I recently saw 12 Monkeys, which was brilliant. It had a lasting effect on me. I watched part of the documentary on the making of the film, which I may finish watching some time.

Watched Pan's Labyrinth again the other day. What a film. I sincerely recommend it to anyone who likes the fantasy genre.

Also, I watched the first 10 or so minutes of Death Race a few nights ago, but had to finish some work so I didn't watch it all. Has anybody watched the whole thing, and if so is it good enough to warrant me spending the time to go back and watch it all? It looked fairly decent from what I saw, but sometimes these films can disappoint you.

At 12/14/08 08:30 PM, EclecticEnnui wrote: If you want, you can also watch the short film that it was based on.

I will probably do that. thanks.

It tells its story almost all in photographs. It's pretty neat.

Yeah, Gilliam and the others discussed it in the documentary, which I should probably watch in its entirety.

At 12/14/08 07:50 PM, NEVR wrote: Watched Pan's Labyrinth again the other day. What a film. I sincerely recommend it to anyone who likes the fantasy genre.

That's one of my favorite movies. The Devil's Backbone is also good. I wish Del Toro would pick up that 3993 project again and finish it. I was looking forward to it.

Rewatched Green Street last night and remembered how much of a great film it is. Not everyones cup of tea but for someone who can relate to a lot of the story, it's a fantastic watch.

recently watched:

Happiness (1998)

It was sick, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think it was a good film.

Recently watched;

The Dark Knight - 9/10
Serenity - 9/10
Falling Down - 7/10
Dead Man's Shoes - 7/10

I watched a Fistfull of Dollars, for a Few Dollars More, and am now waiting for the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly to arrive from Netflix. I'm liking these movies. And I saw Zodiac, which was pretty good.

At 12/18/08 03:01 PM, DannyIsOnFire wrote: The Dark Knight - 9/10
Serenity - 9/10
Falling Down - 7/10

Those were all awesome.

Dead Man's Shoes - 7/10

I've been considering seeing that for a long time now.

Watched Die Hard 2.

FUCK YEAH DIE HARD.

8/10. Not quite as FUCK YEAH as the first Die Hard, but still awesome. The way he blows up the plane is one of the best things ever.

Watched Die Hard With A Vengeance.

It was good, but didn't "feel" like the other two films. As a standalone action film, it's fine, as a Die Hard film, it isn't.

7/10.

I loved the first Die Hard and With a Vengeance. I didn't really like Die Hard 2.

And I watched Die Hard 4.

Worst of the lot, but still okay. Baddies were crap compared to the other 3, and the superhuman ninja people were very out of place in a Die Hard film. The fact it was a 15 rather than an 18 made it a bit limited, too, McClane hardly shot anyone, it was all explosions instead, and they ever went as far as to cover up Yipee-Ki-Yay, Motherfucking with a gunshot.

Eh, it was okay. 6/10.

Watched Dogville (2003) the other day.

Gotta say, it was for a lot of the time really disturbing for me to watch, simply because the film was practically about the mistreatment of innocence and how anyone can be so horribly perverted when it comes to public concensus.

You should all watch it though, going through it all for the ending is so very worth it.

8/10

Watched The Dark Knight, and I wasn't expecting it to live up to the ridiculous hype, but it really is fantastic. It's not perfect, Two-Face could have done with more screen time, I preferred him to The Joker, but the film gets everything so right I can forgive it that.

9/10.

Recently watched:

Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace
6/10. As awesome as Qui Gon Jinn and Darth Maul are, they hardly make up for Jar Jar Banks and Anakin "YIPEE!" Skywalker.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture
7/10. Not what I was expecting at all, I was pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately it all just felt like an extended episode of the series, and it'd all been done before. Vger was basically just Nomad from "The Changeling", and because of this I actually guessed it'd be Earth tech before the reveal, which spoiled that a bit. Still, decent film, if a bit slow in places.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
9/10. That's more like it. I wasn't really a fan of Khan in "Space Seed", but he's way better here. The subplot with Kirk's son could have been dropped though, as it wasn't given enough depth and just felt tacked on. There's so little of it it doesn't spoil the film as a whole, though, and it remains excellent viewing.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

movies I got for Christmas:

No Country For Old Men
Ichi the Killer
Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance
the 13th Warrior
the Dark Night

At 12/25/08 06:05 PM, TheMaster wrote: Watched The Dark Knight
9/10.

I'd give it a 10.

At 12/27/08 11:46 PM, Sense-Offender wrote:

At 12/25/08 06:05 PM, TheMaster wrote: Watched The Dark Knight
9/10.

I'd give it a 10.

I can never give anything a 10, because I don't really think any film is perfect.

At 12/28/08 07:30 AM, TheMaster wrote: I can never give anything a 10, because I don't really think any film is perfect.

Yeah I agree.

Although I do think films should get 5 stars, because that's a much lesser judgment of a film.

At 12/28/08 03:31 PM, thegreatmorph wrote: Although I do think films should get 5 stars, because that's a much lesser judgment of a film.

Yeah, because stars aren't usually "5 out of 5 stars", it's just 5 stars, so it doesn't sound like you're saying it's perfect.

Actually, don't star ratings normally only go to 4 anyway?

Also, note: Jurassic Park is the exception to the no 10/10s rule.

At 12/28/08 04:10 PM, TheMaster wrote: Yeah, because stars aren't usually "5 out of 5 stars", it's just 5 stars, so it doesn't sound like you're saying it's perfect.

Exactly my point, I'm just not eloquent enought to put it as well as you did :P

Actually, don't star ratings normally only go to 4 anyway?

Umm no the definately go up to 5. Most reviewers just don't like using 5 stars as it's the maximum that they can give a film.

Also, note: Jurassic Park is the exception to the no 10/10s rule.

Can't agree with you there, although it was way ahead of it's time and I did enjoy it.

At 12/28/08 04:30 PM, thegreatmorph wrote: Umm no the definately go up to 5. Most reviewers just don't like using 5 stars as it's the maximum that they can give a film.

I've definitely seen some that only go to 4 with regards to films, I just assumed it was the standard. Wikipedia says it can be either..

"Among reviewers of movies, TV shows, theatre, and music, the star system is the most popular classification system. One star generally indicates the worst rating though some reviewers use "No-stars" or "Bomb" to indicate the lowest rating possible. On the other end four or five stars represents the highest rating possible."

I think the 10/10 rating is there to be used and some films deserve it. nothing is perfect, but I think films that are as close to perfect as one can be should be rated 10.

Watched Star Trek III: The Search For Spock.

8/10. Better than TMP, not as good as Wrath of Khan. Ending was too long, since it was effectively finished once they left the Genesis planet, all the bit with the Vulcan ritual thing could have been cut down. Good apart from that.

At 12/28/08 09:55 PM, EclecticEnnui wrote: Yesterday, I saw the Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke.

REALLY want to see that. Roll on the DVD release.

At 12/29/08 05:59 AM, DannyIsOnFire wrote: REALLY want to see that. Roll on the DVD release.

Seconded, although Sin City was vastly over-hyped I did enjoy his performance a lot. That and I saw an interview with him and he was fucking hilarious.

Watched Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

9/10, but not as good of a 9/10 as Wrath of Khan. It was awesome, but not that awesome. It's a miracle they pulled off such a good film with such a ridiculous premise. Aliens sending a probe to Earth to communicate with the now extinct humpback whale, which as a side effect of communicating disables all electronic equipment and causes storms, prompting Kirk to go back in time and steal two whales from a Sea World-esque place to call the probe off (whales are actually as intelligent as man, if not more so, apparently).

It all works, though, and it's got way more humour than the previously 3, which isn't unwelcome given it isn't as action oriented as the others, it'd have been a bit dull played straight.

I saw the Forbidden Kingdom. The lousy Never Ending Story plot and lame main character kinda fucked it up, but Jackie and Jet had their moments. And I saw in Bruges and Zack and Miri Make a Porno, which were both alright. I saw the Grifters as well. meh. I also saw the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, which was awesome just like the other two movies in the trilogy.

Watched:

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
6/10. Worst of the lot, easily. Kirk fights God, who is a giant floating head who shoots lasers from his eyes. Not terrible, but not up to scratch with the rest.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
8/10. Better. Nice to have more focus on McCoy than the previous films. It's not II or IV, but it's still good.

I watched a French film today called Cache. It was really slow, but it wasn't bad.

Saw Yes Man today.

I actually liked it, despite how it was a typically formulaic Jim Carrey film. Was mildly funny and I quite liked the soundtrack too, although it was so predictable I kinda stopped paying attention to it and went for a poo.

5/10