Rate the last movie you watched out of 10

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That's what I was thinking the point was, but still, it felt a little dull. Fair play to them trying to make a point, but it encroached on my enjoyment of it.

I can see why it's a cult film, though.
 
Somebody at Film4 must have had some cinematic revelation because we have a series of films by Ozu every Thursday from 11 AM.

Last week was The Only Son and today was Late Spring. Both films show why Ozu is held in high regard and had me emotional. I suggest you guys start watching because there's another of his films on next Thursday.

Both films were 10/10.
 
Let Me In

Remakes are only worth watching if you do something new or change something... Anything. Removing subtitles DOESN'T count.

It can be said that the remake for Let Me In is for an American audience who doesn't do subtitles therefore can't be bothered watching Let the Right One In. Well the Americans have changed Oskar into Owen and Eli into Abby, moved the action from Sweden to New Mexico and the cast is speaking Englsih.

I suspect that cynical reading has some truth but the remake, Let Me In, is actually a very good horror film. Coming as an antidote to the Twilight dirge, this film loses the angst and alienation and focusses on desperation and slick CGI blood-letting and creepiness.

Matt Reeves remains faithful to the original for the most part but truncates secondary characters to focus on Owen's terrible home and school life. Abby is like some savage angel come to free him. I found the horror far more effective thus more of a hook for my attention.

How much you like this film depends upon a weird calculation involving your tolerance for remakes coupled with the almost mythic status the original has. I suggest going into this with an open mind.

9/10
 
We Are What We Are

Best film about cannibals this year might not sound like much of a recommendation but it is. And ironically enough, it's the bits not involving cannibalism that are the most gripping.

The film is set in Mexico City and looks at social issues of corruption and poverty through the twisted lens of a cannibal family and the police investigation to track them down. What emerges is less Texas Chainsaw Massacre and more family drama which is less horrific but much more easily identifiable.

It's interesting watching the power-plays within the family and the way everybody is conflicted and driven by memories.

Beware though because the film isn't so much gory as a slow build up to a frantic final third.

8/10
 
Chico & Rita

A beautifully animated love-letter to the post World War 2 jazz age. This film is a gorgeously animated and scored glimpse into the lives of two people born musical geniuses yet destined to be thwarted as lovers.

It is equally heart warming and tragic but most importantly it takes place in a world often neglected by mainstream culture - that of jazz. It shows the power of the music, the popularity it had and the hypocritical racism that dogged the artists that performed it.

I liked it.

8/10
 
Due Date

Uptight architect Peter Highman (yes, that does lead into a joke) is travelling to LA to be with his wife for the arrival of their first child. Unfortunately he meets aspiring actor Ethan who happens to be heading to Hollwood. And gets Peter thrown off a plane and drags him on a road-trip across America.

Like Planes, Trains and Automobiles only with less heart and laughs. I was expecting something genuinely hilarious but my laughter was stuck in first gear, occasionally going into second. It's not that the actors aren't funny (Downey Jr. is on top form and takes punching kids to a new level of funny) but it's the fact that a lot of it seemed contrived and the attempts at taking the characters on an emotional journey are hampered by the fact that the film focusses on the physical journey and ensuring as much hilarity is dragged out of it.

The film is not bad. Just not as memorable an experience as I had hoped.

7/10
 
Jayme said:
Were you a fan of The Hangover, Genkina?
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I haven't watched it. I heard so many positive things about The Hangover so I was intrigued... tempted to rent it... but I never got around to it.

When I was leaving Due Date I came to the conclusion that I had not missed much in not watching The Hangover.
 
I was disappointed in The Hangover, quite a bit really. It's okay, nothing groundbreaking, but there are far better comedies out there. Even fluff like Get Him To The Greek is a lot more enjoyable. So yeah - your not missing much; neither am I, it seems.
 
Shutter Island

Shutter Island is a 2010 American psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese. The film is based on Dennis Lehane's 2003 novel of the same name. Leonardo di caprio stars in this twisted, mind game of a film.
Based on an Island used to House the mentally unstable who have committed serious and in cases deadly/fatal crimes, resulting in them being shipped off to shutter island for “help”.

In 1954, U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his newly assigned partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), go to the Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island located in Boston Harbor. They are investigating the disappearance of Rachel Solando, a patient who apparently vanished from a locked room. Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley), the head psychiatrist, explains that Rachel was institutionalized after drowning her three children. As the days go on Di Caprio becomes aware of a conspiracy and potentially darker motives of the orderlies and psychologists in charge of the institute.

As the story progresses new characters arrive, previous characters disappear and all is not as it seems, with an interesting plot that twists and turns at every corner showing you how the minds of men work in a world where sense has lost all meaning and purpose. The characters are deployed in a very well written storyline, sometimes gaining the backstory before the character is shown and in other times vice versa. The cinematics are very natural looking and in most cases are few and far between, this film is not one of CG and visual arts, but more based on the story and the journey you take to reach the end of the film. The end of the film itself puzzling and leaves you in doubts as to what is real and what is not. In the end you choose for yourself…. Or do you?


Story: 9/10
Acting: 9.5/10
Cinematics: 8
Length: 8.5
Overall: 9/10
 
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Was enjoyable, surprisingly. I didn't find Dobby's death sad though. Ah well.

8/10
 
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Unstoppable

Stanton, Southern Pennsylvania, family man and veteran rail employee Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) is called upon to train family man and new guy Will Colson (Chris Pine). Elsewhere, a slack rail employee sets in motion a driverless train which is carrying dangerous chemicals that could cause a huge explosion.

Yardmaster Connie Hooper (Rosario Dawson) battles with her superiors and works with the police to try and stop the train before it hits a populated area… and a train full of school children… Really. Who will save the day? Frank Barnes and Will Colson obviously.

This film is thrilling. Anybody familiar with Tony Scott's films, their editing, cinematography and rhythm will know that he can put together an exciting thriller and this run-away train tale is just that! Exciting, I mean. I think there's something deeper going on with the subtext involving the fate of rust-belt America which gives this film some depth too.

8/10

I'm currently watching The Chaser on iPlayer. Excellent film but the ending is grim so it only gets 7.
 
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Kind of hard to concentrate on the film since Emma Watson became so legally spoodge-worthy, but I thought it was pretty well done, overall. Looking forward to the last one, should be spectacular.
 
ilmaestro said:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Kind of hard to concentrate on the film since Emma Watson became so legally spoodge-worthy, but I thought it was pretty well done, overall. Looking forward to the last one, should be spectacular.
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You didn't rate it out of 10 o_O

;) xD
 
I know I cheat so often by rating individual television episodes, but this is another time I need to. Community produced another spectacular episode, this time inspired by the very Christmassy Rankin/Bass stop-motion films. Having done Zombies, Bottle episodes, Action films as well as building up great characters and world in other episodes, this was a worthy addition to its canon.

Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas, 10/10.

The episode, from beginning to end, is in stop-motion animation. The plot is thus: Abed (the self-aware dude) wakes up one morning and begins to see everyone in stop-motion animation and once he tells his fellow Study Group guys, they get Prof. Ian Duncan (John Oliver) in on the job to try and fix it and see why such a thing is happening -- this leads to Duncan (and the gang) delving into Abed's wildly imaginative mind. I don't want to spoil in case someone ever picks up this wonderful show. Anyway, one of the things that this show does better than other "comedies" is using drama and sadness to its benefit. This, in particular, is such a sombre 20 minutes that I actually began to cry at the end; it's hilarious, don't get me wrong, but its very sad, too. I really can't wait to see where Dan Harmon, the creator, takes us/me in the new year. <333

(Also, the episode is on YouTube. If you have 20 minutes to spare, I so very much recommend it. Parts 1, 2 and 3.)
 
Godot said:
ilmaestro said:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Kind of hard to concentrate on the film since Emma Watson became so legally spoodge-worthy, but I thought it was pretty well done, overall. Looking forward to the last one, should be spectacular.
Click to expand...

You didn't rate it out of 10 o_O

;) xD
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Emma Watson/10

:p
 
Easy A, 10/10.

It's totally not worthy, in all honesty, a 10/10, however it done exactly what it needed to to make me fall in love with it. It's a very funny, very tightly written and adorable film that knows it's type of story and audience incredibly well. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if a lot of its audience don't know John Hughes, and films like these rarely come around now, or if they do, its in the form of "Superbad". Whereas "Adventureland" used the darker edges of the Brat Pack and Hughes films, this embraced the more comedic sensibilities topped off with extra amazingness (i.e. romance?). Emma Stone isn't Molly Ringwald, but she's incredibly close.

Great cinematography, too! The film was mostly Emma Stone non-stop, but her supporting players were good. I know a lot of them from various films and TV shows, so there was nothing surprising, although they were necessary for the world-building going on.

A good comparison of the writing would be the "Scream" films written by Kevin Williamson. In them films, the characters know horror films and their tropes well. The same happens with this, except replaces horror with brat pack/teen drama.

It was directed by Will Gluck, his second film, apparently; and his third: "Friends with Benefits" also sounds good.
 
The Warrior's Way

Two ancient clans warring for 500 years find their cycle of violence broken when Yang (Jang Dong-gun), greatest swordsman in the history of mankind. Ever. saves the life of a baby girl from a rival clan. Heading to America with the baby, he ends up in the town of Lode populated mostly circus folk. Here he encounters Lynne (Kate Bosworth), a knife thrower who simmers for revenge after evil cowboys led by The Colonel (Danny Huston) murder her family. Yang teams up with the inhabitants to defend the town from the cowboys whilst falling for Lynne but soon his clan catches up with him.

The dialogue and characterisation are both dull archetypes that could have been lifted from any number of cheap genre films. Indeed, I found this film to be familiar and a bit of a let-down because it is too tame with its self-knowing humour. It has a great concept that could have come from any one-shot comic.

The Warriors Way doesn’t do anything revolutionary apart from the CGI. That is the only reason to see it. The backgrounds are gorgeous to look at and cover a wide variety of locations. Apart from that, the fights are pretty tame (no gore)… slightly stylish but I found the most interesting things are the fights between Kate Bosworth and Danny Huston.

Indeed, I found Danny Huston the most compelling character on the screen, seething with personality – perverted and urbane.

Rental at best.



6/10
 
The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Cambridge, World War 2. Edmund and Lucy Pevensie are staying with their fastidious cousin Eustace Scrubb while their older siblings are in America. One day, a painting of an ocean with a ship begins spraying water on the three. Soon they find themselves transported to an ocean in Narnia and rescued by King Caspian and his ship The Dawn Treader. He is on a quest to find seven lost lords and save Narnia from an evil magic.

Directed by veteran Michael Apted, this is the third in the trilogy and the biggest in scale thus far. It was filmed in Australia with a real boat and the locations are gorgeous. It is hard to fault them much as they cover gothic castles, ruined temples and North African slave markets. The 3D version wasn't that spectacular.

Characterisation and plot were simple but then this is a film aimed at children and I am in my 20's. Combat is enjoyable and the actors do their job well. Not likely to challenge you but it's a good simple film.

6/10 Add an extra 1 for every year younger you are than I... if that means it gets 14/10, it's YOUR fault.
 
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