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

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 19 Dec 2005, 11:21

Markgway wrote:
grim_tales wrote:You tend to see more films than I.
That's just cause I'm older. 8)

Not by much 8)

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 21 Dec 2005, 16:12

Old Boy - 4/5

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Check out my mini-review over at www.asianfilmreviews.tk if you feel like it...

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 22 Dec 2005, 16:08

Defenders of the Earth - 3/5

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 22 Dec 2005, 18:28

DERAILED *
OUT FOR A KILL *

Both these films are utter piss.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 22 Dec 2005, 18:35

HARD TARGET - WORKPRINT

I won't review it because this version isn't in a finished state (ie. no original soundtrack) except to say I watched it last night and then the Euro cut this morning and honestly IMO there's nothing missing from the Euro that makes the WP a better film. It's like the difference between a first draft of a novel and the published article. Fun to see the extra footage but frankly I'm glad most of it was cut (almost all of the violence can be found in the Euro cut anyways and it has a better ending).

There are two short bits from the WP I would like to see put back if some "Director's Cut" came about. 1. The scene where the fat fuck's ear is scissored off - not because it's gorier - which it is - but because it happens to look censored in the Euro print. It's not, it's just appears that way, largely because of the sound editing. The shots feel more complete in the WP. 2. Roper's death - which in the Euro is quite brief. However in the WP he gets shot A LOT more and in a heroic show of defiance actually gets up off the ground to take a second load of hits. This is the most potent scene in the film and wouldn't be out of place in Bullet in the Head. It really makes you feel for the character and would be worth reinstating.

Otherwise... the Euro cut is to me the (near)definitive edition.

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 22 Dec 2005, 19:15

Out For A Kill - 1/5

It just gets worse! Since when has "ni hao" meant "asshole"?! Now my Mandarin isn't great, but I'm positive "ni hao" means "hello"! Stupid subtitles!

Stupid use of dubbing as well. What's the point? I can understand for old HK films where the budget was non-existant or there was too much background noise, but for a new film there really is no excuse for such lousy dubbing!

Lame fight scenes too. Why does Steven Seagal try to look like he's just stepped out of a "wire-fu" (hate that term) film? He should stick to the aikido techniques and create more realistic ground-based fight scenes.

I mean, the fight with the monkey kung fu barber was just daft! Running along walls? Yes, in a fantasy martial arts film it works, but in a supposedly reality-based thriller it was completely out of place!

Rubbish.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 22 Dec 2005, 20:18

Mark where did you get the WP of Hard Target from?

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 23 Dec 2005, 02:13

IronMonkey wrote:It just gets worse! Since when has "ni hao" meant "asshole"?!

Maybe it's an underlying meaning???

Stupid use of dubbing as well. What's the point?

Looping is common even in sync-sound films, but usually it's done by expert ADR so we don't notice the joins. For this no-budget piffle I doubt they cared. At least it seems to be mostly Seagal this time, either that or they got a half-decent impersonator. In Belly of the Beast the dubber sounded nothing like him!

Lame fight scenes too. Why does Steven Seagal try to look like he's just stepped out of a "wire-fu" (hate that term) film? He should stick to the aikido techniques and create more realistic ground-based fight scenes.

Agreed. It's especially awful because Steve is so fat and looks like the only exercize he gets these days is wiping the cheeseburger grease from his lips.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 23 Dec 2005, 02:13

grim_tales wrote:Mark where did you get the WP of Hard Target from?

Santa Claus!

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 24 Dec 2005, 13:18

Polar Express - 4/5

Aye that's the thing. Very surreal film which looked great in the cinema, especially the roller coaster segments. Superb visuals and fluid animation. Some of the body movements and details were surprisingly lifelike. Tom Hanks rules as well.

OMG I'd love to watch this at the IMAX imo.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 24 Dec 2005, 14:12

Welcome to Dongmakgol : 4,9/5

Now THAT's what I call a great movie.
Lots of comedy, lots of drama, great music..

+The wild boar hunt scene is absolutely awesome.

I didn't know you could kill a 7-foot tall wild boar with a stick.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 24 Dec 2005, 14:38

Peeping Tom (1960) - 4/5

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 24 Dec 2005, 16:22

Tom2681 wrote:Welcome to Dongmakgol : 4,9/5

Now THAT's what I call a great movie.
Lots of comedy, lots of drama, great music..

+The wild boar hunt scene is absolutely awesome.
I didn't know you could kill a 7-foot tall wild boar with a stick.

Tom Tom Tom. You know how to make me feel uber jealous. :x

It seems that films about the Korea divide = automatic hit. Itching to see this.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 24 Dec 2005, 16:40

Bisc wrote:Itching to see this.

Next time you buy a korean dvd, you gotta buy this one too.
Dongmakgol may not be as good as JSA but it comes pretty close IMO.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 24 Dec 2005, 17:28

Markgway wrote:HARD TARGET - WORKPRINT

I won't review it because this version isn't in a finished state (ie. no original soundtrack) except to say I watched it last night and then the Euro cut this morning and honestly IMO there's nothing missing from the Euro that makes the WP a better film. It's like the difference between a first draft of a novel and the published article. Fun to see the extra footage but frankly I'm glad most of it was cut (almost all of the violence can be found in the Euro cut anyways and it has a better ending).

There are two short bits from the WP I would like to see put back if some "Director's Cut" came about. 1. The scene where the fat fuck's ear is scissored off - not because it's gorier - which it is - but because it happens to look censored in the Euro print. It's not, it's just appears that way, largely because of the sound editing. The shots feel more complete in the WP. 2. Roper's death - which in the Euro is quite brief. However in the WP he gets shot A LOT more and in a heroic show of defiance actually gets up off the ground to take a second load of hits. This is the most potent scene in the film and wouldn't be out of place in Bullet in the Head. It really makes you feel for the character and would be worth reinstating.

Otherwise... the Euro cut is to me the (near)definitive edition.

It was worth seeing still you have to admit

hey you never know what would have happened with this fine film if Woo had final cut and didnt get them pesky censors involved

its a shame really.

Still we await a special edtion one day, maybe HD will spring forth a nice dition, but I seriosutly dont expect this film ever to get a perfect version with any extras etc..

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 24 Dec 2005, 17:58

It's my guess - and I stress guess - that the Euro cut is pretty much what Woo would have released in the US had the MPAA not interfered. The editing structure of the WP is different and you can clearly see that the Euro cut refines the editing and looks far more the finished article. Only the ear-cutting seems a little censored (but it was perhaps cut by Woo BEFORE submission as he was aware he had to avoid extreme violence, hence why it's still missing for the Euro cut). Most movies are subject to re-edits and changes with or without studio interference and so the idea that Woo's director's cut would've been significantly different from the Euro cut is to me unlikely. I suspect this is the exact same scenario as The Killer whereby Woo's first cut (or first draft) was released in Taiwan and simply because it was longer everyone cried director's cut. Woo had yet to complete editing and I'd imagine the same thing happened on Hard Target. Of course until Woo speaks forth my words are only speculation but that's my opinion.

And yeah, it was still fun to watch the WP as a bonus.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 25 Dec 2005, 10:31

Father Ted - A Christmassy Ted... 5/5

Just brilliant

"Its Irelands biggest lingerie dept, I understand"

"What has a load of people pointing at a star got do with Christmas?"

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 25 Dec 2005, 20:53

Shrek - 4/5

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 27 Dec 2005, 17:17

Toy Story 2 - 4.5/5

The good The Bad and the ugly (with commentary) - 4/5

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 27 Dec 2005, 17:36

King Kong (2005) - 5/5

Way to go Mr Jackson. I'll admit, I was very spectical of PJ wanting to do King Kong after the LOTR trilogy. Judging by the average Hollywood remake, I wasn't exactly hopeful and felt that this move would be a step down for the director.

How wrong was I? In all honesty, this is the best remake in the world. The filmmakers have taken a 1933 classic and revamped it to suit today's audiences. There is a lot more emotion, the underlying themes and messages about man vs nature are more apparant, and of course the visuals are absolutely stunning. It is a chapter by chapter remake of the 1933 version but has been extended to cater for character development and some fantastic battle segments. Even the deleted scene from the 1933 version (spider pit) has been included here with unappologetic greusomenes. There are lovely homages to the original Kong as well. All in all, this is exactly how a remake should be.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 28 Dec 2005, 09:26

Spider-Man 2 - 4.5/5

Fantastic.

Surprisingly for a PG rated (UK) film, this had a significantly darker tone than the first film in the series, with at least as much violence, where Peter questions his identity, and shows that he's not without capcity for getting things wrong (getting fired, always being late, standing MJ up), so He diecides to give up being Spider-Man.
It reminded me of the excellent Sins of the Fathers cartoon episode, where he decides he won't be Spidey anymore, but then he meets a little girl and he tells her how he became Spider-Man. (Aunt May says in the movie "Every child needs a hero").
There are some nice comic touches though, like the Japanese woman playing the Spider-Man theme on the violin

Doc Ock makes an excellent villain. Is he only "evil" because there was trouble with his mechanical arms, so they were controlling him, not the other way round
Also for any fans of Kirsten Dunst, there's a great scene near the end of the movie similar to the wet dress scene in Film 1, but I won't spoil it for you!

Could Harry Osborn signal the Green Goblin's return in Film 3? I know he wants vengeance on Spidey, but didnt he know his dad was the Goblin?

In short, awesome film

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 28 Dec 2005, 14:32

Loved it as well. Don't expect the Gnome in part 3, though. His turn is planned for part 5 I think. If I remember correctly part 3's villain is the lizard. He is also hinted in part 2 in a short scene where Peter's professor with only 1 arm approaches him.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 28 Dec 2005, 14:44

Gnome? You mean Goblin?

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 28 Dec 2005, 15:02

Hmmm! In the German version of the animated series, Harry Osborne is called the Yellow Gnome, unlike his father, the Green Gnome.

And by the way... I was wrong saying that the Lizard will be the villain in part 3. It was planned that way once, lol, but now they have two villains.

Sandman and...

...VENOM!!!

Yahoooo!

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 28 Dec 2005, 15:06

Cool

Venom is a fantastic villain in the animated series. I wonder if we'll see Spidey try out the Venom costume?

I don't remember what Harry was called, but Norman was always the "Green Goblin" to me.
As for the bit at the end of the film, yes Spiderman killed his father, but doesnt Harry understand his father was the Goblin thus got corrupted and evil