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

Film Reviews and Release Comparisons
tom2681
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Post by tom2681 »

@Grim:

I didn't like Mallika Sherawat in The Myth. I thought her character was totally useless.
Also, the fights in India were too comedic (they don't fit with the serious tone of the film).
There should of been a big end fight
A long fight in zero-grav between Jackie, Sun Zhou and several bad guys is good enough for me. :D
I used to be "the man who loves the movies you hate".
Now I'm just "that weird french guy with a cat avatar who comes to BnB once a year for no reason and then disappears again".
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grim_tales
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Post by grim_tales »

I'd hardly say the tone of the film is "serious" overall, Yes Asia describe it as "part historical epic, part goofy action-comedy" :D In some ways it reminded me of Armour of God and those films were hardly serious. I don't blame Stanley Tong for putting some typical "Jackie" goofy fights in The Myth TBH.
Samantha's character may have been useless but she was gorgeous :lol:
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thelostdragon
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Post by thelostdragon »

Scary Movie 4 - 2.5/5
There were some great laughs in this film, but overall it was just ok.
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BiscLimpkit
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Post by BiscLimpkit »

Yeah but that Ju-On kid screaming whilst getting his hand burned by the flame kinda persuaded me to award it half a mark more than you. :lol:
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thelostdragon
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Post by thelostdragon »

LOL, to me I think the funniest line comes after "Sarah Michelle Gellar" tells "Tom" the story of her fight and how everyone dies. She says:
SMG: "I have been feeling guilty about it ever since."
Tom: "And you've been absolutely right."
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grim_tales
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Post by grim_tales »

Stars Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.. 3.5/5 - 4/5

Really liked this for some reason :D Very dark and brooding for a Star Wars film, Hayden Christensen (sp?) does a fine job of portraying Anakin Skywalkers corrupted tortured soul - of course even I know what will happen eventually :D Sets up the saga nicely for the events of IV I think.

I didnt know it was Palpatine (sp?) who corrupted Anakin. In TESB, isnt it revealed Darth Vader killed Luke's mother (so Padmé?) :? So many confusing timelines :D

The only SW film I havent seen :oops: is Empire Strikes Back.
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thelostdragon
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Post by thelostdragon »

grim_tales wrote:The only SW film I havent seen :oops: is Empire Strikes Back.
LOL!
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grim_tales
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Post by grim_tales »

And thats funny because? :?

:wink: :D
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thelostdragon
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Post by thelostdragon »

16 Blocks - 4.5/5
Loved this. Probably Bruce Willis' best role ever.
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Shen
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Post by Shen »

Hero 4/5

Cool movie, i watched it before the fights are really cool and the scenery just awesome. love the use of colors, the wire-fu makes a good change from straight fighting.

however, i fail to see the point of zhang ziyi? she was a student or whatever but by the end she was beginning to get on my nerves, the story could have played fine without her...any idea s to her significance, she just seemed to cry and get into fights
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Markgway
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Post by Markgway »

16 Blocks opens here tomorrow.

Opinion is varying wildly.

I'm tempted... but why'd they have to put a bleedin' rapper in a central role?

THEY CAN'T ACT!!!
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Markgway
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Post by Markgway »

Shen wrote:however, i fail to see the point of zhang ziyi?
Only a female could make that comment! :D
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Shen
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Post by Shen »

no in all seriousness i really didnt see the reason she was there, ok she was the servant, and he "used" her etc. utter devotion yada yada yada....but all she portrayed was already there with the other characters. her wailing really got on my nerves. and i think that if she wasnt in the movie it wouldnt have lost much at all. maybe i just cant see the motives of her?
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thelostdragon
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Post by thelostdragon »

She was there so Flying Snow would have a reason to be mad at Broken Sword and to kill him.

The character of Moon is also further explored in the director's cut. The scene in which the village is attacked by the artillery (big arrow scene), she fights off arrows in front of the room in which Broken Sword is writing the perfect 20th character for sword.

Furthermore, is she there in the red storyline (Namless' version presented to the king at first), so he can explain how Flying Snow not only killed Broken Sword, but also his lover, Moon.

Later, in the blue storyline (the King's first version), we just see Moon next to Broken Sword as he runs and breaks down upon Flying Snow's death. So in the King's version, Broken Sword never had an affair with his servant, Moon.

In the final white storyline (the true version), we see Moon getting in rage after Namless' alternative demonstration to the blue one, as he's going against her master. As Broken Sword dies later, it is Moon who drops to the ground, crying. This way, it can be assumed, that in reality she never had an affair with him and hence she was desperately in love.

Prior to Broken Sowrd's death though, the director's cut features a great finale for the Moon character, though.

It's a long passage (5 minutes) that is missing from the theatrical cut. After her master, Broken Sword, leaves she tries to commit suicide.

Moon: "This will be the last thing I can do for my master. Master Nameless, please take his advice."

Then she gets out one of her two swords and wants to stab it into her stomach. Nameless prevents it from happening, though. Next, she takes her other sword and tries to slit her own throat. Nameless prevents her from doing so as well.

Nameless: "Why did you want to do that?"
Moon: "I wanted to follow the example of my master and to persuade you with my life."
Nameless: "You're still young. Life ist precious. If you must die, you should die for a greater cause. Be on your way. I will remember, what should be remembered."


Interestingly (but consequential at the same time), the scene in which Moon gets on her knees in front of Nameless is missing from the director's cut.

Now if that isn't an interesting side character, what else is it?
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grim_tales
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Post by grim_tales »

Markgway wrote:16 Blocks opens here tomorrow.

Opinion is varying wildly.

I'm tempted... but why'd they have to put a bleedin' rapper in a central role?

THEY CAN'T ACT!!!
Mos Def wasnt bad in HitchHikers, but it wasnt a very challenging role to be fair.
I'm tempted, some say 16 Blocks is old fashioned - maybe thats a strength? I dont know :?
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grim_tales
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Post by grim_tales »

Hey,

For some reason the Anakin v Obi-Wan lightsabre fight in SW: Ep III reminded me of the Mount Doom fight between Gollum and Frodo from LOTR for some reason :D
Maybe it was the setting that was similar (all the lava and volcanic stuff going on around them).
The part where Anakin is seemingly burnt to death, screaming in pain, and then he becomes Darth Vader (complete with wheezy breathing) is truly terrifying,
I loved the scenes with Yoda kicking ass also, though his backwards talking does grate :D
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grim_tales
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Post by grim_tales »

Tintin: The 7 Crystal Balls - 4/5

Excelent episode, pretty dark for Tintin. I'm sure Hergé was influenced by the expedition to Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922 and the subsequent "curse" that sprung up around it.
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Shen
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Post by Shen »

@LD i saw the extended edition, but then maybe if her character didnt yell so much and cried more convincingly it would be better. i've seen zhang ziyi in other films and shes really great, but in this she just really seemed to grate on my nerves, even my father was getting annoyed at the crying.

i understand the devotion and love ,that was easy to see. and her part in the red story. infact i love that fight scene, really beautiful. but its just that she didnt seem to fit, the other actors were high class and stuff and she just seemed to be over the top in some of her scenes, maybe that was to show moons immaturity? e.g. in the white story where flying snow injures broken arrow with the help of nameless, and she just goes nuts, understandably...with the lack of control of anger and emotion which isnt seen in broken sword, nameless and flying snow but it just seemed to halt those awesome scenes with the over-reactions.

she does have great scenes, when shes defending the arrows, and later fighting with flying snow in the awesome scene with the falling leaves but her over-reaction in other scenes kinda spoiled them for me, when they were perfectly awesome. i just feel she could have been a little more subtle with her crying. the end scene where broken sword dies on flying snows sword and then flying snow kills her self using the same sword, the biggest act of devotion and zhang ziyi comes up screaming and crying and wailing it just ruined it, just far too over acted...

she did have a prupose i see that now, but she was still annoying lol
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grim_tales
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Post by grim_tales »

The first time I saw Hero (the TC) I felt Zhang Ziyi phoned in her performance :?
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Post by thelostdragon »

Dark Blue - 3/5
Decent cop thriller with Kurt Russel. Certainly something different to the usual cop movies we see.
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Markgway
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Post by Markgway »

I liked Kurt more than the movie.
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thelostdragon
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Post by thelostdragon »

Howl's Moving Castle - 4.5/5
Awesome film. Would have been a 5/5, but out of some reason I have a problem with the endings of most Miyazaki films I have seen.
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Post by HungFist »

Operetta Tanuki Goten - 3.5/5
The film looks stunningly beautiful, but it's a bit too long (110 min). It doesn't get boring at any point, but there's basically too much visual treat here. The problem is a bit similiar to some old school martial arts films that have too much fighting in them. Otherwise a great film. Odagiri and Ziyi were both great.

Shanghai Knights - 2/5
Partly entertaining, mostly frustrating. It wasn't a terrible movie, but it couldn't really catch my attention. Some of the action scenes were okay, but my favourite scene was the ending credits (never a good sing).

Takeshis' - 3.5/5
This was one weird film. Basically Takeshis' is Kitano's analysis of himself as a director/actor. The problem is that Kitano isn't quite the ordinary guy... and this analysis isn't too easy to understand. I've seen all films Kitano has directed, but I'm still not quite sure what Kitano was trying to say with this. Actually, I don't think he knowns himself. Anyway, Takeshis' is a nice little fascinating film for fans of Kitano. It should also offer enough strangeness and visual beauty that a "casual viewer" can enjoy it. Crying out for a second viewing...

Getting Any - 3.5/5
If the whole movie was as funny as the first 25 minutes, then this would be the funniest movie ever made. I almost choked because I was laughing so hard during the car episode. The rest of the film isn't too bad, though Kitano is sure to lose some of the audience during the last few scenes.
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thelostdragon
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Post by thelostdragon »

What's this "Operetta" all about? Zhang Ziyi is in it? Wow!
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HungFist
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Post by HungFist »

thelostdragon wrote:What's this "Operetta" all about? Zhang Ziyi is in it? Wow!
aka Princess Raccoon

http://www.tanuki-goten.com/