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

Mordib · Post by **Mordib** » 15 Mar 2005, 14:30

Constantine: 4/5
Keanu Reeves rocks. Ok so his acting ability ranges from lethargic to lethargic (Bill n ted being the exception of course) but still, when they find a role that suites him great things can happen!!

This appears to be the case with Constantine, a hard hitting supernatural (quasi religeos) action thriller which not only had effects I really enjoyed for once (Im fast becoming a cgi cynic) but remained hard hitting and brutal throughout.

Tilda Swinton especially, even though she only has a bit part excels in this movie. i wont give anything away suffice to say i find her startling looks totally hypnotising, and her aggressive acting appealing to say the least. I havent liked her in many other movies, but like the boy wonder himself this movie definately seems to have brought the best out of her....

m.[/b]

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 15 Mar 2005, 17:22

"Man Behind the Sun"

Docudrama based on the experimentation of Chinese prisoners of war in Manchuria.

NOT FOR THE FEINT HEARTED or WEAK STOMACHED.

This is one of the most shocking movies ever made and blows any Cat-III trip out the water. It's impossible to convey my feelings about this film. It's a worthy piece of cinema but almost unwatchable. The decompression scene will have you puking in your popcorn.

It's important to note that real autopsy footage is used (intercut with scenes of a boy actor) and the cat being fed to the rats scene is not only totally unfaked but last for two minutes and is surely the most vile cruelty ever commited to celluloid.

But take those elements away and there's a historical and humanitarian message to be learned. As the director claims: the Japanese still refuse to acknowledge or apologize for what they did in China. This film, however disgusting, is a record of "true events".

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Mar 2005, 17:45

Bloody hell, that sounds horrible.

Did you see it on DVD Mark?
Would you recommend it despite the fact it is hard to watch?

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Mar 2005, 17:51

The Last Emperor - DC: 3.5/5

I watched all of this in the end (had to watch it in "bits and pieces") and its LOOOONG (3.5 hours).

I'd never seen it before so don't know what was missing in the TC of the film. Its' very well made and beautifully shot (John Lone's performance as the adult Pu Yi very good, but praise must also go to the 16 year old one) and I liked Peter O' Toole as "R.J" (Mr. Johnston) too, however the transfer on the DC is poor, with a lot of marks and speckles, and often showing little detail

It was interesting watching the very young kids (3 and 6 years old) playing the child version of Pu Yi. It must have been hard as they were so young.

In some ways Pu Yi's attitude to Western things was almost the opposite of Jet Li in the first OUATIC movie, like he embraces them. He does like the power of being emperor though it seems (thats why he wants to stay inside the Forbidden City, he is Emperor as long as he stays there)

I wasn't very up on the history of the film.

[hide]Why was Pu Yi labelled a "War Criminal" and put in prison for 10 years? Also was he really still Emperor inside the City after 1911, when the rest of China was a republic?

[/hide]

I'm pleased I saw the film but I don't think I really understood it that well.

My loss I suppose.
[/hide]

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 15 Mar 2005, 20:35

grim_tales wrote:Bloody hell, that sounds horrible. Did you see it on DVD Mark?
Would you recommend it despite the fact it is hard to watch?

I saw it on a DVD-R. It's a worthy film historically... BUT extremely difficult to watch. I honestly don't know how you would react to it, mate, and couldn't recommend it as such to anyone. That's why I only give it **/4.

jimmyscab · Post by **jimmyscab** » 16 Mar 2005, 02:41

degeneration wrote:Royal Tramp 2.5/5

Meh... nothing special about this one at all. Smirked at a few scenes, but that was about it, except the scene where the twins were being his arms. That made me laugh out loud. Other than that, nothing great int eh comedy factor here, some decent fighting though!

Most of the jokes i found can only really be understood if you know cantonese, cos they play on the language. MY canto is baaaad, but my cousin laughs his ass off at moments where i cant even understand the joke

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 17 Mar 2005, 19:07

General question, why are most members happier posting here than having dedicated thread to discuss each film?

I'm interested.

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 18 Mar 2005, 12:57

prob cause here you just rate a film and give it a quick comment. That doesn't seem worth opening a dedicated thread per film.

A dedicated thread for a film, to me, suggests that there would be a more detailed and longer review.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 18 Mar 2005, 14:38

What Kris said...................

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 23 Mar 2005, 21:47

Mod: Please delete the above guest post. I didn't realise I wasn't logged in.

The other week I watched my recently received Oldboy and Zatoichi DVDs.

Oldboy: 4.5/5 - was fantastic, a great aural experience and finally a thriller with a twist I didn't see coming a mile away (I hate how predictable recent Hollywood thrillers are).

5/5 - Re-watched Zatoichi (had originally seen in theatres). 'Twas awesome seeing this excellent film with a beautiful transfer and top-notch DTS track. Kitano = God.

Unforgiven: 5/5 - A masterly acted (especially Gene Hackman), excellent film. WAY WAY WAY better than the highly overrated Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby.

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 24 Mar 2005, 19:46

Kung Fu Hustle: 4.5/5 - Extremely entertaining, well made, light hearted film. I'd expect nothing less from Stephen Chow. Awesome stuff.

A Moment to Remember (Korea): 4/5 - I'm usually not a big fan of romance dramas, but this one i really enjoyed. Superb acting and touching story. Very good movie.

Phantom the Submarine (Korea): 3/5 - This one was alot better then i expected. Very high tension, comparable to Crimson Tide etc.. There were certain aspects of the story i thought should have been explored deeper, but overall a good movie.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (entire show): 5/5 - Just finished re-watching all 7 seasons over the past few months, and i have to say that i think it is by far the best mainstream TV series ever produced. Simply outstanding.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 25 Mar 2005, 04:21

Man On Fire - 4/5
Denzel Washington version that is...

...awesome film and finally a hero who pulls the trigger for a change.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 25 Mar 2005, 12:39

What other versions of Man on Fire are there?

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 25 Mar 2005, 14:41

A 1987 European version with Scott Glenn.

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 25 Mar 2005, 21:58

Tell Me Something ?/5

I have no idea what to think about this film. On the whole it was entertaining in a murder thriller sort of way, but in the end I've got no clue as to what happened.

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON.

Right, first off why was there the scene near the start where the main detective guy is basically under investigation for getting money for hospital bills or something like that, but then this is never mentioned again?

You are lead to believe the short haired woman did it all, but then it turns out she didn't? If that is the case why did she pull the scalpel on the women we are lead to believe was the victim all the way through?

What was the purpose of taking so many different pieces of different people's bodies? The body in teh house at the end was missing a head... what was the relevance of this? Why was she trying to build a new person?

I just don't get it all!!!

SOmeone help!!!

[/spoiler]

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 26 Mar 2005, 11:19

Markgway wrote:A 1987 European version with Scott Glenn.

Thanks Mark, I didnt know that

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 27 Mar 2005, 02:35

The Hidden Fortress: 4/5 - A good fun movie from Kurosawa. The two peasants steal the show, what a great idea to tell the tale using the two lowest characters. Good acting throughout, Mifune was in top form (as usual). I didn't notice any parallels with Star Wars until I watched the Lucas interview (Lucas looked and sounded sickly in the interview.) on the disc, lol.

The Cider House Rules: 3/5 - Saw this on TV last night. A good old fashion sentimental movie. Acting was good, especially Michael Caine, who fully deserves the Oscar he got for this. He's been in wasted in SO MANY bad movies over the years. The film felt quite uneven with merging of two stories. Not Lasse Halstrom's best (My Life as a Dog, What's Eating Gilbert Grape and The Shipping News are superior IMO.), but still a good watch.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 27 Mar 2005, 13:03

Man On Fire - 4/5
Yes again! And even though I knew the ending, I still enjoyed watching this film.

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 27 Mar 2005, 18:06

Shutter: 4.5/5 - AWESOME new horror film from Thailand. It uses some of the cheapest tricks in the book to scare you, but they work every time (at least in DTS 6.1 they do). The story is alot deeper then most films of this nature, and the ending is just fantastic. Very highly recommended!

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 28 Mar 2005, 21:54

Passion of the Christ 2/5

I only watched it to see if it was as brutal as I'd heard, and while it was, there wasn't really much of a film behind it all. Was bored in places bause of hte lack of happening.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 29 Mar 2005, 00:34

Runaway Jury ***/5

Quite good John Grisham adaptation.

Keeps you interested and guessing.

Gene Hackman is always worth watching.

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 29 Mar 2005, 09:46

Casshern 2/5

Didn't like the visual style that much, reminded me a lot of Avalon. Quite confusing as well, cause I had a bit of trouble following what was going on!

Why could the neo-sapien leader jump off that huge building at first and be so strong, yet they are all still killed by swords and gun shots?

Got a 2 disc edition up for sale/trade if anyone wants it!!

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 29 Mar 2005, 20:14

Heat - 4/5

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 30 Mar 2005, 10:42

Tokyo Eyes 1/5

God this was quite boring. Not even Takeshi Kitano's cameo made up for it. The leading woman in it has one of the stupidest characters I've seen in a while. As far as her spying skills went she is definitely no James Bond...

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 31 Mar 2005, 10:02

Resident Evil: Apocalypse 3.5-4/5

For a decent braindead action flick, this scores pretty well! Very entertaining, fast paced, good action (although the sort of martial arty bits are too close and too fast editting) with plenty of little gags. Will never be judged a classic by any stretch of the imagination and for a zombie film it could have been gorier, but still, for good old fashion mindless entertainment this was tops!

I'm guessing given the ending that there is going to be a Resident Evil 3? Or at least there is plenty of scope for part 3!!!

Colour of the Truth 3/5

Decent enough crime thriller type thing. Some quite bloody violence in there too. Twists on the way, but just got the impression that it was trying to be too clever at times. And what was with Jordan Chan's character also being this chess, chinese chess etc whizz-kid?

Bullets 'n' Babes

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

The Last Emperor - Directors' Cut