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

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 18 May 2005, 02:53

Team America: World Police - 3/5
I must almost shamefully admit that I did enjoy this. The humor is so obnoixous and over the top that I couldn't help laughing out loud from time to time. A few scenes are downright hilarious. Alot of the songs are great as well. "Pearl Harbor sucked and I miss you" is absolutly priceless.

If you can enjoy over the top "something-to-offend-anyone" type satire, then Team America is well worth seeing.

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 20 May 2005, 11:44

Sky Captain & The World Of Tomorrow 2.5/5

Simply a so-so film, with rather poor acting, or at least comical acting, but I don't know whether it was intentional... Gwynettht Paltrow's charachter is another contender for stupidist blonde on film.

Very cheesy and mildly entertaining. Got it for about £6, flogged it on for £4, so can't really complain.

Bad Boys II 4/5
Buddy cop action the way it should be... it may be over long, but they don't bother filling it in with lots of plot devices or anything like that, but rather more and more gun fights, car chases etc... If this were real, I think most of hte cops would be in jail at some point for the amount of destruction they do. The two leads play very well off of each other and it is funny, violent and entertaining. I personally loved it!

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 20 May 2005, 15:40

degeneration wrote:Bad Boys II 4/5
Buddy cop action the way it should be... it may be over long, but they don't bother filling it in with lots of plot devices or anything like that, but rather more and more gun fights, car chases etc... If this were real, I think most of hte cops would be in jail at some point for the amount of destruction they do. The two leads play very well off of each other and it is funny, violent and entertaining. I personally loved it!

This was big dumb fun, saw in cinemas with a mate and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I love good buddy cop flicks.

The finale where they goto Cuba was pretty random though. Ah well, still loads of fun. Bey shamelessly ripped off Commando and Police Story, but who give a toss?

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 21 May 2005, 11:41

EvaUnit02 wrote:
The finale where they goto Cuba was pretty random though.

Don't get how you mean it was pretty random?

That is where the main bad guy was from and that is where he had taken the sister who was undercover... they wen't there to get her back... what was random about that?

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 21 May 2005, 14:08

I love Bad Boys and enjoyed Bad Boys 2 but thought it could've been cut by 30 mins. A film like this really shouldn't be 2.5 hours long as the material isn't strong enough.

I thought the whole Cuban sequence could've been cut

It also pissed me off how the villain was yet again South American or put simply NOT North American. We all know South Americans are dumb and crooks!

the68monkey · Post by **the68monkey** » 21 May 2005, 16:43

Markgway wrote:Shaun of the Dead
**.5/4

Inspired, but uneven comedy spoof of (aw, you guessed?)
Not as funny as it wants to be (or thinks it is...) but it's still more inventive than the big budget Hollywood remake.

Mark, did you like Spaced? I love Shaun of the Dead, mainly because it's just silly fun and I really love this group of actors. For me, it's more like a 4 out of 5 stars film, just for the sheer fun of it.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 21 May 2005, 16:59

Spaced is pretty much 5 Stars for me, Shaun of the Dead is good, but very far from Spaced quality

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 21 May 2005, 17:55

the68monkey wrote:Mark, did you like Spaced? I love Shaun of the Dead, mainly because it's just silly fun and I really love this group of actors. For me, it's more like a 4 out of 5 stars film, just for the sheer fun of it.

Never watched it. Not a fan of modern British comedy. I think these actors are more of a novelty to Americans who aren't used to such unglamourous working-class types in movies.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 21 May 2005, 18:49

Spaced seems you havent seen it its hard to say why its great, I HATE UK TV comedy and TV shows in general, so its about the Only UK show I ever watch, so something has to be good.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 21 May 2005, 19:01

I'm confused you love Buffy, Angel, Alias. The list goes on!

So you prefer American comedy? There are some real gems in British comedy IMO.

the68monkey · Post by **the68monkey** » 21 May 2005, 20:36

Markgway wrote:Never watched it. Not a fan of modern British comedy. I think these actors are more of a novelty to Americans who aren't used to such unglamourous working-class types in movies.

You should check this out sometime, Mark. The writing is superb, and the comedic timing between Jessica and Simon is terrific. What makes this series great isn't a novelty of working-class people to Americans (Roseanne, anybody? Or a host of other blue-collar sitcoms?), but the superb characterization and development of genuine relationships between these odd characters. The depiction of Brian the neighbor is a great example. Most comedies would make him a caricature of a tortured artist and leave it at that. In Spaced, Brian is a weirdo, but he's also very "real" with hilariously odd behaviors combined with very naturally-human reactions to situations. The only weak character of the group is Twist, imo, mostly because she hasn't been in enough episodes to develop her character.

Some think Spaced tries to be too clever with all of the references, but I disagree. The references are merely icing on the cake, as the writing of the show stands on its own. Take away the references, and you'd still have a damn fine show with just a few less giggles of recogition in the references.

And besides, how can anybody NOT like a show with Bill Bailey going postal and punching somebody?

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 21 May 2005, 20:45

Revenge of the Sith 4/5

Ok, first off this film was never EVER going to completely please a long term Star WArs fan, but for entertainment it was great. The acting was as bad as ever, the script was worse and some scene were very unintentionally funny mainly due to over-acting, but it was still Star Wars!!

It looked just as much like a video game as Ep II, and some of the Jedi who get knocked off in it were so crap I don't know how they could ever be considered Jedi... Look how easily Mace's companions get knocked off by Palp when they go to arrest him...

Lots of criticisms aside, I still really like the film, and while not compeltely satisfying, was probably the best of the prequel trilogy.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 22 May 2005, 00:26

Star Wars - The Phantom Menace

*.5/4

Lost interest in this kiddie flick very quickly. Jar Jar and all those CGI characters are aimed at under 8s. I don't see how any adult could enjoy this. The light sabres are still cool. But is it worth waiting two hours to see them? No.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 22 May 2005, 14:26

bradavon wrote:I'm confused you love Buffy, Angel, Alias. The list goes on!

So you prefer American comedy? There are some real gems in British comedy IMO.

Hey I love soo many American shows its a long list, I cannot think of many if any good UK shows, esspecially the appauling crap on our TV's at the moment

Little Britain and all them horrendous comedy shows just clog up TV and ruin it, I just sit there watching the crap and cannot beleve anyone likes it, but sadly many do

but compared to american TV they are dire.

American TV at the moment is basically just like Long Films, stunning writing and plots to excite, Alias, 24, and Lost are some of the best TV america has ever made showing at the moment probibly as good as any films thats for certain.

Older american TV is as perfect as it ever gets shows like HOMICIDE, Slege Hammer, X Files, Buffy, Angel (watched the final season last week, some of the best TV ever made, I was nearly crying), Highlander, NYPD Blue, Quantum Leap, OZ, Baylon 5, CSI, etc.....

American Comedy I like, oldies and newer ones theres quite a few I like, the only good UK comedy shows are probibly older ones for me as pretty much every UK show on TV now is just nasty for me and I would rather not watch my TV ever again than suffer them.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 22 May 2005, 14:33

I've never seen 24 but Buffy, Alias and the like are all trash IMO. Sure they have high production values and are glossy but other than that they are trash. Gloss doesn't make real story telling, realistic characters or a decent script.

I can't stand Desperate Housewives or Sexy and the City. Those are two shows that really are trash. Real people don't talk like that!

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 22 May 2005, 16:30

You cannot comment on Alias or Buffy, as you have not seen the whole series every episode of every season, you cannot just watch an odd episode and think you know about it.
Buffy for example was dodgy the 1st season it was just finding its feet and was quite fluff type show trying to cash in on the x Files and such, it didnt have one Big plot back then. Later seasons it improved a massive amount and got better and better and became stunning TV, nothing at all like the 1st and maybe 2nd seasons.

TV does not work like that esspecially newer shows which intertwine and need to be seen as a whole, to call them Trash shows you have not watched them and to say real story telling, realistic characters or a decent script is not evident in Alias shows you definaly have not watched that show.

Certain shows you can watch a few episodes and get into it as they are made that way, Alias and the like you cannot ever judge it without seeing it all, its imposable. If you ever sat down and watched an entire season of a show it would be better for you and you probily would love loads of shows, but most people wont get past 1 episode and if you just tune in one week out of the blue you definaly wont have any idea whats going on, who the charecters and are everythng else that makes shows nearly perfect.

Sadly thats the way most people are, they tune in out of the blue expecting a quick fix and to see if they like that show, its basically like watching 10 minutes of a film and saying thats crap, you cannot judge anything without watching from the begining episode and not missing a single one you may tune in to an episode you dont like, but that does not mean the whole show is anything like that week after week. :mrgreen:

Thats why I never watch any TV show now I dont watch every episode of, if I miss 1 episode I stop watching it, as its pointless.

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 22 May 2005, 16:39

Brad - watch 24, it is simply brilliant!

In middle of a bit of a movie marathon this weekend...

Victim 1.5/5
Was quite bored by this. Nothing in it really engaged me at all.

Red To Kill 2/5
Another rather crap movie with yet another over the top performance from Ben Ng. Lily Chung (think it is her) has a very nice body, just wish I could have seen it like this in some other film where it wasn't so wrong to see it!

The Uninvited 2.5/5
Very average and nothing special about it at all... Bit of a "what's going on?" tyep film at times.

NARC 3/5
Decemt enough film, but again I wasn't really that engaged by it.

Spy Kids 3.5/5
This was good fun!! WAs really strange seeing all the RObert Rodriguez rgulars in a kids film! When I saw "pussy man" from "From Dusk TIl Dawn" I was in stitches!!! But for good old fashioned stupid, over the top, ridiculous entertainment, this was pretty damn good! Is funny how someone who has losts and lots of swearing and violence in some of his films, can make kids films as well!!!

Robotrix 3/5
This is really a crap film, but it is one of those films that is so crap it is quite good. There are attempts at a story here, there is some crap action (made crap by having women who can't fight in it, Billy CHow is the good part, there is plenty of nudity as well, which is always a good thing! Just good old fashioned B movie entertainment.

There was one really funny (well I found it really funny) subtitle line in Robotrix... when the main guy person is about to find out that most of the people are robots he asks "Is Dr. Sara a doctor?"... made me giggle!

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 22 May 2005, 16:44

Brad - watch 24, it is simply brilliant!

Victim 1.5/5
Was quite bored by this. Nothing in it really engaged me at all.

24 is more than Brilliant, again you HAVE to watch it from begining to end, prefrably in a few days

it takes over your life!

and hey which VICTIM film was it, as theres loads? wasnt the Sammo version was it?

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 22 May 2005, 18:58

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
**.5/4

Surprisingly good remake of Tobe Hooper's overrated "classic". The original was only worthy in the tension-packed last half hour, but the new film is consistant the whole way through. It's also much better acted; excepting Marylin Burns, no one in the original was above medicore, and some were less than. The story is still thin, but the director tries his best to flesh out characters and keep it from straying into slasher territory. The gore is a bit icky at times, but not as gratuitous as you might expect. Suspense seems to have been a priority and that is commendable. R. Lee Ermey is awesome as the psycho Sheriff. If you like modern horror this is worth a shot.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 22 May 2005, 21:22

OMG Narc is outsanding. It really harked back to the days of gritty cop dramas that they don't make enough of anymore.

romerojpg wrote:You cannot comment on Alias or Buffy, as you have not seen the whole series every episode of every season, you cannot just watch an odd episode and think you know about it.

Of course I can. Maybe not in the case of Alias as I was unsure when I watched it but in the case of Buffy sure.

Besides have you watched EVERY episode of Little Britain? :bootyshake:

You're missing some Romero old bean a TV episode is designed to have a beginning, middle and end. Sure it may finish on a cliff hanger or unfinished storylines but so do movies so yes you can judge a TV show on one episode or at the most 2-3. I've actually seen 2-3 episodes of Buffy and Angel over the years and I thought it was trash then and I still do.

Like I said lots of gloss but no substance. Like Tomb Raider really which I saw tonight (part 2). Angelina is so dam hot though it makes up for it, to an extent.

I don't know anyone who would sit through an entire TV series when they didn't like 1-2 episodes.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 22 May 2005, 22:50

Little Britain is complety different, its not meant as a Season where you NEED to watch every episode to get the full story, its a comedy serial show meant for quick fix where you see a small minute or two scetch, not for a continuing storyline only progressed they watching the thing as a whole.

You CANNOT judge the series I listed at all by watching a few episodes, its imposable and anyone who watches them will agree 100% with me.

Its imposable to judge a film by watching 10 minutes as I said, watching say Alias or 24 one episode is pointless and will get you absolutly nowhere at all, nothing at all in any way will make any sense to you, so yes you cannot judge them by a few episodes at all.
You can make a few thoughts about it, but really its pointless ever watching it if you have not watched it from episode 1, just the fact you say Alias is badly written etc.. shows you that, as its won soo many awards for writing and acting it obviosuly isnt trash at all, just like Buffy and Angel are not.

I never comment on shows I have not seen enuff of to judge I wouldnt even bother, and seeing 2 or 3 episodes of a series out of hundreds of episodes made just sounds silly saying somethings Trash.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 22 May 2005, 23:40

Danny the Dog - 4/5
Wow! Jet Li is a great actor and all the critics, who write their articles based on clichés, saying Jet Li is the only one whose acting needs improvement in this film, can go and f*ck themselves.
Jet is an awesome actor and he topped his own acting talent in this film. The action is disturbingly violent in a positive way. (Does this make sense?

)

A Moment of Romance 3 - 2.5/5
It's unbelievable that a movie can have wonderful visuals, great cinematography, good special effects and a very good soundtrack, but can still suck, due to a story which is badly told.

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 23 May 2005, 00:08

romerojpg wrote: and hey which VICTIM film was it, as theres loads? wasnt the Sammo version was it?

It was the Tony Leung Ka Fai and Lau Ching Wan one.

The Toolbox Murders 2.5/5
Decent enough slasher, but stupid again. This person has meant to have been killing in an appartment complex for about 50 years... yet all of a sudden he decides to up his killing rate so that it can't go unnoticed!

Ong Bak 4/5
Well I definitely picked up a few more plot intracacies now that I've seen it with subtitles. The impact noises for the fights had been upped compared to the DVD version from what I recall. Cool fights, better on the big screen!

Spiderman 4/5
One of the better comic book adaptations, pretty much only bettered by its sequel.

LostDragon, is Unleashed/Danny The Dog out in the cinemas in Germany?! Can't bloody wait till it is out over here!!

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 23 May 2005, 00:57

degeneration wrote:LostDragon, is Unleashed/Danny The Dog out in the cinemas in Germany?! Can't bloody wait till it is out over here!!

Yes, it is and I just came back from seeing it. I am happy not to have read too much about the film, apart from a few reviews, always skipping the storyline discussion. I was positively surprised, because I honestly expected a no-brainer beat-'em-up film. What you get however, is a perfect mix between big drama and brutal "Bloodsport"-action (which of course is better choreographed).

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 23 May 2005, 09:10

The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy - 3/5

Pretty good, but as Degen says certain aspects of the book were changed, swapped around and made less funny (IMO). No problems with the Arthur/Trillian/Zaphod love triangle, but I would like to have seen things like Prosser being talked to lie in front of the bulldozer, or some more of the Guide's speeches, like the Babelfish one, or Man proving God doesnt exsist.

The Vroomfondle/Magicthize bit with Deep Thought was shortened as well.

Plus....

The happy ending is stupid and completely different to the radio series/book/TV show, it feels out of tone with it

There were some nice touches though, good special effects. In one scene on the planet Magrethea (I think), you can see the old TV show styled Marvin standing in the background still waiting