| Aha, so I wasn't the only one who didn't think much of Napoleon Dynamite then. The last film I watched was Kurosawa's Throne of Blood. |
Touka said: Aha, so I wasn't the only one who didn't think much of Napoleon Dynamite then. I would think that was a very popular sentiment. I finally watched the movie after two of my friends mentioned how much they had hated it, and how painfully overrated it was. Even when it came out, there were many people that correctly pegged it for the garbage that it was. |
| Swing Time |
| The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987) A documentary with an astonishing bravado and clarity. Kenzo Okuzaki's mission to reveal the truth behind atrocities commited by Japanese military leaders against their own regiments near the end of WWII pushes the boundaries as to what a documentary film can do. With a reckless passion he forces these people by any means necessary to admit to what they did during the war, some 40 years prior to this films release. |
MahleriteMay 28, 2010 3:01 PM
| Little Athens 2005 Quite enjoyed this one about a day in the life of teens and 20 somethings in small town America, No great plot and somewhat predictable but I really enjoyed its pace and soundtrack 7/10 Cheun (2010) Slice (International title) This film is a must if you don't mind gore and a twisted story (LOL ie most of you). The film centres around two boys friendships told in flasjbacks and the result of child sex abuse. The film is not comfortable to watch as it shows the darker side of Thailands sex industry. However the direction is splendid at times it is like a french art movie, 8/10 |
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| Black Dynamite (2009) A parody of 70's blaxploitation films, with a typical black action star of that period complete with giant afro and moustache. He fights against The Man, who is not only flooding the ghetto with crack, but the even more insidious malt liquor. It's a great premise for an action comedy, and I was excited about watching it. However, it left me slightly disappointed. The directing and editing was awful, with discontinuous shots and scenes. And I'm not talking about the ones done for comedic effect; frequently, events were so disjointed that they reduced the humor or excitement, or simply drew me out of the movie. The script was alright, but lacked jokes, especially in the middle portion of the film. Michael Jai White was adequate as the lead, but he was no Fred Williamson. That is, he lacked the kind of subtle humor and cool that the best 70's blaxploitation stars had. Most importantly, in their rush to cram as many parody scenes as possible into this (some of which really missed the mark), they often missed the flavor of the blaxploitation films. All that being said, the last 30 minutes were genuinely very funny, and made for a strong ending. Overall, the concept was strong enough to carry through the weaker moments. Enjoyable movie, loosely recommended. 69/100 |
| Not One Less |
| Rocky II. Also, many thanks CityLights. The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On sounds very interesting. I'll see if I can get hold of it. |
ToukaJun 1, 2010 12:14 PM
| Rambo Every time I heard about it was like, epic stuff, but now that I got the chance, well, it wasn't what I expected but it did at least entertain me. The pianist I liked it the first time I saw it... Now, I see it, and I only see a whining Jew. I think I'm tired of watching Nazis. It's just too much Nazis this time around! |
 |
| What you said about The Pianist is quite interesting. I've seen the movie twice and while I still liked it the second time around, it did get a little tiresome. |
| Tunnel Rats (2008) Its been a while since I watched a good war film so I thought I would give this a spin. Not a bad film at all. The story is set in 68 in the Vietnam jungle following a squad whos duty is to clear the Vietcom tunnels. Its quite scary and certainly pretty sucicidal. It also touched on the vietcom who actually lived in the tunnels which I would have liked to seen more. No great performances but after the 1st 2 mins the action starts at a slow pace as you would expect but the tension builds. This is not an all american hero film infact quite the opposite and why I gave it a 7/10. I would recommend if you fancy a scary gritty war flick to pass the evening |
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Touka said: What you said about The Pianist is quite interesting. I've seen the movie twice and while I still liked it the second time around, it did get a little tiresome. It is a great film - but maybe we are all anethertised from the message which is a shame as film can potray the hoorors of humanity in a more personal way |
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| The last film I saw was Shrek 2. slenderfall said: It is a great film - but maybe we are all anethertised from the message which is a shame as film can potray the hoorors of humanity in a more personal way Schindler's List just sprang to mind. Unlike The Pianist it grows on me with every viewing. |
| Konkurīto - Concrete (2004) Well what a bleak film that was - based on a real life events of Murder of Junko Furuta . Really unpleasent viewing is all I can say about it 6/10 |
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slenderfall said: Konkurīto - Concrete (2004) Well what a bleak film that was - based on a real life events of Murder of Junko Furuta . Really unpleasent viewing is all I can say about it 6/10 Personally, I've never understood the point of films like that. Yeah, there are some really brutal, sickening crimes committed in our society. But what's the point in making a film about it? Like, there's no real point or punchline to the film, and there are vastly more enjoyable, fun ways of portraying violence than a bunch of juveniles sodomizing a young girl. |
| Amadeus |
YoungVagabond said: slenderfall said: Konkurīto - Concrete (2004) Well what a bleak film that was - based on a real life events of Murder of Junko Furuta . Really unpleasent viewing is all I can say about it 6/10 Personally, I've never understood the point of films like that. Yeah, there are some really brutal, sickening crimes committed in our society. But what's the point in making a film about it? Like, there's no real point or punchline to the film, and there are vastly more enjoyable, fun ways of portraying violence than a bunch of juveniles sodomizing a young girl. I totally agree with you but I was hoping it was going to be an analysis of japanese degenerated youth culture but it wasn't so it was pointless |
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| Exam (2009) Not a bad little film at all - set in an underground exam room with 8 candidates competing for a job for a shady company - very talky as you would imagine. As someone commented on IMdB a cross between 12 Angry Men and The Cube 7/10 |
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| Deathstalker (1983)- I heard that this was an extremely low-budget knock-off of Conan that was entertaining. Not expecting anything great, I was just hoping for some violent action and humor, intentional or otherwise. Unfortunately, this lousy video failed at even this objective. The editing and continuity is among the worst I have ever seen; in one shot, the character is standing beside a door, in the next he is sitting in the middle of the room, and in the next one back by the door again. It's not funny so much as it confusing and disorienting. This happens roughly once every few minutes, and the events, which don't make sense to begin with, are even more scattered and random. But most importantly, what should have been violent and bloody battles are awfully choreographed, censored, with laughable, cheesy effects. There is astonishingly little gore or cool deaths, AND the fighting looks like a bunch of mentally challenged 10 year-olds swinging sticks at one another. In fact, the action scenes are far outweighed by the titties and hot women. While I'm not opposed to that, and some of the girls are really hot, (especially the girl, Lana Clarkson, whose head was blown off by Phil Spector in 2002) I would have watched a porn film if I wanted that. The movie is mostly confusing, crappy, humorless, and dull. If you want mindless action with a dash of comedy, there are better choices than this abortion. 25/100; +20 points for the hot women and the pig monster, the only funny part of the video. |
| The Guns of The Trees (1961) It wasn't bad, but avant-garde is not my thing... So I didn't enjoy it too much. But still, it's the first movie of Jonas Mekas. So it was worth watching :) |
| No sig :( |
| A Clockwork Orange (1973)- In general, I feel Kubrick is the most overrated director ever, and some of his work is either mediocre or flat-out sucks. (Eyes Wide Shut) But "Clockwork Orange" is absolutely phenomenal. For the few who haven't seen it, it's about a futuristic, distopian British society where teenager Alex and his buddies drink drugged milk, and go around every night beating up and raping people. Alex's only other joy in life is his love of Beethoven. It's deliciously evil and unpredictable; a garish nightmare of the future with bright colors and sex everywhere. There is a wonderful current of black humor, and Alex's occasional, sociopathic narration is one of the few examples of exposition being a positive trait in a movie. Most importantly, the acting of Malcom McDowell as Alex and the overall character are both among the best I've ever seen in a movie. He puts the Joker played by either Nicholson or Ledger to absolute shame. The only slight criticism is the decent but not great ending, and the lacking editing for the prison scenes. By far Kubrick's best film, a genuine masterpiece, with all his positive traits as a director on display. 87/100 |
| The End of Evangelion Already saw the movie, but my friend didn't. So I thought: Why the hell not? |
| -Fixing- |
| Maribito The Stranger from Afar (2004) I am quite a fan of Takashi Shimizu but I found this film rather dull and bland. Supposedly it was filmed in 8 days - the production is low key which fits the plot - but did nothing for me I just hope his version of Paronia Agent is going to live up too my expectations 5/10 |
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| Wolfman 2010 Boring - it started off having that hammer feel but degraded rapidily and was nearly 2 hours, still there was only one good werewolf film anyway 4/10 |
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| Pitfall Street of Shame |
| Citizen Kane (1941) For those that don't know, it's a story about the rise and fall of newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane, who starts off an ordinary child, is made a wealthy millionaire heir soon thereafter, and then becomes king of the newspaper world. I was deeply skeptical about this movie. Any film made 70 years ago that is so unanimously praised as the "greatest ever!!!" automatically sets off warning bells for me. I was ready to dislike it and then write about how foolish everyone is for buying into the hype. And yet, the film is genuinely fucking great. The pacing and editing is excellent, avoiding the dullness so typical of films made in the 40s. The direction is superb, as is the acting, featuring the kind of great, top-to-bottom ensemble performance one never sees nowadays. Most of all, I was really impressed with the dialogue. The characters talk fast, and they talk well. Their words never feel like hollow cliches or empty sound, but are articulate, funny, and frequently insightful. They make sense based on the person who utters them, and aren't just exposition, but integral to the story, plot, and characterization of Charles Foster Kane. Given the subject matter, the film was unexpectedly exciting and engaging for me. In fact, when it comes to conventional, biographical dramas, Citizen Kane (more serious) and Ed Wood (more comedic) pretty much push the genre to its absolute limits. Great film, possibly the best ever when it came out in 1941. Definitely worth seeing. 85/100 |
| I would second Citizen Kane as possibly the best film ever made when it came out and certainly a must watch film before you die |
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slenderfall said: I would second Citizen Kane as possibly the best film ever made when it came out and certainly a must watch film before you die Absolutely. That being said, anyone who calls "Citizen Kane" the greatest EVER, right now, in the year 2010, and was born in the 1930s or later, is someone whose opinion on film can safely be ignored. It's a masterpiece, but we should remember it came out a mere 25 years after the introduction of the modern movie, and only 10 years after they began to have sound. So in the 70 years and tens of thousands of movies since then, no one has been able to surpass it? What a bleak and depressing way to look at cinema. Another point is that Citizen Kane very strongly reminded me of Wild Strawberries by Ingmar Bergmann. It's very much an apples to apples comparison; both films are serious biographical dramas, both were made in the same era, both are black and white, both deal strongly with age and regret, and both are based around the characters and dialogue. Only difference is, Wild Strawberries (one of my 5-10 favorite films of all time) is more original, deeper, and even greater. So in conclusion, Citizen Kane is an amazing masterpiece that was probably the best movie ever when it was released (which is really the highest pinnacle any director can achieve), but it's certainly not the greatest ever now, 70 years later. |
| Casablanca (1942) The first fifteen minutes are entertaining and set up well, introducing the viewer to the city of Casablanca, a dangerous city where numerous refugees from Europe attempt to flee to Lisbon, and then the US during World War 2. However, there is a large plot hole early on, which is hard to ignore, I hate this; rather than letting the story expand in an organic manner, individuals perform actions that are out of character, just so the plot has a place to go next. Nevertheless, Rick is an excellent character, and played very well by Humphrey Bogart. He is a jaded, calm, methodical professional with a pessimistic sense of humor. He has gone through a lot in life, rarely gets worked up over anything, and always has a witty response ready. That is, until we get to the romantic subplot later... In the next fifteen minutes, we encounter yet ANOTHER gaping plot hole, this one even harder to ignore. And unfortunately, the film starts going downhill from this point; the pace slows down considerably, and too much time is spent on pointless reminiscing. Not that there's anything wrong with nostalgia, especially in a state of war, but it's taken too far and beaten to a pulp, to the point of becoming trite and boring. It turns into a stereotypical Hollywood romantic picture, with some dreadful, eye-rolling cliches. ("was that cannon fire? Or is it my heart pounding?") Things get even worse later, with the reveal of Lazlo's incredibly important knowledge (why oh why don't the Nazis get it from him by any means possible?!), and Isla being a bitch to Rick for no reason upon their initial reunion, given the circumstances of their departure in Paris. Really, that last point should be enough to submarine Casablanca's status all by itself; it just makes the character of Isla inconsistent, insensitive, a little stupid, and incredibly cruel. There are good points, like the premise, exotic setting, characters, and acting. However, at its core, we have a simple, slightly above-average Hollywood romance contrived from its convenient, absurd plot holes. And the ending is more garbage; you mean to tell me no one, Worst of all, In conclusion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with calling Casablanca "overrated". Because that's precisely what it is. 49/100 |
YoungVagabondJun 16, 2010 3:44 PM
| The African Queen |
| Boondock Saints 2 Christ. They tried to make the same film as the original, except everything good in the first sucked in the sequel. You know how there were things you thought were really cool in junior high, but later realized were fucking lame and pathetic? That's basically the cartoony bullshit that was this entire movie. I appreciate an action film with humor, but this was just one brutal, painfully bad joke and scene after another. It wasn't just me; I saw the film with 6 other people, and there was rarely even a light chuckle. Worst of all, Willem Dafoe's gay detective character, who was arguably the best part of the original, was mostly replaced by a some petite, red-headed girl with the worst fake Southern accent I have ever heard. Any time she opens up her mouth to show how fucking badass and awesome she is, it was physically nauseous to sit through. And like any bad torture, this film just goes on...and on...and on. One cliche and crappy scene after another. Dreadful stuff; 26/100 |
| Thanks for the review of Saints 2 I was pretty weary that it would be shite Lenny (1974) I enjoyed this one with Dustman Hoffman retelling the story of one of the first Stand-ups who pushed all the boundries in the 50s/60s. Filmed in b/w and quite a talkie in a 60s 70s fashion 63/100 |
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| The Lovely Bones. Yeah, its a little rough around the edges but an enjoyable film nevertheless. Stanley Tucci is amazing. |
| An American in Paris |
| M (1931) A classic German film about a child murderer (played very well by Peter Lorre) who terrorizes Berlin in the early 30s, putting the city in a panic. The police are unable to catch the criminal, but conduct nightly raids, making life difficult for the criminals. With their business threatened, and the murderer giving them a bad name, they set out to capture him first. Without question, for its day, this movie must have been a revelation. Even today, it looks good, has plenty of funny, intelligent, and engaging scenes, does a great job portraying the mad murderer and his sick obsession, and the hunt that leads to his capture. The most enjoyable part of the movie was wonderfully it portrays life in Berlin in the early 30s, from the woodwork of the cuckoo clocks to the shop windows to the spiral staircases of an apartment to its citizens' facial expressions. Beautiful stuff. Still, this film suffers from slow pacing, and unnecessarily prolonged scenes. And while I won't spoil it, the conclusion was not satisfying. Nevertheless, it was a ground-breaking movie that is still pretty good today. 75/100 Dinner for Idiots (1998) A French film built around the amazing comic performance of Mr. Pignon, a fat, balding, hopelessly optimistic, and simple-minded idiot who has a passion for building matchstick models of famous architectural works. He is invited to a dinner for similar individuals, but when his host injures his back, Pignon arrives, and finds a way to wreak idiot havoc inside the apartment. What I especially like is how natural the interaction of all the characters is, and how Pignon's stupidity, while great, is not over the top. He is by no means "quirky"; unless he is put into a situation where intelligence is required, Pignon would seem like a relatively normal individual. Based on the trailer for the American remake, that's something they haven't grasped. Besides Pignon, this movie has numerous hysterical, creative scenes with the other characters, along with an absolutely furious pace. The premise is introduced in mere seconds, there is never a dull or slow moment, and more is accomplished in the movie's 78 minutes than most comedies that span two hours. Hell, it even has a surprising and thoughtful ending. Great comedy; definitely worth checking out. 80/100 |
| Twenty-four Eyes |
| City Lights (1931) naikou was exactly right when he wrote that Chaplin is less funny than Looney Tunes. In many cases, less intelligent, too. Painfully boring to sit through, with one unfunny and lame comic vignette after another. Fewer bonus points for its age, too, since sound was around, but Chaplin chose not to use it. 40/100 |
| 12 Angry Men |
| Big Fish. The only Tim Burton film I actually like. Well actually I don't like it - I love it. Very touching, especially at the end. Its enough to make a grown man cry. I wish he would do more films like this. |
Touka said: Big Fish. The only Tim Burton film I actually like. Well actually I don't like it - I love it. Very touching, especially at the end. Its enough to make a grown man cry. I wish he would do more films like this. You didn't like Batman 1 and 2, Ed Wood (GREAT film), Beetlejuice, or Pee-Wee's Big Adventure? I thought "Big Fish" was decent; the concept was neat, and I really liked the first half, but the second half was predictable, abandoned its spirit of adventure and imagination for overwrought emotion, and became too long and dull at times. |
| While I understand why people like Batman and can appreciate it as a film, its just not for me. Beetlejuice - again - is a bit of a hit or miss. I haven't seen the other two. Watched Apocalypto for the first time last night. Was pretty darn good. It helped that I was in the mood for a violent action movie. Mel Gibson sure knows how to make a brutal film. |
| One Wonderful Sunday |
Touka said: While I understand why people like Batman and can appreciate it as a film, its just not for me. Beetlejuice - again - is a bit of a hit or miss. I haven't seen the other two. Watched Apocalypto for the first time last night. Was pretty darn good. It helped that I was in the mood for a violent action movie. Mel Gibson sure knows how to make a brutal film. Yes the last half hour or so is certainly a jaw opener |
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| Sin City (2005)- Talk about a mixed bag! It's a mostly black and white comic book adaptation of pulp, noir crime stories from a big city. I loved the visual style and approach, but hated the exposition, which was often comically bad. (The Josh Hartnett soliloquy at the start, for example) The dialogue is either poorly written, doesn't translate well from the comic to a movie, or both. However, the action is choreographed beautifully, and largely makes up for it. The acting varies, from horrible and mailed-in (Brittany Murphy, and, as much as it pains me to type, Michael Madsen) to very good. (Rourke, Clive Owen) Some of the stories, with their twists and double-crosses, were way too predictable, but the plot holes were forgivable, and the decent amount of violence was a plus. I went through the entire movie alternately disliking and greatly enjoying what I saw. Probably more of the latter, though. 70/100 |
| The Sound of Music |
| This Film is not yet Rated (2006) Insultingly stupid, insipid, and childish. It pushes the whole "CORPORATIONS ARE EVIL!CORPORATIONS CONTROL THE MPAA" mantra, when in reality, ratings hurt them the most. Also, can they please explain to me how the hell the McCarthy hearings had ANYTHING to do with the MPAA trying to break the unions? That's one of the dumbest things I have ever heard, and wild speculation doesn't count as support. I could go on for hours about all the factual errors.(Example: Movies by 20th Century Fox are not controlled by Newscorp; just watch "Avatar", or Cameron calling O'Reilly an idiot) Equally bad, the movie takes 5 minutes of real content and information and keeps re-iterating it to death for what seems like hours. There is also a God-awful subplot with bumbling, incompetent lesbian private investigators trying to figure out the members of the MPAA Ratings Board, as well as numerous liberal feminist directors saying the Ratings Board is sexist against female pleasure or some similar bullshit. Avoid this like the plague. 18/100 |
| The Crazies (2010) Why |
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slenderfall said: The Crazies (2010) Why You didn't like it? I have been looking forward to that one. |
YoungVagabond said: slenderfall said: The Crazies (2010) Why You didn't like it? I have been looking forward to that one. TBH it was not my sorta thing too predictable but you may like it Pimp 2010 Really enjoyed this fake documentry. Great script and some one liners that make me want to watch it again. 81/100 |
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