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

Unless I missed the review (it isn't listed), could you review Taken 2? Just curious of your view on it compared to the first.
 
Lucas15 said:
Unless I missed the review (it isn't listed), could you review Taken 2? Just curious of your view on it compared to the first.
Click to expand...

The bad reviews turned me off from seeing it, I'll probably catch it one of these days. Anyway, Pillar PM'd me that he was going to do a review for Taken 2, so expect it shortly.

Also, if anyone wants to do a guest review, just PM me with which movie you want to do.
 
Casino_Royale_2_-_UK_cinema_poster.jpg


Title: Casino Royale
Year: 2006
Country of Origin: UK
Director: Martin Campbell

Plot: Bond reboots in Montenegro.

Review: It's a little weird to call this movie a reboot. The bond franchise as a whole hasn't had much in the way of continuity or an over arching story...at least not since the Connery movies. The series basically reboots every time the series changes actors. Sure we go back to when Bond first gets his 007 designation, but it's not as if that actually matters to the plot. I don't why I am going into this, it's just a weird gripe that I have with this film's designation as a "reboot".

Actually I think I would call it a fresh start and a fresh start the series needed, especially after the bloated mess that was Die Another Day. Casino Royale distances itself from the excess of the Brosnan era Bond films. Gone are the ridicules gadgets and unbelievable set piece moments, you wont be seeing Daniel Craig surfing on a tidal wave What we are left with is a more realistic portrayal of Bond and as such the tone of the film is both darker and more serious than previous incarnations. It works well though, the action is well shot, the pacing is brisk, and despite it's darker tone, the film manages to remain entertaining throughout. The ending has it's problems, it's a little excessive. There is a shootout in a sinking building that should have been cut or reworked or I don't know, it didn't feel necessary and was kind of boring and a bit excessive.

I think I have talked about Craig as Bond here before, in this movie he is fine. He is believable as Bond and that's all you really need for a first outing. He grow in the role in the latter films and by Skyfall he pretty much owns the character. Overall, Casino Royale is a entertaining action film that gave the series both a new Bond and a much needed step back into reality.

[8/10]
 
Last edited:
Room_237_%282012_film%29.jpg


Title: Room 237
Year: 2012
Country of Origin: US
Director: Rodney Ascher

Plot: Kubrick faked the moon landing!

Review: A couple months back I helped a friend of mine move into his new apartment up in New Jersey. We drove up from Florida, so the drive was something like 18-19 hours. Anyway, it was roughly 3 AM, we were smack dab in the middle of a fog bank in North Carolina. I was scanning through the radio stations when I came across the most amazing thing I had ever heard on radio. A man was discussing UFOs and possible government cover-ups to hide the fact that aliens had visited earth. Anyway at some point he managed to connect his UFO tirade to the Kennedy assassination, I broke down laughing for the next five minutes.

This is the movie equivalent of that early morning radio program. It's a documentary chronicling different theories behind the meaning of The Shinning. These theories range from The Shinning is an allegory for the genocide of the American Indians, all the way too Kubrick made this movie specifically to state his role in creating the fake moon landing footage. The theories are pretty odd ball and usually only use a couple of things in the movie as evidence to support their theory. For example, one guy claims that the movie is an allegory for The Holocaust, but his evidence is that Jack Nicholson uses a German brand type writer and that the number 42 is sort of a reoccurring theme in the film...which it really isn't.

What's cool though, at least for people like me who has seen the film a couple of times is that some of the people they interview start to point out various continuity errors. Sure, they use the continuity as further proof of their theories, but they are kind of cool when pointed out.

I guess this is a documentary about obsession, but also about the love of film. Not everyone they interview espouses knowledge of hidden meanings and there is some interesting analysis of various shots in the film. Does The Shinning have a deeper hidden meaning? I have no idea, but if you've seen it a couple of times before then Room 237 is an interesting documentary. If you have yet to seen The Shinning, then what the hell is wrong with you. Go see The Shinning

[7/10]


Unfortunately no one in the film bothered to tackle the scene I embedded below. Which is too bad, I sort of wanted to hear a crazy theory behind this one.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmOoekbK6YI[/ame]
 
Mush said:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338564/ <- Watch plz

and

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1409831/

surprised you haven't watched/reviewed the first one but watched the departed
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention Infernal Affairs. I posted my massive Netflix DVD queue a couple of months and our resident guest review Pillar decided to see a couple of film on the list. The one film that I know he managed to watch happened to be Infernal Affairs. He said he would write a review for the film at some point in the near future.

Anyway, the film is still sitting on my DVD queue waiting to be watched, which I will...it's been one of those films that I have been meaning to watch since I saw The Departed back in 2006.
 
Ah, that's a shame. It's actually one of the best Disney movies to come out recently. Better than Tangled, imo (but not as good as Wreck-It Ralph).
 
Mr. Monday said:
Ah, that's a shame. It's actually one of the best Disney movies to come out recently. Better than Tangled, imo (but not as good as Wreck-It Ralph).
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't make it out to the movies as much as I would like too these days. I think the next film I'm probably going to see in theaters is either Inside Llewyn Davis or Anchorman 2.
 
0a0e7942-943b-44b4-be88-fab7686b2502_zps7c1fe1c4.jpg


Title: A Face in the Crowd
Year: 1957
Country of Origin: US
Director: Elia Kazan

Plot: Larry Rhodes, a drunken hobo, is interviewed by a local radio station for their vox pop style radio show. He sings a song and makes such an impression that they offer him his own show...where he makes such an impression some people in Memphis offer him is own TV show...where he makes such an impression...

Review: A Face in the Crowd is a surprisingly smart mediation on media and the power that it has on the masses. Sure there are parts that seem a little dated and hokey, but overall this is a film that still resonates today. Andy Griffith is fantastic here as Larry Rhodes, this is before the Andy Griffith show and probably the best I have ever seen Andy Griffith. The rest of the cast does a great job as well, especially Patricia Neal who plays the radio personality who discovers Rhodes. I think this is a fantastic film, that might be a little too dated for some. Still you should give it a shot if you get the chance.

[9/10]
 
Blowup_poster.jpg


Title: Blowup
Year: 1966
Country of Origin: Italy/UK/US
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni

Plot: A British fashion photographer thinks he might have caught a murder on camera.

Review: Blowup is...boring. Just kind of boring. Not a whole lot happens in this film and when something does happen it usually has little consequence to anything. The film is considered a classic in some groups, it inspired both Coppola's The Conversation as well as De Palma's Blow Out. Sure, there are some cool things in Blowup, but honestly it's not worth the slog, go watch Blow Out instead.

[6/10]
 
Targetsposter.jpg


Title: Targets
Year: 1968
Country of Origin: US
Director: Peter Bogdanovich

Plot: A family man slowly loses it as he plans to go on a killing spree. Also an aging horror actor retires.

Review: Targets is a perfectly serviceable thriller about a man who just looses it and goes on a killing spree. The film is also about an aging film actor known for horror films who is portrayed by an aging actor known for his horror film roles, Boris Karloff. There isn't much to talk about here, the acting is fine and so is the direction. The plot is a little clunky at times, but overall the film stays interesting throughout.

[7/10]
 
Taken_2_Poster.jpg


Title: Taken 2
Year: 2012
Country of Origin: France
Director: Olivier Megaton

Plot: Click here for more info on the plot!

Review: So the basic plot of this film is that the people Liam Neeson was murdering in the last film try to take revenge on Neeson and his family while they're vacationing in Istanbul. It's the kind of plot that works well enough to move the action forward. There is nothing particularly special going on here, it's the same type of husband/dad fantasy as the last film was, the only difference is that the Albanians now have his wife now instead of his daughter. Well actually there is another difference, where the first film felt fresh and energetic, this one is just feels tired and stale. The film does have some life to it when the action first starts off, but it soon devolves into a slow tired slog of cliches. Still, it could be worse and it's not offensively bad. I mean if there is nothing else to watch, then this will work just fine to kill an hour and a half.

[5/10]
 
Last edited:
Boogie_nights_ver1.jpg


Title: Boogie Nights
Year: 1997
Country of Origin: US
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Plot: The film chronicles a "family" of people who work in and around the adult film industry in 70s and 80s LA.

Review: This film is massive with something like 10 core characters and a run time of two and half hours, there is a lot of plot that this film covers. Fortunately, this is a Paul Thomas Anderson, who is more than capable of telling a story this size. The film mainly focuses on the character of Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg), a well endowed young man who becomes the new rising star of the adult film industry. While the main thread of the film is the story of Adams, who goes by his stage name Dirk Diggler for the film, the film follows and charts the stories of six or seven other characters.

It's all around impressive story telling made better by the more then capable cast. The film is chock full of talented actors. Stand out is Burt Reynolds, who plays adult film director Jack Horner, he really owns the character and is just really enjoyable to see on screen. I feel like Boogie Nights is just one of those movies that you need to see. It's just all around impressive film making.

[9.5/10]
 
Last edited:
Wondering if you have seen Prisoners?
Movie with Gyllenhaal and Jackman. I remember having it on my to watch list but I ended up forgetting about it before it was done showing in theaters...
 
ChocolateVillain said:
Wondering if you have seen Prisoners?
Movie with Gyllenhaal and Jackman. I remember having it on my to watch list but I ended up forgetting about it before it was done showing in theaters...
Click to expand...

No, I meant to see it, but never got around to it while it was in theaters. I still really want to see it though, I guess I'll have to wait for it to drop on HBO or Netflix or whatever.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top