The Coen brothers are probably the most talented film makers I've ever known. Almost all of their movies are works of pure genius. I think Millers' Crossing is one of the best films of all time. I've seen all of their movies except for the Rules of Attraction.

At 6/23/09 11:18 AM, Jack wrote: If you liked No Country For Old Men, you should check out Blood Simple. It's their first feature and one of their best. The final scene is cinematic perfection.

That was a good one, too.

Watched Wilderness.

British horror film, and pretty ace too. It's about these lads in a young offenders institute, and they bully these two gay inmates until one kills himself, so they're sent by their warden to this island owned by the prison as punishment. Once there, they start spotting stuff that suggests they're not alone, and eventually are attacked by a man with a crossbow and his dogs.

It's pretty standard horror film stuff from there in. If you liked stuff like Severance or Dog Soldiers you'll probably like it, although it doesn't really have the humour of those two. Lost of good kill scenes in it, nothing amazingly inventive, but they're not boring and predictable either.

One thing that did irritate me is that Sean Pertwee, who I quite like, is given star billing, and then killed off right at the very beginning. Very disappointing.

Still, ace film. 8/10.

Watched recently:

Independence Day -
Seen it before, but could only remember bits of it. Pretty good action film, but not great. 7/10.

The Abyss -
VERY slow beginning, film definitely would have benefited from being an hour shorter, but once it does pick up towards the end it's excellent. Still, the slow start really does spoil it. 7/10.

Watched Knocked Up and Superbad the other day. Both had a lot of similar themes (obviously as they were by the same people) and I enjoyed them as a break from the usual action-style films I've grown accustomed to seeing.

Knocked Up was my favorite of the two. Paul Rudd is an excellent actor and shone in this film along with Seth Rogen. Although it had elements of a chick-flick, I found the stoner humour enough to keep me interested. 8/10.

Superbad came close to matching it. I found the main character (Jonah Hill) to be annoying at first, but he grew on me as the film went on. The plot was good, the sub-plot better, and they overlapped throughout. Again Seth Rogen pretty much stole the show and I found the humour to be more consistent than in Knocked Up. 7/10.

Overall I'd give both a watch. Very enjoyable films.

Tell No One: Brilliant French thriller, highly recommended. It's really cheap on Dvd now, I recommend you guys to pick up a copy - 9/10.
The Terminator: Still a great film, though not as great as I remember it - 7/10

Watched The Shawshank Redemption which I picked up for £3 on DVD a while ago and never got round to watching.

Wasn't expecting much, since all the other "best films ever" I've watched like The Godfather and 2001 have been disappointing, but in all honesty, this was probably the best film I've ever seen. It's flawless and deserves all the praise it gets. 10/10.

At 7/1/09 07:29 PM, TheMaster wrote: The Shawshank Redemption 10/10.

Yes. One of, if not my, favorite films ever.

Watched Road To Perdition the other night and thought it was ok. The exstensive cast and names made things a bit hard to follow sometimes but I got the general jist of things and the ending was great. 7/10.

Anyone know if the upcoming region 2 DVD release of Let The Right One In has the original subtitles from the cinematic version, or the bastardised ones from the region 1 DVD release?

I watched Year One tonight, and I have to say. It left quite a lot to be desired. Considdering the stars that played in it, it really wasn't that funny. I probably only laughed a dozen times through the entire movie, and I have to say that half of those felt forced. It was rather disappointing really.

I watched Public Enemies last night though, and it was probably the best gangster movie i've ever seen. The action was pretty intense, and had minimal special effects. This made it feel almost believable that they could just stand in the middle of the street shooting it out with the cops, and wouldn't get shot. Depp gave an amazing performance as the smart ass, wise cracking Dillinger, and his supporting cast wasn't bad either.
I have to say that Public Enemies is probably the best movie i've seen since Gran Torino.

Yes, I watch lots of movies. Let's just say that everybody at the two nearby casino theaters, know me by name. I probably spend something around $80 a month just watching movies, and i've seen everything currently playing at my two nearby theaters.
I can't wait until District 9, and the new Harry Potter come out.

No, i'm not a Harry Potter fan boy or anything, I just really appreciate the cinematography that's involved in the films.

At 7/1/09 07:29 PM, TheMaster wrote: Wasn't expecting much, since all the other "best films ever" I've watched like The Godfather and 2001 have been disappointing, but in all honesty, this was probably the best film I've ever seen. It's flawless and deserves all the praise it gets. 10/10.

It was an amazing movie, nearly as good as the book. Well worth that 3 pound price tag, right?

Well, I guess on my bored days I'll use my time to post some half-assed reviews, like I used to at the now-defunct MVA. Ennui, I know you're the only one still alive that actually knows who I am. Here are the last five films I can remember seeing:

Finally checked out The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and to be honest, the less people are prompted to hail it as important, the more satisfied I'll be with this somewhat lengthy watching experience. The comparisons to Forrest Gump from several critics are futile, and to be honest, films revolving around a theme - or even a mere idea never end up too great. Even so, Benjamin Button ended up turning out decent in its filmmaking (thanks to David Fincher), and producing human-like acting (thanks to Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett). It also has great characters, so if you're a fan of this stuff, you may enjoy it. As for me, I find it to be a good film that is a half-hour too long.

Also in last year's releases, I also saw Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Analyzing this film like the earlier [tl;dr] review would be unnerving. I personally thought the film was hilarious, the cast definitely seemed as if they were having a lot of fun, even though Seth Rogan seems look the same under Smith as he does under Judd Apatow. Also, if anything, this film truly shows how lame pornography is. If there's anything wrong here, it appears (to me, at least), that Smith is getting a tad repetitive with dick and poo jokes, but to be honest, am I going get frustrated over a film that has an non-ironically placed Porno in the title?

Another film I viewed that was a lot of fun was Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow. I am a huge fan of Depp and Ricci, as well as bizarre legends of pre-19th century America, so it was exciting to see Burton distort the legend's story and elements such as the occult, witchcraft, a giant bleeding tree, and lots of decapitations into the mix. Mind you, it is a disturbing watch, but I found it to be one of the most awesome horror films I've seen. It surprises me to write this, as I've seen a many in that genre.

As for more disgusting fun and depravity, Sid & Nancy was awesome watch documenting one of the most infamous rock stars in history, Sid Vicious. Gary Oldman is incredible in it, as well as Chloe Webb as his insane and drugged-up girlfriend. Everything in the film looks squalid, and the more drugs they take by the end of the film, the more disturbing the film gets. The Criterion DVD includes a 10-minute documentary with the real two, and they are by far two of the most boring "stars" I've seen from the 70s punk culture. I find it a recommended view; even you're not a fan of the Sex Pistols.

Lastly, a classic: L'Avventura. Beautifully shot and edited, it also features some of the most boring upper-bourgeoisie characters I've ever seen in a film. Very slow and, at times, hard to follow, it revolves around a man's girlfriend disappearing on an island, and then gets together with this girl's friend along while, while searching for her. An rewarding watch, but difficult, not just because of the film's nihilism, but also due to its abnormally slow pace.

At 7/5/09 07:20 PM, EclecticEnnui wrote:

I'd much rather watch 2001 for that, because looking at old buildings and stuff isn't interesting. I will say the acting is good and the plot with the island was intriguing, but that's about it. Maybe I need to watch the film again to understand it. :/

I thought we both established that we thoroughly enjoy collages of old buildings and whatnot, as seen in Koyaanisquatsi. ;D Well, I doubt you'll need to watch it again. If there are any memorable symbolic points to discuss of the film, Anna's disappearance on the island is interesting in the way it affects the characters involved. It brings them together, but in a way that disturbs me. And secondly, this is one of the most nihilistic films I've seen, which is unique in itself. Also, film historians like to attribute the film as one of the first feminist films. Well, whatever. I'll watch an Almodovar film any other day. I heard Antonioni has other good stuff, so I'll check it out soon.

Anyway, it's cool to have you back, NightCobra.

Yeah, hopefully I can be inspired to at least continuously write film reviews here. I'm no longer a cinema major in college, and saw very few films last year, so maybe I can fix the second part.

Was in Tesco today and saw that they've released S. Darko straight to DVD. I'm gonna give Donnie Darko a watch tonight, having never seen it before. Read some really mixed reviews on it so... Should be interesting.

Watched recently:

The Guns of Navarone -
Pretty decent war film. Not as good as the other MacLean adaptation I've seen, Where Eagles Dare, but still enjoyable. 6/10.

Rogue -
Australian horror about a giant crocodile. The first half of the film is fantastic, mostly due to it sticking to the Jaws rule of never showing much of the monster. Quality sharply drops once you have the main character fighting a bad CGI crocodile with a stick and some rocks, and winning. Still, stupid ending aside, it was good. 7/10.

Watched Fanboys.

I liked it. It's not great, but it's pretty enjoyable. Standard roadtrip movie stuff, with run ins with the police, drugs and prostitutes, but with a Star Wars theme throughout. Cameos from the likes of Kevin Smith and William Shatner occur quite frequently.

7/10.

Watched Carnosaur.

Rubbish. Evil scientist woman makes a disease that makes women pregnant with dinosaur eggs to destroy the world. Effects are terrible, plot is ridiculous, acting is awful.

There was on scene I liked. These hippies had chained themselves to some bulldozers, and then the dinosaur came and started eating them, and it was pretty hilarious between the crap puppet and the crap acting. This woman got her leg bit off, looked at the stump, and didn't really seem that bothered by it.

4/10.

Watched Doomsday and Casino Royale.

Doomsday was good, if not great. Between Mad Max and Escape From New York, everything in it had been done before, but it was still a fun film. 7/10.

Casino Royale was good, but horribly overhyped. Hailing it as the best Bond ever is ludicrous, because it doesn't even come close to Connery at his worst, let alone at his best. Still, it was a solid action film, and Craig is good as Bond. 7/10.

At 7/12/09 06:20 PM, TheMaster wrote: Watched Doomsday and Casino Royale.

Doomsday was good, if not great. Between Mad Max and Escape From New York, everything in it had been done before, but it was still a fun film. 7/10.

I'd go as far as saying Doomsday was great and I'm glad somebody else liked it. Many people dismiss it as horrible film without realising its a throwback to 80's exploitation flicks.

Anyway, I saw The Hangover.

Great film, I really enjoyed it. Probably a little overhyped though. Also, I think the film is carried by the performances of the leads, if they were replaced by Will Ferrell, John C Reilly and Seth Rogan it wouldn't of been as half as funny.

7/10

Haven't been watching much lately but I have seen a few.

Donnie Darko - Fantastic film, up there in my top twenty easily. It had so many levels and a chilling effect throughout that kept me hooked. I really rate Jake Gyllenhaal as an actor and thought his performance at such a young age was fantastic. A little confusing at times, but overall a brilliant film. I watched it again with the directors comments the next day. 9.5/10.

We Own The Night - Wasn't expecting much from a film I knew very little about but was pleasantly surprised. The premise and plot were interesting and the ending was very well done. A lot of the actors seemed to really shine in there roles as well, such as Mark Wahlberg and Robert Duvall who I really like, and Alex Veadov, who I'd never heard of but pulled of the Russian mobster gimmick very well. 7.5/10.

The Sentinel - Watched it last night and didn't find it too bad. Bit hard to keep up with due to all of the names being thrown at you quickly. Easy enough to get to grips with around the mid-point though. I liked the beginning scenes setting everything up, and the latter stages were great also. The middle just seemed to be there though, and didn't keep me gripped at all. 7/10.

Watched The Descent and Primeval (or Primeval Kill if you like, everyone seems to disagree on the name).

The Descent was disappointing. After enjoying the director's other two films, Dog Soldiers and Doomsday, I was expecting something good, but it was just dull, run of the mill horror. Nothing exciting or unique about it. Uninspired monsters and a dull cast of characters who's personality's pretty much came down to "The Protagonist", "The Asian" and "The Rest". Eh, it was watchable, but I wouldn't recommend it.

5/10.

Primeval was a bit better. Giant crocodile film, this time based on a real crocodile named Gustave, although obviously greatly exaggerated. I quite enjoyed it, but as a crocodile film, it doesn't work. Gustave has very little screen time, and most of the film concerns the civil war going on around him. This isn't a bad thing, the war is interesting and spices up the standard people vs monster thing a bit, but if you're watching just to see a crocodile fuck people's shit up, you'll be disappointed. All he really seems to do is jump out of the water whenever one of the warlord's soldiers has a protagonist cornered to eat him.

Still, as I said, as a monster movie, which is what it's billed as, it disappoints. Not as good as "Rogue", which was released at about the same time.

6/10.

Rewatched Army of Darkness.

Still amazing. This was the Blu-ray version, and it has the superior S-Mart ending (Hail to the king, baby) rather than the post-apocalyptic one.

No complaints with the film, but the Blu-ray isn't perfect. Film itself is excellent quality, but the special features are poor. The deleted scenes, and the Director's Cut are billed as "Standard Definition", but they're definitely not just normal 480p versions, the look like old VHS recordings, and sound even worse.

10/10, obviously.

Anybody seen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button?

It's a little bit of a strange film, but I did really like it. I thought the story was charming (as are most of F. Scott Fitzgerald's stories), and the two lead roles were played really well. I'd definitely recommend it to anybody who likes Dramas with a bit of a fantastical twist.

10/10 for me.

Gonna watch the new Harry Potter later today. Really looking forward to seeing it as I've been a big fan of both the books and the films.

At 7/16/09 10:30 AM, DannyIsOnFire wrote: Gonna watch the new Harry Potter later today. Really looking forward to seeing it as I've been a big fan of both the books and the films.

lol, I can't stand the films, mostly because I think that Daniel Radcliffe is a complete tit, and Emma Watson is just annoying. The only one I actually like out of the 3 is Rupert Grint (I think that's his name?), and even he isn't THAT good.

Thought the books were better, personally.

At 7/12/09 06:20 PM, TheMaster wrote: Casino Royale was good, but horribly overhyped. Hailing it as the best Bond ever is ludicrous, because it doesn't even come close to Connery at his worst, let alone at his best. Still, it was a solid action film, and Craig is good as Bond. 7/10.

I watched that a few weeks ago, and i actually enjoyed it. I hadn't watched a bond movie in a few years, so I didn't know what to expect with Craig Daniel as Bond and all, but i thoroughly enjoyed it, and he does Bond well. Some great action scenes. I also prefer it to the newer Quantum of Solace.

At 7/16/09 08:29 AM, NEVR wrote: Anybody seen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button?

It was a good movie, and actually quite original. It's kinda hard to make an original film now-days and a good one at that. I enjoyed the movie, though i must admit it was a bit slow. I wouldn't give it a 10/10, but a close 9/10 from me.

I re-watched Pulp Fiction the other day. The acting in that movie is awesome, and there's alot of funny/awesome moments in it like the breakfast scene XD Great movie, i think Tarantino's best. 10/10

Watched Mallrats.

Pretty awesome. Not quite as good as Clerks, but I'd rank it above Dogma. Jay and Silent Bob are hilarious as always, and I loved Jason Lee's character too.

8/10.

At 7/19/09 07:25 PM, TheMaster wrote: Watched Mallrats.
Pretty awesome. Not quite as good as Clerks, but I'd rank it above Dogma. Jay and Silent Bob are hilarious as always, and I loved Jason Lee's character too.
8/10.

Heh, great movie. I got that on DVD. There were some really funny moments, like the 3 nipple fortune teller, or when Jason Lee is on the dating program and tells the story of his cousin on the plane XD

At 7/16/09 08:29 AM, NEVR wrote:

I re-watched Pulp Fiction the other day. The acting in that movie is awesome, and there's alot of funny/awesome moments in it like the breakfast scene XD Great movie, i think Tarantino's best. 10/10

I liked Reservoir Dogs way more than Pulp Fiction. It was just like, a solid movie. Pulp Fiction was fun and all, but I didn't like the story. RD had a solid, interesting story, with amazing acting.

--------------------

I recently saw the new Harry Potter (the midnight show on opening day), and I have to say that it is unequivocally the best Harry Potter film, and a must-see. Honestly, it was the most fun and touching movie I've seen recently, and was an instant classic. It basically made the franchise (outside of the books themselves of course). It made me want to reread Harry Potter in full. I'm actually going to do that very soon.

Seriously, it is a ridiculously good movie.

10/10

I've ordered myself a copy of Watchmen:Director's Cut (Blu-ray) for my Birthday. Had to get it from the US because the UK is only getting the theatrical cut.

I'm looking forward to watching it.

Watched The Blues Brothers.

It was okay. Some chase scenes dragged a bit, and it didn't really pick up until a 1/3 of the way in, but I still enjoyed it.

6/10.