What Did You Watch Today?

[ROC]

The Girl With A Pearl Earring - 7/10 or (**1/2) Scarlett Johansson's best moments in The Girl With A Pearl Earring come when she is not speaking any dialogue. That's not to say her vocal performance was bad, but it is to say that her emotional performance is phenomenal. With a simple tear, Johansson makes you feel exactly what she's going through, even if you don't know what it is. While the other exchanges are interesting, they and the film just pale in seeming comparison to that simple show of emotion. Unfortunately, that drops its true quality down, but it certainly shows how far Ms. Johansson has gone in Hollywood in a short period of time.

Thirteen - 7.5/10 or (***) Thriteen can only be defined as a dark flick that unabashedly (and in some cases, sadly) tells it how it is to be a teen in modern society. While many could consider such acts quite shallow, it is sadly a trend that has built up in society and the concept works at causing an impact. It is more than the subject matter that makes it a solid watch, however, as good performances by Evan Rachel Wood, Holly Hunter, and Jeremy Sisto also add to the film's quality. Still, the tepid shock of it all could make the flick unwatchable to some (as well as that whole shallow teenager thing).

Secretary - 8.5/10 or (***1/2) Steven Shainberg's film Secretary became one of the little-known but praisable indie flicks of 2002 (right up there with several solid independent films released that year). It certainly deserved all the praise it received, as the charming flick contains a neurotically solid performance by lead actress Maggie Gyllenhaal and a tour-de-force performance by James Spader, who has found himself never truly getting enough credit for his roles even with his resume of works (sex, lies, and videotape sounds like a good enough entry to back up that quality to me). The film's off-beat romance between Spader and Gyllenhaal really drives the film and holds it, even through some rough moments in the middle and truly captivates in the beautifully shot final scenes.

100 Women - 5/10 or (**) From writer/director Michael Davis, who stunned the Canadian indie world with his surprisingly good teen comedies Eight Days A Week and 100 Girls a few years ago, comes its clone (not sequel) 100 Women. Unfortunately, the film's problem is that it takes way too much from Davis' previous effort. The gags, characters, and even plot, seem ripped right out of the last film and given minor changes (Goddess turns to African Princess, that nicotine gum guy turns to Clint Howard, etc.). The cast does a decent job at taking the script and performing it, but still lead Chad Donella (of Final Destination fame) is not Jonathan Tucker and neither is Steve Monroe anywhere near James DeBello's hilariously solid performance in 100 Girls. While Davis still manages to seeps some good dramatic lines that work, he relies far too much on the same thing and it fails.

P.S. Completely unrelated but Erinn Bartlett (who plays Hope in the film) is a total knockout.

[Laice07]

8.5/10

[punky]

Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) - 6/10

Pretty good popcorn flick with solid performances by Hawke, Burne and Leguizamo.

[ROC]

Better Luck Tomorrow - 8/10 or (***) The independent world has always featured something refreshing no matter where you look. In 2003, that film turned out to be Better Luck Tomorrow. The film gained that notice by having a pre-dominantly Asian-American cast and avoiding the stereotypes that usually follow them in film. However, that is not even its best draw. The performances of the cast are quite solid as lead Perry Shin captures a real relation to the character he plays. Also among the talents is the much underrated John Cho, who found himself also for far too long overcoming those stereotypes. A solid and ever-changing (the film finds itself jumping quite successfully from teen drama to romance to crime drama) plot and a clear moral also presents itself within this amazing picture and finally breaks a mold many other films should soon follow.

Big Trouble In Little China - 7/10 or (**1/2) Sometimes there are flicks you watch that are so innovatively surreal and ahead of their time that they become fairly awesome. John Carpenter's Big Trouble In Little China is just that. With many comic book like sequences, awesome action, and of course, Kurt Russell being his coolest self. It certainly works well as a cool hour and a half diversion and deserves its place in being one of Carpenter's better features.

The Matrix - 9/10 or (***1/2) And thus begins the trip to see how deep the rabbit hole goes...

Edited February 6, 2005 by TheROC-Revolt

[apsham]

Hero - 9.0/10

I finally got around to renting this today, anyone who's seen it can understand how I feel, well, except Backnblackhoez who can't follow shit along with matbar, if I remember the topic from August correctly. An all around great movie, that reminds me why I like these kind of movies.

Edited February 5, 2005 by Apple Shampoo

[ROC]

The Matrix Reloaded - 7.5/10 or (***) Watching the film for about the eighth time, I payed more attention to the dialogue than effects...and I liked it. Nearly everybody is given some pretty decent lines (especially Carrie Anne-Moss, Lambert Wilson, and Monica Bellucci, who do solid jobs at making that dialogue memorable, and yes kids, I also like Bellucci for her acting talent :thumbsup: ). Of course, the fights and effects are quite cool in the flick and while the plot isn't hardly as steady (maybe because it feels awkward usually to watch the second part of a trilogy knowing fullwell the ending comes in three), is did retain the Matrix coolness seen in installment 1.

P.S. The new grade is an average of two grades from a review I did a little while back on the boards that I never updated.

[Ananas]

Equilibrium - **** (8/10)

Kurt Wimmer's second directorial feature Equilibrium was lost in the post-9/11 shuffle of the movie industry that looked to make more heartwarming and uplifting epics rather than slick dark action pictures. And in their defence, there isn't too much in this movie that breaks the mold. It's kind of Fahrenheit 451 meets The Matrix meets The Giver on crack. The same old questions of personal freedoms are asked, and like The Giver, the emphasis on emotions is present. What makes the film work is spectacle, mainly the marvelous spectacle of realising that a film like this could have been made for roughly $20 million. The performances are sufficient, I guess, because the characters are underwritten in favour of the almighty action sequence, but with this film it works flawlessly. I felt drawn into the plight of the lead character John Preston (Christian Bale) because instead of focusing on human melodrama, Wimmer allows the circumstances to speak for themselves, and once such a reality is presented it is only natural to cheer for the protagonist. Purposeful underwriting allow an emphasis on the spectacle, and it pays off in spades for this film. Thumbs up.

[maddog]

8/10

Finally got around to buying the movie I wanted badly and it was worth $19.25 [American] at Newbury Comics. I loved the creativity and it was really interesting. I recommend it.

Edited February 5, 2005 by maddog

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

LOST IN TRANSLATION

Well I finally got round to seeing it after all these reviews of "Magnificent", "Hilariously funny" and "You must watch this film".

Because my friends know I'm really into Japanese culture and intend to take a holiday there this year they really pumped the film to me as well.

Only one of my friends said "I didn't really enjoy it...But you should because it's set in Japan"....

Does he think I'm THAT shallow?!

Well sometimes maybe....

I'll start with the good points... The cinematography and camera work is exceptional. It looks good, and the comparison between 'modern' Japan with karaoke and arcade machines crashes wonderfully into the temples, shrines and geishas...It's why I love the place and I want more than ever to go. I'm infatuated with the place.

Also the soundtrack is very good. The music is well chosen and works well with the film.

Onto the downpoints... The plot is shockingly bad, acting at times (especially from Johansson) is ropey, with a couple of the scenes feeling like some kind of 3am soap opera..But the biggest problem was, neither myself or my wife took a liking to either character. They both came across as selfish and whinging. Perhaps my least favourite part of the whole film being where Murray has the one night stand with the lounge singer, and Johansson making out as if he was cheating on her!! Let's all forget his wife then! (Very Chaucer's 'Millers Tale').

I also find it very hard to see how it's possible to be depressed and angry when you're in Japan to shoot commercials and have photos taken for $2,000,000, whatever your home life is currently like...And the English of the Japanese photographer for example, if far better that Murray's Japanese, which for me negates the whole point of laughing at his pronounciation of "Roger Moore"...

Johansson's character came to Japan because her husband was on a job. Ribisi, as her husband is one of the few highlights. He acts it well with subtlety and had me interested. Johansson didn't HAVE to come with him, of course he's going to be out all the time as he's there short term for WORK and while he's there he's repeatedly telling her he loves her, and takes an interest in how she's doing and what she's up to....If they're trying to villify him by making him upset that she smokes...How's that a bad thing?! Stupid stupid stupid.

As for the comedy, it was very two dimensional...Mostly the whole "Look how wacky these crazy Japanese are...Let's make a joke out of how wacky they are just 'cos they do things differently...Har-de-har!" Bill Murray raised a smile once I think but even he seemed stunted.

So to conclude. We sat down and watched the 97 or so minutes which felt more like 3 hours. The only thing that kept me going was the scenery (the golf course near Mount Fuji was phenominal) and the modern Japan (all the different arcade machines, the club) but I was lost on the plot.

I can't see what the fuss is about. Very deeply disappointed and Johansson is going to be another name that turns me off from future films.

4/10

And those 4 points are for camera work, setting and the soundtrack.

[Darloboy]

6.5/10

Not bad, but nothing great either. Bruce Willis' cameo was quite funny, and Matt Damon = ratings.

[therockbox]

Equlibrium: 10/10

Wow... just... wow.

[BlackFlagg]

The Matrix - 9/10

[Johnny Latino Heat]

The last few days I saw...

Session 9: 8/10

Finding Nemo: 7/10

Meet The Fockers: 7/10

Interview With The Vampire: 9/10

Phone Booth: 7.5/10

Equilibrium: 9.5/10

I fucking need to learn gun-kata.

[punky]

Alone in the Dark - 5/10

I didn't expect much coming into the movie since I hadn't played the game and the previews looked kinda strange. I was pleasantly surprised, not bad but not that good either.

[BlackFlagg]

Matrix Reloaded - 7/10

[ROC]

Big film day for me today. Here’s ALL the highlights of it.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad - 8.5/10 or (***1/2) From one of the major men of comedy, David Zucker, comes his spoof classic The Naked Gun. Leslie Nielsen stars as Frank Driben, who must search for a man who wants to kill Queen Elizabeth (played to his coolest extent by THE Ricardo Montalban). Among the cast are O.J. Simpson, Priscilla Presley, and even Weird Al and among the humor is bits making fun of MTV, bits of beaver references, and more of the silly stuff that makes David Zucker films so great.

Gattaca - 6.5/10 or (**1/2) Clearly the type of movie ahead of its time even if that time was small, this sci-fi film flopped in 1997 because of its uninsistance on showing cool special effects or even having a true enemy, but rather showing the differences in a futuristic society of the “near distant future” from today’s society. However, the film starts with quite the powerful sequence straight up. From then on, Gattaca unfolds as a tale of one man who is not genetically perfect trying to fit in that genetic society. The film is quite impressive, but its hugest drawback is that a lot of it can be quite boring. The performances aren’t always great either, though leads Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman do shows solid chemistry in their performance. Still, even with boredom probably keeping you away from liking it, Gattaca is a solid film, once you get to really know it.

Grind - 5.5/10 or (**) Those skate punks. In Grind, director Casey LaScala (an executive of Warner Bros’ subdivision Gaylord Films) and writer Ralph Sall create the cliche sports movie and yet somehow manage to turn that lemon of a script into an okay lemonade. Maybe it’s because of the cool skating stunts. Maybe it’s because of the cameos especially the brief but funny exchange between Adam Brody and talented comedian Brian Posehn. Maybe even it’s solely because of Brody. In any case, Grind is merely okay though and you still will probably hate the cliche.

The Untouchables - 9/10 or (***1/2) In what could be considered the best of the amazing library of director Brian De Palma, The Untouchables works because of performance and story. The film features amazing performances by two of Hollywood’s best actors in Sean Connery and Robert DeNiro. In fact, their performances are quite the film-stealers. Another solid performance comes from lead Costner as well. Even with all of that in mind, De Palma’s direction comes in full foucs as he lets the story of Capone and Eliot Ness take focus in the flick. With all of these positives, I really can’t find a negative, and certainly I will recommend this flick and say it is definitely worth your time to watch Costner, Connery, DeNiro, and De Palma play.

Matchstick Men - 7.5/10 or (***)

The Matrix Revolutions - 5.5/10 or (**) In what was considered by EWB (and probably the rest of the world, too) the biggest disappointment of 2003, the final chapter of the Wachowski’s computer-based trilogy unfortunately closes the innovative trilogy with its worst installment yet. The biggest problem with part 3 is the dialogue, with solid lines like those seen in Matrix 1 and Reloaded pushed to the side for cliche lines that make you think you’re watching the wrong flick like say The Chronicles of Riddick rather than the second sequel to the biggest sci-fi phenomenon in the past 10 years. Another huge problem presents itself in the plot, which doesn’t truely explain important details. Also, the effects don’t show the innovativeness from the past two flicks as war machines take a step up and the cool effects take a step back. And did I mention I hate that ending? Still, there are things to like about part 3, including the awesome final fight, which also includes a pretty cool monologue by Mr. Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith. Still, it just doesn’t feel right and just feels like a pointless war epic trapped in a sci-fi film.

[Ananas]

Sideways - **** (8/10)

Sideways is a novel adaptation by Alexander Payne, the mind behind Election and About Schmidt, and feels alot like Swingers with heart. The film takes place in wine country California and follows two men named Miles and Jack (played by Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden Church) as they go on one last road trip before Jack walks down the aisle. I'll clue you in on a little secret: it's not about the plot, but the characters. Paul Giamatti is absolutely flawless in the lead role, and after 2 consecutive years of Oscar snubs, one wonders if the Academy has it out for him. Thomas Hayden Church is also excellent in that he is able to make his character entirely sympathetic while not stealing Miles' thunder. The two leading ladies are lovely, although one would gravitate towards Virginia Madsen when heaping praise upon the supporting cast. The writing us superb, and with pure talent on board to transform the script to screen so well, it's no wonder that the film has become 2004's critical darling. Thumbs up.

[LL!]

The Wedding Date - 4/10 - My girlfriend wanted to see it, I obliged. Like most movies of this genre, i.e. "Chick Flick", it had it's funny moments and it's sad moments. For what it was I guess it was a good movie. I'm sure my girlfriend would rate it higher than I did, but it ain't my cup of tea. 4/10 for some funny moments and effort.

Edited February 6, 2005 by LivingLegend

[~The Missionary Guy~]

Barbershop 2: 6/10 - Wasn't expecting much

[Ananas]

Shaun of the Dead - **** (8/10)

No less funny the second time around. I did notice the cameo by Martin Freeman this time around though, which I missed on first viewing.