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

[gasteropod]

Altered States: 4/5

Great psychedelic scenes and a clear inspiration to Cronenberg's The Fly.

[gasteropod]

Alucarda: 1.5/5

I was led to believe this was going to be good, but it's not very well-made, there's some terrible acting, and for a Satanic film there's a distinct lack of occult atmosphere.

[Markgway]

The Whistle Blower **

Spy thriller with Michael Caine. He's good, but film is pretty dull at times.

EDIT: I'm baffled as to how the BBFC rated this PG and missed two clear f-words.

Both by Caine:
"Don't fuck around"
"You fucking fruitcake" (said to a spy who's probably gay).

There's also a 'prick' in there and several uses of 'bugger'

Plus a scene in which a hosepipe is shown inserted into a car exhaust as a means of suicide.

[grim_tales]

Also when I watched the Pixar short, Day and Night (that went with Toy Story 3), it struck me how clever it actually is (maybe too deep for young kids). Maybe not as uproariously funny as For The Birds or Lifted but in many ways the better film

[saltysam]

Don't Look Now 4.5/5 Slow moving but superbly acted,atmospheric chiller.Sad,bleak & creepy Donald Sutherland has never been better and Julie Christie is at her peak the blu-ray has definitely had dnr applied but still looks a league above the dvd to my eyes.

[gasteropod]

Bridesmaids: 3.5/5

Very funny but did it really need to be over 2 hours long?

[saltysam]

Bridesmaids: 3.5/5

Very funny but did it really need to be over 2 hours long?

isn't it from the Judd Apatow stable? Most movies he's involved in seem to be excessive in length...(Knocked Up,40 Year Old Virgin,Superbad etc...)

Assault On Precinct 13 5/5 I've watched this film so often i can probably read the dialogue off by heart but i never tire of watching it,probably my favourite movie.Low budget filmaking at it's zenith,perfect on every level,brilliant cast of character actors,music score,direction,script. Darwin Joston as Napoleon Wilson proves he should've been a big star.Image have done a brilliant job of the Blu-ray as well.

[gasteropod]

isn't it from the Judd Apatow stable? Most movies he's involved in seem to be excessive in length...(Knocked Up,40 Year Old Virgin,Superbad etc...)

Yup, although I find it's worst with the films actually directed by him, and I don't find them very funny either. I don't think Superbad is too long.

[HungFist]

Common problem with cinema these days. Hardly anyone is making 85 minute movies anymore.

[gasteropod]

Don't Look Now 4.5/5 Slow moving but superbly acted,atmospheric chiller.Sad,bleak & creepy Donald Sutherland has never been better and Julie Christie is at her peak the blu-ray has definitely had dnr applied but still looks a league above the dvd to my eyes.

I've just watched the Blu-ray too and yes, thankfully the digital manipulation doesn't ruin the viewing experience, still a shame that it would have looked even better without it. As for the film, I don't really find it very creepy unfortunately, and I can't help but laugh at Donald Sutherland's moans and groans throughout the film

Edit: Oh my God, check out the audio commentary, I can hardly understand a word Nicolas Roeg says! He just keeps mumbling!

[Markgway]

Darwin Joston as Napoleon Wilson proves he should've been a big star.

But he doesn't sit as well as he used to...

[gasteropod]

Near Dark: 4/5

Superior vampire film which I never hear mentioned. The Blu-ray appears to be an upscale by the way, another 'Optimum special' at least I've only rented it.

[saltysam]

The Resident 2/5 New Hammer film is standard psychological thriller fare starring Hilary Swank.nothing new here,a passable 90 minutes at best.

[Heka]

Taxi driver (1976, USA) - 5/5
I expected a masterpice and I got one. Somehow the movie made me feel like getting a mohawk. The long shots with no dialogue and just the same music playing over and over again were very atmospheric. I liked the gritty look of the movie and the city the movie was shot in. Robert De Niro was brilliant as the tight as violin string taxi driver and his performanse put the recent crazy person performanses like Ledgers joker to shame. I also liked the fact that the movie left some things unexplained.

And don't worry, I won't be giving out just 5/5 ratings, It just happened I saw two very good movies in a row.

[HungFist]

Last time I saw Taxi Driver was in Japan. Me and friend got bored in school so we watched Taxi Driver in zemi room. People passing by must have wondered about the noise

Oh well, it was less noisy than Tetsuo II: Body Hammer that we watched the following week

[Yi-Long]

Taxi driver (1976, USA) - 5/5
I expected a masterpice and I got one. Somehow the movie made me feel like getting a mohawk. The long shots with no dialogue and just the same music playing over and over again were very atmospheric. I liked the gritty look of the movie and the city the movie was shot in. Robert De Niro was brilliant as the tight as violin string taxi driver and his performanse put the recent crazy person performanses like Ledgers joker to shame. I also liked the fact that the movie left some things unexplained.

And don't worry, I won't be giving out just 5/5 ratings, It just happened I saw two very good movies in a row.

If you're tired of watching great movies, you should try Requiem for a Dream.

[gasteropod]

If you're tired of watching great movies, you should try Requiem for a Dream.

Nah, he should try The Shock Labyrinth 3D, Don't Look Up (2009), and Shirome

[HungFist]

Shirome is a good recommendation. I'll probably get the DVD sooner or later. Awesome movie

[gasteropod]

Shirome is a good recommendation. I'll probably get the DVD sooner or later. Awesome movie

Did you prefer it to Noroi and Okaruto?

[HungFist]

Noroi is a better movie, but I don't see they should be compared to each other. Noroi is horror, Shirome is comedy.

I haven't seen Occult yet. It's on my shopping list, though (but that's a long list).

[gasteropod]

Shirome is comedy.

That's debatable. I may have enjoyed it more if I'd watched it thinking it was a comedy, though. And the two films are comparable because they're both horror mockumentaries by Koji Shiraishi.

[luckystars]

In advance of Dark of the Moon...

Transformers 4/5
For people who don't agree with the sensibilities of Michael Bay, this film is a turd. For me the film is an epic sci-fi action movie with breathtaking visuals (and sound design), funny, well cast characters and a suitably fantastic story. The Blu-Ray is a superb representation of the cinema experience. Terrific on my modest home cinema setup

Transformers 2 4/5

Again, for people who don't agree with the sensibilities of Michael Bay, this film is also a turd. For me, the film gave more of everything...the only thing you could knock is the story which if it were the a first film, would be little hard to get into because of the pace, but for a sequel is just fine. Just epic.

[HungFist]

Shirome is comedy.

That's debatable. I may have enjoyed it more if I'd watched it thinking it was a comedy, though. And the two films are comparable because they're both horror mockumentaries by Koji Shiraishi.

Both use similar methods, but Noroi is a fictional horror film, while Shirome is a candid camera show where all the fun comes from observing the real reactions. Comparing the funniest film of the year to the scariest film of the decade seems a bit strange to me.

But as a Shiraishi comparison, yes, Noroi is certainly the more accomplished film. And yes, the biggest problem with Shirome is that Shiraishi was flirting with the (real) horror genre, although this also gave it more poker face and possibly made it funnier. I only realized it after the film that some other viewers had viewed it as "horror movie".

I'm really looking forward to his new film Cho akunin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOylxRthyiE#t=23s

[gasteropod]

Lord of War: 4/5

Similar kind of thing to 'Blow', just as solid a film.

[gasteropod]

I'm really looking forward to his new film Cho akunin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOylxRthyiE#t=23s

Looks kind of interesting, unfortunately my grasp of Japanese is far too basic to understand what's going on in that trailer and what the hell is with his bizarre visor glasses? haha