Films: Rate and Discuss

[theotherguy]

THX 1138

8.5/10

George Lucas' first big film, and one of his best. The movie is about a post-apocalyptic society living underground that is fully controlled by drugs, automation, and social conditioning. Everyone has a number instead of a name, and all have pre-defined tasks that they must perform at all times. The story centers around a man designated THX 1138, and his attempt to escape from this society after they deem him insane for sleeping with a woman without authorization.

The dystopic future in this film is one of the most chilling I have ever seen. The thing about the society depicted in this movie that makes it so creepy is the way that it pretends, wholeheartedly, to be concerned about the wellbeing of all of its citizens, all the while turning them into chattel. This is evinced most fully in the way that the police officers talk in the film -- they have friendly, kind voices, and always seem overly concerned for the health of the people they are pursuing. They even maintain a cursory justice system, and religion, but both are simply formalities, as the judges, lawyers, and clerics are all obviously reading from a script.

The movie also benifits from having very little dialouge except for the radio chatter from the government as they watch THX 1138 in his attempt to escape. The cold, nonchalant manner in which they discuss his fate is terrifying, almost as if they are reading from an instruction manual.

 

[15357]

THX 1138

8.5/10

George Lucas' first big film, and one of his best. The movie is about a post-apocalyptic society living underground that is fully controlled by drugs, automation, and social conditioning. Everyone has a number instead of a name, and all have pre-defined tasks that they must perform at all times. The story centers around a man designated THX 1138, and his attempt to escape from this society after they deem him insane for sleeping with a woman without authorization.

The dystopic future in this film is one of the most chilling I have ever seen. The thing about the society depicted in this movie that makes it so creepy is the way that it pretends, wholeheartedly, to be concerned about the wellbeing of all of its citizens, all the while turning them into chattel. This is evinced most fully in the way that the police officers talk in the film -- they have friendly, kind voices, and always seem overly concerned for the health of the people they are pursuing. They even maintain a cursory justice system, and religion, but both are simply formalities, as the judges, lawyers, and clerics are all obviously reading from a script.

The movie also benifits from having very little dialouge except for the radio chatter from the government as they watch THX 1138 in his attempt to escape. The cold, nonchalant manner in which they discuss his fate is terrifying, almost as if they are reading from an instruction manual.

Extremely well put. I loved the movie as well.

But one thing, I don't think they 'pretend'. I think they do care about the well-being of the citizens, albeit in a twisted, horrifying way.



And wait, who exactly are 'they'? The one thing that bugged me the most is that there was no "Party", so to speak. Who is the mastermind of that society? Who controls the operating booths? Who is in charge?

I think it's implied that there is no one in charge, that whoever designed the system that this society runs on is long gone, and the system has actually become self-sustaining, without the need for guidance and control by a dictator. Kinda like in the novel, "Brave New World" by A. Huxley, the Alphas are in charge. But they are the byproducts of the same society they are continuing.

Anyway, one of my favorite scenes:

http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=166010

 

[PvtRyan]

Zombieland - 8/10

Good fun and I suddenly feel like playing Left 4 Dead (2).

Also, refreshing to see

Spoiler

a zombie movie that doesn't end in the cliche of a hero sacrificing himself, or simply dying. Especially refreshing to see a zombie movie that doesn't have the "kill an infected loved one" dilemma, so sick of that.

 

[Sulkdodds]

CoralineAnyone else get a huge adventure game vibe from the second half? The way the 'game' played out was very formulaic and objective based, and you even had things like seemingly useless items serving unexpected purposes, and the moon acting as a timer. The way the world crumbled and lost colour seemed very much like something you'd see in one of these games, too.

Hmm, now to read the comic...

Yeah, absolutely. What with 'get three random items from three seperate tasks (performed in any order) so that you can confront the final boss', I was incredibly surprised that they made a film of it before they made a videogame.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Heh, yeah. The entire time I was watching that sequence I was thinking "man this would make an awesome game... if I didn't already know how to solve it."

 

[Shift]

Children of Men - 9/10

Absolutely superb. Its exactly how I would picture society under that amount of strain. The attention to detail was incredible, just brief glimpses with the camera at different aspects of the set, to capture the sheer sense of chaos. Unbelievable camera work too, some of the best I have seen actually, I was fully immersed in what was going on and had pangs of fear at times too, few films can do that to me. Looses a full mark however, for a pants ending. How more anti-climactic can you get? lol.

 

[Dynasty]

Children of Men was awesome, but loads of people didnt like it too...much like every movie ever I guess.

What impressed me most was the feel and art of the film, you really felt thats how the future could be.

What REALLY blew my mind was

Spoiler

how the entire scene from where they get chased by the guy down the corridor (after they stay in that flat and she gives birth) to getting 'caught' again, to getting fired upon and they run into the bus and then into the building as the tank comes in is all ONE SHOT. It holds a record for the longest single shot in movie history or something?

When he gets onto the bus for cover and the guys inside get torn up by gunfire, blood splatters the camera's lense, and the development team had to edit out the blood for the rest of the shot.
So from the bus scene to across the road, to the tank shell hitting the building and him diving for cover, to running inside through the smoke and going up all those steps, the camera actually had (fake) blood on it.

They didnt yell cut because they had spent almost all day trying again and again to get the whole shot in one. People kept tripping, missing their timed actions etc.

 

[Shift]

Haha thats pretty hardcore. The coordination involved would have been off the scales D:

 

[Shift]

Black Hawk Down - 9/10

Nice to see unknown conflicts getting some publication. Very enjoyable and a very cool cast (although Orlando Bloom cannot do an American accent at all). I was expecting an over the top patriot act like with We Were Soldiers but the entire scenario seemed very believable and accurate, but its just a damn good luck that those Somalians couldn't shoot for shit lol.

 

[Yorick]

My only problem with Children of Men was that I found it to be a bit predictable - especially in terms of the ending. I quite enjoyed it aside from that, though.

 

[CptStern]

It holds a record for the longest single shot in movie history or something?

...Alfonso Cuaron used a particularly long shot to show the chaotic nature of a shootout in last year's Children of Men and even Alfred Hitchcock used the technique, filming Rope in only 10 total shots.


Those shots were all impressive, but the record-holder for longest tracking shot goes to Aleksandr Sokurov for his 99 minute shot in Russian Ark. Yes, the famed Russian filmmaker actually shot his entire movie, chronicling 300 years of Russian history, in one take.

.....

 

[Sulkdodds]

To be fair, Hitchcock probably would have tried to do Rope in one take too, but it wasn't possible with technology of the time (a reel is ten minutes...)

 

[PvtRyan]

District 9 - 8/10

If you ignore the pretty silly premise and the ham-fisted social commentary, this is an awesome action flick throughout the second half and just an entertaining and interesting movie in the first half.

 

[Remus]

Kairo 5/10 - The first and last Japanese "horror" movie I'll ever watch.

Extremely slow pace. Nothing happens the entire movie, save for maybe the last 10-15 minutes. I'm surprised I didn't fall asleep watching it.
Silly ghosts that looked like regular people that didn't get enough sleep.
Corny/unnatural/ captain obvious dialogue. Perhaps that's partly due to poor translation from Japanese to English, but somehow I doubt it. Almost no character development, they didn't manage to get me to care about any of them. Overall a waste of time.

 

[Tagaziel]

Sherlock Holmes - 10/10 as a detective novel.

Really, not much to say here - perfect actors for the roles, perfect detective story script, perfect filming...

 

[Lucid]

Where the Wild Things Are - 2/10
1 point for being nice to look at and another point for the kid actually being a decent actor.
It was non-sensical, boring, and felt overly pretentious.
How this is supposed be a children's movie is beyond me.

The Orphanage - 6.5/10...
Spooky, a treat for the eyes, and well acted.
However, the plot was pretty stupid and there were so many segments that just felt silly.

Dead Snow - 7.5/10...
A terrifyingly fun film about a group of Polish or German(not entirely sure) teens getting torn apart(quite literally) by... well... Nazi zombies.
Loses a few points for having some of the lamest dialogue ever.(though it might just be shoddy translations)

Stir of Echoes - 6/10...
Occasionally spooky, extremely slow paced, and an overly convulted plot for such a simple premise.
Great acting all around and it has a great atmosphere but that's it.

Outpost - 7.5/10...
Yet another movie about Nazi zombies only this time with a team of soldiers of fortune in a WW2 German bunker of sorts.
I got a slight Return to Castle Wolfenstein vibe from it.
Good acting, lots of gory scenes, and ****ing badass looking zombies.

 

[Remus]

Outpost - 7.5/10...
Yet another movie about Nazi zombies only this time with a team of soldiers of fortune in a WW2 German bunker of sorts.
I got a slight Return to Castle Wolfenstein vibe from it.
Good acting, lots of gory scenes, and ****ing badass looking zombies.

I might check it out, although from what I've read about it, it sounds like a generic B action/horror movie.

 

[Lucid]

It was a fun flick that I believe is entirely worth a rental for one of those nights where you have nothing else to do.
It has a great atmosphere and it managed to make me jump a few times.

Gets a bit goofy and gung-ho towards the end but I didn't mind much.
Also, generic? It has ****ing NAZI ZOMBIES. the most criminally underused type of zombie for movies.(afaik)

 

[Remus]

Just watched it. I think it was OK I guess. I give it a 6.5 out of 10.
The acting was good considering they were all unknowns. The only thing that really bothered me about the characters were the think accents.

Also the zombies reminded me of:

 

[Shyam]

Passion Of The Christ: 6/10

It felt like the whole movie was a torture movie. And yes, I know Jebus died for my sins, but still. But it was still a good movie IMO.

No Country For Old Men: 8/10 Brilliant movie. The movie was tense, and the pacing was good. Also, good acting all round.

Godfather 2: 9/10. What can I say, it's godfather.

 

[kupocake]

Animation double billed European lateness edition.

Princess and the Frog - 7/10 - Disney get back to what they should have been doing all along, but play it all a little too safe. Everything is solid, functional and just a little forgettable as a result, particularly Randy Newman's score (though perhaps repeated viewings will prove me wrong, I can't remember anything about it, offensive or pleasant). Better Disney movies have had less expert pacing, less pleasing visuals and less enjoyable voice acting (Mmm Keith David). Something just seems to be missing here (I hesitate to say it, but I fear it's any semblance of racial tension), but as the opening shot on a new era of 2D animation at Disney, they could have done a lot worse.

Ponyo - 5/10 - Shouldn't be too surprised, as Howl's Moving Castle started to show the first signs of wear and tear, but Ponyo seems very much a clear-cut case of an aged, somewhat bewildered master plotting nonsense whilst everyone around him is afraid to speak out about his recycled attire. It's all very beautiful and sweet, but you end up feeling so numbed against it all, and it certainly doesn't help that the characters seem to be spectacularly indifferent to everything going on ('Oh, your fish friend is human now? Whatever, I need to get dinner'). Ghibli paladins will probably defend the direction-less plot as some inspirational example of the trust Miyazaki invests in the attention spans of his younger audiences, but that doesn't exactly chime with the glut of expositionary dialogue the film lumbers itself with. Easily Miyazaki's worst.

 

[Dynasty]

I Spy - 2/10

I fell asleep in my mouth.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Ponyo - 5/10 - Shouldn't be too surprised, as Howl's Moving Castle started to show the first signs of wear and tear, but Ponyo seems very much a clear-cut case of an aged, somewhat bewildered master plotting nonsense whilst everyone around him is afraid to speak out about his recycled attire. It's all very beautiful and sweet, but you end up feeling so numbed against it all, and it certainly doesn't help that the characters seem to be spectacularly indifferent to everything going on ('Oh, your fish friend is human now? Whatever, I need to get dinner'). Ghibli paladins will probably defend the direction-less plot as some inspirational example of the trust Miyazaki invests in the attention spans of his younger audiences, but that doesn't exactly chime with the glut of expositionary dialogue the film lumbers itself with. Easily Miyazaki's worst.

Shit, that's what I was afraid of.

I literally can't watch Howl's any more without getting physically angry at how ****ing lazy it is (not animation-wise, but certainly every other-wise). It really seems like he doesn't have as much care for the craft as he did, or that he's just far too set in his ways. Even watching the Ponyo trailer, I was already a bit worried since I recognised basically every character from Spirited Away.

IMO, Miyazaki's films are at their best when they display the gentleness of the human spirit, but you can't do that effectively without dissent and conflict first, and Howl's took everything a little too much in stride...

I wonder if things would have been different if his son hadn't stolen his dream film from him and then ****ed it up.

 

[MJ12]

Dr. Strangelove

7.5/10

Decent movie so long as you understand the time in which it was made and what they were poking fun at.

I was entertained and laughed quite a few times, but I wouldn't say I'd be crazy about watching it again any time soon. Very slow.

Where the Wild Things Are - 2/10
1 point for being nice to look at and another point for the kid actually being a decent actor.
It was non-sensical, boring, and felt overly pretentious.
How this is supposed be a children's movie is beyond me.

The more I think about WWTA, the more I dislike it. I had forgotten about it for such a long time. Very disapointing movie, but not in the way I expected it to be.

Mark this in the ZT history books kids; it had way too much contrived indie fa*gotry.

 

[Lucid]

Yeah, I was expecting it to be a blast to watch but the director turned it into a boring intellectual art show.

 

[Warbie]

I thought it was shite too. Instead of a tale of endearing childhood discovery we get an annoying lead, an annoyng cast of monsters, and an annoyng plot. A modern day Neverending Story this is not.

 

[Deleted member 56031]

yeah i didnt like it either. Basically what happens when you talk a kids movie and make it all indy and artsy. Total shit.

 

[Unfocused]

Dead Snow - 7.5/10...
A terrifyingly fun film about a group of Polish or German(not entirely sure) teens getting torn apart(quite literally) by... well... Nazi zombies.
Loses a few points for having some of the lamest dialogue ever.(though it might just be shoddy translations)

...Norwegian

EDIT: LOL. I hope nobody caught that (except for mods). Still I realised my mistake 5 seconds after posting.

 

[Deleted member 56031]

Evangelion 1.01 and 2.0:

I went to a showing today of both evangelion movies at the GFT and immensely enjoyed it. Purely as a movie going experience it was the best I've ever had (take that avatar >_>) and hell the place cheered at the end of 2.0

I've already seen 1.01 and it was good typical eva. However, 2.0 was...unbelievable and extraordinary. I LOVED THIS MOVIE SOOOOO MUCH!!!

I dont know if I can go back to watching prior eva now cos it would seem like SUCH a step down. Quite simply immense

 

[Warped]

K-Pax 7/10

ok movie, worth the watch but nothing special. could have used a little more intrigue.

Hidalgo 8/10

fun movie with plenty to see and experience, acting was good but the script was rather Hollywood. if this really did happen i'm sure it would been much darker and gritty to watch

Running Man 8/10

Awesome movie i remember from my childhood but since it was in bluray and Rated R it is not how I remember it. also the sexual innuendos make a lot more sense now. last time i watched it i think i was 10 years old and it was a VHS copy of the television version which is pretty damn lame.

 

[Sulkdodds]

I didn't really go into Where The Wild Things Are expecting it to be a kids' movie, so I wasn't disappointed. What precisely do people dislike about it apart from "hur hur indie hipsters"? It was a mournful little fable of interpersonal politics with great visuals and a pretty amusing cast of characters.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Also worth noting Spike Jonze is a music video director. So, you know, he kind of specializes in silly hipster indie bullshit.

 

[knut]

and karen o did the soundtrack

man all the elements are there how'd you guys go in expecting anything else?

 

[Dan]

The Blade Runner - N/A/10

Wow.

I have no other words to describe it. Cyberpunkish, plus interesting plot. Sci-fi, but not exactly hard sci-fi, or the military sci-fi that I'm used to. There are no comic scenes, no lighthearted scenes that I could see. It was like Ghost In The Shell - Innocence, except with less action. It wasn't as serious, but it still made an impact on me.

It was interesting that all you got to see was the POV of the main character and that the world itself that the movie was based on couldn't be seen.

Clearly your consumption of alcohol has led you to review a non-existent movie title.

 

[15357]

Clearly your consumption of alcohol has led you to review a non-existent movie title.

Wut?

It said on the DVD cover "Blade Runner" in Korean, so I thought the english title would be that. :/

 

[VirusType2]

He's just messing with you. It's Blade Runner. I think he's talking about how you put "the" at the beginning.

 

[Dog--]

Law Abiding Citizen - 9/10

I think I reviewed this before but I don't care - I really really like this movie. This is probably my favorite movie of last year hands down. I love movies like this where there is lots of planning to bring someone/something down (hence why The Punisher is one of my favorite movies as well). I also like to applaud Gerard Butler for his North American accent - that guy can be anybody.

 

[Sparta]

Also worth noting Spike Jonze is a music video director. So, you know, he kind of specializes in silly hipster indie bullshit.

It's also worth noting that he made Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, which are both some pretty damn good films

 

[Yorick]

It's also worth noting that he made Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, which are both some pretty damn good films

Being John Malkovich is one of the worst films I've ever seen. It's up there with Death Proof, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and the Matrix Trilogy. And Transformers.

 

[Shift]

I'd agree Matrix 2 and 3 are plain awful, but 1 was epic come onnnn