Bullets 'n' Babes

Kurgan wrote:Hmm, do you feel personally wronged by the fact that Beyoncé's dating him instead of you?

Nah she doesn't do anything for me. She's attractive but not my type.

romerojpg wrote:

thelostdragon wrote:Oh yes, Linkjn Park, lol. Still sounds good to me, though. You can't always have Hans Zimmer music in every film.

Quickly change it to "Linkin Park", or Brad will be on your back

Classic

Miami Vice - 6/10

The trailer is so completely misleading it's not funny. It portrays Miami Vice as Bad Boys 3 but in reality it has little if anything in common with either Bad Boys films.

It's actually much closer in tone and style to Collateral. I was surprised that there is actually only 1 gunfight in the whole film.

Both Foxx and Farrell are perfectly fine their roles, they're decent actors and pull it off fine. As is Gong Li (man she's smoking hot, especially for her age), sure it's utter ridiculousness we're supposed to believe a Chinese woman is somehow mixed up in Colombian drug trafficking but like I said she's such a decent actress she pulls it off.

But like many have said the real star of the film is it's gritty, realistic edge. Yes the Colombians are cliché's to say the least but unlike Bad Boys this actually felt like Colombia and equally felt like real undercover cop work.

Like I said earlier there is only one gunfight and this is a shame as the film was crying out for another one. There was a surprising amount of dialogue, you need to be paying attention.

I had no problem with the look of the film. I thought it fitted rather well with the gritty tone. So that's the good and I really want to give this film a higher mark but in it's current form I really can't simply because Mark was right when he said:

Markgway wrote:I've no love for digital films and have also heard that the dialogue in MV can barely be heard (only the gunshots are loud) so I get what Romero is saying.

What on earth was Michael Mann thinking? I missed so much of the dialogue by the half way point I was getting really annoyed at what I was missing. It had the knock on effect of me missing big parts of the plot so hence I was unnecessarily confused and I'm sure like me people were strugging (a little) to follow what was going on.

It was shot in such a ridiculously low volume. I honestly thought the cinema equipment was broken but I guess not when I see others had to suffer this, you literally miss big parts of dialogue.

As Mark says the gunshots however are terrific and sound thunderingly good. It's not often you hear gunshots that actually sound like gunshots, it was especially effective when you hear bullets fly through windows. It's a shame there wasn't more gunfights.

This was exasperated by a couple behind us not whispering but actually talking through most of the first half of the film. I was all set to yell at them (not the first time I've had to) when thankfully they left. I suspect they were expecting Bad Boys 3!

It reminds me of Mann's weird artistic choice to reframe the Insider DVD so the 2.35:1 black bars are mostly at the bottom of the frame. Why???

I'll definitely be picking the DVD up as the film had oodles of potentional but next time I'll control the volume. I reckon with the volume fixed I'd bump it to 8 out of 10.

Lastly DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER, oh and MICHAEL MANN TURN THE FUCKING VOLUME UP NEXT TIME!

I am struggling marking the film at all as I feel so much hate towards thre way it looked and sounded Collateral was fine, a bit messy and blury at times, but at least it felt and looked fine, MV just looks hidious.

You did say Collateral looked dreadful at the time to be fair.

Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachthani - 4,5/5

Year 2015. 3 million Japanese and 8 million Americans have commited a suicide after being infected by the mysterious Lemming Syndrome. Tadanobu Asano and the real life musician Masaya Nakahara play two men trying to alleviate the symptoms through dissonant sound.

Two kinds of people are going to hate this: the ones who don't understand it, and the ones who do understand it. The keyword is ’being different'. Is this movie genuinely different, or is it just desperately trying to? The slow pacing, the lack of cheap thrills and the long scenes of creating ear-splitting noise are sure to drive away the big audiences. It requires a lot from the viewer, but it can also be a highly rewarding experience. The atmosphere, the images and the unassuming style will either leave you hugely impressed or feeling completely empty. It’s a movie that most people will hate. It’s also a movie that will be equally praised by the people who love it, and by people who only think they like it. To me, it's the best Japanese movie of 2005.

Lourdes wrote: Red Peony Gambler 2/5
- Not a fan of this genre. :/

Got subs for the R2J?

bradavon wrote:You did say Collateral looked dreadful at the time to be fair.

Yup, but no where near as bad as Miami Vice, Mann was restrained in Collateral, in Miami Vice he goes mental and times everything by a factor of 10.

Once Upon A Time In The West - 4/5

A slow burner like most of the Leone Westerns I've seen but it is still very good. The score by Ennio Morricone and especially the main theme music is superb. Haunting, beautiful and sad
The R2 SE remastering job is very good. I had to put the subtitles on to catch the dialogie though as it wasnt always clear. Maybe I'm going deaf

I prefer OUATITW to TGTB&TU.

TGTBATU is my favourite Leone Western I think

thelostdragon wrote:

Beijing Bicycle 3/5
- Typical Mainland city drama of minor trials and tribulations that don't offend the CCP. Good film, not exceotional at all.

Does it have to offend the CCP or have a political message?

You know what's funny? I just found out that it was banned by the CCP. I assumed it would be just within the border. Evidently you don't have enough experience with the Mainland situation and I udnerestimate it.

LOL, if you say so. Although I don't know how you can tell from my question. I was asking why a Mainland Chinese film has to offend the CCP in order to be good.

Wu Tang vs Ninja 4/5

Quite a misleading title considering that the Wu Tang and ninjas are allies in this film.

thelostdragon wrote:LOL, if you say so. Although I don't know how you can tell from my question. I was asking why a Mainland Chinese film has to offend the CCP in order to be good.

Never said or implied that. But I suppose that if a film is making a point, as this one is, then restraint is a poor show.

Sure the film has a point. It's just that it doesn't give it away at first sight and it makes you think about it, unlike the latest Hollywood blockbusters.

Princess Monoko - 4.5/5

You mean Princess Mononoke?

Yes, he does.

Last Life in the Universe 5/5
- Finally allowed myself to watch this a second time. Just adore it beautiful imagegery, beautiful music and very nice performances.

Madlax - 1/5
- Watched the first Volume, won't be watching the rest. Kôichi Mashimo ........

Laputa Castle in the Sky 5/5

What an imagination! Absolutely breathtaking. Definitely my favourite Miyazaki. From best to worst, I rank the following:

Laputa Castle in the Sky
Spirited Away
My Neighbour Totoro
Princess Mononoke
Howl's Moving Castle

I've got Nausicca on my shelf and Porco Rosso coming soon...

(I'm doing my homework before going to the Ghibli Museum. Don't want to look like a complete newbie).

I can never decide on my top Miyazaki. Probably Nausicca or Laputa. Spirited Away and Mononoke below them, I'm not fond of the stories of the others even though they're also quite beautiful.

Shaolin Soccer 4/5
- Thoroughly enjoyable. It's perfect at being what it is, a parody of the American sports drama genre and martial arts films. Great fun and watching it in 1080p was very nice indeed.

Can anyon suggest some other Chow movies? Only other I've seen is Kung Fu Hustle.

Lourdes wrote:Can anyon suggest some other Chow movies? Only other I've seen is Kung Fu Hustle.

Forbidden City Cop is his funniest IMO.

"King of Comedy", my favourite Stephen Chow-film.

What's 1080p?

1080p = Full resolution High-Definition.

@Lourdes:
King of Comedy - God of Cookery - Love on delivery
A Chinese Odyssey - The Mad Monk - King of Beggars - Flirting Scholar
Fight Back to School 1-3
Out of the Dark - Tricky Brains - Royal Tramp... They're all great IMO.

Lourdes wrote:
Can anyon suggest some other Chow movies? Only other I've seen is Kung Fu Hustle.

King of Comedy and From Beijing with Love are essential viewing IMO.