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

[HungFist]

Dawn of the Dead (USA, 1978) - 4/5

35 mm, motherfucker!!

Wasn't easy, though. Spent 30 minutes in the Higashi Ginza station tunnel hell looking for the theatre (Ginza Cine Pathos) and had to ask diretions from like 5 people. Finally find the theatre in another tunnel...

So I go to the ticket counter.

Me: Zombie onegaishimasu (one Zombie, please) (Zombie is the Japanese title)
Clerk 1: Sumimasen... Zombie...???
Clerk 2: Dawn of the Dead!
Clerk 1: A, Dawn of the Dead. Sumimasen... blah blah... ima Shibuya de... blah blah... Moshiwake gozaimasen. Theataa N wakarimasuka? (Ah, Dawn of the Dead. I'm sorry... now in Shibuya... I'm truly sorry. Do you know Theater N?)
Me: Theater N wa...?
Clerk 1: Omachi kudasai... chizu o kakimashou... (please wait a moment, I will draw a map)

ok, so I find out the print has been sent another theatre on the other side of the town... I'm sure the website was giving outdated info...

Fast forward to the evening. I'm trying to figure out which side of the station is depicted in the hand drawn "map". Useless, can't tell. But there's the phone number.

Plan A: google maps. Cellphone runs out of battery.
Plan B: taxi. The driver can use the phone number to find the address. Except he can't. He only finds the approx area.
Plan C: ask someone. There's no one around. Not anyone who would know where a small theatre screening zombie movies is anyway.
Plan D: go around for 30 min by walk and finally find the damn well hidden cinema in the second floor of a building that has no posters or anything on the walls, just the name in small white font somewhere where you can't even see it. But hey, I arrived on time. 4 minutes before the film started! You lose, theater!!

Oh, right.

Me: Dawn of the Dead, onegaishimasu.
Clerk 1: Daun of taa...???
Clerk 2: Zombie!
Clerk 1: Ah, Zombie.
Me: D'oh

[bradavon]

Edward Scissorhands is fantastic, easily great. Agreed about the heart issue Mark, Edward Scissorhands has oodles of it but most of his other work doesn't. Sweeney Todd is also excellent. Edward Scissorhands is his magnum opus.

[Killer Meteor]

I love Tim Burton's Batman, but mainly because it was one of the first films I saw. Ed Wood is probably his best work.

[oldeschool17]

What's awesome is the guy who voiced Batman the Animated Series, also does Batman's voice on the video game(Arkham Asylum)

[saltysam]

I thought the first hour or so of Scisorhands was great but it seemed to lose it's way towards the end.Still,it's certainly on of Burton's better efforts.

[bradavon]

Planet of the Apes is the only Burton film I didn't really enjoy. Sure it's fine but it's no Burton film and is basically a dumb action film, save for the much improved ape-like human movement. The original is miles better, even though they spent zero time makes the actors act like apes.

[grim_tales]

Out for Justice: 3.5/5

The fights in the film had an authentic roughness to them and they're fun to watch Pretty violent too (corkscrew to the forehead, smacking a guy with a poolball in a sock), Segal's acting wasn't that bad either but it was hard to understand what was being said at times, he mumbled a bit

[Markgway]

The scene in the pool hall rocks.

"I offer $5,000 for that badge and that gun".

[grim_tales]

I liked that scene

[saltysam]

one of Seagal's best

[bradavon]

Agreed. I doubt I'd bother buying it today but I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. It was good it was uncut on C5 too. Pity he's now a fat fucker, whose lost the plot.

[grim_tales]

I'd never seen it before and I enjoyed it

[Markgway]

Fire Down Below was probably the last proper Seagal movie.

The Patriot went DTV (Cable in the UK)
Exit Wounds was as much a DMX/hip-hop vehicle.
Half Past Dead was as much a Ja Rule (where do they get these names?) vehicle.

[bradavon]

The best one is Flo Rida because he comes from Florida .

[Markgway]

The best one is Flo Rida because he comes from Florida .

You just can't fake that kind of inspiration.

[saltysam]

Harry Brown 3/5

Gritty,downbeat and relentlessly bleak british thriller starring Michael Caine as a widower who decides to take the law in his own hands after his fellow pensioner best friend is murdered by a group of local thugs who are terrorising the estate.Very good for an hour but it loses it's way towards the frankly unbelievable climax. certainly worth seeing though,Caine is excellent.

[HungFist]

Gone in 60 Seconds (USA, 1974) – 3/5
93 cars destroyed in 40 minutes! The original Gone in 60 Seconds was made famous by its massive final chase – yellow 1973 Ford Mustang vs the police force! It’s real driving on real streets - most “extras” were bystanders who didn’t know they were in a movie! Director H.B. Halicki sits behind the wheel himself. He’s a terrific stunt driver and car maniac – passed away a decade later while attempting a death defying stunt – but not much of a director. Gone in 60 Seconds often drags outside the action bits – and even edits too many crowd reactions into the chase scenes. It was however, intended as little else than adrenaline pumping car entertainment – even in the opening credits the main vehicle in given top billing over actors – and as such it’s definitely achieves many of its goals.

Viewed: 1999 remastered version with new soundtrack that replaces the authentic sound effects and removes original songs. Knowing Halicki’s preference for country music, the latter modification may not be a bad move at all in my books, but I’m just guessing here.

[HungFist]

Two Lane Black-Top (USA, 1971) – 2/5
Easy Rider for car maniacs. An easy recommendation for those interested in the early 70’s USA and its (country street) culture, others may be left cold.

Le Mans (USA, 1971) – 3/5
Steve McQueen’s race movie delivers little in terms of story and characters, but it’s the portray of the legendary Le Mans 24 hour race that is clearly the film’s one and only core - and not without merits. While stretching believability a bit, the racing scenes are intense and enjoyable, and also feature plenty of real footage from the 1970 race. McQueen’s “camera car” took part in the race and finished 9th. The star himself was not permitted to sit behind the wheel, although rumors insist he did it secretly anyway.

[bradavon]

Two Lane Black-Top (USA, 1971) – 2/5
Easy Rider for car maniacs. An easy recommendation for those interested in the early 70’s USA and its (country street) culture, others may be left cold.

This is supposed to be excellent. There's even a Criterion of it.

[Markgway]

Two Lane Black-Top (USA, 1971) – 2/5
Easy Rider for car maniacs. An easy recommendation for those interested in the early 70’s USA and its (country street) culture, others may be left cold.

This is supposed to be excellent. There's even a Criterion of it.

There's also a Criterion of Armageddon.

[bradavon]

Well, okay. Good point . The consensus seems to be it's excellent still.

[romerojpg]

Well, okay. Good point . The consensus seems to be it's excellent still.

Well one day acctually watch it and find out instead of talking bollocks.

[grim_tales]

Kick Ass: 4.5/5

Really enjoyed it More than just a superhero spoof but also an exciting (and very funny) action film. Hit-Girl is brilliant - definitely the best character, I also liked the way Big Daddy spoke like the 1960's Batman
However, I did notice the tone is uneven at times, switching between goofy comedy and violence which is obviously more comic-inspired Hit Girl's enterance to the Banana Splits theme is fantastic , to more gritty and realistic violence eg when Kick Ass is stabbed - which can be
quite jarring. The film was even moving and sad in places.
The ending was a bit like Spider-Man 1 (2002) when the main bad guy dies and the bad guy's son wants revenge...

[saltysam]

Punisher-War Zone 2.5/5 Over the top violent comic book actioner is entertaining nonsense and the best of the various Punisher movies.

French Connecton 4.5/5 Still a great movie,the controversial blu-ray on another viewing looks ok for the most part.

[bradavon]

Okay enough to upgrade the DVD? I've been put off.