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

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 15 Feb 2008, 19:23

Darkman hd-dvd 3/5

Solid comic book style actioner from Sam Raimi, a nice solid hd transfer.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Feb 2008, 21:36

TMNT (2007): 2.5/5

Not great but better (and darker) than I thought it would be. It's all CGI which I wasnt sure I liked at first (the human characters are a mess), there's realistic rain and other effects though. I found Raphael a bit of an asshole TBH unlike his wisecracking cartoon personality. April is less useless than the cartoon, and looks younger/hotter. When did she bunk with Casey Jones?
Impressive voice cast (Patrick Stewart, Zhang Ziyi, Mako, Sarah Michelle Gellar)

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Feb 2008, 21:54

Ashes to Ashes: E2 - 4/5

A marked improvement on last weeks episode. Some of Gene's lines were hilarious

Alex: "Let me bring him in"
Gene: "No"
Alex: "Please?"
Gene: "No"
Alex: "I'll let you stamp my bum?"
Gene: "I'll get me coat!"

Loved the pool hall scene

Classic Gene.

I loved Sam in LOM, and while, compared to Sam Alex seems smug and irritating which annoys me, there are signs at least by the end of this episode she is starting to warm to this world and its characters and perhaps we will also warm to her.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 15 Feb 2008, 22:19

grim_tales wrote:Loved the pool hall scene Classic Gene.

They definitely knicked that from Long Good Friday.

grim_tales wrote:I loved Sam in LOM, and while, compared to Sam Alex seems smug and irritating which annoys me

Again stop comparing it to the other series, it's a different show

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Feb 2008, 22:20

I know its a different show but it shares many of the same characters, writers as LOM, its difficult NOT to

Brad did you notice this line:

Alex: I won't be staying here for very long
Gene: I'll be the judge of that...

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 15 Feb 2008, 22:56

bradavon wrote: Again stop comparing it to the other series, it's a different show

that's pretty hard to do seeing as it stars the same lead character

anyway Grim is a big fan of LOM so he's bound to compare them,you haven't even seen LOM

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 15 Feb 2008, 23:54

grim_tales wrote:I know its a different show but it shares many of the same characters, writers as LOM, its difficult NOT to

T2 and T3 had Arnie but if you don't compare them you enjoy T3 much more

, it's still poor though.

grim_tales wrote:Brad did you notice this line:

Alex: I won't be staying here for very long
Gene: I'll be the judge of that...

Yes. Why do you ask?

That's pretty hard to do seeing as it stars the same lead character

No it doesn't.

anyway Grim is a big fan of LOM so he's bound to compare them

I know and it's fair but he's not stopped harping on about it. It's fine to compare them but you'll only be disappointed if you keep doing it. Try and put Life on Mars to the back of your mind and you'll enjoy Ashes to Ashes more.

You haven't even seen LOM.

I've seen more of it than you realise

Ashes to Ashes is excellent Alex doesn't annoy me in the slightest. I think she's great and it always makes a nice change to see a female in the lead.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 16 Feb 2008, 01:43

grim_tales wrote:TMNT (2007): 2.5/5

It's supposed to be sequel to the live-action films and NOT the cartoon series. TBH they should've made a reboot of fiction and not a sequel.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 16 Feb 2008, 01:43

saltysam wrote: Justice League:New Frontier blu-ray 3/5

Nice JLA animated movie based on the graphic novel. unusual for a dc jla movie neither Batman or Superman are the stars,the main focus is on Hal Jordan voiced by David Boreanz.a bit patriotically preachy at times,nice to see the likes of Adam Strange and Blackhawk in animated form.

I have the book of that, but still havent read it. I did read the review for this movie on IGN this evening, and they complained it didnt have some of the subplots etc. It's only 75 minutes orso long, which is pretty short when the book is about 400 pages.
Not sure if I'll like the cartoon after I've read the book.

Kinda disappointing that they dont give these stories the respect they deserve, and just make a movie of 2+ hours, if that's what the content asks for.

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 16 Feb 2008, 09:44

Yi-Long wrote:
saltysam wrote: Justice League:New Frontier blu-ray 3/5

Nice JLA animated movie based on the graphic novel. unusual for a dc jla movie neither Batman or Superman are the stars,the main focus is on Hal Jordan voiced by David Boreanz.a bit patriotically preachy at times,nice to see the likes of Adam Strange and Blackhawk in animated form.

I have the book of that, but still havent read it. I did read the review for this movie on IGN this evening, and they complained it didnt have some of the subplots etc. It's only 75 minutes orso long, which is pretty short when the book is about 400 pages.
Not sure if I'll like the cartoon after I've read the book.

Kinda disappointing that they dont give these stories the respect they deserve, and just make a movie of 2+ hours, if that's what the content asks for.

well they did the same with Superman: Doomsday.tbh they won't pour millions into making a completely faithful adaption for a straight to dvd movie. i've never read the book.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 Feb 2008, 09:56

EvaUnit02 wrote:
grim_tales wrote:TMNT (2007): 2.5/5
It's supposed to be sequel to the live-action films and NOT the cartoon series. TBH they should've made a reboot of fiction and not a sequel.

Thanks Eva, I didn't know that.

Brad - that line at the end implies Gene is more important than we know. Maybe he is some sort of guardian/spirit huide for Alex?

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 16 Feb 2008, 19:41

hey,

Tiger And Crane Fists 3/5
Before Jimmy Wang Yu got thrown out in order for the flick to turn into Kung Pow: Enter The Fist, you had yourself a fairly typical genre vehicle elevated thanks to the automatic, cool Wang Yu-factor. Some gritty choreography by Lau Kar-Wing, Lung Fei (Master Betty in Kung Pow) is a vicious force and the training sequences are good in Wang Yu's hands.

Nobody's Hero 3.5/5
Sleeper hit this. Liu Wai-Hung logs his best performance as the underdog that fights back. Each contrasting mood makes sense and the journey that takes dark turns hooks you completely. In other words, the film has teeth, balls and power.

The Chase 3/5
Takes a while to chew through this Wuxia mystery but director Wong Tin-Lam gets our attention via his own work and collaborating with action director Chen Kuan-Tai. Some very exciting action and insanely cool cap to the finale.

The Rapist Beckons 3/5
Standard Cat III rape-revenge thriller and amateurish partly. But Lily Chung logs an early, focused peformance (fully clothed too!) while Karel Wong is at his repelling best. It'll make you gasp a little.

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 17 Feb 2008, 21:26

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (USA, 1973) – 3,5/5
Peckinpah’s interesting western mixes the pattern by making the outlaw killer a rather nice guy, and the sheriff after him a much harder person to sympathize with. Both persons seem to be expecting getting killed by each other. James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson both give impressive performances in the lead roles, but Bob Dylan’s main function seems to be to perform his song Knockin' on Heaven's Door, which is used effectively on a couple of occasions.
(115 min 2005 Special Edition)

The Super Inframan (Hong Kong, 1975) – 3/5
You don’t see Hong Kong tokusatsu films every day. The Shaw Bros. produced Super Inframan stars Danny Lee as the kung fu skilled superman who must save the world. Piece of cake, as the dvd back cover puts it. The Super Inframan succeeds on many areas, which include kick ass theme music, hilarious introductions for the monsters, and hot female baddies. Technical problems and other little flaws – such as rubber monsters wearing sneakers – are hardly a negative thing in this movie. Still, the film isn’t quite as much fun as it could be. The characters are somewhat uninteresting, and the theme music could be used more effectively. The film’s first half works better than the second.

Kyabare (Japan, 1986) – 3/5
Gangsters and jazz musicians meet in Haruki Kadokawa’s entertaining drama. The film turns too conventional every now and then, but also feels old fashioned and nostalgic in a very pleasing way. The greyish colour palette works well, and jazz tunes slowly become an inseparable part of the film. Hironobu Nomura, who plays the main character, gives a notably better performance than two years earlier in Main Theme. Junko Mihara, Hideo Murota and Takeshi Kaga give good support, but some scenes are weakened by unnecessary cameos. Hiroko Yakushimaru (has one line) and Sonny Chiba (has no lines) are only some of the numerous stars that make an appearance just for the sake of appearance.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 17 Feb 2008, 23:30

grim_tales wrote:Brad - that line at the end implies Gene is more important than we know. Maybe he is some sort of guardian/spirit huide for Alex?

I think you're reading too much into it

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 18 Feb 2008, 08:26

I'll be the judge of that (

) Considering the amount of twists in LOM I dont think I am

Stranger Than Fiction - 4/5

I really enjoyed this

When the film started I thought it would be simply a broad, goofy comedy and while it is sometimes like that, it becomes something more interesting later on, with some tragedy/comedy and back again. The film seems a bit like the Truman Show. Will Ferrell is funny

Shame about the Hollywood happy ending though. It would have made an even better film if the author hadnt changed the ending of her book

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 18 Feb 2008, 13:55

Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino - Episode 1-5 - 3/5

Let's get the negatives out of the way first:-
-Madhouse had a full plate so Marvellous commissioned their own subsidiary studio Artland to make it. Art direction and quality is nowhere near as polished as that of your typical Madhouse production (ie Season 1).
-The score is nowhere near as good as season 1's.

The positives:-
-The story and characterisation is just as strong as ever, this was by far the best aspect of season 1.
-The new seiyuu of Triela is the talented ENOMOTO Atsuko and she delivers a terrific performance.

EDIT: One of the show's writers is the original manga-ka himself, sweet.

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 18 Feb 2008, 16:08

No Country for Old Men - 4.5/5

It generated a lot of tension, and the bad guy was such a badass! The lack of a real ending is the only bad thing about this film, really. I'll definitely buy this when it comes out on Blu-ray.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 18 Feb 2008, 22:00

I thought it was overrated. Javier Bardem is obviously very good but otherwise meh!

I don't think I am an of the Coen brothers work. Intolerable Cruelty was pants, bad example but then both this and Fargo were only okay IMO. I guess I "don't get it". Sure No Country for Old Men isn't a disaster (far from it) but it's not exactly compelling either. It passed 2 hours nicely I suppose.

What was the point in all the violence?

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 18 Feb 2008, 22:08

Seraphim Falls - 4/5
Wow! What is it with all these very good Wild West films recently?

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 19 Feb 2008, 12:14

3:10 to Yuma 3.5/5

Good western. Not GREAT, but GOOD.

Was impressed with Christian Bale's acting.

Not seen the original to compare -- has anyone here?

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 19 Feb 2008, 12:15

Whoa! Premiere! Mark rated a film out of 5.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 19 Feb 2008, 12:19

I've done it before.... and may even do it again.

When you least expect it!!!!!!!

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 19 Feb 2008, 19:33

The Hunting Party (2007): 2,5 / 5
Not intelligent enough to be a satire, not fast-paced enough to be an action film, not funny enough to be a comedy, not long enough to be epic...
The Hunting Party is just not enough.

The idea was good, though (make fun of the UN and NATO by showing that war criminals can easily be found).
Too bad the concept got lost in the editing suite.

the68monkey · Post by **the68monkey** » 20 Feb 2008, 01:52

Markgway wrote:3:10 to Yuma 3.5/5

Good western. Not GREAT, but GOOD.

Was impressed with Christian Bale's acting.

Not seen the original to compare -- has anyone here?

I thought it was a bit of a snoozer, as I fell asleep halfway through. (And no, it wasn't the wine!

)

Shingster · Post by **Shingster** » 20 Feb 2008, 02:14

Markgway wrote:Not seen the original to compare -- has anyone here?

I have, the original's story is leaner and features more of Elmore Leonard's wit in the dialogue, but by and large the new film is pretty faithful to the original up to a point. It's just that the script is bloated out by the inclusion of modern mainstream conventions. For instance in the original Dan Evans is not being shaken down by the local bad guys, pretty much everyone in town know each other well and are all in the crapper financially. Evans' son doesn't join him on the journey to Contention City either. Evans is older in the original and doesn't have a gammy leg, he's tougher too, just too old and beaten down by his habitat to care about sticking his neck out anymore. The basic structure of the film is to introduce Ben Wade, get him arrested, send him to Evans' house while the butterfield coach acts as a decoy, then they go straight to Contention, and then the rest of the film has Dan and Ben in the hotel room having antagonistic exchanges. So almost the entire film is spent in towns rather than out in the wild like the remake - and there's just the one action sequence at the end.

We also never follow Wade's gang members as they try to locate and rescue their boss, in the original the gang have this routine where if one member gets caught, they split up and each go wait at the local towns to see if the captor is brought back to one of them, then if they spot the guy they go round up the men. So this negates the need to follow his men as they find out he's being brought to the 3:10 to Yuma fairly easily.

The ending: Evans is not shot down, he manages to get Wade onto the train by the skin of his teeth, but as a result ends up in the carriage with him, so the two men laugh about making it in one piece and ride off to Yuma together, with Wade telling Evans that he'd broken out of Yuma before, so ultimately he's not too bothered either way.