Article ITT I attempt to review every movie I've seen.

[Sexy Beast]

Have you seen "The Place Beyond the Pines"?

Really odd movie that kept changing story lines.

One of those movies I've been meaning to watch...also apparently super decisive. I've heard people call it terrible and great.

 

[Sexy Beast]

Title: RoboCop
Year: 2014
Country of Origin: US
Director: Jos? Padilha

Plot: I'd buy that for a dollar...or $2.07 if you adjust for inflation.

Review: It's not bad. It's not really all that great, but it's not bad. At least it's not as bad as it could have been. The plot is roughly the same; relatively upstanding cop, Alex Murphy, gets in over his head and is blown the pieces. The a vaguely insidious corporation puts him back together again as a crime fighting cyborg.

The satire is somewhat there, mostly dealing with militarization and privatization of the police force. It's no where near as sharp as the originals, nor as well set up, but it is serviceable. There are some fun bits where the film delves into the marketing aspects of introducing robocop. The film also lacks the visceral punch of the original. The violence is substantially muted in comparison to the original film, which makes sense considering its PG-13 rating. Taken in of itself, it is a serviceable sci-fi action film, though one that is considerably less fun than the original.

For another take on this film, check out Pillar's review.

[6/10]

 

[Sexy Beast]

Title: Left Behind
Year: 2014
Country of Origin: US/Canada
Director: Vic Armstrong

Plot: Ace pilot, Nicolas Cage is a standard run from JFK to Heathrow. When out of no where his co-pilot get raptured. Will he be able save the plane and have a theological revelation in the face of the oncoming biblical apocalypse...yeah, he probably will.

Review: So for the uninitiated, this film is an adaptation of the best selling Left Behind series. A gigantic series of books detailing the world in the events after the rapture. I have not read any of them and have pretty much only been vaguely aware of their existence. None the less, this is a best selling franchise and attempts to bring it to the 'big screen' have pretty much only yielded disastrous results. This latest attempt is no different. We're looking at low budget effects, ham-fisted dialog, and enough melodrama for three soap operas. Nicolas Cage is at his least engaging here and oh man...does the film suffer for it. Overall the production is just a plodding ball of dullness. Avoid it if you can...which really shouldn't be all that hard.

[2/10]

 

[Sexy Beast]

Title: Point Blank
Year: 1967
Country of Origin: US
Director: John Boorman

Plot: Following a deal that went south, Walker was shot and left for dead. Months later he is back, trying to track down those responsible and reclaim the money that was stolen from him.

Review: Point Blank is a pretty solid neo-noir with the visual and story trappings of the New Wave movement that was taking over French Cinema at the time. The plot itself comes off almost like a fever dream, in fact some fans of the film question whether or not the film is actually happening or is just a dream that the Walker is having after he gets shot at the start of the film. All in all, if you are a fan of noir, you should definitely check this one out. On a side note, the film is based on a book called The Hunter, which was later adapted again as the movie Payback.

[8.5/10]

 

[Sexy Beast]

Title: Payback
Year: 1999
Country of Origin: US
Director: Brian Helgeland

Plot: Following a deal that went south, Porter was shot and left for dead. Months later he is back, trying to track down those responsible and reclaim the money that was stolen from him.

Review: There are two versions of this film floating around out there, neither are particularly good. There is the theatrical cut, which is overlong and over stuffed and not particularly good. Then there is the 'Straight Up' cut, where they cut out a lot of the useless extra bits. The 'straight up' cut is definitely the better version, but still not all that great. The main issue with the film is that it is really cartoony and in some ways reminds me of John Wick in the way it goes about building its world. I mean the 'straight up' cut, which is the cut that's on Netflix right now, isn't the worst movie...but it's no Point Blank.

[6.5/10]

 

[Sexy Beast]

Title: Threads
Year: 1984
Country of Origin: UK
Director: Mick Jackson

Plot: ♪It's The End Of The World As We Know It...And I Feel Fine♪

Review: You know in movies when they talk about the a nuclear holocaust and there is that one guy who says 'the survivors will wish that they were dead' or something like that...well this movie shows why. The film itself is a docudrama detailing the events leading up to a nuclear exchange between NATO and Warsaw Pact countries and the aftermath of that exchange. It takes place mostly in and around the city of Sheffield.

Ok, so here is a warning...this film is dark, like really really dark. Also, disturbing, which I was not expecting from a made-for-TV movie from the 1980s. It makes sense though since the filmmakers are very much anti-nuclear weapons and wanted to depict the worst case scenario, which is also the mostly likely scenario when it comes a nuclear exchange between east and west. There is a lot of media out there on nuclear holocausts, but Threads really takes the cake in depicting just how horrible a nuclear war would be.

[9/10]

 

[_Ace]

Well then, why does threads sound really good, but extremely emotional. I can only imagine how the lighting must have been done

 

[Sexy Beast]

Well then, why does threads sound really good, but extremely emotional. I can only imagine how the lighting must have been done

There is a quote on the film's Wikipedia page that best sums up the impact that the film has on the viewer:

Threads works on the viewer with a peculiar power: one finds oneself horrified, fascinated, numbed, provoked, unsettled, made restless. Its power may be the effect of its oscillation between form and content being so heavily weighted toward the pole of content—in this case, that threat of nuclear destruction which cannot help but feel "real"--so that we are unable to relax into Threads as "just" a movie, as we do when watching, say, Terminator II: Judgment Day.

Like, I saw it yesterday for the first time and I've been thinking about since. There is something about it that weighs heavily on conscious.

Also:

[ame]https://vimeo.com/18781528[/ame]

As far as I can tell, the Vimeo video is the best way to watch it online...outside of the usual piracy routes.

 

[Sexy Beast]

Title: Don't Look Now
Year: 1973
Country of Origin: UK/Italy
Director: Nicolas Roeg

Plot: Still recovering from the death of a child a husband and wife experience strange events while in Venice.

Review: Back in the 70s they used to do double features, where they would have a 'B' movies followed up by the main feature. When Don't Look Now originally premiered its preceding 'B' movie was The Wicker Man...which is pretty crazy considering they are two of the most respected British horror films of all time. Like that has to be the one of best double feature in the history of cinema.

As you can probably tell from my intro, Don't Look Now is a solid thriller/horror. It's incredibly well made and acted, featuring an unsettling environment and foreboding tone. The whole movie keeps the viewer off balance and forces you to constantly questioning if what is happening on screen is reality or not. It might be a little on the slow side for modern audiences, but is definitely worth watching if you're into classic horror cinema.

[8.5/10]

 

[Sexy Beast]

Officially on the Mad Max hype train...choo choo​

Fury Road is in the literal sense amazing, a wonderous blast of fun that's sure to warm the heart of even the most jaded anti-blockbuster audience member. Go see this film, and then go see it again... and again

http://twitchfilm.com/2015/05/review-mad-max-fury-road-a-tour-de-force-masterpiece.html

Films are built painstakingly in fractions, one moment at a time, but Fury Road is like a thing born in an explosion, roaring to life fully formed as the end product of some cinematic Big Bang. It feels more new than we have a right to expect from any sequel, and even with missteps in mind is bracingly progressive, and a triumphant return for George Miller.

http://www.slashfilm.com/mad-max-fury-road-review/

"Mad Max" doesn't just depict conflicts with evildoers in a tattered existence. It delivers a rare alternative to aggressively stupid action movies. At a time of great need, Max rides again.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/re...is-the-best-action-movie-of-the-year-20150511

Everything looks churned and charred: the heat and desert have turned everyone mad, like Max. As someone says: “Do not become addicted to water; it will take hold of you and you will resent its absence.” It could be a poster tagline for this entirely demented film

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/11/mad-max-fury-road-review-tom-hardy

This is the richest of the four films thematically. It's the best script in the series overall. The way it grapples with ideas of both patriarchy and matriarchy, and the world feels lived in. It overwhelmed me. It was so much more than I hoped it would be, so much more than Hollywood has convinced us any blockbuster needs to be. George Miller is still the King; long live Mad Max.

http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captur...a-high-watermark-for-blockbuster-action-films

Expect a review Friday morning.

 

[_Ace]

I laughed at that picture for a solid 5 minutes in the middle of class(very quietly).

 

[Sexy Beast]

I laughed at that picture for a solid 5 minutes in the middle of class(very quietly).

Lol, it's a picture that truly best sums up my hype for Mad Max. Like I'm wish that it was Thursday already so I can go see it.

 

[Sexy Beast]

Title: Left Behind: The Movie
Year: 2000
Country of Origin: Canada/US
Director: Vic Sarin

Plot: Uhh...less to do with the rapture and more about an international conspiracy being orchestrated by the Antichrist.

Review: So, yeah...I'm kinda watched another Left Behind movie. Unlike the Nick Cage adaptation, which seemed primarily concerned about people rationalizing the rapture, this one dives head first into international conspiracy. Like following the rapture, the UN takes over everything and there is strain of wheat that can grow anywhere or something. It's all pretty dumb of course, but way more entertaining than the 2014 iteration...which isn't really saying all that much.

[3/10]

 

[Sexy Beast]

Title: Mad Max: Fury Road
Year: 2015
Country of Origin: Australia/US
Director: George Miller

Plot: What a lovely day.

Review: I am actually taken aback on how much I enjoyed this movie. I was pretty hyped going into it and it some how managed to live up to all of my expectations. The action is stellar, the acting is fantastic and the pacing is pitch perfect. Though the real crowning achievement of this is its world building. The film's world is one of the most imaginative and fully realized that I have every seen. It is compelling, grotesque, and endlessly amazing. Seriously, George Miller has proven himself as one of the most imaginative filmmakers working today.

Equally amazing, is Tom Hardy's turn as the titular character. You immediately buy into him as Max and he really does an amazing job at selling the 'Mad' aspect of the character. Like Hardy's Max is more a rebid animal than a man in the start of the film, whose only instinct is survival. The film's protagonist though is not Max, but Charlize Theron's Furiosa. She's awesome in the movie and whatever backlash her character has inspired is unfounded. Go see this movie, no seriously, in theaters. Miller originally planned to shoot two films back to back, but the studio wanted to see how this one would perform before they commission the second film. I want to see a second film and after seeing this one, you'll want to see a sequel too.

[9.5/10]

 

[Sexy Beast]

Ok so bad news, or good news...it depends on how you look at it.

I'm going to London for a month. I'm leaving on Monday...so probably no reviews for a month. I'm bringing my laptop though, so if I find time I'll post a couple reviews.

 

[_Ace]

GUEST REVIEW TIME!! Also, have fun in London, and bring us some pictures!

 

[ChocolateVillain]

Oh man a whole month :*(

I still have a huge list of movies to catch up on anyways. Also I still need to see Mad Max.

 

[Sexy Beast]

London is awesome so far...except for the pubs. Everything closes down ridiculous early.

Anyways, here's some good movie news: The Coen Brothers usual cinematographer has signed on to do the Blade Runner sequel..so at the very least it'll look nice.

 

[ChocolateVillain]

Anyways, here's some good movie news: The Coen Brothers usual cinematographer has signed on to do the Blade Runner sequel..so at the very least it'll look nice.

[I'M AN IDIOT]

I feel you tho that this will greatly help the visuals of the movie at least.

Going back and watching the remastered version, man was it a beautiful movie. Such stunning set pieces and atmosphere.

 

[Sexy Beast]

Can't really call them Coen brothers anymore... Coen Siblings!

Uhh...wait what? I thought that was just the Wachowskis.