What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

[Markgway]

The Hot Spot (1990-USA) **½
Dennis Hopper's neo-noir is smart and sexy, but after two hours the viewer deserves a more satisfying, less soap opera conclusion.

[HungFist]

The CGI blood was a nuisance. I wish people would stop referring to these films as 'old school' as there's little old school about them other than the star. I enjoyed The Expendables 2 on a similar level, so I'm not sure what Hung will make of it. Hasn't The Last Stand opened in Japan yet? It's out on BD in three weeks! Already on DVD in some countries. And yeah, the US art is much better. I don't think the UK release did itself any favours plastering Johnny Knoxville over the poster and giving him equal billing. He's actually third billed (after Forest Whittaker) and only Arnie's name is before the title.

Opens today. Japan gets most US movies with a major delay. I have no idea why...

Your comment about old school is spot on...

[Markgway]

Jacob's Ladder (1990-USA) **½
Vivid, complex psychological horror is mostly gripping, but damaged by a conclusion that raises more questions than it answers.
E.g. Did Jake imagine the drug trial in a state of near death? Did the soldiers really turn on each other? Can we assume therefore than nothing we've seen is true?

[grim_tales]

I still have to watch that.

[Markgway]

Deceived (1991-USA) **½

Competent thriller plays like an above average TV movie.

[gasteropod]

Jacob's Ladder (1990-USA) **½
Vivid, complex psychological horror is mostly gripping, but damaged by a conclusion that raises more questions than it answers.
E.g. Did Jake imagine the drug trial in a state of near death? Did the soldiers really turn on each other? Can we assume therefore than nothing we've seen is true?

He didn't imagine the drug trial, it's the drug trial that caused his death at the hands of one of his fellow soldiers. The film is taking place within his mind as he's dying and he has to let go of everything before he can move on, and it made more sense and was complete in its original cut that freaked test audiences out too much, check out the deleted scenes on YouTube and the Making Of.

[Markgway]

I didn't know the film was cut.

If the Matt Craven's chemist is REAL, how could Jake know of him from his coma? He'd never met him before the 'incident'. There's no way Jake could know any of the stuff his envisions whilst on the verge of death.

I'm off to watch the Deleted Scenes to see if they help matters.

EDIT: OK. Watched the three DS and the ending still doesn't make sense.

Jake could not have hallucinated about an event (the drug trial) and a person (the chemist) he never knew of/met

It's a fascinating film that just doesn't add up in the end. Shame.

[Markgway]

MacGruber (2010-USA) *

An original, intelligent, and very funny Hollywood comedy.

Nah, just kidding!

[Lourdes]

The Thin Red Line - 4/5
The ensemble cast was a big distraction - and to think that many more were cut out - but a damn good film.

Black Orpheus - 4.5/5
Gorgeous film, amazing music... Don't over-think the myth it's based on as it does fumble a bit in trying to interpret it when it's a really fine story in its own right.

A Royal Affair - 3/5
Got a bit bored and gave up, but I'll still rate it as a solid piece of period drama/romance.

[saltysam]

Justified: Complete Season Three BD 4/5 One of the most consistent shows currently airing,it's 13 episodes are extremely strong and the quality rarely drops.based on an Elmore Leonard book Timothy Olyphant is excellent as Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens and is ably supported by Walter Goggins as chief villain Boyd Crowder.

[gasteropod]

Iron Man 3 (2013) - 1/5

What the fuck was that shit?!

[Markgway]

Iron Man 3 (2013) - 1/5

What the fuck was that shit?!

How did you feel about the first two?

[Markgway]

The Karate Kid (2010-USA-China) **½

I liked this remake more than I thought I would. Despite the new characters and setting, the script follows the original template very closely. Jackie gives one of his best acting performances to date (though they should've had him fight Yu Rong-Guang at the end). The tournament climax wasn't as good as I'd hoped and packed less punch (pun intended) than in 1984. It's always tricky to evaluate the performance of a 12 year old in a leading role. I guess he was pretty OK, but he was cast because his was the producers' son and no other reason (that's what gets up the public's collective nose). The music was piss poor (Survivor replaced by Justin Beiber!?!).

[HungFist]

The Last Stand (USA, 2013) [Cinema] – 3/5
Schwarzenegger’s comeback is a modern western with loads of gun and car action. The film is dumb as a horse’s ass, but entertaining enough. Schwarzenegger does quite well in the lead role, and the film isn’t ruined with CGI blood (there is some, but its secondary to the real thing and less noticeable than usual). Amusingly, there only appears to be about half dozen citizens in Arnold’s city. A far cry from classic Schwarzenegger, but at very least the film has the common courtesy to treat itself with respect. The same cannot be said about Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables 2. Arnold 1 – Sly 0.

The Japanese trailer features some god-awful looking "corvette sliding on bridge" clip which thank god is not in the film... or at least I hope it wasn't in case I blinked my eyes at the wrong moment.


- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_zHbQkBq30#t=69s
(at 70 sec)

[gasteropod]

How did you feel about the first two?

I like the first two! The new one is so stupid.

[luckystars]

The Karate Kid (2010-USA-China) **½

I liked this remake more than I thought I would. Despite the new characters and setting, the script follows the original template very closely. Jackie gives one of his best acting performances to date (though they should've had him fight Yu Rong-Guang at the end). The tournament climax wasn't as good as I'd hoped and packed less punch (pun intended) than in 1984. It's always tricky to evaluate the performance of a 12 year old in a leading role. I guess he was pretty OK, but he was cast because his was the producers' son and no other reason (that's what gets up the public's collective nose). The music was piss poor (Survivor replaced by Justin Beiber!?!).

There's an alternate ending where he fights Yu Rong Guang

[Markgway]

the film isn’t ruined with CGI blood (there is some, but its secondary to the real thing and less noticeable than usual).

Really? I thought it was very noticeable and most of the blood is CGI (virtually every bullet hit). The famer's death? Major lolz.

Amusingly, there only appears to be about half dozen citizens in Arnold’s city.

That's explained at the beginning when Arnie is told that the majority of townsfolk are away supporting the local football team.

A far cry from classic Schwarzenegger, but at very least the film has the common courtesy to treat itself with respect. The same cannot be said about Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables 2. Arnold 1 – Sly 0.

How did you feel about Bullet to the Head?

[HungFist]

the film isn’t ruined with CGI blood (there is some, but its secondary to the real thing and less noticeable than usual).

Really? I thought it was very noticeable and most of the blood is CGI (virtually every bullet hit). The famer's death? Major lolz.

You may be right... or not. In any case, most of the time I couldn't recognize it as CGI, unlike in Expendables 2 where it irritated me to no end.

The farmer was obvious of course, and quite funny.

How did you feel about Bullet to the Head?

Haven't seen it, hasn't opened here yet, and I'm not sure if I'm gonna see it...

[Markgway]

I thought Bullet was the more successful of the two, if slightly less ambitious. Worth a download at least.

Oscar (1991-USA) **½
Amusing French farce with Stallone as a 1930s gangster. You'll smile throughout at the snappy dialogue and contrived door slamming confusions - though it never hits the LOL target.

Nothing But Trouble (1991-USA) *
Grotesque black comedy; a nightmare for the characters and the audience.

[HungFist]

Killing Them Softly (USA, 2012) [Cinema] – 3.5/5
Another interesting and provocative, though flawed, Brad Pitt / Andrew Dominic collaboration. Pitt plays professional killer in modern America that “isn’t even a country, but just a business”. The film sees USA as a morally corrupt country where politicians fight for power and gangsters mindlessly kill each other. It is this openly political approach that is both refreshing and gritty enough to have mainstream audiences curse to film to hell. At the same time, though, Dominic’s characters tend to be a little bit too post-Tarantino / post-Sopranos, especially James Gandolfini as an alcoholic assassin, to feel fully original. Pitt, an actor with strong but limited range, is very good in his role.

Evil Dead (USA, 2013) [Cinema] – 3.5/5
An unexpected treat: a good remake. The new Evil Dead is an enjoyable bloodbath that amps up the gore factor to 11. Indeed, this is no doubt the goriest film ever passed with an R-rating. Better yet, the visceral bloodletting is almost fully hand-made, with minimal use of CGI. The storyline is a svariation of the original, but thankfully doesn’t replicate scenes too faithfully. There’s a good balance between modern horror and classic cabin horror, with some very stylish use of lighting and visual details. Jokes and postmodern bullshit are thankfully left out, with the only humor rising from the violence that becomes absurdly extreme. The middle third takes a small dive with repetitive scenes of self mutilation and rapid editing, and the film lacks the freshness and charm of the original, but as a whole it’s an effective stomach churning ride.

[Markgway]

Strictly Business (1991-USA) *½

Dumb, faintly racist comedy in which a black executive has to get in touch with his inner homeboy to succeed.

[saltysam]

Breaker! Breaker! 1.5/5 Pretty dire first starring role for Chuck Norris hampered by poor acting and in one weird, uncomfortable scene baddie George Murdock has the young son of Chuck's love interest on his knee and he seems to be let's say pretty excited by it.

[Markgway]

Jaws 2 (1978-USA) **
Unnecessary and uninspired retread of a superior original.

Risky Business (1983-USA) **½
Tom Cruise displays star quality in raunchy comedy-drama that unfortunately fizzles out toward the end.

Rush (1991-USA) **½
Arresting, gritty drug drama is well acted, but also awkward and unpersuasive.

[saltysam]

Jennifer's Body 2/5 mundane teen horror/black comedy.Megan Fox is hot but is not a very good actress,Amanda Seyfried is pretty decent though.

[Markgway]

Sister Act (1992-USA) ***
Delightful musical comedy about a nun's choir; Whoopi Goldberg is hilarious in a tailor-made role.

Premonition (2007-USA) **
Mediocre psycho drama about a woman who lives the aftermath of her husband's death before it happens; Sandra Bullock is amazingly unsympathetic here.