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

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 13 Jan 2007, 16:50

Agreed 2006 was a disappointing year. I'd only name 3 films which are flawless and 1 of those isn't actually quite that:

1. Volver - Excellent
2. Pan's Labyrinth - Masterpiece
3. Casino Royale - Easily the best blockbuster. No other came close but it's a bit too long, 15-20 minutes shorter please.

As for the rest:

1. MI3 - Average to the extreme, oh look another explosion. Give us back Brian DePalma or John Woo please, both know how to make something unique. MI3 could've been made by McG and it would've looked the same.
2. X-Men 3 - Overall I enjoyed it but then I'm a sucker for anytihng X-Men. Very patchy though.
3. Superman Returns: Annoyingly it worked as much as it failed, half a film isn't a good film. It look tremendous and Bryan Singer "just" managed to pull it all together.
4. Children of Men - I heard so many good things about this but it turned out to be really average, characters I didn't care about, far to many unanswered questions and a silly ending. It should've been so much more.
5. The Departed - This is a hard one to call as on one hand it's a solid crime drama but having seen the superior Infernal Affairs it's hard to whole-heartily recommend it. Which is strange when the acting calibre is very good. Pity it's a bit too Scorsese light and is definitely too long (even to long against Casino Royale).

Reviews of all but Pan's Labyrinth and Casino Royale can be read here: http://www.alexmccaffrey.com/reviews.htm

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 13 Jan 2007, 17:02

hey,

possibly fullscreen bootleg of Dragon Lives Again is out there. I downloaded my copy.

http://www.geocities.com/many_bruces/re ... sagain.htm

Quite a racy one also so all's well and all's pleased.

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 13 Jan 2007, 17:03

No mention of the Prestige?!

My top 3 (Hollywood) were Prestige, Children of Men and... the Departed.

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 13 Jan 2007, 17:07

Knetan wrote:hey,

possibly fullscreen bootleg of Dragon Lives Again is out there. I downloaded my copy.

http://www.geocities.com/many_bruces/re ... sagain.htm

Quite a racy one also so all's well and all's pleased.

Oh man, I really want to see this. Any film that breaks copyright must be good! (i.e. Future Cops).

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 13 Jan 2007, 17:12

BiscLimpkit wrote:No mention of the Prestige?!

Oops I forgot that one. That was good, one of the best but that's not saying much against the Hollywood output.

It's not something I'd rush to buy but I will.

BiscLimpkit wrote:My top 3 (Hollywood) were Prestige, Children of Men and... the Departed.

You rate those ABOVE Pan's Labyrinth???

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 13 Jan 2007, 17:13

hey,

Oh man, I really want to see this. Any film that breaks copyright must be good! (i.e. Future Cops).

don't put this in the same sentence as Future Cops. :twisted:

Dragon... does not cause you to vomit out of disgust. That's a difference. It's somehow different when Bruceploitation filmmakers had no shame compared to when Wong Jing did it (and still does).

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 13 Jan 2007, 17:15

bradavon wrote:You rate those ABOVE Pan's Labyrinth???

I'd rate Children of Men and Prestige alongside Pan's Labyrinth but the latter isn't hollywood.

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 13 Jan 2007, 22:30

Smokin' Aces 4/5... (maybe 4.5)
Guess no one else has seen this yet? Well I have. It's awesome.

It's very "Guy Ritchie" in style and stands well alongside Lock Stock and Snatch. As a result, it is far more comical than Narc but is still noticeably dark. Carnahan's one to watch out for.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 14 Jan 2007, 16:27

Flushed Away - 3.5 - 4/5

Enjoyable, and largely very funny, if not hilarious film from Aardman/Dreamworks.

It certainly has a very British sense of humour. Many neat references and jokes, and the sewer slugs (?) that pop up to provide incidental background music or songs (eg Bobby McFerrin's Don't Worry, Be Happy when Roddy [Hugh Jackman] feels lonely) - are great

The boat has been missed a bit with the World Cup gags, but watcha gonna do?

brooce-leroy · Post by **brooce-leroy** » 14 Jan 2007, 16:32

Derailed 3/5

Very enjoyable if a little predictable. Clive Owen is a wet blanket for most of the film, so when he goes all hardman in the 3rd act, it's not quite convincing. Jennifer Aniston does a good job in a role that is probably the biggest departure yet from the sort of light, comedic characters she normally plays. She shows that she can cut it in more serious roles (didn't like The Good Girl much, but liked her in this one).

However, the reason this gets 3/5 (as opposed to a 2/5) is down to one man: Vincent Cassel as the wonderfully menacing LaRoche. At times, his performance is verging on a caricature, but he just about manages to stay within the boundaries and is a genuinely threatening on-screen presence. The film goes up another notch whenever he appears. I'm not the biggest admirer of the actor, but he is fantastic here (makes mental note to watch his breakthrough movie La Haine).

Sky Captain and the world of tomorrow 2/5

Fantastic SFX (mixing CGI with live actors style) but ultimately hollow blend of old school charm, and sort of post modernist sci fi escapism. I'm not sure if that's the right way to put it, but think of the movie Wild Wild West for a better idea. Jude Law has a good time as the old fashioned, dashing hero Sky Captain, but Gwyneth Paltrow is just annoying as the whiny Polly.

The Transporter 2 2.5/5

Enjoyable stuff, but just felt a rehash of the original but with increased absurdities (think of the car flip bomb "de-hooking", and the car park builiding jump). Statham is brilliant as usual (and has deceptively large biceps).

Mean Machine (Vinnie Jones) 3/5

Every bit as predictable as expected, but also very watchable (despite the attempts of Dann Dyer to ruin it). Statham unsurprisingly steals it as The Legendary Broadhurst Monk.

Nomads 2.5/5

Early John MacTiernan with pre-Bond Brosnan. The whole feel of the movie (especially the score) is inescaply 80s, but I found this "spiritual horror" to be intriguing right up to the end. The best thing is probably Brosnan's Inspector Clouseau style French accent. He is for French accents what Dick Van Dyke is for Cockney.

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 14 Jan 2007, 17:09

hey,

Painted Skin 2.5/5

King Hu's final film isn't as bad as reviews would have you believe. It doesn't hit the mark but provides a decent breath of fresh air in the Wuxia craze of the era with its use of sweeping elegance and atmosphere of dread.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 14 Jan 2007, 18:47

Danny Dyer or Danny Dire?

Well-named.

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 14 Jan 2007, 21:08

Casino Royale - 5/5

I've been to see this for the fourth time at the cinema & it just gets better & better with every viewing. I love it.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 15 Jan 2007, 00:08

I couldn't watch a film four times in a matter of weeks.

I saw it early Dec and will see it again on DVD in March (or whenever I can get it cheap enough) and put it on the shelf for a while...

I think Monkey just wants to see Daniel naked in that chair.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 15 Jan 2007, 00:11

I've always thought it was silly to see a movie multiple times at the cinema, especially with the ticket prices these days.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Jan 2007, 15:55

One Foot In The Grave - Season 2: 4/5

One of the great BBC comedies in my opinion, that mixed comedy - sometimes rather black, dark comedy, with tragedy and pathos. Very funny.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 15 Jan 2007, 16:41

EvaUnit02 wrote:I've always thought it was silly to see a movie multiple times at the cinema, especially with the ticket prices these days.

I grudged the price I paid once.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 15 Jan 2007, 17:15

EvaUnit02 wrote:I've always thought it was silly to see a movie multiple times at the cinema, especially with the ticket prices these days.

Well not when you have a pass like me to see as many films as you like for 11 quid a month

6 films in a day is fantastic

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Jan 2007, 17:35

6 a day?!

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 15 Jan 2007, 17:53

Well the first 2 times I treated 2 different groups of friends to see the film & the 3rd & 4th time I went with my girlfriend so I reckon all in all I've bought about 14 or 15 tickets to Casino Royale.

Ouch.

I love that film!

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Jan 2007, 18:10

Awesome film, but I won't be seeing it again til I get the DVD

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 15 Jan 2007, 19:16

romerojpg wrote:6 films in a day is fantastic

Personally I disagree as for me anyway after 2 I'd be too drained and not be giving subsequent films a chance.

It probably depends what the film is but I tend to watch films at the cinema that are emotionally involving in one way or another. I usually find I'm done with 1 film tbh.

As for seeing the same film in the cinema subsequent times I also agree as it will mean you don't see other decent films plus for me anyway I find it to soon to see it again. I've done it a couple of times but have always found it to soon.

None of it has anything to do with the cost of the cinema though, which isn't "that" bad.

DangerousLeeHandsome · Post by **DangerousLeeHandsome** » 15 Jan 2007, 21:40

Crank 4/5
Thoroughly surprised. I laughed my ass off almost the entire time. Best sene in the movie: sex in public while 400 Chinese people look on in awe. Great stuff. "Family Friendly" audio track on the DVD is quite hilarious. Check it out if you haven't already.

The Punisher: Extended Cut 3.5/5
A lot of people didn't like this movie but I thought it delivered. This new "extended cut" is interesting but does the movie get better? Frankly, no it doesn't. It only makes the film longer. If you hated it before, you'll still hate it and vice versa. New scenes include a subplot involving Jimmy Weeks (Frank Castle's black friend) and how he betrays Castle.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 16 Jan 2007, 10:59

Project BB (aka Rob-B-Hood): 3/5

I suppose every Jackie Chan completist (me included) will say it's a nice little film with some nice comedy and nice fights.

Seriously disappointing, though.

There's nothing wrong with the plot, or the fights, or the editing, but there are two huge flaws IMO: the characters and the melodrama.

A comedy needs to have good characters, and Rob-B-Hood clearly doesn't deliver in that department.
Jackie's character is the only one with some depth.
All the others are just flat and uninteresting.
Charlene Choi's character is the most interesting, but she doesn't get enough screen time. And the bad guy is laughable (typical "I'm bad because I want to be bad"- bad guy).
The short-but-funny Daniel Wu and Yuen Biao cameos might raise a smile, but that's about it.

And I really hated all the pro-baby propaganda at the end.
"Oh, no! Let's forget about the 30 million dollars and save the poor annoying baby !". Idiots.

And I think I've noticed a little plot hole:
BIG SPOILER BELOW
I don't think you can ressuscitate a baby that's been dead for 30 minutes by shocking him using a supercar's battery.
BIG SPOILER ABOVE

Anyway... bought the disc. Will keep it (hell, I've even kept The Tuxedo).

slasher13 · Post by **slasher13** » 16 Jan 2007, 17:28

Just seen a couple of horror movies:

Texas Chainsaw: The Beginning [Unrated] - 3.5/5
A pretty good prequel to the remake movie, in parts it was pretty brutal rather than gory, which is a nice change. Did like how the view was introduced to each member of the family and how they became, but it really didn't explain Leatherface well, apart from the superb opening scenes and credits, if they taken a bit more time with leatherface himself, rather than the family then my score would have gone up. In the original Leatherface is controlled by the family and you see that here, but also in the original, you feel he really doesn't want to kill, but in this movie, he has no remorse, again which is a shame. I will buy this on dvd, but it a shame they missed bits out on the story

Severance - 3/5
I didn't know what to expect with this movie, the Director had previous done a movie called Creep which I didn't like, so I had that in mind. Surprisingley I really enjoyed this movie, I do like the mix of comedy in this, but some parts are bit brutal (Skin tearing part), which really didn't need to be. It didn't gel together. I enjoyed the premises of the movie, soldiers having a grudge on a deference company

. Some of the kills was average, but the characters are made this movie a bit enjoyable. This is a lot better than Creep