What Have You Just Seen... Marks Out of 5

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 05 Jan 2008, 23:12

Gaichu (Japan, 2001) – 4,5/5
Aoi Miyazaki gives yet another perfect performance in this shocking but captivating film. The second half is a bit less good than the first but still features some of my favourite moments. I loved the early scenes of Aoi and the homeless guy spending their days hanging around at the construction site and I was afraid that the tone change that occurs around the halfway might sink the whole movie. Thankfully that doesn’t happen as the director handles the change well, despite one notable scene lacking credibility. The ending is very strong and leaves a long lasting impact. Very surprising from Akihiko Shiota, whose earlier film Moonlight Whispers only worked on trash level, and even then by accident.

brooce-leroy · Post by **brooce-leroy** » 06 Jan 2008, 01:30

Marathon Man 3/5

A bit dated now, and slow to build the story up (which I still don't fully comprehend) but once Roy Scheider turns up in New York to see Dustin Hoffman all hell breaks loose! The "Is it safe?" torture routine is definitely up there with the classic scenes of cinema. Also, the subsequent chase where all that marathon practising comes to fruition is also genuinely nail-biting stuff.

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 06 Jan 2008, 12:13

Quills 4/5
Aye much better than I expected.

Bad Santa 5/5
Best xmas movie ever.

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 06 Jan 2008, 12:32

i love Marathon Man. i'm hoping for a HD release.the book is excellent too.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 06 Jan 2008, 14:07

I'm not big on "family films" per se but Enchanted does look rather good.

Marathon Man didn't grip me much when I saw it years back.

Monica needs a hot beef injection (from me).

TOMB OF LIGEIA 2/5

Christ on a bike! Is this movie morbidly depressing or what? I realise it's Poe but blimey it's heavier than lead. The plot is fuzzy and the dialogue (by Robert Towne) is so pretentious and flowery that it's hard to listen to. Watching Vincent Price I wanted to shoot myself.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 06 Jan 2008, 16:51

Enchanted looked awful IMO when I saw the trailer but maybe I should give it a go

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 06 Jan 2008, 17:23

Miami Vice (USA, 2006) – 4,5/5
Mann’s highly under-rated Miami Vice update is easily one the best action films of the 2000’s. Admittedly not even I realized that during the film’s original theatrical run. The second viewing also made the film’s biggest flaw, a weak plot turn near the end, much easier to handle. One corny sex scene remains but everything else from music to the cast is excellent. Visually Miami Vice is probably the best looking film Hollywood has ever produced.

Godzooki · Post by **Godzooki** » 06 Jan 2008, 17:26

saltysam wrote: Shoot Em' Up (blu-ray) 3.5/5

Enjoyed this for what it is, a virtually no plot action packed macho fest. never lets up for a minute, Monica get's em out (no nipple shot though) and even Clive Owen is pretty good. stunning blu-ray transfer.

I watched this last night and agree the BD transfer is stunning. The film was banana's though, action was straight out of a cartoon!!

Id give the BD 5/5 but the film itself only 2.5/5. Even with Belluci's fun sacks on show the film deserves no more!

More HD goodness for me this evening. Im going to give the 3:10 to Yuma BD and The Kingdom HD-DVD a whirl, will post impressions after!

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 06 Jan 2008, 19:25

i may watch Zodiac hd-dvd later before they take my broken lcd away tomorrow

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 06 Jan 2008, 20:16

hey,

think you've seen big squibs...think again. This is... WAR DOG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvRvEqbN1go

4/5

Swedish B-action at its finest! Shot as US and A but in the Swedish suburbs and "outback", this English performed and dubbed exercise is great fun, over the top and executed pretty much the way it was intended. Hilarious dubbing by artists trying to sound very American and action-splatter (as the youtube descriptions says), some of the action is quite neatly staged (especially a quite epic chase sequence with....yes a Volvo!) and while the plot is obviously of the stock-kind, there are some surprises towards the end that makes this actioner reach passable within the arena it works in. I'm kind of proud to be Swedish now.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 06 Jan 2008, 20:16

Whats wrong with it?

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 08 Jan 2008, 15:02

The Warlords (2007 - China - By Peter Chan with Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Jet Li): 3,5 / 5

Good film. But with names like Jet Li, Andy Lau, Ching Siu-Tung, Arthur Wong and Peter Chan in the credits, it should have been great.
But it isn't.

Let's start with the good stuff:
-The plot is good and unpredictable. Although it is loosely based on Chang Cheh's Blood Brothers, it is more of a war epic.
-Jet Li and Andy Lau are supremely good.
-Arthur Wong's lighting makes every shot look good and Ching Siu-Tung's choregraphy makes every battle look good.
-This film is extremely violent and powerful. Think of it as "Battle of Wits: the unrated version".
-There's a lot of CGI, but it works. I even had difficulty telling which elements were CG and which were real in some shots.

And now with the bad:
-Takeshi Kaneshiro. Seriously. I don't hate the guy, but I'm beginning to doubt his acting ability. He pretty much carries the film on his shoulders in the final 30 minutes but his character has no depth and his acting is wooden.
-There are two one-on-one fights and they're both shot in close-ups, making it impossible to appreciate Ching Siu-Tung's choregraphy.
-Key characters are under-developed, making their deaths scenes unnecessary and emotionless.

But the worst of all is the editing.
The film doesn't flow like it should. It jumps from scene to scene without transitions or explanations. The whole thing should have an epic feel to it, but as a result of the poor editing... it really doesn't.

OK film, overall. It doesn't live up to the hype, but that's fine by me.
Will buy the DVD.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 08 Jan 2008, 15:52

Takeshi Kaneshiro. Seriously. I don't hate the guy, but I'm beginning to doubt his acting ability. He pretty much carries the film on his shoulders in the final 30 minutes but his character has no depth and his acting is wooden.

I've never been impressed with his acting, but many people have been raving over him for years.

I doubt this'll be as good as the original, but I'm interested in checking it out.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 08 Jan 2008, 18:50

No doubt the editing is related to a pre-release BT cut

When is the HK DVD out?

HungFist wrote:Miami Vice (USA, 2006) – 4,5/5
Visually Miami Vice is probably the best looking film Hollywood has ever produced.

WTF! You do say strange things sometimes.

The best looking Hollywood film ever???

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 08 Jan 2008, 20:03

The Life of David Gale 4/5

Gripping thriller about a reporter's attempt to save a man on death row.

Absorbing most of the way but the ending may raise more questions than it answers?

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 09 Jan 2008, 12:12

Not the Nine o Clock News: 4/5

Funny

Dated in places (obviously) but refreshingly un-PC.

I wish the BBC would release the unedited broadcasts on DVD instead of the cut n' paste compliations we have now!

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 09 Jan 2008, 16:33

Femme Fatale aka Happy Killing aka Happy Kill aka Happy Ending (2007 - Korea): 4,5 / 5

When Attack the Gas Station meets Survive Style +5.

Synopsis:
Ji-Won is a very successful actress who's just won a prestigious award.
All her boyfriends (from gang bosses to american playboys) rush to her house to congratulate her and propose to her on Christmas Eve.
But things go from bad to worse for Ji-Won when she kills one of her guests by accident...

Femme Fatale is the remake of a french comedy called Serial Lover.
It's got a fairly simple plot ("Oh no, I've killed people by accident and now I've got to hide the bodies"), but it works very well.
If you can forgive Ye Ji-Won's over-the-top acting and the presence of a few characters that look like they come from a cartoon, you'll surely be pleased.
With Jeong Du-Hong's cameo, the Ring parody, the hilarious killings and the numerous random jokes, you're pretty much guaranteed to have a good time watching this flick.

Loved it.

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 09 Jan 2008, 19:57

Sounds kinda interesting... will try and seek it out. Cheers Tom.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 09 Jan 2008, 23:32

3:10 to Yuma - 4.5/5
Awesome!

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 10 Jan 2008, 21:38

Hatchet (unrated) 3/5

enjoyed this more on a second viewing,daft but decent old school horror.

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 10 Jan 2008, 22:16

Touch of Zen (Taiwan, 1969) – 4/5
King Hu’s most famous film may not be the Seven Samurai of wuxia, but it comes close. The three hour movie doesn’t have a single boring moment. The characters are exceptionally interesting, with maybe one exception. The script seemed to forget to explain one plot element (the female lead’s mother) but it’s is not too distracting. The action scenes are beautifully shot, and the last 30 minutes is simply amazing. Very young (and not so fat) Sammo Hung appears briefly as one the members of the governement’s secret police.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 10 Jan 2008, 22:50

I Am Legend - 1.5/5
WTF? Was this supposed to be any good? The monsters look like bad versions of Gollum. They probably spent most of the budget on locking New Yorker blocks for the shooting, because they sure as hell did not invest into CGI.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 10 Jan 2008, 23:18

Nope. I've not heard one good thing about it.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 10 Jan 2008, 23:28

I am Legend did get good reviews over here in Holland I believe, although I have heard of many that it's too short and the ending aint all that. Maybe a longer cut will be out on DVD and will be better?

BTW, Will Smith has converted to scientology! Awesome news! He's one of us now, guys! :twisted:

Anyway, just saw Raw Deal again on TV. 3.5 outta 5, but still lots of fun to watch. It's bad and it's good. If that makes sense. Just fun stuff. Nice 80's movie.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 10 Jan 2008, 23:38

It didn't get disastrous reviews, just special over here.