hey can i join?

At 8/11/04 04:41 AM, LockLock wrote: hey can i join?

sure, just list ten of your all time favorite movies, and you're in.

thirteen- i saw that a while ago on ONDEMAND, it was okay. it's a very detailed movie, and i think it's mostly relevant to the way some girls are today.

but half of them wouldn't cut themselves or get high off the chemicals in aerosal(sic), they'd just say they did and complain about it.

:P

1- Salad fingers ep.1
2- Salad fingers ep.2
3-madness combat
4-Mr. happy face
5-knox clay world (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
6-joe zombie
7-De_aztec
8-Smoke kills
9-((((((life))))))
10-rokemon

I just realized that I've never posted my Top 10 movies. It's hard for me to put in order, so I'll just list 10 of them.

Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back
Dogma
Chasing Amy
Mallrats
Clerks.
Fight Club
A Clockwork Orange
Not Another Teen Movie
Scary Movie 2
American History X
Office Space

Milton is one of the best characters ever created.

At 8/11/04 11:51 AM, madhatt3r wrote: but half of them wouldn't cut themselves or get high off the chemicals in aerosal(sic), they'd just say they did and complain about it.

P

Ha that's funny.

At 8/11/04 11:55 AM, LockLock wrote: 1- Salad fingers ep. blah blah blah

Wrong kind of Club. We talk about real movies.

locklock, i think you've got the wrong idea, this is not a flash movie viewers association, it's a full length theater movie viewers association.

just watched the big lebowski on comedy central. i love that movie. 8 out of 10.

At 8/11/04 12:19 AM, madhatt3r wrote: saw the manchurian candidate last night in theaters. i thought it could have been much better.
5 out of 10.

Hey, you're back! Where the hell have you been, Ryan? We've missed you. Either way, I just got back from watching The Manchurian Candidate myself. I actually very much enjoyed it, so I don't know what you're talking about. I'm still kind of anxious to see the original 1962 version though. I'll wait until then to really give you guys an in-depth comparison. As for what you said about The Bourne Supremacy, I really don't know what you're talking about there. That movie bored me to tears. Oh well, different tastes yield different opinions. And by the way, Tracy? Sorry for not posting back here for so long. I've been busy. Why not check out this page in The Slackers Crew to see what I've been up to?

The past few days have been good for movie watching though. I mean, like I just said, I just got back from The Manchurian Candidate. It's not a bad movie -- psychologically taut, I thought -- but there were scenes that really flagged. I found my mind wandering at times, but I really admire Demme's directorial work in the film. He used a lot of POV-shots for Washington's character and since he was having all sorts of hallucinations in the flick, it gave the film a very surreal feel. After all, with the antagonists of the film implanting various devices in, like, everybody, you never know if what you're seeing onscreen is real. Placed the audience right into the protagonists' shoes. I loved that.

But of course, that's not the only movie I saw. Tracy, remember that Takashi Miike movie I was telling you about? Well, it's a little Japanese yakuza movie called Dead Or Alive. The movie's pretty terrible for the most part -- 80% of the film is made up of the characters engaging in exciting activities such as eating noodles, talking, eating noodles and eating noodles -- but the first and last ten minutes of the movie are just mind-blowing! In the first ten minutes, a prostitute plunges to her death clutching a bag of drugs, someone snorts a crack line ten ft. long, another guy gets blown in half by a shotgun blast and, well, some guy eats noodles. But that's not even why you need to watch this movie. The last ten minutes had an ending so incredibly unpredictable, it completely defies hyperbole! But hey, that's Takashi Miike for you. Only makes me want to see Ichi the Killer even more. But yeah, it's insane. The ending's like the punch line of the entire film. I haven't been blown away by an ending like that since they shot Old Yeller! (Okay, so I'm lying. I've never really sat through that whole movie.) Oh, and I also watched John Hughes' Pretty In Pink. Just got it at the library last night, after coming back from my little trip. It's reasonably well-written. The subplots were all more interesting that the central plot itself, but I won't bore you with the details. I doubt anyone here cares about any movie with the word, "pink", in the title anyways. I still kind of want to see that Touch of Pink movie though.

But even that's not all. I also saw the best written movie of all time -- according to the Robert McKee character in Adaptation anyway. I finally got around to watching Casablanca, and it was great! I really learned a lot just from watching that film. I kept an eye out for all the filmmaking techniques that the real Robert McKee outlined in his book and now, I know how to effectively use stuff like image systems and French scenes. For instance, if you've ever seen the movie, you would know that the characters all make it sound as if Casablanca were a real prison or something. They all talk about their escape plans and how none of them can leave, but if you really analyze the film, you would see that the whole prison angle is one of the movie's main motifs. And that there is an ongoing image system that emphasizes this, right down to the Venetian blinds that seem to be on all the windows. See, Venetian blinds look just like prison bars. Or what about the spotlight at the airport? It looks just like a prison searchlight! Just little things like that that make the movie worth watching. It's a beautifully-crafted story too. Never having read a synopsis on the film, the ending was great. The character of Rick Blaine really came full circle and that's character development like you never see anymore in today's films. I'm even thinking about buying myself a DVD copy. It's just a gorgeous film. I'd even go so far as to say it was sexy!

(Scene from "Casablanca", 1942)

At 8/12/04 12:53 AM, biteme2514 wrote: Hey, you're back! Where the hell have you been, Ryan? We've missed you.

i've been doing other stuff. : ) don't expect me to stay for too long though. something always manages to come up.

Either way, I just got back from watching The Manchurian Candidate myself. I actually very much enjoyed it, so I don't know what you're talking about.

the original with frank sinatra was ten times better, in my opinion. i just didn't enjoy the acting and the overal feeling i had when i left the theater.

As for what you said about The Bourne Supremacy, I really don't know what you're talking about there. That movie bored me to tears.

the little action it had was good. i hated how they did the fight scene in that guys house. the camera was shaking like crazy, clearly to disguise the poor choreography(sic) of the fight.

i still have yet to see casablanca. i should get to that sometime.

ben- i was on the bbs last week looking around out of boredom, and i decided to see if you were still active on the bbs at all, so i looked up your profile and clicked on bbs posts. (that's how i saw that my club was still living, btw.) i saw a thread you made about wanting to be a screenwriter. i couldn't believe it, haha.

two months ago i bought two books on screenwriting, and next year or so i'm taking a summer course on screenwriting and or cinematography. it was just funny to see you want to do the same, i guess. :)

hello

hey no problem. i'm just lucky enough to be able to come on here at work lol.

well haven't seen any films, but my bf does want to go and see The Bourne Supremacy on saturday so i'll let you know what i think of that if i do ever get to see it

unfortuantly for me he also found his copy of Equilibrium so i'm gonna have to sit through that again! i'm kinda worried, a bit obsessive with that film. mind you i was the same with Face/ Off i wouldn't stop watching that film.

anyone else been obsessed with a film or is it just us nutty lot over here.

cya soon

hey whats up? seems like a pretty nice establishment got here. shit, bein in the courts and all, seems like all i been doin is watchin movies lately. i'd list my top 10 for ya but i dont wanna be jumpin the gun. anyway, i'm interested in joinin so...hit me up

Wow, I've been reading the Fight Club novel, and I'm almost finished. It is sooooooo good. This was the book that the movie was based on. It is really good. If you liked the movie, then read the book. It's by Chuck Palanihuk.

Also I purchased the novel A Clockwork Orange. The original 1963 book that was the basis for the 1979 film.

By the way, I'm typing this from an internet cafe in Hawaii.

At 8/12/04 01:14 AM, madhatt3r wrote: the original [Manchurian Candidate] with frank sinatra was ten times better, in my opinion. i just didn't enjoy the acting and the overal feeling i had when i left the theater.
ben- i was on the bbs last week looking around out of boredom, and i saw a thread you made about wanting to be a screenwriter. i couldn't believe it, haha.
two months ago i bought two books on screenwriting, and next year or so i'm taking a summer course on screenwriting and or cinematography.

You know, I've been looking for the original 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate. I keep seeing DVD copies at all the video stores but I don't really want to spend any money on it because I know that there's a VHS copy lying around at my local library. As soon as I watch it, I'll be right back here telling you what I thought about it. As for you wanting to become a screenwriter too, that's just awesome. Tell you what; we should keep in touch and if either of us makes it big, we'll each put in a good word for the other and give each other a leg up. By the way, what's your phone number again? Stasia got a phone card recently and we were thinking about calling you up. If you don't like that, you can reach me at biteme2514@hotmail.com anytime. I like to think that we both know a lot of stuff about screenwriting and cinematography that the other doesn't, so we could probably learn a lot from each other. I'll be waiting for you to get in touch with me. Working on any screenplays though, Ryan?

Anyways, Tracy and Frank, sorry for just disappearing for a week again. I just spent a few days off camping with my friends so no movies there. Once again, if you're interested in what I've been up to, just click on over to The Slackers Crew. Look for the large beer can. But even though that little excursion didn't involve any movies, something we're doing this weekend will. My friends are all thinking about gathering at my place and putting on the first of what will hopefully be a number of film festivals. We're just going to be showing stuff like Lost In Translation and Y Tu Mamá También, but it's going to be fun nonetheless. I need to introduce my friends to quality cinema! And I'll be back next week to tell you all how it went. Oh, and you, SeeD419? There really isn't a "club" here for you to join. Hell, I'm not even an official member here. Just post when you feel like it and all is good. Welcome to the MVA.

Now, as for the movies that I've been watching, I'm really glad I finally got around to seeing these two. I've been meaning to see these two for a few weeks now. But first things first. Have I ever mentioned a flick called The Dreamers in here? Well, if I haven't, here's the rundown. The Dreamers is a film by an Italian director by the name of Bernardo Bertolucci, the man responsible for giving us The Last Emperor in 1987, and it tells the story of two bohemian cinephiles and an American student who get caught up in the "Paris May", which refers to a period in May 1968 when the streets of Paris were filled with rioting idealists. At the heart of the movie however, The Dreamers is an erotic art film. The American student almost immediately falls into lust with one of the two cinephiles and rampant lovemaking ensues. Let's hear it for NC-17 movies! Still though, The Dreamers is a brilliant flick. Challenging, thought-provoking and sexy all at the same time, I am so glad that I bought this movie even when I hadn't seen it before. In fact, I love it so much, I'm planning on screening it this Saturday for my little film festival. Someone help me come up with a catchy name for these things. Anyone who comes up with a name I like will be rewarded with mental spooning. Or you know, something else. Oh, and I just got back from watching Best In Show with my lady friend, Oriana. Remember my rant about Christopher Guest from when I saw A Mighty Wind with her? Well, Best In Show was done by the same person and it's every bit as hilarious. Mockumentaries rule all. And flamboyant homosexuals are still as funny as they ever were. By the way, does anyone here know who is actually credited with inventing the mockumentary? Was it Fellini or am I way off?

So yeah, I think that be all for now. Me should be hitting sack soon. Not be long before I be back with more verbal diarrhea. Frank, how are things going in Hawaii though?

(Scene from "The Dreamers", 2003)

At 8/16/04 09:59 PM, MickFoliac wrote: Also I purchased the novel A Clockwork Orange. The original 1963 book that was the basis for the 1979 film.

i bought it but have yet to read it. it was only 4 bucks at this used book store i sometimes go to. i bought it along with the jungle by upton sinclair.

At 8/17/04 04:12 AM, biteme2514 wrote: By the way, what's your phone number again?

that would be 917-826-6006, feel free to call me whenever. if you aren't ben or stasia and you call me, don't assume that there's a 10 year old girl on the other end, that's just me and my high mc chris-ish voice. that's my cell, so i really couldn't care less. i got out of paying that bill by getting my dad to switch to a family plan. haha.

Working on any screenplays though, Ryan?

not yet. i have alot of ideas running through my head, though. some of them are similar to the movie napoleon dynamite, which i saw a month ago, and alot are like confidence, which i saw two weeks ago. both are pretty great movies, by the way.

Have I ever mentioned a flick called The Dreamers in here?

i don't think so. i might have seen that in theaters when it came out, but i opted for some other movie.

By the way, does anyone here know who is actually credited with inventing the mockumentary?

i've got no idea, but i know my dad had a 5 minute role in an independant one titled 'wrestlemaniac'. he isn't an actor or anything, it's just that his friend wrote, directed, and filmed it, and it was pretty cool. i got to see them film it and stuff. i was only about 11 though, so i don't remember any of it. www.wrestlemaniacthemovie.com , if you're interested.

saw alien versus predator.

it was okay if you like that stupid shit. i just tuned out and enjoyed it for it's action/thrill/eye candy.

i was glad to see that it was not all CGI, and that some of it was prostetic make up and such. i like that.

At 8/17/04 02:59 PM, madhatt3r wrote:

At 8/17/04 04:12 AM, biteme2514 wrote: Working on any screenplays though, Ryan?

not yet. i have alot of ideas running through my head, though. some of them are similar to the movie napoleon dynamite, which i saw a month ago, and alot are like confidence, which i saw two weeks ago.

Yeah, one of my lady friends wanted to see that Napoleon Dynamite movie. It didn't really appeal to me at the time, so I never went out of my way to go catch it. I've just become a little calloused with all these underdog movies, you know? Besides, I imagine Napoleon Dynamite to be kind of like Rushmore, and I didn't really like that all that much. Maybe when it comes out on DVD, I'll rent it. But seeing it in theatres? I don't know about that. By the way, did you know that Napoleon Dynamite is actually a nickname for Elvis Costello? Now you do. Good on you for actually brainstorming a few ideas up though. You know the screenplay that I'm working on now was something I just decided to jump into? I did no planning on it whatsoever and just started writing one day, hoping that my efforts would culminate into some semblance of a story. And now, I'm working on fixing up all the little mistakes I made along the way. At least I now have a story though. If you missed it, you can get a short synopsis at that So, I want to be a screenwriter. thread. Too bad I'm still a long way fron completion though. I'm still only on the second draft.

So anyways, who here thinks that sometimes, one needs to watch really horrible movies to truly appreciate a really great movie? See, the thing is, since my last post in this thread, I have seen three movies; two good, and one so bad it made my coccyx hurt. Bonus points if you know what that is. It was like eating a Spam sandwich. The bad movie I saw was sandwiched between two much better movies and I must say, I would rather actually eat a Spam sandwich than see this bad movie again. And this bad movie was none other than House of the Dead. Currently rated #26 on IMDb.com's Bottom 100. Oh well, at least I didn't pay to see it. Just something I decided to catch last night on one of my Movie Central channels just because I was a fan of the old shooting game. The movie's nothing like the game though. That should probably have tipped me off to the fact that I shouldn't have wasted my time watching that flick. Either way, stay as far away from House of the Dead as possible. Anyone confessing to actually enjoying this movie will be immediately shunned. You hear me? Shunned!

And now, for my picks of the week: Garden State and Elephant. Surely, you guys have heard about Garden State. It's getting widely-released today all over Canada and the United States. It tells the story of a guy by the name of Andrew Largeman -- "Large" to his friends and associates -- who returns home for the first time in nine years to attend his mother's funeral. Along the way, he meets up with a quirky chick named Sam (Portman), his old stoner buddy, Mark (Sarsgaard), and his estranged father, Gideon (Holm). That having been said, Garden State is one of the best dramatic comedies that I've ever seen. It's almost reminiscent of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind too, so if you enjoyed that, chances are you'll enjoy Garden State as well. I can't even really begin to describe what it is that makes Garden State such a good movie. It's just the quirkiness, the idiosyncratic way that Braff wrote his own character, which was "Large" by the way, and Portman's character. Her character alone makes the movie worth watching. From her philosophy on spontaneity to her little tap dance, her character is just so magnetic. It's almost sexy. You'll see what I mean when and if you decide to watch it, which I recommend you do. I swear, I am in love with Sam. I'm in love with the music in the movie too. I mean, have you guys heard that song by Frou Frou? Download. Now.

As for Elephant, we'll keep this one short. Most of the movie just kind of meanders, but none of it detracts from the film's explosive climax. Elephant's about a school shooting, by the way, and while I don't necessarily agree with Gus Van Sant's blatantly biased views on teen violence, I must admit, the last fifteen minutes of that movie were some of the most unsettling I have ever seen. Elephant's definitely worth a rent. Just don't give up on it halfway through. Just take my word for it. It does get better. Actually, I liked Elephant so much, I'm planning on screening it tomorrow for the little film festival thing going on at my place. Anyone come up with a catchy name for that yet? I'm going to need one soon.

(Scene from "Garden State", 2004)

i just got the book 'four screenplays' by syd field. it looks at four screenplays, identifying strong points and weak points. the good thing is that i get to see how the screenwriters layed out the writting, and i can see how they put the scenes together in thier own individual ways. the four movies are 'thelma and louise' which i haven't seen, 'terminator 2' which i have seen, 'the silence if the lambs' which i have yet to finish watching, and 'dances with wolves', one that i have no intention of seeing.

i like the outline of your movie, ben. i don't plan on writting something so dramatical. i'm leaning towards more of the intellectual comedy(clerks-ish), just plain ridiculous (dude, where's my car?), or maybe some sort of horror or thriller, like 'the birds' or 'psycho'. alfred hitchcock is a huge influence right now, if you noticed.

i also have dreams of writing scripts for stupid cartoons in the idea of sealab 2021 and aqua teen hunger force. someone told me getting a show on TV done and actually doing good with it is harder than getting through the piles of scripts in hollywood to get your screenplay sold.

right now i want to go rent 'the cooler' and 'finding nemo'. the first i have not seen yet and it looks very good, and the second i'm just a big fan of.

hello

woah seen u guys have been busy. Good Luck to both of you on your screenwriting. I saw a trailer for Garden State and it did look pretty good, but it hasn't been released over here yet, i don't think.

Well I finally saw Kill Bill 2 and it was good, but not as much action as the first. but at least you got some more of the story. I think that it couldv'e been put in to one film though. a long film but one none the less. I also like the way Tarantino very subtly put Samuel L. Jackson in it.

In the end we didn't see Bourne Supremancy (Sp?) but since it's a bank holiday next week (yay!) we're either going to see The Village or The Chronicals of Riddick or both if i can twist someone's arm.

Also Ben, this maybe of interest to you because you like stories with depth, and i know i've mentioned it before, but i really think you should check out Broken Saints. they're producing a dvd right now to be out for 29th October. i'm gonna be first one to buy since it's my favourite...hmm donno whether to call it a film or not...well my favourtie thing at the mo.

please excuse my spelling, i'm extremely pissed off at the mo and can't think.

anyways see you all soon tc

(p.s. Broken Saints )

At 8/21/04 07:43 PM, madhatt3r wrote: i like the outline of your movie, ben. i don't plan on writting something so dramatical. i'm leaning towards more of the intellectual comedy(clerks-ish), just plain ridiculous (dude, where's my car?), or maybe some sort of horror or thriller, like 'the birds' or 'psycho'. alfred hitchcock is a huge influence right now, if you noticed.

Actually, the screenplay I'm working on now isn't that dramatic. I've thrown in a few comedic elements to keep the subject matter from getting too heavy. I know it's almost cheating, but one of the principal characters is there almost entirely for the comic relief alone. I'm not going to leave him so superficial though. I'm going to work on developing his role more in the story and hopefully, he'll become a better contrast for my protagonist. It'll all have a meaning to it in the end. That much you can count on. As for picking a genre to write in, I think I'm going to write in the comedic drama genre for the rest of my life. It's just that those are the types of movies I enjoy, and as Robert McKee said, you write best when you like what you're writing. Maybe something like American Beauty, Garden State or Lost In Translation. That would be something I'd enjoy writing, but I'm still nothing next to Ball, Braff and Coppola. I've got a long way to go. My writing still needs to mature, you know?

But enough about that. I haven't really done any work on my screenplay since my last post here anyways, so I don't even know why I'm talking about it in such detail. Perhaps to give the illusion that I'm working hard on it, I don't know. Either way, I've been too busy to do much work on it. Damn social obligations. Oh well, at least I had fun with this one. First off, let me say that the film festival was a success. The 1st Non-Annual All-Nighter Film Festival went relatively smoothly and even though it took everyone an additional twenty-four hours to fully recuperate from our wild night of couch wrestling and popcorn binging, it was all worth it. In between watching such good movies as Elephant, The Dreamers and Clerks, all my friends kept getting sidetracked by such bad movies as American Wedding and Bad Boys 2 -- which were only at the film festival because they were playing on my special movie channels, I might add -- but in the end, I'm glad I finally got around to showing them all the great movies that they've been missing out on. If you guys want the full story about what happened at the 1st Non-Annual All-Nighter Film Festival, you're only a mouse click away. I posted more or less the entire thing in The Slackers Crew. Just look for the Elephant poster. We watched six movies that night, not counting the bits and pieces we saw of what must have been at least three or four more, but there was only one movie there that I hadn't seen before and it was something that my friends actually made me tape off one of my aforementioned movie channels. Too bad it turned out to be a piece of crap. Anyone here ever heard of a movie called Frailty?

Frailty tells the story of two boys who are one day told by their father that they need to do God's will by hunting down and destroying demons that inhabit human bodies. At first, the boys believe that their father's just gone insane and that it will all blow over, but when he starts coming home with people, bound and gagged, what then? Under any other circumstances, I'd tell you to find out for yourself by watching the movie, but not in this case. Even the twist ending couldn't make up for the shoddy acting and the mediocre art direction. I mean, even the imagery in the movie is a cliche. Frailty has the exact same feel as that damn Secret Window movie and you all know how I feel about that flick. I don't even know why I sat through the whole thing. Oh, and I also caught another movie earlier today. Some documentary called Capturing the Friedmans. This one tells the story of how the Friedmans, a typical upper-middle-class Jewish family, have their world torn apart when the father and one of his sons are charged with sexually abusing the children in their neighborhood. I heard good things about it, but well, I found it a little overrated. Not only do you never find out the truth about the crimes, you also never get a coherent story. After hearing all the testimonies from all the people involved, and realizing that they all pretty much agree to disagree, I don't know what to believe anymore. But then again, that's probably the main purpose of the piece. It's worth checking out just to have a glimpse of the very real domestic drama that unfolds in the film, but don't expect all your questions to be answered at the end. At least that way, you won't be as disappointed as I was by it.

Oh, and Tracy? Don't even talk to me about being pissed off. I just beat the snot out of my kid brother for mouthing off to me. Something good came out of it though. I haven't had the house this quiet in eons.

(Scene from "Capturing the Friedmans", 2003)

Hey I'm new. I'll just assume that I can jump in and join, if not you can all stone me later.

Reveiw for: Open Water

Open Water has an interesting enogh premise based on an actual tradgedy. A stressed out yuppie couple go on vacation and hire a dive charter. The employee in charge of taking a head count miscounts by two, and the boat takes off leaving the couple stranded in the middle of the ocean. The rest of the film centers around the characters struggle to survive and get rescued. Though they are at sea only one and a half days it seems more like a week as they do thier best to avoid sharks and other perils. Eventually the characters begin to break down, blaming each other for thier current situation. The interaction between the two doesnt' go much farther than that.
This film was very low budget, and is shot in a very realistic almost Blair Witch style which does add to the overall tension, which is good because there isn't much. Most of the froreboding,doom and gloom, suspense packed atmosphere of the premise is almost totaly ruined by the choises made in scoring the film. Most of the music seemed to be traditional island folk music. More calming than nerve wracking. However there are certain points in the movie where the things do get intense, especially during the short but sweet night sequence,which aside from the ending(which is really nice) is my favorite part of the film.
Adding to the realism of this film is the fact that real sharks were used in the filming. I wish they would have hired real actors. Although the acting done by Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis isn't bad it is lacking. All in all I feel that this is another overhyped film. I enjoyed it but I don't think I'll be preordering the DVD.

6.75/10

.......Hello!....(listens to erie echo,then the disturbing silence.) Well this is my luck for you, I find a thread that I actually give a crap about, post on it and it instantly dies. Well anyway heres another review.
Review for: Godsend
This one actually turned out to be much better than I expected. The story is a mix of sci fi and phsychological horror. A married couple living in the city have the "perfect" son. Adam (Cameron Bright) is smart, funny, loving, etc. They both love him more than anything and shortly after his eighth birthday he is struck down by a swerving car. The parents Paul and Jessie Duncan (Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn Stamos) are crushed when a brilliant scientist, and old aquaintence of Jessie (Robert DiNero), confronts them about cloning thier son. Due to Jessies inability to concive again and Dr. Wells's promise of success they take him up on the offer. Things go smoothly until after Adams eighth birthday. Adam begins having night terrors, violent mood swings, and even asks if he died. Paul begins to worry if they have stepped over a line never meant to be crossed.
The movie overall is chilling in both concept and execution. Providing enough creepy moments and jump out at you style scares to keep the suspense up. Though I did not find any of the scary moments in this movie to be more than startling the basic idea of whats happening is creepy enough. Theres no denying that this film bears resemblance to films such as the Shining and The Sixth Sense but I found it original enough to not be counted as a rip off. The only minor annoyance I found in this movie was the ending. While not a bad ending I felt it just a little flat. Still I enjoyed this movie enough to shell out a...
9/10.

glad to see your movie thing went good, ben. i was doing everything this week, from working four hours with some friends at one of thier friend's computer cafe, redesigning it and stuff, for a new show on TLC called 'taking care of business'... that was fun, might be on tv or something, to watching starsky and hutch again for some reason.

i want to go see open water, and i just rented the boondock saints.

nice firsts post, new guy. glad to have another member around here.

......I love movies.....must join.......must list top 10 favorite movies.....must complement mad hatt3r on all the sweet sigs he makes.

Ok I cant put my favs in order, but I will make a list

Kill Bill vol 1
Kill Bill vol 2
Fight Club
Super Troopers
Snatch
Boondock Saints
Cable Guy
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Dumb & Dumber
Me myself & Irene
Office Space
Old School

I listed more than 10, just because I can! (or at least I think I can)

Has anyone reviewed Napolean Dynamite yet?

Napolean Dynamite, 8/10

Almost everything Napolean did made the whole theatre crack up, including me and my friends. This movie is obviously very low budg and very independent. The opening title sequence was brilliant IMO, but had a very shaky camera. Alot of jokes felt weird and didnt seem to kick off the way they were meant to. But most of them, like I said before made the audience crack up. Some parts in this movie weren't meant to really be jokes, but they still were hillarious. This movie deserves a good view as long as you can appreciate a movie that is low budget and w/o big name actors/actresses.

Another fav movie of mine has to be Man On The Moon. It was a sbrilliant as Andy Kauffman himself actually was.

.......must not let......club.....DIE!!!!.......must....bump!

BUMP!

Hey guys, I just want to know if I can join and If you can reccomend any movies for me based on the movies listed below.

Resevoir dogs
Kill Bill 1 & 2
Boondock Saints
Fight Club
Snatch

I'm planning on seeing Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown soon.

hello

welcome new members. sorry for the lack of replys but we've all live busy lives and i've been on holiday.

anyways saw The Chronicals of Riddick and it was great. you definatly need to see Pitch Black before you see this and like it too like this one. Not too much action, not too much acting, perfect balance. and you start to understand what Riddick is about which is cool.

Saw trailers for The Grudge look likes The Ring and looks very creepy. Anchorman which looks really funny, perfect after watching The Grudge trailer, and also Open Water saw someone posted a review for that, i think i'll wait for the DVD.

Well we got Hellboy coming out this weekend which is on my list of must see films, but for now i must catch up with my work.

see you all soon

At 8/26/04 03:03 AM, fogen wrote: .......Hello!....(listens to erie echo,then the disturbing silence.) Well this is my luck for you, I find a thread that I actually give a crap about, post on it and it instantly dies. Well anyway heres another review.
Review for: Godsend
9/10.

Blasphemy. I saw that movie in theatres and I'm still furious at Nick Hamm for stealing my money with that one. Not only did it tap into just about every my-child's-turned-evil-and-is-now-psychotic movie ever made, but to resort to such hackneyed thriller standbys such as the now infamous shower curtain pull is just plain laziness. If you want to see a good thriller, and just so happen to like this director's style, I recommend The Hole. Same director, fairly original story and it's got a young Keira Knightley in it. Rrowr. Oh, and don't worry about the thread "dying". Most of the regulars in this thread don't post more than once or twice a week, so while the club may seem to be inactive, let me assure you that it is very much alive. All of us just happen to have our fair share of real-life obligations. Besides, we need time to actually watch the movies we talk about, right? Welcome to the MVA though, fogen. Say, do you have a real name we can call you? We're all on a first-name basis here. And just for the record, my name's Ben. Nice to meet you. Well, on with the show.

Now, I know that I've mentioned watching Lost In Translation, but after looking through some of my old posts, I couldn't really find a post of mine where I had actually said something of value about it. Well, the thing is, I decided to pop it into my DVD player again the other day, and I fell in love with that movie all over again. My third time watching it and it's still one of my favourites. Hell, right now, I'm pretty sure it's the favourite. Either way, the movie has Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in it and both of them are simply magnificent as Bob and Charlotte, two strangers in the foreign land of Japan who meet up with each other and begin a platonic relationship which allows both of them to find happiness and ultimately, escape, from their own less-than-satisfactory relationships back home with their respective spouses. The writing is brilliant, both Murray's and Johansson's bravura performances ring with truth and, in my opinion, despite the fact that the movie is an exercise in minimalism and therefore lacks a conventional plot structure, I still think that Lost In Translation is one of the most romantic and heartwarming movies that I have ever seen. It's hard to explain even after having seen it so many times, but part of the appeal for me in this movie is in how something like this really could happen. The story isn't farfetched in the least and it seems somehow real. I guess that's why I like it so much. It doesn't matter though. I just get a really great feeling at the end of the movie every time, and while I do admit that I was skeptical about this film the first time I saw it, I now know that there are movies out there that really do get better every single time you watch them. And Lost In Translation is most likely the best example of that that one could ever find. Rent it. Now.

As for new movies that I've seen, however, I've only managed to catch one new one since my last post. Only thing is, this one actually has an interesting little story behind it. Anyway, the film was a Canadian documentary by the name of Stupidity. Long story short, it's a documentary on -- three guesses and the first two don't count -- stupidity. It examines such topics as the Jackass phenomenon, the concept of deliberate stupidity and how the media has integrated stupidity into nearly every aspect of itself for the sake of marketability. An interesting idea. If it had been pulled off properly. But don't tell that to Albert Nerenberg, the director of the film, who actually showed up at the theatre before the movie started just to say a few words about it! Turns out he was filming another documentary just across the street from the theatre that I watched Stupidity at and he just decided to pop in to see how things were going. That was a pleasant surprise. The mediocrity of the film, however, was not. Aside from a few interesting facts in the film, it offered no real insight at all. Something a documentary should never do. The movie was only 75 minutes long, but it felt like an eternity. I'd go into it more, but that movie's wasted enough of my time. Besides, I'm sure you guys don't really care about such a stupid documentary anyways, right? Pass. I'm kind of interested in Nerenberg's next project though. Escape to Canada, it's called. I'll let you guys know how that one turns out.

Well, that's enough for now. My fingers are killing me. Oh, and nice to hear from you again, Tracy. Believe me, I know exactly what you mean about leading a busy life. Why else do you think I haven't been posting here more often?

(Scene from "Lost In Translation", 2003)

such is life eh? well we've just had Hellboy released over here, donno when i'm gonna see it but i'll let you know. also i found out that the film that was shot near my work is due out in november. its called Enduring Love knowing my luck they've probably cut that part out, but basically if any of you's see it, look out for a green guru statue coz that right near me.

anywho hope you are all well

tata

At 9/7/04 03:57 AM, babydumdum wrote: such is life eh?
anywho hope you are all well

All well? How could I be all well? I just started my Grade 12 year and you have no idea how bored I am. As if the classes weren't bad enough -- Chemistry, English, and my Video Arts class is somehow much less interesting than I thought it would be -- I've now been left with nothing to do for the past four hours. Granted, it's been four hours only because I finally managed to get the spare block that I've been wanting for the past four years, but now that I've suddenly received this new windfall of extra time, I'm a little clueless as to what to do with it. And so, I'm sitting here rotting. I'd call up one of my friends, but I'm feeling a little tired due to a lack of sleep from last night, so it looks like I'll be here. On the computer. All night. I'll try and change that though. Just after this post.

Anywise, since I posted here last, I've seen two really phenomenal films. One was so because of its unquestionable originality and daring and the other was so because of its heartwarming story and the fact that it completely subverted an oxymoron by being a good German comedy. But first, the former: Dogville. Dogville tells the story of a woman named Grace, who one day finds herself on the run from the Mob. She is soon reluctantly accepted into a small Colorado town named, well, Dogville but she quickly realizes that the town has a bit of a quid pro quo mentality and starts working for them in exchange for her hiding. But when the stakes are raised and the town turns on her, they must realize that Grace has a quid pro quo mentality too. And she also has a dark secret that could change the town of Dogville forever. At least, that's the gist of what's on the back of the DVD case. But the story, as excellent as it is, is not the reason that this film is so great. No sirree, it's all in the art direction. All 177 minutes of this film were filmed exclusively in a studio and all of it was filmed on only one stage, representing the tiny municipality of Dogville. But that's not all. There are barely any props in the movie at all and whilst there are buildings in the script, they are only represented by chalk outlines on the ground. All the walls are invisible! Dogville is more of a play than a movie and in a society where live theatre is only common amongst intellectuals, it's really something that deserves to be applauded for celebrating a classic art. I watched it twice in two days just a while ago and I'm really considering purchasing it. If you don't remember the last time you were at a playhouse, watch Dogville. It's made me want to see plays all over again.

As for the German comedy, that's a film I already own. And just in case you haven't noticed, I've already added it to my list of Favorite Films in my profile: Good Bye Lenin!. This movie tells the story of a boy named Alex who lives with his proudly socialist mother in East Germany. The year is 1989 and out of nowhere, Alex's mother picks a really bad time to fall into a coma as, over the next eight months, the German Democratic Republic fades out, the Berlin Wall is knocked down and capitalism slowly takes over the country. Naturally, Alex's mother wakes up after all this, but now, the doctors warn Alex to keep his mother from any kind of shock or excitement, as her heart is now so weak that it might kill her. A little hard to do, considering the fact that, well, the German Democratic Republic just faded out, the Berlin Wall was just knocked down and capitalism was slowly taking over the country. But Alex does his best, enlisting the help of friends and family to keep his mother from knowing the truth, but is his plan successful? I'm not saying anything. However, I will say that this is one of the best feel-good comedies that I have ever seen -- almost ironic, seeing as how the film is German -- and that Good Bye Lenin! feels almost like a German Garden State. I'm dead serious. If you want to watch a great romantic comedy in the same vein as that and want to have things a little different for a change, Good Bye Lenin! should be your number one choice. Hell, I own it. That should be saying something.

(Scene from "Good Bye Lenin!", 2003)

damn wish i had a few hours to spare lol.

well i managed to get through 2 films and a tv series.

we watched Pitch Black since my other half hadn't actually seen the whole thing and we also watched a 1977 film called Oh God! staring George Burns. basically God asks a supermarket manager to spread his word around to the world that he is still with them and of course no one believes him. usually i avoid all religious films like the plague but this was funny and actually made you think at the end. if you've got a horrible day then you should watch this just for the sake of it.

now i know this is a movie post but i just wanted to let you know about Kung Faux some of you made of heard of it. basically its a bunch of hip hop artist dubbing over shortened kung fu films. and its funny. pretty much the same thing as Knox did to the Matrix.

oh also if you want to know about films that are in the pipe work then go to www.countingdown.com, this was a recommendation by an old college friend of mine. there are some suprises, not so suprised and totally outragous, you will be shocked, especially and some of the casting ideals.

anyways hope you all had a good weekend, since i spent most of mine in bed, with a very nasty cold.

At 9/13/04 04:51 AM, babydumdum wrote: we also watched a 1977 film called Oh God! staring George Burns.
anyways hope you all had a good weekend, since i spent most of mine in bed, with a very nasty cold.

Oh, God! I've been meaning to watch Oh, God! for quite a while now. It's one of those movies that I keep on thinking I'll see for free one day on TV or something, but seeing as how I watch less than half an hour of TV per day now, I don't see how that's going to happen. I'll rent it one of these days though. You know, when I have the time. Now that my Grade 12 year is kicking into full swing, I don't have as much time as I did over the summer. Oh well, at least I still have that spare block. If I didn't have that, I'd be up to my eyeballs in homework. All that having been said though, my last weekend was fairly decent. Nothing to do really, that weekend, so I took it upon myself to go catch a few movies at the local theatre. I'm pissed though. The theatre decided to jack up the price by 99¢. On the other hand, matinee Tuesdays are $1.01 cheaper. It's a little hard to explain, but let's just say I'll be watching more movies on Tuesdays from now on. But enough about that. You probably want to know what it is I watched.

Okay, before I launch into this one, let's get one thing straight. I know that this is a bad movie. There. Now that that's out of the way, let us begin. Last Saturday, me and one of my chick friends' younger brothers hit up the local theatre to go see Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Yes, I know. But at the same time, it was something I did entirely of my own volition. I mean, all the people here in this thread know me, right? I've always had a thing for bad horror movies. It's no coincidence that I've managed to watch all the Friday The 13th films, all the Nightmare On Elm Street films and all the Halloween films, not to mention the original Resident Evil movie. Besides, as an adolescent male, I'm entitled to make bad movie choices every now and again. Anywise, Resident Evil: Apocalypse isn't what I'd call a horrible movie. Critics say it is -- hell, Roger Ebert said that if one should encounter a teenager that said that they liked the movie, you should not allow them to date your children -- but the film is not expected to appeal to 62-year-old men, so it shouldn't come as any surprise. Roger Ebert is 62, by the way. Just thought I'd clear that up. The thing is, Resident Evil: Apocalypse is exactly what fans of the video game have been waiting for; a movie with more guns, guts and girls than any of the games. The writing is by no means intelligent, the film's infinitely less scarier than the thought of sitting through From Justin to Kelly and the acting is about on par with that of a Huggies commercial, but come on. It's Resident Evil, for Christ's sakes! All I have to say is that the movie delivers exactly what it promises, fans of the video game will love it to death and, at the very least, it's still a thousand times better than House of the Dead. Sure, it's a bad movie, but what's wrong with indulging oneself in the occasional bit of escapist entertainment? Besides, I've said it once and I'll say it again: You need to watch some bad movies to truly appreciate the good. You know it's true.

The day after that, however, I finally got back to seeing good movies. Maybe you've heard of a movie called Ying xiong? No? Well, that's all right. Most people know it by the name, Hero. For those of you living under a rock, Hero tells the story of how a lowly prefect played by Jet Li defeated three of the nation's most powerful assassins to murder the emperor of ancient China. Not the most original of stories, but it doesn't matter. Martial arts films are rarely original. Which is one of the reasons that I usually never go out of my way to see them. However, I am very glad that I went out of my way to catch Hero at my local theatre. I'll admit, I was skeptical when I first sat down, but within minutes, the Rashômon-esque storyline, the flawless choreography and the genuinely-artful cinematography had blown me away in a way that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon simply couldn't do. Like, I'm seriously considering buying the DVD when it comes out. I've never felt that way about a martial arts film before. For one thing, I love the colour system in the movie -- see Hero trivia for more -- and I am in love with whoever did the art direction, but where the movie really shines is in its depiction of the characters' motivations. Even in the battle scenes, the director's skill is evident. Not many directors can instill emotion and desperation into their characters when their guns are blazing or their swords slashing, but Yimou Zhang pulled it off beautifully. In my opinion, Hero is a must-see, especially for lovers of the martial arts genre, but even for those who are not, I'll just say this. Hero is the most artistic movie out right now and it would be a sin to pick, say, Without A Paddle or even Resident Evil: Apocalypse over it. Hero is my pick this week and I'm sticking to it.

In any case, I'm out of here now. It's my mom's forty-third birthday today, assuming I counted the years correctly, so I'm off tonight for a big birthday celebration. I'm kind of in the mood for steak and shrimp. I wonder if she'll go along with it. Only one way to find out. Oh, and Tracy? Sorry to hear that you've been sick. You're not alone though. I've got a bad case of the sniffles myself.

(Scene from "Ying xiong", 2002)

woah been very quiet on here. i thought this might be a shot in the dark and nothing to do with movies, but has anyone seen Space Above and Beyond it was a tv series that only last one season. my other half swears it was excellent, but did anyone else see it, it was shown around 1996/97.

anywho hope you are all well with the bad luck of natural disasters over the pond there.