"Now Showing"
- Thread starter Mark
- Start date
^I always find that watching films from beginning to end is the most logical, enjoyable way to do it.
I just watched The September Issue this afternoon, which is a documentary following Anna Wintour as she prepares an issue of American Vogue. It's quite possibly the gayest thing I've watched in a long time, but pretty interesting. Anna Wintour isn't, disappointingly, as bitchy as I'd hoped though.
I just watched The September Issue this afternoon, which is a documentary following Anna Wintour as she prepares an issue of American Vogue. It's quite possibly the gayest thing I've watched in a long time, but pretty interesting. Anna Wintour isn't, disappointingly, as bitchy as I'd hoped though.
I decided to get a Cineworld unlimited pass last night, oh how Cineworld are going to regret letting me have one lol.
So, to kick off having this new pass I saw two films last night...First film was Men who stare at goats.
I was fairly annoyed by this film because the majority of the good parts are in the trailer. Luckily the last 10-20 mins made up for it by being side-splitting funny. I thought all the cast were superb, just a shame Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges didn't get more screen time. Overall it is a hilarious film but it has too many weak points like moments where it seems to drag and not do a lot but the flashbacks do help it move along quite a bit.
Rating: 3/5
Second film I saw was Michael Jackson's This is it.
Basically if you like his music you will absolutely LOVE this film. There were a few pathetic moments but the live performances were just superb, I'm still getting over the fact that he could still sing and dance like that at 50! The special video links they filmed were so amazing too. The guitarists were just fantastic, one of the best guitar solos I've ever heard/seen.
Fan of MJ music rating: 4.5/5
Not a fan of MJ music rating: 2/5
So, to kick off having this new pass I saw two films last night...First film was Men who stare at goats.
I was fairly annoyed by this film because the majority of the good parts are in the trailer. Luckily the last 10-20 mins made up for it by being side-splitting funny. I thought all the cast were superb, just a shame Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges didn't get more screen time. Overall it is a hilarious film but it has too many weak points like moments where it seems to drag and not do a lot but the flashbacks do help it move along quite a bit.
Rating: 3/5
Second film I saw was Michael Jackson's This is it.
Basically if you like his music you will absolutely LOVE this film. There were a few pathetic moments but the live performances were just superb, I'm still getting over the fact that he could still sing and dance like that at 50! The special video links they filmed were so amazing too. The guitarists were just fantastic, one of the best guitar solos I've ever heard/seen.
Fan of MJ music rating: 4.5/5
Not a fan of MJ music rating: 2/5
ciallkennett
Strata Poster
Just watched Shoot 'em Up. It was such a random, unrealistic film, yet so funny and had some great action moments. I'm not a fan of most action films, but this had a great mix of gore, sex, comedy and action which worked very well.
7.5/10
7.5/10
ciallkennett
Strata Poster
^ Granted, it's not the best action-comedy out there (if it falls under that category), but it was certainly a nice little film. Just the pure fact we know nothing about the main character or why he eats carrots just simply made it rather random.
Ollie
CF Legend
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
My first thoughts on this before seeing it was that it was going to be crap. It was alright actually. Well the first half was at least. It's just when they use CGI on all the extra beasts and creatures it really shows whereas I loved the look of the special effects in the first two. Also the fact that the mummy from the first two isn't in it the whole film feels weird. Jonathan's character is still the best thing about the whole film as his witty comments and how he fails at everything is amusing.
The film is ok overall and has some good scenes but also some bad ones. This means the overall film is pretty forgettable.
So worth seeing if you've seen the other two and want a bit more out of the series otherwise I wouldn't worry too much about seeing this.
6.5/10
Lesbian Vampire Killers:
Second time I've seen this film now. Granted it's not the best film in the world and is barely decent itself but watching it with a group of people after a couple of drinks is fun as you can all laugh at it together. Some of the jokes and comments in it are actually quite funny but it's all silly funny not proper comedy. So if you've got some friends over and you want something not too serious to sit down and watch then this is pretty good otherwise steer clear otherwise you'll be extremely disappointed.
*No rating for this one as it depends when and how you view it*
My first thoughts on this before seeing it was that it was going to be crap. It was alright actually. Well the first half was at least. It's just when they use CGI on all the extra beasts and creatures it really shows whereas I loved the look of the special effects in the first two. Also the fact that the mummy from the first two isn't in it the whole film feels weird. Jonathan's character is still the best thing about the whole film as his witty comments and how he fails at everything is amusing.
The film is ok overall and has some good scenes but also some bad ones. This means the overall film is pretty forgettable.
So worth seeing if you've seen the other two and want a bit more out of the series otherwise I wouldn't worry too much about seeing this.
6.5/10
Lesbian Vampire Killers:
Second time I've seen this film now. Granted it's not the best film in the world and is barely decent itself but watching it with a group of people after a couple of drinks is fun as you can all laugh at it together. Some of the jokes and comments in it are actually quite funny but it's all silly funny not proper comedy. So if you've got some friends over and you want something not too serious to sit down and watch then this is pretty good otherwise steer clear otherwise you'll be extremely disappointed.
*No rating for this one as it depends when and how you view it*
Mark
Strata Poster
Watched Disney's The Haunted Mansion last night
I had only seen it once before and I wasn't overly impressed to be honest but since Marc hadn't seen it, I thought I could manage to watch it again.
I enjoyed it a whole lot more, but I put that down to the fact that I have ridden the actual Haunted/Phantom mansions a few more times since and have a better memory of them.
There are sooo many quirky little different references to the ride and that is probably the most I enjoyed about it. Oh and the blatant scare moments that made Marc jump.
Overall it isn't that bad a family film. It's just fun. All that it can be described as really...
I had only seen it once before and I wasn't overly impressed to be honest but since Marc hadn't seen it, I thought I could manage to watch it again.
I enjoyed it a whole lot more, but I put that down to the fact that I have ridden the actual Haunted/Phantom mansions a few more times since and have a better memory of them.
There are sooo many quirky little different references to the ride and that is probably the most I enjoyed about it. Oh and the blatant scare moments that made Marc jump.
Overall it isn't that bad a family film. It's just fun. All that it can be described as really...
^No. That film was a disgrace and it should be wiped from everywhere. Eddie Murphy = bad times (unless it was something from the 80s).
Hmm.
Anywho I went to the cinema again this evening. I took my pair of 3D glasses along to the Cineworld cinema in London and with my unlimited pass I only had to pay £1.30 to see A Christmas Carol 3D.
I haven't really been looking forward to this film. I loathe the animation style etc but a preview clip I saw last month and the low cost swayed me to go see it. Well for starters it is way too early to see a Christmas film. However it was one of the BEST Christmas movies I've ever seen. Shame Disney didn't release it more towards Christmas. The CGI grew on me a little bit and the detail is just phenomenal. One thing I really wasn't expecting however was how scary it gets, I almost made a little brown fish at one point, feck knows how a kid would react to it. It really reminded me of a classic Disney animation, very dark and enjoyable (also had the book opening/closing at the beginning/end of the film). So expectations were completely blown apart and I really enjoyed it.
Rating: 4/5
Hmm.
Anywho I went to the cinema again this evening. I took my pair of 3D glasses along to the Cineworld cinema in London and with my unlimited pass I only had to pay £1.30 to see A Christmas Carol 3D.
I haven't really been looking forward to this film. I loathe the animation style etc but a preview clip I saw last month and the low cost swayed me to go see it. Well for starters it is way too early to see a Christmas film. However it was one of the BEST Christmas movies I've ever seen. Shame Disney didn't release it more towards Christmas. The CGI grew on me a little bit and the detail is just phenomenal. One thing I really wasn't expecting however was how scary it gets, I almost made a little brown fish at one point, feck knows how a kid would react to it. It really reminded me of a classic Disney animation, very dark and enjoyable (also had the book opening/closing at the beginning/end of the film). So expectations were completely blown apart and I really enjoyed it.
Rating: 4/5
Mark
Strata Poster
peep said:
As I say, I think I enjoyed it more upon the basis that it had lots of quirky references to both the Haunted Mansions and also other Disneyland references, such as the Tiki Room.
I agree Eddie Murphy was bad times.
I think the biggest error with the film was to intentionally aim for comedy. With PotC, they treated the subject material quite seriously and let the comedy come on its own naturally through Johnny Depps performance.
Had they approached Haunted Mansion with the same perspective and not just relied on Eddie it would have been a much better film.
I watched A Christmas Carol in 3-D today.
Overall, the animation was absolutely amazing, because the characters just looked s real, and on Scrooge, I saw a bit of Jim Carrey myself and the 3-D effects were stunning. I think Jim Carrey did a great job in a story such as this, and that for being the usual comedian, really toned it down a bit. I was looking for some typical Jim Carrey comedy, but there was still some and not a lot but an overall great movie.
9/10
Overall, the animation was absolutely amazing, because the characters just looked s real, and on Scrooge, I saw a bit of Jim Carrey myself and the 3-D effects were stunning. I think Jim Carrey did a great job in a story such as this, and that for being the usual comedian, really toned it down a bit. I was looking for some typical Jim Carrey comedy, but there was still some and not a lot but an overall great movie.
9/10
Ollie
CF Legend
Last night I watched Sweeney Todd:
Haven't seen this film since it came out and still really enjoyed it. Although I'm sure like with all Tim Burton films, if I saw it again tomorrow or even within the same week I'd think it's rubbish. His films are best watched around once a year when you may have forgotten bits that happen.
9/10
Haven't seen this film since it came out and still really enjoyed it. Although I'm sure like with all Tim Burton films, if I saw it again tomorrow or even within the same week I'd think it's rubbish. His films are best watched around once a year when you may have forgotten bits that happen.
9/10
I was going to review Highlander, but somebody else already has, and there can be only one 
I'll do it anyway. Aged so badly, it's cheap, plasticky and so 80's it hurts - brilliant!
If you've never seen the film, it's about a bunch of immortal people who are trying to kill each other off over the millenia for a prize. In the end, there can be only one.
It's just one of those must watch films. It's been superseded a thousand times over by flashier, more brilliantly filmed and directed movies, but it's just so quaint and warm to see a "real" film - no CGI or top notch choreographed fights here, just some of the worst accents you'll ever experience in film 8/10
Next I recorded Star Wars III - Whatever the subtitle is (I gave up caring by this point)
I've already given my review of the first two fast forwarded while watching with MMF. I hated this film when it cam e it - it just confirmed my fears that only half a film to show the fall of Anakin was too short (yes, we had hints in Episode 2, but the whole thing just didn't work with Obi-Wan and Anakin being so close. It was obvious even to MMF he wasn't very nice).
It has grown on me a bit, like a large custard filled spot you nurture and can't wait to pop and finally get rid of. Anakin is a whining, petulant git who deserved much worse - I just couldn't feel any sorrow for him at all. The entire emotional stuff was handled by Mr Lucas with an exceptionally large, blunt axe.
"I think something vaguely political Padme, even though I have the intelligence and dpeth of character of a slug"
"Well, I think something different, because I am as intelligent, diplomatic and cool as I am sexy (in V for Vendetta)"
"YOU'RE TALKING LIKE A SOMETHING.... SOME WORD I DON'T UNDERSTAND GEORGE LUCAS HAS MADE ME YELL AT YOU! LOOK AT HOW ANGRY I AM OVER SOMETHING I CLEARLY DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!"
"Oh, Anakin, but your pouting lip makes me all pregnant"
"I am now once again happy all of a sudden and will love you for as long as my titanium arm lasts"
Gah!
The only thing which could have made the film worse is if it had a massive fight sequence at the end on an unrealistically rendered CGI planet of lava... Oh...
Actually, the thing that made it REALLY bad? MMF got upset because Anakin became a baddy, and the Emperor beat Yoda. Wait! It's not bad because it made MMF upset (though obviously George Lucas' awful script and Christian's dreadful acting works on at least a four year old, so some success guys) - it's bad because I then had to watch Return of the bloody Jedi with him to show him that it all came out okay in the end :roll:
So Return of the Jedi? Why is this not a good film? Well, it's because of George Lucas syndrome. At some point you become too big and influential and powerful and nobody says "NO". ROTJ really is the start of this (everything after this film wise GL touched turned to turd (and no, Howard the duck was NOT a good film)).
Okay, the plot at least wasn't over complicated. The set pieces are all pretty good in their own way too. The start is particularly excellent, but it rapidly starts to get iffy. It's not even as if Ewoks are the sole responsibility for the film becoming bad at the end, but they are a decided factor.
The problem is really the same problem which plagues the next three films (I, II and III) - over complicated switching between action scenes. There's just too much going on in the film and the constant switching between them all ruins the pacing and is frustrating to watch.
Let's compare the finales of the six films.
I - Jedi battle with Darth Maul (actually, I love this battle and it's one of my all time favourite scenes) + Gungan Battle + Palace interior battle + Space battle.
That's four different action scenes constantly being jumped around. It's like watching somebody channel hop! After over an hour of nothing happening in the film, you do wonder if perhaps Mr Lucas was trying to make up for it all by implementing overkill.
II - Battle in the arena to show off some of Ms Portman's flesh in a sexy way :roll: followed quickly by Desert battle + Battle with Dooku.
This is actually my favourite "new trilogy" finale. It's simple and constantly moving on with a singular focus - get Dooku! In fact, Episode II overall flows much more like the original trilogy
III - Yoda Vs Emperor + Obi-Wan Vs Vader. It should be good, but it just isn't. I don't know why, but it just doesn't work for me. The battles are too similar, then the Yoda one slows down. It's also all very badly edited, as you flip between the took sequences, you find there are bits of fight missing here and there which make it difficult to keep up with.
IV - Luke blows up the death star, every one is happy. Hurrah!
V - Luke fights Vader, loses his hand and looks miserable. Hurrah, nobody liked Luke anyway! Oh, and the others run away to the Falcon, but it doesn't get in the way of Luke getting a pasting
VI - Endor, bloody Ewoks + Battle of Endor star fighters thing + Luke vs Vader vs Emperor vs exhaust shaft + flight into the death star.
Too much going on again, exactly the same error Lucas repeats then in Episode I.
Erm, I've lost the point here. I guess I should just give some marks?
Episode III - 6/10. It misses out on a 7 because of Darth "Frankenstein" Vader yelling "NOOOOOOO!" Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!
Return of the Jedi Excellent on fast forward, but otherwise, well, it's an 8 in all honesty because the start is awesome and it gets 7 marks for Carrie Fisher in that bikini.
I feel I have purged my soul now
I'll do it anyway. Aged so badly, it's cheap, plasticky and so 80's it hurts - brilliant!
If you've never seen the film, it's about a bunch of immortal people who are trying to kill each other off over the millenia for a prize. In the end, there can be only one.
It's just one of those must watch films. It's been superseded a thousand times over by flashier, more brilliantly filmed and directed movies, but it's just so quaint and warm to see a "real" film - no CGI or top notch choreographed fights here, just some of the worst accents you'll ever experience in film
8/10 Next I recorded Star Wars III - Whatever the subtitle is (I gave up caring by this point)
I've already given my review of the first two fast forwarded while watching with MMF. I hated this film when it cam e it - it just confirmed my fears that only half a film to show the fall of Anakin was too short (yes, we had hints in Episode 2, but the whole thing just didn't work with Obi-Wan and Anakin being so close. It was obvious even to MMF he wasn't very nice).
It has grown on me a bit, like a large custard filled spot you nurture and can't wait to pop and finally get rid of. Anakin is a whining, petulant git who deserved much worse - I just couldn't feel any sorrow for him at all. The entire emotional stuff was handled by Mr Lucas with an exceptionally large, blunt axe.
"I think something vaguely political Padme, even though I have the intelligence and dpeth of character of a slug"
"Well, I think something different, because I am as intelligent, diplomatic and cool as I am sexy (in V for Vendetta)"
"YOU'RE TALKING LIKE A SOMETHING.... SOME WORD I DON'T UNDERSTAND GEORGE LUCAS HAS MADE ME YELL AT YOU! LOOK AT HOW ANGRY I AM OVER SOMETHING I CLEARLY DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!"
"Oh, Anakin, but your pouting lip makes me all pregnant"
"I am now once again happy all of a sudden and will love you for as long as my titanium arm lasts"
Gah!
The only thing which could have made the film worse is if it had a massive fight sequence at the end on an unrealistically rendered CGI planet of lava... Oh...
Actually, the thing that made it REALLY bad? MMF got upset because Anakin became a baddy, and the Emperor beat Yoda. Wait! It's not bad because it made MMF upset (though obviously George Lucas' awful script and Christian's dreadful acting works on at least a four year old, so some success guys) - it's bad because I then had to watch Return of the bloody Jedi with him to show him that it all came out okay in the end :roll:
So Return of the Jedi? Why is this not a good film? Well, it's because of George Lucas syndrome. At some point you become too big and influential and powerful and nobody says "NO". ROTJ really is the start of this (everything after this film wise GL touched turned to turd (and no, Howard the duck was NOT a good film)).
Okay, the plot at least wasn't over complicated. The set pieces are all pretty good in their own way too. The start is particularly excellent, but it rapidly starts to get iffy. It's not even as if Ewoks are the sole responsibility for the film becoming bad at the end, but they are a decided factor.
The problem is really the same problem which plagues the next three films (I, II and III) - over complicated switching between action scenes. There's just too much going on in the film and the constant switching between them all ruins the pacing and is frustrating to watch.
Let's compare the finales of the six films.
I - Jedi battle with Darth Maul (actually, I love this battle and it's one of my all time favourite scenes) + Gungan Battle + Palace interior battle + Space battle.
That's four different action scenes constantly being jumped around. It's like watching somebody channel hop! After over an hour of nothing happening in the film, you do wonder if perhaps Mr Lucas was trying to make up for it all by implementing overkill.
II - Battle in the arena to show off some of Ms Portman's flesh in a sexy way :roll: followed quickly by Desert battle + Battle with Dooku.
This is actually my favourite "new trilogy" finale. It's simple and constantly moving on with a singular focus - get Dooku! In fact, Episode II overall flows much more like the original trilogy
III - Yoda Vs Emperor + Obi-Wan Vs Vader. It should be good, but it just isn't. I don't know why, but it just doesn't work for me. The battles are too similar, then the Yoda one slows down. It's also all very badly edited, as you flip between the took sequences, you find there are bits of fight missing here and there which make it difficult to keep up with.
IV - Luke blows up the death star, every one is happy. Hurrah!
V - Luke fights Vader, loses his hand and looks miserable. Hurrah, nobody liked Luke anyway! Oh, and the others run away to the Falcon, but it doesn't get in the way of Luke getting a pasting
VI - Endor, bloody Ewoks + Battle of Endor star fighters thing + Luke vs Vader vs Emperor vs exhaust shaft + flight into the death star.
Too much going on again, exactly the same error Lucas repeats then in Episode I.
Erm, I've lost the point here. I guess I should just give some marks?
Episode III - 6/10. It misses out on a 7 because of Darth "Frankenstein" Vader yelling "NOOOOOOO!" Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!
Return of the Jedi Excellent on fast forward, but otherwise, well, it's an 8 in all honesty because the start is awesome and it gets 7 marks for Carrie Fisher in that bikini.
I feel I have purged my soul now
^Do you like any of them?
Tbh I find them all quiet hard to watch now, even more so since the changes made.
Star Wars a New hope is to slow. I still like it but I have to be in the right frame of mind.
Empire I have always skipped the Luke training part, but I do like the fight at the end and the start.
Jedi. I prefer the old Jabba palace part, but I wish at the end they would have just covered one battle at a time. The fight with Luke and Darth was good but kept getting broken up by the other fights.
1,2 and 3. Well I think the 2nd one is the best out of them but with all of them they just jump around to much as you say. I do think the Pod Race is really good though.
In other words the films were better when they used models and not computers.
Tbh I find them all quiet hard to watch now, even more so since the changes made.
Star Wars a New hope is to slow. I still like it but I have to be in the right frame of mind.
Empire I have always skipped the Luke training part, but I do like the fight at the end and the start.
Jedi. I prefer the old Jabba palace part, but I wish at the end they would have just covered one battle at a time. The fight with Luke and Darth was good but kept getting broken up by the other fights.
1,2 and 3. Well I think the 2nd one is the best out of them but with all of them they just jump around to much as you say. I do think the Pod Race is really good though.
In other words the films were better when they used models and not computers.
ciallkennett
Strata Poster
Just watched A Christmas Carol 3D and it was alright, nothing spectacular. Some scenes were very well shot, and the 3D worked very well, others, the 3D was poor. My fav scene (without giving much away) is the graveyard scene Very VERY well shot and the 3D was perfect.
It's got a few 'scary' moments, if you can call them that, that might make most people jump, they weren't even tame for me, but it's not for children really. The language is quite complex and kids might not understand it.
I enjoyed it, and I love the original Charles Dickens version, so perfect as it doesn't go anywhere off the original classic.
7/10 festive favourite this year I suspect.
It's got a few 'scary' moments, if you can call them that, that might make most people jump, they weren't even tame for me, but it's not for children really. The language is quite complex and kids might not understand it.
I enjoyed it, and I love the original Charles Dickens version, so perfect as it doesn't go anywhere off the original classic.
7/10 festive favourite this year I suspect.
Ploddish
Hyper Poster
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iggyFPls4w[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BYmN02kVT0[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ihc3lEi7pw[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcBNHZEiX0g[/youtube]
Some good films on the way! Dreamworks might be debatable, but hey!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BYmN02kVT0[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ihc3lEi7pw[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcBNHZEiX0g[/youtube]
Some good films on the way! Dreamworks might be debatable, but hey!