Bullets 'n' Babes

I'm talking about comparing Osiris to the live footage, not the in game graphics
Visually, it was eye popping.
I quite liked the video game, the fighting was pretty cool, it was quite a linear game though, with massive arrows telling you where to go etc.

Hey grim,

yeah, I have watched the second season up to the fifth episode. I also have the 6th and 7th waiting to be watched. Totally awesome so far.

Locke and Sawyer are still my favourite characters. I like Locke's flashback scenes the most.

I liked Locke's flashback in S2 - was he talking to the same "Helen" (the therapist) on the phone in Season 1, or someone else he called Helen by mistake? I thought at first it was a phone sex actress

@Grim and LD:

LOL tom....cute

LMAO

Saw II: 3,5/5

Nice flick, but too predictable.
I knew who the real bad guy was right from the start. It was way too obvious.

Otherwise, great atmosphere and good OTT acting.
But nothing more than a silly popcorn flick.

I would have given it 4,5/5 if it had managed to surprise me.
Sadly it didn't.

grim_tales wrote:The Animatrix - 3.5/5

I found some of the short animations better than others. Final Flight of the Osiris looked amazing, with the same models as the Enter The Matrix game (I think, from what I remember) but had dialogue worthy of the video game (ie not very good )
However, some of the more Japanese influenced ones were far more interesting, like The Second Rennaisance, Kid's Story, World Record and the film-noirish Detective Story, which really added to the atmosphere by being made in black and white. It reminded me of Sin City in that respect.

I only remember Detective Story I guess... It looked very stylish and nice and I thought it was interesting. Ow... and justa s I'm typing this, there was also a 2-part thingy about the origin of the robots and the matrix etc, which was interesting. The rest I eitherw asnt impressed with, or I didnt see it...

Iron Monkey 3.5/5

quite enjoyable, corny effects but still fun none the less. quite predictable but hey great for a kung-fu flick.

<<Homer Simpson voice>>

Mmm... Bunnypancakes...

*drools*

My Wife is a Gangsters - 3.5/5
I wasn't expecting much from this but I was positively surprised. The action scenes were decent (though rather fake looking) but the humour was great. Characters were very good, especially the leading lady. I totally fell in love with Eun-Kyung Shin while watching this.

My Wife is a Gangsters 2 - 3/5
The sequel starts with an awful action scene (just like the original) but gets much better later. The action is worse than last time, but the comedy works even better and the soundtrack is superb. The storylike isn't too original, but thankfully it's very different from the original film.

The Blues Brothers - 3.5/5
Pure coolness. For some reason I've never been able to fully enjoy this film, even though I consider it one of the coolest things on earth. Maybe it's because of some musical scenes I don't like that much. Still a great film.
comment is based on theatrical cut

Ardor 4/5
Another high quality drama from Korea. I was slightly pissed by the lack of nudity considering the amount of sex scenes (felt a bit unnatural) but otherwise this was a very good film. Beautiful visuals, great soundtrack, good story and a really hot leading lady. The ending wasn't bad, but would've been much better if they had cut out the last few minutes

Arahan

It was quite interesting to watch a Korean martial arts movie.
Well what shall I say... the action wasn´t bad. A nice popcorn movie.
What I didn´t like, was that the protoganist wasn´t just an underdog... he was an under-underdog...

2.75/5

Rashomon 4.5/5

This is a landmark title for me, as it marks the first time I have seen a Kurosawa title (feel free to point and mock, I deserve it). Rashomon may actually be one of the earliest films to feature flashbacks of a catastrophic event, from various characters who provide their own angle on what happened - a structure that is highly influential to this day. Without Rashomon, I doubt such acclaimed titles as The Usual Suspects, Go or even Hero would exist. The central story is that a man has been murdered in the forest and the only two people involved are his wife and a bandit. Along with a few other witnesses, they are summoned in court to make a statement. The trouble is that the stories completely contradict each other. Who is telling the truth?

I'm so used to films relying on aesthetics to emphasise a point that I was slightly overwhelmed by the performances in this film, especially by the woman character. The expressions, body language and dialogue are so vivid that they express more than any fancy special effect or digital tomfoolery. Judging by my experience with early chambra flicks, I had expected Rashomon to be a bit more silent. On the contrary, the music is remarkably theatrical and there is a wealth of background noise. I absolutely adore the cinematography and the way the sunlight was captured through the trees. Everything was nicely framed, yet deliberately obscured to mask the events of the film. Although Kurosawa touches on various themes such as justice, dishonesty and morality, his main message is that we all manipulate the truth from each other to an extent that we even mislead ourselves. I am actually itching to watch this film again and examine the supplements on my Criterion disc.

My first exposure to Kurosawa was long overdue but I feel lucky that I have yet to see his remaining works. Problem is that it will be expensive (I’ve got my eye on the Criterions) but it will hopefully be worth it.

grim_tales wrote:I liked Locke's flashback in S2 - was he talking to the same "Helen" (the therapist) on the phone in Season 1, or someone else he called Helen by mistake? I thought at first it was a phone sex actress

I'm sure it was a phone sex actress whom he wanted to pretend to be called Helen after she left him.

It certainly is worth it Bisc. I started with Seven Samurai as my first Kurosawa film, and haven't looked back since. Rashomon is a genuine classic and it's shocking as to how many techniques are still in use today. Genius.

And so many more good Kurosawas for you to enjoy now! Lucky you.

Ninja in the Dragons Den 3/5

The story-line sucked...the music sucked...but the action was good and the guy looked a bit like a young jackie chan.

there was no really strong storyline to the movie, there was one there but it was kinda very weak. the music was really cheesy 80's style kung-fu music (well tism ade int the 80s so i guess thats why ) but the action was pretty decent, aqlthough myabe a little predicatable but the room fight wit hthe booby traps was quite fun...

I love the music from NitDD.

Red Rock West - 3.5/5
Man, this was on TV today. Unfortunately, there is no German DVD out for this one. Nicolas Cage rocks. The film could easily have been a 4/5, but it the female actress was a bad cast. I liked Jennifer Lopez in "U-Turn" a lot more.

The UK DVD of Red Rock West is anamorphic. You should be able to get it cheap enough.

Yeah, but I'm a sucker for German dubs when it comes to US films.

hey,

Thou Shalt Not Swear 3/5

Wellson Chin's actual first taste of acclaim as helmer of the "Day Of Horror" series. Having done unremarkable work on the Inspectors Wears Skirts series, it's clear horror/comedy was a better recipe for him. Featuring a nice pairing of Michael Chow and Lau Ching Wan and some decent spooky atmosphere.

BiscLimpkit wrote:Rashomon 4.5/5

This is a landmark title for me

For me its only an average film, so at least you have far better films to come thats for sure. Rashomon just irratated me.

How come?
I actually saw Rashomon (which was very good) before Seven Samurai.
I thought SS/Yojimbo were more entertaining however Rashomon was a very good film

It irratated me as it isnt a great film and everyone seems to go on about it saying its his best film, when its not even close.

Fair enough, what didnt you like about it?
Surely most say 7 Samurai is his masterpiece/best film? Thats what I've heard most often.