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

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 28 May 2006, 10:42

Thanks, Mark.

Le Samourai - 4/5
True classic. Alain Delon rules.

@dh005
Yeah, SS is a wonderful film. Which version have you seen. Please don't tell me you watched the German DVD, as it is the only one in the batch of Pegasus' Kurosawa releases that was cut.

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 28 May 2006, 11:03

hey,

regarding Metade Fumaca spoiler, LD:

In my mind it's the endless search that culminates in a flurry of emotions during that moment. That the answer was so close and the fact that Smokey is sort of on the other side of the law as well. Wonderful scene and song.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 28 May 2006, 11:08

I'd like to get the CC of Le Samourai LD.

I first saw it in 2000/1 (I rented it from our college library where I did Film Studies A Level), and there were some things in it that reminded me of The Killer

Great movie.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 28 May 2006, 12:04

grim_tales wrote: and there were some things in it that reminded me of The Killer

Which is unsurprising since it was Woo's biggest inspiration for The Killer.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 28 May 2006, 12:07

I know

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 28 May 2006, 12:31

Thanks Ken! Makes sense.

brooce-leroy · Post by **brooce-leroy** » 28 May 2006, 16:57

Panic Room 3/5

Still a decent thriller with some cool set pieces. Better than Flight Plan.

the68monkey · Post by **the68monkey** » 28 May 2006, 17:02

EvaUnit02 wrote:
grim_tales wrote: and there were some things in it that reminded me of The Killer
Which is unsurprising since it was Woo's biggest inspiration for The Killer.

I think Woo improves upon Le Samourai. While Le Samourai is an excellent film, the main character leaves me feeling cold. There's no real sympathy built up for him on the viewer's part. Woo's main character is a much more tragic figure in a far more moving film.

Shen · Post by **Shen** » 28 May 2006, 17:30

Sister Act 2 4/5

lol, god knows how many times i've seen this, my mom adores these films, and i gotta admit it hasnt lost its charm over the years. honestly i didnt see a comedy the matches the sister act movies in many years...

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 28 May 2006, 17:38

I saw X-Men: Last Stand last night and yes X2 is the strongest of the trilogy, it's also the most epic BUT my god people are being harsh.

It's considerably better then X-Men: Part 1. The action sequences I thought were great and Ratner adding in so many characters was great for the fans (like me). Vinnie Jones was out of place but I doubt many Americans know who he is anyway.

The central story of a Mutant cure was well written and developed too.

I didn't like killing off of so many characters core characters, especially Professor Xavier that was all wrong.

One of the biggest problems I had was the length. It was to short and this hurt the epic feel. Oh and why has Cyclops been relegated to a cameo? He was as big as Wolverine in the comics. He's barely in X-Men 3.

The Phoenix character was underused too, a missed opportunity. Considering she was all powerful would Wolverine's blades actually hurt her?

I loved how Ratner has closed it off to conclude the Trilogy but also left it open just enough if they want to make another X-Men film.

Ratner has a bad reputation, I think it's this that many are clinging on to. The film in many people's eyes was doomed to fail before they'd even saw it. Some are saying X-Men is better than X-Men 3, how they come to this conclusion is beyond me.

This is probably his strongest work yet.

Like I said Bryan Singer definitely did a better job with X2, that's so well written and some great action too but X-Men: Last Stand is still lots of fun.

I for one would love anther X-Men. It's always been one of the strongest superhero stories IMO. They're much better than the overrated Spider-man films.

7 out of 10

thelostdragon wrote:She refused to work on the film unless she was given more screen presence with more dialogue and only if she got to fly. WTF??? God damn the jury that gave her an Academy Award and made her so snobbish.

I didn't know that but yes true she has become very snobbish. Did you hear what happened on BBC's Radio 1 show recently? She got all stroppy over what she considered Chris Moyle's being racist. It was in bad taste but stroppy no.

thelostdragon wrote:Also, make sure you stay until the credits are over. You'll find a little surprise.

Bugger. I often miss these, credits are so long now a days.

What happens?

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 28 May 2006, 21:55

Shen wrote: Sister Act 2 4/5

lol, god knows how many times i've seen this, my mom adores these films, and i gotta admit it hasnt lost its charm over the years. honestly i didnt see a comedy the matches the sister act movies in many years...

I suggest you watch "Take the Lead" once it's out on DVD. It uses a similar "teacher converts classroom of student misfits into better people" forumla. Plus it has Antonio Banderas and he's pretty cool. 8)

Shen · Post by **Shen** » 28 May 2006, 22:04

my aunt and i were gonna go see this in theatres but we she heard bad reviews and didnt want to waste £6 on movie that maybe sucked lolshe loves antonio banderas. personally im indifferent to him. but i think in the sister act movies its whoopi goldbergs chemistry that makes the films good.

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 28 May 2006, 22:46

Take the Lead is like my favourite film this year.

Ok joint with Silent Hill.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 28 May 2006, 23:05

Swing Girls (Japan - 2004): 4,5/5

I must admit that this movie wasn't very high on my to-watch list because:
-I don't like jazz.
-Japanese comedies usually don't work for me.

So I wasn't expecting much from Swing Girls.

But this is a great film. Not many "laugh out loud" moments, not much drama... only lots of good music and convincing actors.
Some characters are quite stereotypical, and there's also some unnecessary drama/tension near the end but it works.

The missing 0,5 is for the plot, which is a little too predictable.
Otherwise it's all good.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 28 May 2006, 23:34

I was about to get this one recently. Good to know you like it, Tom. Saves me money and DVD space.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 28 May 2006, 23:39

Hey, I happen to like some good movies too.

Like... like... no, never mind.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 29 May 2006, 11:56

Hey, I liked Swing Girls

Bisc liked it too. Fun, light hearted comedy IMO.

Blackadder Season 1 overall (from the Blackadder Collection) - 3.5/5

Successfully lays the foundations for what would become IMO, the best comedy of the 80's (if not ever), not quite as good as Series II, III, IV as the tone is different, less a sitcom, more a historical comedy/parody adventure (if that makes sense). The roles of Blackadder and Baldrick are also reversed, which takes some getting used to, with Tony Robinson's Baldrick playing the straight man to Blackadder's (Rown Atkinson) comedy turn. Brian Blessed is perfectly cast as King Richard though (i.e, a raving nutter who shouts a lot)

Love the theme thune!

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 29 May 2006, 12:20

Swing Girls is like the best Japanese Jazz film of all time.

dragonhero005 · Post by **dragonhero005** » 29 May 2006, 15:10

thelostdragon wrote: @dh005
Yeah, SS is a wonderful film. Which version have you seen. Please don't tell me you watched the German DVD, as it is the only one in the batch of Pegasus' Kurosawa releases that was cut.

I watched the version of bfi (british film institute), I think that one is uncut.

brooce-leroy · Post by **brooce-leroy** » 29 May 2006, 15:13

leon integral 4/5

still an awesome movie.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 29 May 2006, 15:16

dragonhero005 wrote:I watched the version of bfi (british film institute), I think that one is uncut.

It is... apart from the missing intermission.

But you really don't need it if it is for the sake of the film. If you are a copletist, though, I'd buy a version that has the intermission, too.

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 29 May 2006, 15:24

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable - 4/5
Just like the previous two parts, Beast Stable too has a new approach on the same subject. While 701 was a visually stunning WIP flick and Jailhouse 41 a surreal road movie, Beast Stable is a beautiful character drama. Visually perfect, filled with memorable scenes and a great cast. A definitive proof that Shunya Ito was one of the best directors of the 70's.

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Grudge Song - 3/5
The last part in the series, and unfortunately the weakest. By no means a bad movie, but Sasori obviously lost something important when Ito left the series. Yasuharu Hasebe (who directed the mindblowing Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter) is still able to deliver some visual knock-out scenes. Meiko is wonderful as always.

Tange Sazen: The Secret of the Urn – 3,5/5
Not the kind of huge samurai classic Goyokin was, but still a very welcome addition to any chambara fans collection. The story is decent, action scenes well made (the swordplay is much closer to violent 70’s bloodshed than typical 60’s swordfighting) and the one-armed, one-eyed main character the biggest badass of the 60’s.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 29 May 2006, 23:55

HungFist wrote:Female Prisoner Scorpion

Mmmm, Meiko Kaji... she can seek revenge against me any day!

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 30 May 2006, 08:55

The Goat (Buster Keaton short comedy) - 4/5

Actually very funny (I'm really not used to silent movies). The first scene (involving waiting at a bread queue) is great, hard to describe though.
Basically Buster is waiting in a long queue for free bread. The queue is taking ages so he pushes to the front, but is motioned to go wait at the back.
He goes to the back of the line and waits behind two guys who are actually tailor's dummies, and don't move a muscle, but he doesnt know it!
After waiting a bit, he finally moves to the head of the queue. When he finally gets there, the bread guy has changed the sign on the service hatch to CLOSED

Visual yes, maybe simplistic, but funny all the same

I'm almost certain Sesame Street featured skits like that in the day with the same sort of humour in them (I first thought of that actually)

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 30 May 2006, 11:06

Buster Keaton is great. But the best black & white comedies out there are also the best buddy films ever made. Laurel & Hardy make me scream when I laugh.