I just watched Blow. A biography of the American drug smuggler George Jung, who's played by Johnny Depp.

It's a pretty good film overall and an interesting biography. As far as films about drugs and drugsdealers go it doesn't really stand out though. I also think it dragged on a little bit in the last half hour. But it has a nice soundtrack and it is quite well acted.

I think it makes a good rent.

At 9/30/11 05:00 PM, Auz wrote: I just watched Blow.

Really loved that film.

I watched The Mechanic with Jason Statham the other night. I'm a big Statham fan and like the vast majority of his movies. However, from an unbiased opinion the movies pretty average and not to dissimilar to his other "one man on a mission to kick the crap out of everyone" flicks. One thing that did stand out was the different style of action. Rather than going all gung-ho the movie focused a quite a lot on stealth. Nice twist for Statham and something a little new.

Ben Foster was good as the sidekick and the chemistry between the two of them wasn't terrible. Nice to see they didn't throw in a female love-interest that would take away from the action. Films like this are about one thing and don't need soppy, emotional scenes slowing them down.

The ending was fairly predictable and probably the weakest part of the film. Overall Statham fans will enjoy and appreciate the subtle differences between this and his other films. Everyone else should either give this a miss or save it for a Friday night with the beer flowing freely.

Saw two films today.

First I went to the theater to see Jane Eyre.

Apart from the first chapter I haven't read the book (yet), but I suppose this is a good adaption. I think it was a nice film, quite well acted and the plot is obviously very good. It is "one of a great many" adaptions though and I'm not sure if this is really a noteworthy one. I don't think it's a must-see, but if you're interested in old English literature or like the book then this will be probably be a nice watch for you.

Second, I finally got to watching one of the films in the war box I bought months ago. I decided to go with Das Boot.

It's quite a long film (3 hours 15 minutes), but it managed really well to keep the viewer interested I think. There are a lot of tense scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It also manages well to make you care about the characters and happenings on the boat.

All in all a very good film in my opinion. I would recommend everyone to watch it if you haven't already. It's worth it.

Tonight I went to the theater to see The Debt.

It got pretty decent ratings overall, but I walked out kinda dissapointed to be honest. The film tries to tell a good story and I could see the idea behind the way it was told, but it just wasn't executed all that well.

What I think the film mainly fails at is making the audience care for the characters and hate the evil nazi surgeon. There were mostly perfectly logical reasons behind the characters actions and logical reasons to hate the villain, but it doesn't do a good job bringing this over. I felt that the film was too melodramatic at times, too slow at times and after the plot twist the film becomes a bit dull.

So this is one to skip in my opinion. I don't think it's worth the time. It's certainly not bad, but it's nothing interesting.

I'm looking to crack on a film at some point soon since I don't have work for a couple of days, I used to watch a lot but now I don't really have the time to nerd up on what's good. If anyone could recommend me something it'd be much appreciated.

I don't like really over produced blockbusters or 'popcorn movies', I'd prefer something acclaimed or cult. No thrillers either they aren't my thing. Anything original, well made with a good story :)

Here's a few examples of what I like - City of God, Clerks, Big Lebowski, Kids, Fear & Loathing, Breathless, lock stock, waltz with bashir, spirited away, Snatch, Four Lions, Annie Hall, Children of Men, American History X, the life aquatic.

At 10/2/11 06:18 PM, Fim wrote: I don't like really over produced blockbusters or 'popcorn movies', I'd prefer something acclaimed or cult. No thrillers either they aren't my thing. Anything original, well made with a good story :)

Romper Stomper or Made In Britain. I think both films are awesome and are pretty much cult films.

I just came from the theaters where I saw Tropa de Elite 2 - O Inimigo Agora É Outro (A.K.A. Elite Squad 2 - The Enemy Within). A Brazilian crime and action film set in Rio de Janeiro.

Don't get fooled by the somewhat cheesy title that would suggest it's a sequel to a crappy B action flick. It is an excellent film. Good plot, well acted, exciting action scenes and all in all very well executed.

It is in my opinion one of the best films I've seen this year. If you liked City of God I'm pretty sure you will love this one too. Go check it out as soon as you have the chance.

And I just check out The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which was on TV.

A very good film with an interesting concept in my opinion. I do think it was a little bit longwinded though and the ending felt somewhat unsatisfying to me. I feel they could've done a bit more with the old man in a childs body idea.

But all in all an interesting watch.

At 10/2/11 06:18 PM, Fim wrote: Here's a few examples of what I like - City of God, Clerks, Big Lebowski, Kids, Fear & Loathing, Breathless, lock stock, waltz with bashir, spirited away, Snatch, Four Lions, Annie Hall, Children of Men, American History X, the life aquatic.

Withnail and I sounds right up your street. I just gave it a rewatch tonight and loved it just as much as I did the last time.

At 10/6/11 11:56 PM, EclecticEnnui wrote: Over the weekend, I saw The Lion King in 3D.

Yeah there's a limited release at my cinemas. I was wondering if it was worth checking out. Although it's not something I would call my childhood favourite, it is one of those films I grew up with. The thing is though, I actually already rewatched it not too long ago...

Saw SO MUCH films in the last 2 weeks.

The round-up of the best films beyond all these would be X-Men:First Class, Paul, Source Code and A Cross the Universe.

X-Men was outstanding, this film pushed the envelope of my expectations for it, the special effects, the scenery, it was very good. What also made me continually watch the film is the fact that Charles (Professor Xavier) looks particularly like J.D from Scrubs.

Paul was absolutely brilliant, it's about this quirky British geek duo who go on holiday to America to attend various comic conventions, but to their surprise, they come across this rude, free-minded alien who becomes their best friend and turns their holiday to something they would never even dream of.

This is a definite must watch, it was so much fun to watch that I got sucked into the actual story, it's amazing, My favourite from the 4.

Source Code disappointed me, I expected so much more by watching the trailer, Jake Gylenhall definitely plays a good part but story-wise this films was bland and repetitive, as I said, I expected much more from this, wouldn't recommend buying the DVD.

Finally, A Cross the Universe, a brilliant and fun documentary about the antics of Xavier and the other guy from Justice on their tour. A Must watch if you're a fan of Justice.

I just came back from the theaters to check out Warrior with Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton.

I have to say that the film isn't exactly original. The story of a lower class guy (or two brothers in this case) who's trying to work his way up and make ends meet by entering cage/boxing/wrestling matches and tournaments has certainly been done many times before (Rocky, Million Dollar Baby, The Wrestler to name a few). And the usual drama and family issues are all in here too.

But once again it makes for a very good and enjoyable film. One of those films that really makes you feel for the main characters and almost makes you want to cry from happiness when the credits roll. The plot is very good, the characters are likeable and it is certainly well acted.

Along with Tropa de Elite 2, I think it's the most worthwile film currently being showcased and certainly one of the top films of this year.

At 10/6/11 06:30 PM, TheMaster wrote: Withnail and I sounds right up your street. I just gave it a rewatch tonight and loved it just as much as I did the last time.

After reading this post I decided to give it a watch and I really enjoyed this film. Withnail was such a great character, he was pretty eccentric in a very funny and charismatic way, while at the same time making an ass of himself. Marwood was pretty easy for me to relate to so I guess that helped me find Withnail to be pretty likeable but an ass at the same time and also made certain scenes with Monty to feel a bit uncomfortable while still being funny.

Overall I found it to be a pretty great film and I'm sure I'll end up watching it again sometime.

Hello all. For those of you who know who I am outside of this club might want to jump on this idea right now. For others who don't then just go with the flow.

I will be doing something for the entire month of November relating to movies and I'm sure it will be something that this club can enjoy. However I'm going to need your help. All you have to do is answer a few questions as well as give some details as to why.

Top 3 Favorite Actors/Actresses
I ask that you please list your top three favorite actors/actresses as well as list two movies of said actors best works.

Top 3 Favorite Movies
I want you to list for me your top three favorite movies as well as list two scenes of said movies that you found to be the best parts of the movie.

Top 2 Favorite Directors
I want you to list for me your top two favorite directors as well as list three movies of said directors best works.

Top 3 Others
This can be a combination of writers, musicians, cinematographers, what have you. They have to serve a purpose in the creation of motion pictures in someway or another.

All I ask is that you please do this for me. It will be important TRUST ME!

At 10/8/11 11:17 PM, The-Great-One wrote: Top 3 Favorite Actors/Actresses
I ask that you please list your top three favorite actors/actresses as well as list two movies of said actors best works.

Edward Norton- American History X & Primal Fear
Robert DeNiro- Goodfellas & The Godfather: Part II
Steve Buscemi- Reservoir Dogs & Trees Lounge

Top 3 Favorite Movies
I want you to list for me your top three favorite movies as well as list two scenes of said movies that you found to be the best parts of the movie.

American History X- The dinner scene where Derek confronts Murray & the scene where Derek gives a speech to the other skinheads before they wreck that grocery store.

Pulp Fiction- The scene where Jules and Vincent come to get the briefcase from those guys & the scene at the end where Tim Roth's character and his woman rob the diner that Jules and Vincent happen to be in.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest- The scene where McMurphy gets angry with Nurse Ratched after what happens with Billy & the end where Chief does what McMurphy had talked about (tried) earlier in the film.

Top 2 Favorite Directors
I want you to list for me your top two favorite directors as well as list three movies of said directors best works.

Martin Scorsese- Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull
Quentin Tarantino- Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Top 3 Others
This can be a combination of writers, musicians, cinematographers, what have you. They have to serve a purpose in the creation of motion pictures in someway or another.

Ennio Morricone (Composer) This man has composed some of the best music I've ever heard in movies. Example

Frank Darabont (Writer) Wrote screenplays for films such as The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist.

Danny Elfman (Composer) Elfman has composed music for so many movies/shows that I enjoy (The Simpsons theme, Tales From the Crypt theme, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, Batman, Beetlejuice... the list just goes on and on) and his music always makes it a more pleasurable experience.

At 10/8/11 02:48 PM, chiefindomer wrote:

At 10/6/11 06:30 PM, TheMaster wrote: Withnail and I sounds right up your street. I just gave it a rewatch tonight and loved it just as much as I did the last time.

My mate reccomended that film along time ago and I've still yet to watch it, despite buying it a while back. Apparently the first twenty/thirty minutes are a carbon-copy of mine and my mates life a year or so ago. Really want to check it out for that reason alone.

At 10/8/11 11:17 PM, The-Great-One wrote: Hello all. For those of you who know who I am outside of this club might want to jump on this idea right now. For others who don't then just go with the flow.

I'll do this later tonight as I'm already late for work.

At 10/8/11 11:17 PM, The-Great-One wrote: Top 3 Favorite Actors/Actresses
I ask that you please list your top three favorite actors/actresses as well as list two movies of said actors best works.

I'll list two of both if you don't mind. I know many good actors, but I just can't think of a third right now for some reason.

Actors
Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, The Shining
Johnny Depp - Edward Scissorhands, Pirates of the Carribean

Actresses
Natalie Portman - Black Swan, V for Vendetta (and Leon)
Helena Bonham Carter - Fight Club, The Kings Speech

By the way, I believe Marlon Brando (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) is widely considered the best actor that has ever lived. Might be interesting to write something about him.

Top 3 Favorite Movies
I want you to list for me your top three favorite movies as well as list two scenes of said movies that you found to be the best parts of the movie.

Oh boy this is going to be difficult...

The Big Lebowski
-The musical scene ("I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in")
-The scene with Jesus Quintana

But seriously, every scene in this film is hilarious.

Old Boy
-The fight scene in the hallway filmed from the side
-The final scene where all is revealed

Apocalypse Now
-The ending scene with the cow slaughtering with music of The Doors at the background (one my favourite bands)
-The scenes with Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore which are hilarious

Top 2 Favorite Directors
I want you to list for me your top two favorite directors as well as list three movies of said directors best works.

Only two???

Christopher Nolan - Batman: The Dark Knight, Memento, The Prestige
The Coen Brothers (Joel and Ethan) - The Big Lebowski, Fargo, No Country For Old Men

But I would also check out any film created by Quentin Tarentino (Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds, Kill Bill), Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howls Moving Castle), Darren Aronofsky (Requim For A Dream, Black Swan, The Wrestler) and Tim Burton* (Big Fish, Sweeney Todd, Edward Scissorhands).

*Have to admit that Tim Burton is a bit hit and miss with me though.

Top 3 Others
This can be a combination of writers, musicians, cinematographers, what have you. They have to serve a purpose in the creation of motion pictures in someway or another.

All I ask is that you please do this for me. It will be important TRUST ME!

Ennio Morricone - Great musician. Made the score for The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, One Upon in the West, Inglourious Basterds (part of the soundtrack) and probably many other films.

The Coen Brothers (Joel and Ethan) - As writers.

Quentin Tarentino - As a writer.

---------

Obviously everything I wrote above are just my personal favourites. Not really what I think is the best of all time. If that was the case I'm really not doing anything from before the earlier film eras any justice.

At 10/8/11 11:17 PM, The-Great-One wrote: Top 3 Favorite Actors/Actresses

Brad Pitt: Inglourious Basterds, Fight Club
Tom Hanks: Saving Private Ryan, Philadelphia
Christian Bale: The Prestige, 3:10 to Yuma

Helena Bonham Carter: Sweeney Todd, Fight Club
Carey Mulligan: An Education, Never Let Me Go
Ellen Page: Inception, Super

Top 3 Favorite Movies

The Prestige
The opening scene.
The final scene.

Catch Me If You Can
Can't remember any notable scenes.

Inglourious Basterds
The stand-off at the pub with the Nazi, Wilhelm.
The theater scene near the end.

Top 2 Favorite Directors

Christopher Nolan: The Prestige, Memento, The Dark Knight
Steven Spielberg: Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Empire of the Sun

Top 3 Others

Danny Elfman (Composer): The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride
Eric Roth (Writer): Forrest Gump, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Hans Zimmer (Composer): The Dark Knight, The Lion King

At 10/8/11 11:17 PM, The-Great-One wrote: Top 3 Favorite Actors/Actresses
I ask that you please list your top three favorite actors/actresses as well as list two movies of said actors best works.

Robert De Niro - The King of Comedy, Raging Bull
Christian Bale - American Psycho, The Fighter
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood, Gangs of New York

Honorable mentions to Gary Oldman, Sam Rockwell, Al Pacino, and Brad Pitt.

Top 3 Favorite Movies
I want you to list for me your top three favorite movies as well as list two scenes of said movies that you found to be the best parts of the movie.

Goodfellas - Funny how? and Robert De Niro's breakdown at the phone booth.
Zodiac - The scene where Jake Gyllenhaal is in the poster guy's house, the scene in the hardware store
There Will Be Blood - The oil rig explosion, the confrontation between Plainview and his adult son

Top 2 Favorite Directors
I want you to list for me your top two favorite directors as well as list three movies of said directors best works.

Martin Scorsese - Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull
Paul Thomas Anderson - Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, Punch-Drunk Love

Top 3 Others
This can be a combination of writers, musicians, cinematographers, what have you. They have to serve a purpose in the creation of motion pictures in someway or another.

Charlie Kaufman - Writer of Adaptation, Being John Malkovich, etc
Alexandre Desplat - Great composer
Roger Deakins - The go-to cinematographer for the Coens, does great work

At 10/9/11 09:49 AM, Makeshift wrote:

At 10/8/11 11:17 PM, The-Great-One wrote:

Top 3 Favorite Movies

The Prestige
The opening scene.
The final scene.

Catch Me If You Can
Can't remember any notable scenes.

dude the scene where tom hanks is like i still wanna know how u passed the bar, and hes like i studied for 2 weeks and passed it is the best scene cause it showed that he was very smart not just a faker

lets see i watched hanna.....BLAH

i am number 4, i can see it having sequels but nothing super but ok

and finally transformers dark of the moon....wtf this failed without megan fox...cause that new chick was dog faced

i instant Q'd a few korean thrillers and such on netflix will let u know when i watch.

At 10/10/11 12:33 AM, Cootie wrote: Has anyone seen Real Steel? My friends said that the movie was good, but it just looked cheesy as hell.

I haven't seen it but I've been told its way better than it looks

I watched Bringing Up Baby yesterday. A 1930's comedy in black and white.

Pretty classic film I'd say. It has this typical kind of humour where misunderstands just keep stacking up and everything keeps getting out of hand. Nowadays this kind of comedy might be a bit old and cliche, but I can imagine at the time the film was hilarious. And I still got a good chuckle out of some of the jokes.

At 10/10/11 12:33 AM, Cootie wrote: Has anyone seen Real Steel? My friends said that the movie was good, but it just looked cheesy as hell.

It just looks like robots bashing the shit out of each other, but then a little bit better than Transformers. I might check it out if it's not only in 3D here.

Anybody been watching horror movies for Halloween? I recently watched Dracula (1931), Night of the Living Dead, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Also even though it isn't a horror movie and not really a movie at all It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

Well shit, the Thing is getting a bunch of bad reviews. The trailer makes the movie look freaking sick, though, and the John Carpenter movie is one of the best horror movies ever made.

At 10/8/11 11:17 PM, The-Great-One wrote: Hello all. For those of you who know who I am outside of this club might want to jump on this idea right now. For others who don't then just go with the flow.

Dude, there's no way I can stick to those number limitations. I'll put something together later, though, if you don't mind me breaking the rules of your list.

At 10/9/11 10:38 PM, ghostxero wrote: i instant Q'd a few korean thrillers and such on netflix will let u know when i watch.

You have to see the Man From Nowhere and Oldboy. Those are fantastic Korean movies. A Tale of Two Sisters, Joint Security Area, Sympathy For Mr. Vengance, Lady Vengeance, and Thirst are all good, too. That is, if you haven't already seen all of those.

At 10/11/11 06:27 PM, The-Great-One wrote: Anybody been watching horror movies for Halloween?

yup. I was rewatching Trick 'r Treat the other night. I forgot how awesome that movie is. I've got a bunch that I plan to watch. There's an Indian movie called Fired that I wanted to see, but I don't think that's going to happen. I still have to get around to watching and returning a Prophet before I can start renting out horror DVDs. I switched to the one dvd at a time, no streaming deal. But here's what I've got lined up so far for this mont

the remake of Last House on the Left (even though I didn't care for the original)
in the Mouth of Madness
Hiruko the Goblin
I Saw the Devil
Mother
Dante 01
Dagon
Tokyo Zombie
Wild Zero
the Horde
Cronos
From Beyond
the Machinist (saw it a long time ago, but don't remember it much anymore)
Jigoku
Frailty
Primal Fear
Fear(s) of the Dark ( I recall ennui recommending this)
Inside
Stalker
Black Swan
Even Horizon
Santa Sangre
Monsters
Inferno
Opera

and several Masters of Horror episodes
Cigarette Burns
Pelts
Pro Life
Jennifer
Dreams in the Witch House
Fair Haired Child
Incident on and off a Mountain Road
and one episode with a title that I don't know. It's about a woman who wakes up hung over on New Year's Day after a disaster that brings about a zombie invasion.

If any of these suck even for a cheesy gorefest with no true redeeming qualities (I find those to be pretty entertaining) or if any of these are particularly good, I'd like to know what you guys think. I'm honestly thinking of skipping a few of these like Changeling and the Last House on the Left remake. If anybody has seen it, is it goofy and corny like the original? Because that can be alright for a horror movie, but not with the subject matter of that movie. I appreciate dumb bloody cheesefests, and I appreciate truly good horror. Although it's nearly impossible for a movie to scare me. The only time I was scared by a movie was when I watched Halloween for the first time when I was like 9 and it gave me nightmares for at least a week. The closest since then was the Thing, which creeped me out but I found it more awesome than disturbing.

Also, if anybody finds that any of these aren't quite appropriate for a Halloween marathon, let me know.

I recently watched Dracula (1931), Night of the Living Dead, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Also even though it isn't a horror movie and not really a movie at all It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

Honestly, I think Night of the Living Dead is overrated. Dawn of the Dead is great, though and so is the remake.

At 10/12/11 11:29 PM, Sense-Offender wrote: the Machinist (saw it a long time ago, but don't remember it much anymore)

It's almost a monster movie since they show Christian Bale's body in this. I mean the main character of this film is basically just a skeleton wrapped in skin. All kidding aside, it's one of the better psychological thrillers I've seen.

Primal Fear

I'm not sure how familiar you are with this movie but I wouldn't really consider it a horror film. I'd describe it as a courtroom drama with a bit of thriller mixed in. Just thought I'd point this out in case you were expecting it to be a scary movie since it looks like you were listing it as part of your Halloween list. It's still an awesome movie though, that's definitely worth watching. Edward Norton's performance in this movie is right up there with his performance in American History X and even surpasses his performance in Fight Club imo.

At 10/13/11 03:04 AM, Travis wrote: In Time - Justin Timberlake has always been a funny guy on SNL, I want to see how he takes a serious role.

I actually thought he did a pretty good job in Alpha Dog. Considering it was the first time I saw him act and I only knew him as the most popular guy from N'sync at the time, I was quite impressed by his performance in that movie. You may want to check out Alpha Dog for yourself.

The Evil Dead - I loved Army of Darkness, so I need to see this one AND the second one.

I'd say ED 1&2 are even a little better than AoD.

Drive - People are saying this movie is great. If it's at all better than the first Fast & Furious then we will be good to go.

Contagion - Something about this movie is just appealing to me. If anything, I think the reason I want to see this is because of the Pandemic games here on NG.

These are both movies I definitely plan on seeing as well.

127 Hours - James Franco is a great actor and I love him in everything. The epitome of a likeable guy. This I want to see...

This really was a good film and a pretty solid performance from Franco. The only complaint I've heard people say was that the movie was boring because it wasn't graphic enough and they wanted him to panic more or appear to be in more pain. I think those people should just go watch one of the Saw movies if that's really what they want to see.

Kill Bill Vol. 3 - I don't know what else they can do... but this should be good. Gotta love Uma Thurman.

This is one I'm really anticipating. Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to be quite a wait.

Hi there members of the cinema club, its been a while since I posted in here.

I have general question for you as I'm intrigued what the answers would be:

What is the worse movie you have ever seen and why?

Personally I struggle to choose between Disaster Movie and Signs. Disaster Movie was just a complete insult to the movie industry with its terrible jokes and bad attempts at spoof. Whereas Signs was just simply hauntingly bad. It's been a while since I've seen it so can't really remember why but I can remember seriously wanting the time I spent watching that movie back.

At 10/13/11 09:16 AM, Decky wrote: Hi there members of the cinema club, its been a while since I posted in here.

I have general question for you as I'm intrigued what the answers would be:

What is the worse movie you have ever seen and why?

Well that has to be Date Movie for me. Probably for the very same reasons you hated Disaster Movie. It's a very poor excuse for a comedy film and so far one of the very few films that I turned off halfway in.

I think the worst I've seen was Meet the Spartans. Just terrible, terrible comedy.