What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 05 Jun 2009, 21:32

True Romance BD 4/5

Still a great movie,the BD is solid if unspectacular.Slater and Arquette have never been better but the film has a great cast all round.

Last House On The Left (2009) 1/5

Terrible remake with poorly dimly lit action sequences and a sadistic tone which is clearly meant to shock.2 young female friends get caught up with a violent gang and suffer badly for it.a pretty nasty rape sequence early on is just plain gratuitous.

Drag Me To Hell 2.5/5

Sam Raimi's much touted return to horror is...disappointing to be honest.perfectly entertaining but just not scary and fairly predictable throughout.

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 05 Jun 2009, 22:00

Valkyrie 3/5

Solid drama based on a true story about a group of German Officers and their plot to assassinate Hitler.Tom Cruise leads a good cast of mainly british origin.an interesting story well told.

Quantum Of Solace 3.5/5

Why the hate for this Bond movie.

i found it solid entertainment,taking up directly from the end of the first Craig movie,the film moves at a cracking pace,sure some of the action is poorly edited but all in all it's very good.nice blu-ray as well.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 05 Jun 2009, 22:46

Take the action away and you have absolutely nothing. You shouldn't be able to say that about a Bond film and certainly cannot the best. You also cannot say that about Casino Royale.

It's also so disjointed. Jumping all over the place for no good reason. Like for example, how Bond literally just appears at an airstrip, just so we get to see the plane crash.

I'll probably like it more on a second viewing though. It's got the T3 effect.

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 05 Jun 2009, 23:30

Zak & Miri Make A Porno 1.5/5

Not that funny, not that sexy, and I thought it wasn't even finished... It just stops without the whole reason for them making the porno in the first placed being resolved!! The woman that shows her tits isn't even that great looking... Not much going for it.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 06 Jun 2009, 01:02

saltysam wrote:Last House On The Left (2009) 1/5

pretty nasty rape sequence early on is just plain gratuitous.

Haven't seen the film myself (not even the original) but isn't the rape/murder the catalyst for the parents' revenge? Therefore how can it be gratuitous if it propels the plot?

I wonder if the original will pop up on Channel 4 now? Usually stations show films to tie in with new releases. Night at the Museum (screened twice!) and The Termiantor Trilogy (on three seperate channels no less).

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 06 Jun 2009, 01:08

bradavon wrote:It's also so disjointed. Jumping all over the place for no good reason. Like for example, how Bond literally just appears at an airstrip, just so we get to see the plane crash.

Bond is at the airstrip so he can rent a plane to fly over the desert. What's odd about that? Do we really need a scene of Bond saying "we're going to the airstrip so I can fly a plane over the desert to see what Greene is buying up land for...?" followed by a scene in which Bond is driving in a car TO the Airstrip where he explains why "we're driving to the Airstrip so I can rent a plane to flying over the desert to see what Greene has bought the land for..." etc... He just gets there. Flabby scenes hit the cutting room floor. Audience fills in the blanks. It's not like it's a piece of unexplained plot.

Oh, and is it me or were people complaining about really stupid shit... like "ooh, I don't like the font choice for the title cards" WTF??? Mark Kermode is entertaining critic but he sure talks donkey balls sometimes. See also Rambo (4).

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 06 Jun 2009, 09:34

Markgway wrote:

but isn't the rape/murder the catalyst for the parents' revenge? Therefore how can it be gratuitous if it propels the plot?

Because it goes on far too long,we know what was happening,no need to linger on it.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 06 Jun 2009, 11:00

It was funny NATM recieved its premiere one week, and then was screened again straight afterwards the next week

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 06 Jun 2009, 12:26

Markgway wrote:Oh, and is it me or were people complaining about really stupid shit... like "ooh, I don't like the font choice for the title cards" WTF??? Mark Kermode is entertaining critic but he sure talks donkey balls sometimes. See also Rambo (4).

Definitely. He spent more time moaning about the song choice. Rambo 4 too agreed. That is gratuitous though, so I can see his point, even if I don't agree with it.

Now you put it that way, about the airstrip I see your point. It just felt very dumb at the time. I must've missed the reasoning why he was there. That is only one complaint though. As said earlier, there is literally no film without the action. Something you cannot say about Casino Royale.

I do need to see it again though, like T3 I'll probably enjoy it more on a second viewing.

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 06 Jun 2009, 12:51

While She Was Out 1.5/5

Ridiculous thriller starring Kim Basinger who,while on a late night xmas shopping trip to the local mall falls foul of local hoodlums and faces a fight for her life. Kim's sudden transformation into a female Rambo was just stupid watchable at best and very short-credits start around the 78 minute mark.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 06 Jun 2009, 14:17

saltysam wrote:Because it goes on far too long,we know what was happening,no need to linger on it.

So it's the length and strength of the scene, not that there's a rape. I'd need to see it myself to comment. Obviously the idea is to get the audience into a mental position whereby they feel as the parents do (anger, outrage, thristing for blood). Question is how much of the attack do you need to show in order for that to happen?

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 06 Jun 2009, 14:22

Markgway wrote:
So it's the length and strength of the scene, not that there's a rape.

on reflection it's probably not that graphic really,guess i'm getting soft in my old age

gratuitous or not,it's a shitty film.however i think i'd like to see the original now.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 06 Jun 2009, 14:26

bradavon wrote:Definitely. He spent more time moaning about the song choice.

I also think that the song is shit but it hardly ruins the movie.

Rambo 4 too agreed. That is gratuitous though, so I can see his point, even if I don't agree with it.

Rambo 4 managed to piss of a lot of critics from the left AND right wings so clearly it was doing something right... lol

A lot of critics said at the time "oh, the carnage is gratuitious". This is right-wing propaganda bullshit fantasy." And then aid workers, etc who actually had been there were like "no, really, this shit does happen". Take the Rambo character out of the equation and it plays like a documentary. I don't recall Kermode and co apologising.

Now you put it that way, about the airstrip I see your point. It just felt very dumb at the time. I must've missed the reasoning why he was there.

QOS is a significant 40 mins shorter than CR. A lot of in-transition scenes were removed to keep the plot moving at a fast clip. Indeed it's the fastest 007 movie I've ever seen. Kermode complained that he didn't understand the plot (and didn't care). What's not to understand? Greene (on behalf of Quantum) has financed and organised a coup in Bolivia in exchange for the rights to the waters embedded under the desert. The CIA thinks he's struck oil. It all make perfect sense to me. Honestly, I've never seen a film so unfairly maligned.

I do need to see it again though, like T3 I'll probably enjoy it more on a second viewing.

Give it a second chance.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 06 Jun 2009, 16:16

IMO the plot of QOS around water, is a poor one. I definitely agree CR is too long (although not overly) but likewise QOS is too short, it could really have done with some of the cut scenes.

Considering that Rambo 4 is a movie and intended to entertain IMO it is gratuitous, if it was a serious movie then fine but Rambo 4 is very much a boys entertainment film. I thought it was great but it is what it is.

Kermode took this one far too seriously but he's right gratuitous it is. As it happens I often disagree (certainly not always) with Kermode but he says what he thinks, doesn't bullshit to appease his fanbase and is always entertaining.

I also love how he waffles (and boy does he waffle). When he's on, we get an hour. When someone else is on, we're lucky to get 20 minutes.

Shingster · Post by **Shingster** » 06 Jun 2009, 16:42

Quantum of Solace has many flaws, but the runtime is not one of them. It's brevity is one of the film's saving graces. What it needed was to dump a couple of action scequences (or trim all of them) and improve the characterisation, everyone goes on about Forster not being an action director but no one really criticised him for not delivering in the one area that his previous films have excelled in! He nailed Bond, which was half the battle, but that villain and his bewigged henchman - urgh!

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 06 Jun 2009, 18:58

I couldn't agree more. I only meant the length, in place of fixing other things. You're right, normally he's very good at characterisation.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 06 Jun 2009, 18:59

Why talk about such an average film so much

this forum seems to have so many threads on that average film.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 06 Jun 2009, 21:09

bradavon wrote:IMO the plot of QOS around water, is a poor one.

Water is a precious natural resource and worth billions to those who control it. As a plot this one has more relevance to reality and the modern world than most. I'd rather this than the old days of Moonraker when we had a lunatic trying to create an Ayrian superace in outer-space.

Considering that Rambo 4 is a movie and intended to entertain IMO it is gratuitous, if it was a serious movie then fine but Rambo 4 is very much a boys entertainment film. I thought it was great but it is what it is.

Fair point. Maybe the violence was too explicit for a comic book movie. Although I think Stallone has said he was also trying to make serious comment. I think the film on the whole is less cartoonish in tone than the previous sequels. The problem is the CGI blood which detracts from the realism.

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 06 Jun 2009, 23:03

Rambo 4 was terrific action entertainment with an optional message. Stallone wasn't trying to convert you; he delivered a first grade adrenaline package + he points out that hey, things ain't so well in that country. If you're interested, log into news sites after the film and find out more. If you're not interested, then just enjoy the film as balls to the wall action fun.

That's how I saw the film. I don't know what Stallone has said about it.

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 06 Jun 2009, 23:40

romerojpg wrote:Why talk about such an average film so much this forum seems to have so many threads on that average film.

but i bet you either own/will own it in one form or another

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 07 Jun 2009, 13:35

saltysam wrote:
romerojpg wrote:Why talk about such an average film so much this forum seems to have so many threads on that average film.
but i bet you either own/will own it in one form or another

and?

I wont waste hours of my life talking about it to people who have made up their minds and just like arguing.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 07 Jun 2009, 13:39

But Romero, that's why we have a discussion forum.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 07 Jun 2009, 13:43

If you say so. Saying the same thing on 12 different threads (some on many different forums!) as often as you can is not disscussing, its forcing an opinion over and over and over again.

None of you lot think the film is the best thing ever, in fact many hate it, dont waste time .

Shingster · Post by **Shingster** » 07 Jun 2009, 15:32

romerojpg wrote:If you say so. Saying the same thing on 12 different threads (some on many different forums!) as often as you can is not disscussing, its forcing an opinion over and over and over again.

And exactly how many times have you gone off on a rant about people who listen to the opinion of film critics are idiots? I lost count years ago!

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 07 Jun 2009, 15:36

Yeah but seeing someone staying away from a film because of some nobody's comments on a film, well they are obviously fucking morons. Mindless Sheep the lot of them.