecto Is My Favorite Poster]

The Big Lebowski

Really, what is there to say about this film? 8/10

[Toe]

I saw Doom starring The Rock on the weekend, and for an action film, it was great. It may not have a lot of character development or depth, but it still held my interest and was really enjoyable. It gets 7/10, which is good.

I also saw Batman Begins last night. It is way better then the last three Batman films. I loved it. 8/10

[ROC]

Against the Ropes - 2/10

Another spin of the generic sports formula wheel brings out a true piece of shit into the mainstream as Meg "I've really worn out my sweetheart welcome" Ryan droningly trods through a movie with cliche after cliche until finally it's all just sickening. There's gonna be motivation, overdramaticism, and the classic conflict-which-leads-to-the-ultimate-triumph-of-the-main-character-through-her-poise-and-ability-to-stand-up-for-herself. As I've said, it's all been done before and by MUCH better talent.

[ROC]

Chicken Little - 5/10

It's so disappointing when a film you look at that you think would be good turns out to be a rather meh movie. As is the case with the charmingly-casted but poorly thought out Chicken Little. What could go wrong with a cast including Zach Braff, Joan Cusack, Garry Marshall, Wallace Shawn, and Fred Willard? I guess just not having enough to make me ignore the fact that too many film vehicles and weakly written cliches attempt to bumble around the film's short run time. As the repetition keeps showing, there was so much good that could've come out of this. The trailer and ads showed a unique amount of charm but unfortunately it just didn't work as planned.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

True Romance - 10/10

One of the few films to get a full rating from me. Wow is this movie pure outstanding. The ending is amazing, I'd seen it before yet still somehow I always thought Alabama was going to die. Surprise ending for me, and brilliant action throughout. Some sick stuff. The beating on Alabama is one of the sickest beatings I've seen in a film, she just takes it so brutally. Patricia Arquette is simply stunning in this movie, going by it she'd probably be the number one woman on my list, because she's that damn sexy in this. Awesome movie from start to finish, one of the best I've ever seen.

[BlackFlagg]

Derailed - 7/10

Kingdom of Heaven - 6/10

[Summers]

American Pie Whatever: Band Camp Thing: 4/10

Saw 2: 8/10

Secret Window: 9/10

[BlackFlagg]

Young Frankenstein - 9/10