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

[romerojpg]

The Adjustment Bureau: 3.5/5

I think this was only marketed as being like Bourne because Matt Damon was in it, its not really like Bourne but more a romance crossed with Eternal Sunshine/Inception. However, it is an interesting thriller with themes that made me think, about the nature of fate and free will, whether we can make choices etc.

You mean the trailer that looked nothing, at all in any way like Bourne you must have watched the Bourne trailer I think

[Markgway]

Extreme Ops *.5

Extreme pants.

[grim_tales]

The Adjustment Bureau: 3.5/5

I think this was only marketed as being like Bourne because Matt Damon was in it, its not really like Bourne but more a romance crossed with Eternal Sunshine/Inception. However, it is an interesting thriller with themes that made me think, about the nature of fate and free will, whether we can make choices etc.

You mean the trailer that looked nothing, at all in any way like Bourne you must have watched the Bourne trailer I think

I know the trailer wasnt like Bourne, but I'm saying the film was still marketed that way by advertisers "Bourne meets Inception" etc.

[HungFist]

The Cove (USA, 2009) – 3/5
An interesting but heavily flawed doc that nearly didn’t see the light of day in Japan. Its original Summer 2010 release got pulled off due to protests, but the decision was reversed after anti-protests. The fact that certain people didn’t want the Japanese public to see it says a lot. But then again, in addition to its valuable information bits, beautiful images, and even some excellent cinematic parts, The Cove is emotionally manipulative “propaganda”. Michael Moore can get away with it, him being a pulp documentarist, but the amount of cheap and sentimental strategies used in The Cove only hurts its credibility. It’s impossible not to notice the filmmakers are as biased as the “evil” fishermen are. The possible benefits of dophin hunting are not given objective treatment, and the seemingly most important argument, the mercury poisonings, are given a second priority next to the “crying dolphins” and “cruel killings” that appear to be their main reason to free the dolphins.

[gasteropod]

I saw The Cove the other week, pretty sickening stuff really

[grim_tales]

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone: 2.5/5

Entertaining enough but a rather bland and literal retelling of many of the novels' key scenes, some of them appear to be rushed, other things are missed out.
I felt like I was watching a school play at times
I hadnt seen the 1st film in 10 years or so, Rupert Grint was "token cheeky cockney kid" and Hermione is like "look at me, I'm so posh and annoying".

[saltysam]

i've never read the books but i've found the Harry Potter movies to be excellent entertainment.shocked myself really,as this type of genre is definitely not normally my cup of tea.looking forward to watching the Deathly Hallows Part One next month.

[grim_tales]

It was decent enough but it isnt the best HP movie IMO, Azkaban was best out of the ones I've seen
Havent seen HPB or Deathly Hallows yet though.

[saltysam]

i find them all pretty consistent,none stand out as great movies but all are very solid viewing.

[Markgway]

The possible benefits of dophin hunting are not given objective treatment

[Shingster]

Yes The Cove is emotionally manipulative, but how is it "propaganda"?? The footage of what the fisherman are doing in that cove is raw, untampered and extremely damning. The "possible benefits of dolphin hunting" aren't explored because the documentary is not about Dolphin hunting in general, it's about the unbelievably cruel way the dolphins are being slaughtered in that Japanese town.

[Markgway]

Seeing as Dolphins are intelligent, human friendly mammals I can't think of a single logical, let alone moral, reason for murdering them. If humans want to get rid of waste they should start with their own species.

[bradavon]

Regarding Harry Potter, I've only seen the first and latest. I enjoyed both but I can take or leave them. They feel like kids movies with adults in mind too.

Alien 3: Theatrical and Extended Cuts

I saw both the Alien 3 Theatrical Cut and then Alien 3 Extended Cut the other day (my amp cocked up after 20 mins and I didn't realise when I restarted it, it had defaulted to the TC).

The extra footage adds so much. I already thought it was a decent film and now I really do. I have absolutely no idea why it's loathed so much, sure the TC doesn't always make sense in places but it's not a big problem and some scenes are really rather beautiful. It has more of an Alien than Aliens feel to it, which is fine in my book, I like both films. Sure it's not as much an "edge of your seat" film as the prior two but it's still very good. It's more of a character study in places.

Some observations:

* Why on earth are the prisoners just let loose to run amoc? Where are the guards?
* I was surprised to see an entire scene was cut. In the TC they try to trap the alien in the vault, it then cuts to after the explosions and they just give up on that idea (which doesn't make a lot of sense). In the EC, there's an extra scene showing them trapping it but it then being let out.
* In the TC, Ripley is shown comforting the alien bursting out of her chest, as she falls to her death. This worked rather well and connects the film to an earlier speech, that they've been in her life so long, she doesn't know where world ends and their's starts. Basically she's accepting she is the alien's mother.

In the EC there is no alien bursting out of the chest, which is odd because it works rather well. It's omission (and Ripley in a crucifix shape) does give the end of the film stronger religious symbolism however. It's still an odd alteration. I spotted a couple of other alterations but I've forgotten what they are

For me it's an Alien Trilogy, part 4 still sucks.

The possible benefits of dophin hunting are not given objective treatment

Prey tell what the fuck are the benefits? There are zero acceptable benefits!

[grim_tales]

That was what I was thinking Brad, I can't think of any benefit to killing intelligent animals like dolphins

[HungFist]

In the doc it was mentioned that Japan claims one reason why we're running out of fish is that dolphins eat so much fish. The doc's answer to this was something like "it's our own fault we're running out of fish". What kind of answer was that? Is it true or not? This was another scene that implied the documentarists are actually no better that the Japanese specialist that always answered "I don't think so".

Maybe there's more to all of these topics. I don't know. I'm not a specialist on the subject. That's why I watched a documentary. And this doc didn't give me many rational arguments. Instead it was acting like LD in the other topic... every time there's a war and her want to make an argument, he post a picture of dead childen. Instant win. Like those Finnish politicians who use the "child porn card"*

* debate on internet censorship. Every time someone mentions freedom of speech, another politicians pulls the (largely unrelated) "child porn card". "Think of the poor childen!!!!" Guaranteed victory over common sense.

The possible benefits of dophin hunting are not given objective treatment

Prey tell what the fuck are the benefits? There are zero acceptable benefits!

Who are you talking to? I was quoting the film.

[saltysam]

The Godfather 5/5 Iconic movie is simply a brilliant piece of filmmaking,elegantly mounted,brilliantly acted and paced superbly.even at 3 hours it never feels draggy,first time i've watched this in years,it's as good as ever.Some films are never as good ass their reputation,this one is.The blu-ray absolutely dumps on a great height from the old dvd incarnation.

[Shingster]

In the doc it was mentioned that Japan claims one reason why we're running out of fish is that dolphins eat so much fish. The doc's answer to this was something like "it's our own fault we're running out of fish". What kind of answer was that? Is it true or not? This was another scene that implied the documentarists are actually no better that the Japanese specialist that always answered "I don't think so".

No it doesn't, it quite rightly points out that considering our own consumption of sealife has been estimated by scientists to far surpass the limit of sustainability for the future then it is a bit rich of the Japanese to claim they're doing the world a favour by salughtering, what is it? over 15,000 dolphins a year or something? It's a lot, that's for sure! What it fails to do is inform us as to how much of the indiginous sealife is consumed by dolphins.

recent catch & consume figures for marine life

All this is besides the point though, and I'll agree with Hung that the documentary does have an agenda to push with regards to dolphin consumption, but surely the main point of the documentary is to highlight how intelligent a creature dolphins are and also expose the barbaric hunting methods of the fishermen at Taiji, and as I said before the footage is untampered and speaks for itself quite clearly.

[Markgway]

Not enough fish for humans to eat? Oh noes. Let's massacre those fucking Dolphins. How dare they eat our food.

[bradavon]

Who are you talking to? I was quoting the film.

You. Your review reads like that's your opinion but I guess not.

In the doc it was mentioned that Japan claims one reason why we're running out of fish is that dolphins eat so much fish.

Absolute nonsense. Dolphins have been eating fish ever since they came on to this planet, yet it's only become a problem over the past 15-20 years (exact number of years guessed). It's humans who fish too much and waste even more.

[grim_tales]

Not enough fish for humans to eat? Oh noes. Let's massacre those fucking Dolphins. How dare they eat our food.

Yeah, Dolphins have to eat too!

[luckystars]

The Godfather 5/5 Iconic movie is simply a brilliant piece of filmmaking,elegantly mounted,brilliantly acted and paced superbly.even at 3 hours it never feels draggy,first time i've watched this in years,it's as good as ever.Some films are never as good ass their reputation,this one is.The blu-ray absolutely dumps on a great height from the old dvd incarnation.

I've never been able to get more than 30mins into The Godfather without falling alseep

[saltysam]

I've never been able to get more than 30mins into The Godfather without falling alseep

best stick to the likes of Ong Bak 3 then

Godfather Part Two 4.5/5 Arguably the greatest sequel ever made,i'll go with the minority and say i think the first film is better.This is still a tremendous achievement,possibly running 20 minutes too long but an utterly spellbinding continuation,masterfully directed.

[bradavon]

best stick to the likes of Ong Bak 3 then

.

I've always thought Godfather 3 is very good in it's own right. Just don't be a dingbat and compare it to the first two!

[saltysam]

bizarrely i've never seen Godfather 3.be watching it in the next day or so.

[luckystars]

I've never been able to get more than 30mins into The Godfather without falling alseep

best stick to the likes of Ong Bak 3 then

I will!