American Reunion - 7.5/10. If you liked the previous three American Pie films you'll like this one, I'd say this is maybe the second best after the first one.
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American Reunion - 7.5/10. If you liked the previous three American Pie films you'll like this one, I'd say this is maybe the second best after the first one.
Promised Land - Matt Damon and Frances McDormand were very good in this. Gus VanSant exec produced it and Damon was co-writer. Really enjoyable, gentle movie. There is one plot addition that comes screaming off the screen and is so blindingly obvious that when the twist reveals itself, you feel a bit cheated - you feel like the makers are treating you that you're a gobdaw, yet when you realise that rather subtle twists don't go down well in the USA you understand it. Apart from that the movie is a moral tale about big business and fracking, the manipulation of corporations and how the sheep (people) can be led to the abatoir. It's something that should have played well with the academy, though since most movies get funded through energy corporations and big business, it won't get the backing. I'd recommend it for a late night viewing, just to enjoy it, just to let it wash over you. Damon is parallel to Ben Affleck in terms of development and he makes it happen. Still can't help but think of his portrayal in Team America at certain points. 7/10
Meant to add yesterday:
The Master - Sweet holy moley. Scary, disturbing, absorbing, depressing, impressive, deflating. It's obvious what it's about, though since Phoenix was born into a cult, and a desperately destructive one, it was brave. It's not as good as Argo (imo) though it is very enthralling to just let it wash over you. Some great turns, the yummy Laura Dern rocks up, Philip Seymour Hoffman is his usual solid sleazy self and Amy Adams (who I'd not really thought of as sexy) is Nicole Kidman for a new generation. 6/10
Say Anything - Wanted to watch it for years as I'm a big John Cusack fan. Great movie, really good acting, nice story line, very cool ending and some really surprising faces turn up (including Frasier's Dad). Soundtrack is still good, the dialogue is strong and the movie moves at a nice pace. Definitely a date movie, so long as your date watches it and doesn't announce after 10 minutes "This is a really good movie, but I'm tired. Happy Valentines Day, I'm going to bed." 7/10 (being alone on VDay evening took 1 mark off it)
was at Broken earlier as part of the Dublin Film Festival, introduced by Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy
it's intense, haven't had a film affect me this much since I saw Secrets and Lies
Whats it about Tets? (two actors I really like)Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
it's about a group of three neighbours in a cul de sac, one of the daughters tells a lie that spirals desperately out of control and leads to the breakdown of pretty much everything in the lives of those affected
Watched 'Project Nim' on the BBC iPlayer yesterday and thought it fascinating. It's a documentary about a scientific experiment undertaken in the 1970s between a chimpanzee, amusingly-named Nim Chimpsky, and his various behavioural psychologist carers as the carers attempt to teach Nim human language (in the form of American Sign Language) so they can better communicate thoughts and ideas to and between one another. Nim appears to be making significant progress but the experiment is ultimately frustrated by his natural limitations. His grasp of language extends really only as far as making pragmatic signs aimed at satisfying his own immediate needs, such as "Nim wants banana". Communicating grander, more complex ideas of an abstract or metaphyiscal nature, or even just the formation of coherent grammatical sentences, seemed beyond him. Still, very interesting overall and I'd recommend giving it a look.
I saw it the other day. Very interesting indeed. A little bittersweet in places as well.
I suspect the linguistic experiment has continued to the present, using basic - some might say simplistic - language construction to indicate certain rudimentary needs of the subject under scrutiny. You know, 'Trap wants Whelan', '442 good', 'punch McCarthy' etc, but more advanced cognition has largely failed to be articulated.
Eh...
just finished watching Drive. Am I missing something? It's been held up as some masterpiece and all I saw was a vague story of boy meets girl; boy gets involved with mobsters; boy gets girl.
And the mood making shots. Total bullplop. Sure throw in a star wipe while you're at it. Crap.
3/10
Take your point on Drive, however, got to admit the opening cinematography of LA at night was pretty cool plus the soundtrack throughout was top notch and v. atmospheric....;)Quote:
Originally Posted by BonnieShels
I'm glad Broken was mentioned, one of the better movies I've seen in the last couple of years. Very emotional at times, really nice storyline running through it and women certainly don't come out of it in a good light. All said, Tim Roth is very good, the little girl who plays the lead role is excellent. Found myself clapping at the end. 8/10
Saw "Olympus has Fallen" in the cinema - holy god, what absolute rubbish, I really believe that Hollywood is intent on churning out movies for morons and the americanisation of the world is complete. The theatre was about half-full to start with, by the end there were (I counted - almost like at an LOI match) 6 people left. I figured out the following:
1. US Secret Service and police are pure useless, they need Mel Gibson to train them (a la The Patriot) or to forget the redcoat march forward and stop the bullets mentality.
2. Completely unbelievable and not in an interesting way (like the way in which Andy McDowell gets hot for Gerard the Russian).
3. Why is there such a need to show gore and murder in high def? Are people so brainless that they need to see a dying, twitching body (or knife in the brain) to know someone has expired?
4. While it was nice to see an honest black man in power in America, he also broke the code of negotiating with terrorists.
I can't go on as it's insane, completely insane. Dylan McDermott proved to be an idiot, Gerard Butler is a tryhard (and shoots girls) and Aaron Eckhardt is best remembered for spooning with Frasier.
Can't recommend this lowly enough. 2/10 (2 for the music - which is standard hollywood for any such movie, but it's nice).
saw it at the Dublin Film Festival. The director, Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy came out to introduce it. Excellent film, how one lie snowballs to destroy three families in a cul de sac. Very hard to watch in places, but well worth itQuote:
Originally Posted by Spudulika
Agreed Tets, there are some parts where I wanted to look away, but there was something beautifully compelling about it. Cillian Murphy has become one of my favourite actors, Tim Roth I like more and more (saw him recently in Arbitrage and he was very convincing.
Watched The Perks Of Being A Wallflower last night. Very good film, set in the school year after something happened to the main character over the summer.
Emma Watson does a passable American accent, among some very strong performances from the three main leads. If you liked Saved! or Charlie Bartlett, you should give this a look.
The book is superb so the film let me down a bit.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone - I guess it can be called an assemble cast with a really sexy female support (the delicious Olivia Wilde). Not really a funny movie, but some giggles and smiles. I don't know what to make of Steve Carrell, I don't get him, he might be a good comedian but as an actor he is too wooden for my liking. Steve Buscemi is funny, the scene with him in Burma or somewhere was really good - if you see when he gives a kid a rabbit it's great. Alan Arkin is good in it, James Gandolfini is interesting and I think back to his best after the tosh that was that mafia show (only watched half an episode fully and clips of others). Jim Carrey is the scene stealer and completely mad in it. He goes back to his goofy best right at the end, but until then is superbly creepy and cool. Olivia Wilde, well, she's just a dishy Irish chick, good actress and funny. Nice cameo from Jay Mohr, but it's just a nice watch without being useful. I wouldn't see it in the cinema though.
Story - young boy finds magic helps him get friends and positive notice. He and his nerdy childhood friend become stars in Vegas. Zany rival comes on the scene, steals their thunder and then the friends fall out and lose their gig. Then they realise they're better together, the go head to head with the new rival and on you go.
Shirley you can't be serious?Quote:
Originally Posted by Spudulika
This is 40
The sort of sequel to Knocked Up. I have a tendency to love Judd Apatows output and this was no different. Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann were excellent together. I laughed a lot. I think anyone who is married and over 30 will find this funny.
Oh and Megan Fox is immense.
I don't know if anyone else had the misfortune to see Hangover 3, well, it's worth a look if you're drunk and have no other choice. I know it's gotten bad reviews and that it's generally poor, but there are some funny moments, except Alan is actually quite scary in it. He seems to have gone totally around the bend and just isn't as funny as the first one. Glad to have seen it end as the pretence of the movie series is good. 2/10
Also caught the movie "Phantom" online, a story about a Soviet submarine with a decent cast that seems to meander through all sorts of static moments. David Duchovny is supposed to be a KGB fanatic, Ed Harris a brain damaged submariner and SP Flannery just a body in there. Lance Henriksen is a good guy for a change, but it's just too unbelievable and would have been better with an unknown crew. From what I heard it's based on a Russian movie of the same name, though I haven't found the original. 3/10