| The Room (2003) Planet Terror (2007) |
| -Fixing- |
YoungVagabond said: Bad Taste (1987) 50/100 Ah! Really? Damn, and I just downloaded it. My friend told me it was some sort of cult movie. Desert Within 6/10 Irreversible. 6/10 ... God, I'm watching really poor movies. |
 |
| Bad Taste is classic. Everyone should give it a watch. |
Slykain said: ... God, I'm watching really poor movies. Yep same here |
Shameless plug signature The Shorts Club  |
| Just watched Where the Wild Things Are. |
Slykain said: YoungVagabond said: Bad Taste (1987) 50/100 Ah! Really? Damn, and I just downloaded it. My friend told me it was some sort of cult movie. It's not bad. 50/100 is an average rating for me. Anyways, Taoism Drunkard/Drunken Wutang (1984)- I used to exclusively watch kung fu films between 1973 and 1984 and nothing else, but this is the first such title I have seen in years. Anyways, this is an absolutely insane, perverted, sometimes distasteful low budget kung fu comedy. Certain jokes are great, especially during the first 20 minutes, as edkrak noted, while others are duds. For instance, the funeral ritual scene was plain awful. The fights themselves are quite good, so overall, it's moderately entertaining. 60/100 |
| This Is Spinal Tap (1984) Kick-Ass (2010) |
ToukaSep 20, 2010 5:03 PM
Touka said: This Is Spinal Tap (1984) So what did you think? Personally, I thought it was very entertaining, but also overrated as hell. (It's nowhere near the top 20-30 comedies ever) |
| Point Break (1991) |
| -Fixing- |
| Sympathy for mr vengeance (2002) |
 |
YoungVagabond said: Touka said: This Is Spinal Tap (1984) So what did you think? Personally, I thought it was very entertaining, but also overrated as hell. (It's nowhere near the top 20-30 comedies ever) I've seen it a few times now and loved it every time. I agree with you that it's overrated, but a good film nevertheless and deserves a lot of the praise it gets. |
| Hidden Fortress (1958) Ikiru (1952) Another Kurosawa movies on my list :) Transporter 2 (2005) |
| Point Blank (1967) The film "Payback" was based on, with a man double-crossed by his wife and best friend and left for dead coming back for his share of the loot. But this one is very different. It's an incredible surrealist crime film, with its constant atmosphere of uncertainty. Bizarre flashbacks to Walker's past, discontinuous events, and hours passing in what seems like seconds on screen all add to the disorientation. The kills and crime story itself are damn exciting, and the actors excellent, especially Lee Marvin as the silent, emotionless, barely human Walker. It's one of the most insanely tense films I have ever watched, especially with its unexpected, sudden violence. Damn good filmmaking. 76/100 |
| Tokyo Story (Tokyo Monogatari) (1953), Best Japanese movie ever! |
| Hana |
| Shallow Hal. |
Touka said: Shallow Hal. Holy fuck does that movie suck. I remember watching it as a 13 year-old at a friend's house, and how much it ruined that particular day for me. |
| Yeah, it's quite terrible. The Farrelly brothers haven't made a good film in over a decade. |
| Women in Love |
|
| Rambo (2008) Star Trek (2009) The Usual Suspects (1995) 21 Grams (2003) Night Ride (2006) |
|
| Superbad (2007) Was not expecting to like this film but found it to be quite brilliant. Why on earth did I not watch it sooner? |
| The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) Those....faces |
| -Fixing- |
| The lure of seeing it for $5 on a slow Sunday was too much; The Expendables Moderately enjoyable, moderately disappointing. While I generally liked the action and violence, I HATED the overuse of fast cuts. What is the point of shooting the sequence if the audience sees so little of it? There was some decent humor, much of it self-referential, so my friend didn't get what I was smirking at most of the time. The pacing was good, but the "emotional" scenes, especially Mickey Rourke's story, were awful. The story was total rubbish. Not just bad or ridiculous, but insulting; Obviously, I have a soft spot for these kinds of films, and feel it's worth watching, but don't go in with high expectations. 60/100 |
| Aha, I thought The Expendables would suffer from that editing problem. It was the same in Iron Man 2, the action sequences are cut stupidly fast. The last film I saw was Juno (2007) and now I am off to watch Zatoichi. |
| "El infierno" Some gangsta movie... Thought it was comedy... I wasnt D: |
|
| So decided to watch Peter Jackson's second film, which was somehow way more demented than his first one; Meet the Feebles (1989) Possibly the craziest, most perverse non-Japanese film ever. Cute animal puppets have bizarre sex, commit murder and mutilation, get AIDS, and do copious amounts of drugs. It would be a one-dimensional premise, except the script is written so well, with terrific dialogue and humor throughout. I also loved the flashbacks which parodied films such as "The Deer Hunter". There are several plotlines running throughout, and in the end, they come together beautifully in an insane, bloody climax. Highly recommended! 74/100 |
YoungVagabondSep 29, 2010 2:47 AM
| The good the bad and the weird (2008) Lupin the third and the castle of cagliostro (1979) Wall Street: money never sleeps (2010) Spring, summer, fall, winter and.... spring (2003) |
|
YoungVagabond said: So decided to watch Peter Jackson's second film, which was somehow way more demented than his first one; Meet the Feebles (1989) Possibly the craziest, most perverse non-Japanese film ever. Cute animal puppets have bizarre sex, commit murder and mutilation, get AIDS, and do copious amounts of drugs. It would be a one-dimensional premise, except the script is written so well, with terrific dialogue and humor throughout. I also loved the flashbacks which parodied films such as "The Deer Hunter". There are several plotlines running throughout, and in the end, they come together beautifully in an insane, bloody climax. Highly recommended! 74/100 Aha, now I am intrigued. I never really bothered with Meet the Feebles as it seemed the odd pea in Jackson's pod, but it sounds like I am missing out! bakayaro-dude said: The good the bad and the weird (2008) Ooh, how was it? ----- The last film I watched was Hana-bi. That bank robbery sequence just amazes me every time. |
| Just finished Ponyo. Pretty cute film. c: |
| (ﾟ∀ﾟ) |
Touka said: Aha, now I am intrigued. I never really bothered with Meet the Feebles as it seemed the odd pea in Jackson's pod, but it sounds like I am missing out! Yeah, I was really surprised and impressed by it. However, this recent selection might have been a mistake; Tower of London (1939) The evil Duke of Gloucester, together with the vicious executioner Mord, seeks to take over the throne of England during the 15th century. It's a film that hasn't stood the test of time. Nowadays, the characters and entire story are painfully naive and downright cartoonish. There is no dread or suspense at all, but a hammy, amateur performance by Barbara O'Neil as the queen, and John Sutton playing a man fit and strong after being tortured for a week. The lone bright spots are Karloff as the vicious executioner Mord, Vincent Prince as a sissy drunk duke, and Basil Rathbone as the wonderfully evil Duke of Gloucester. But it's not enough in a film which is frequently very boring. 41/100 |
| Kung Fu Panda (2008) Arashi no Yoru ni (2005) |
| Decided to watch a British classic! Witchfinder General (1968) Set in the time of the Civil War, Matthew Hopkins is a Cromwell-appointed witchfinder, who, with his trusty assistant, tortures and kills villagers accused of witchcraft. However, things become troublesome when he wrongs the wife of a Cromwell soldier, who swears revenge. It's a disturbing film; the historical context and details add greatly to the dread. Vincent Price is amazing as the ruthless, remorseless killer Matthew Hopkins, and Robert Russell is impressive as his sadistic lackey. Their uneasy alliance and contempt towards one another also added a layer of depth to the picture. The sweeping, beautiful, Westernesque landscape was inspired, and the music selection terrific. The violence is brutal, straightforward, and portrayed as a mere fact of life in that era. I also love the misanthropic message of the film, as villagers gladly watch their neighbors die. Very good film. 74/100 |
| Leon (1994) "No women, no kids. That's the rules." |
Touka said: Leon (1994) "No women, no kids. That's the rules." Classic. My fav Besson movie. X-Men: The last Stand (2006) |
Touka said: Leon (1994) "No women, no kids. That's the rules." Terrific, great film. Wedding Crashers (2005)- The opening half is first rate comic actors delivering second rate jokes with a third rate premise, story, and characters. It felt like watching a cartoon with how cliched everything was, from the foul-mouthed grannie to the emo gay kid to the promiscuous mother. However, I've always felt that a comedy can be a predictable cliche and STILL be funny. And hell, the same was true of The Hangover, a comedy I consider good. And indeed, for the first hour, Wedding Crashers is decently funny, thanks mostly to Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, who sell their material extremely well. It's not as good as The Hangover because of the lack of variety in jokes and scenes, but certainly entertaining. Then, an hour in, it COMPLETELY falls off a cliff, turning into one of the most annoying, disgusting-to-watch romantic comedies my eyes have ever been offended with. Instantly, the rate of jokes goes down dramatically, and we're fed the most maudlin, pathetic sap imaginable, complete with even more annoying cliches, such as the cartoonishly evil/abusive fiancee, a fact his perfect wife-to-be never noticed after 3.5 years together. While we get a momentary reprieve thanks to a decent Will Ferrell cameo, it's capped off by one of the dumbest fucking endings I have ever seen in my life, which also shoots the film's own shallow message in the face. Great lesson on how to turn an entertaining film into a bad one. 39/100 |
| Every so often, I like to revisit films I loved as a child, when I was 6-10 years old. It's mostly a disheartening experience, as I either end up hating it ("What the FUCK was I watching?!"), or just considering it really predictable and boring. So I didn't expect anything different when I decided to watch my favorite film back then; Krull (1983)- The premise is a blend of medieval swords-and-sorcery epics and sci-fi action. Specifically, it's a mix of 1977's "Star Wars" and 1981's successful "Dragonslayer" (which sucks). A floating fortress lands on a planet with two suns, and its evil beings, "Slayers", start killing and burning the planet's towns. Right as a prince is about to marry a princess, uniting two kingdoms, the Slayers crash the event, kill both kings, and steal the princess, where she is to wed their leader. The prince, with the aid of one of the coolest, most original weapons ever, journeys across his planet to rescue her. As soon as the opening credits begin, you're hit with the film's strongest point. The music. It's incredible. It's unbelievable. It's in every single scene, battle, never grows repetitive, and enthuses every action with a depth and excitement it would not have otherwise. It was composed by James Horner, who also did soundtracks for Titanic, Braveheart, Apollo 13, Aliens, Avatar, and half the major blockbusters of the last 30 years. This, however, is his best work, and might well be the greatest soundtrack to any film ever made, right up there with any of Ennio Morricone's scores, Basil Poledouris's work on "Conan the Barbarian", "The Godfather", etc. Beyond that, the movie, despite being 27 years old, is still fucking gorgeous. The scenery, composed of rolling mountains, endless green plains, all filmed on location in Scotland, is among the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen. Better yet, the set pieces all look phenomenal, whether in a quicksand swamp, an enchanted cave, a castle, or the elaborate, morbid fortress of the Slayers. The film's fight scenes are mediocre, even for a Hollywood film in 1983. But it makes up for this in several ways. First of all, the pacing is perfect; not one moment is wasted, as there is constant action and adventure from beginning to end. Secondly, the picture is humorous throughout; this is no bullshit "dark, gritty" treatment of an intrinsically childish story. Fuck no; our hero prince laughs, smiles, and yearns for combat. Finally, the weapon he saves until the end of the picture is well worth it, and makes an otherwise tepid final battle exciting. As the prince travels along with a band of murderous thieves, several magicians, a shapeshifter, and a cyclops, the banter and conversation is always light-hearted and funny. These elements all make the film captivating to watch, and more remarkable still, brought back some of the same emotions I had about the film as when I first saw it as a little kid. I didn't think that was possible. See, I expected the positive elements of the picture to be ruined by horrible acting, directing, and script. But none of them were bad. Several actors actually give strong, effective performances, and no one embarrasses themselves with pretentious speeches or maudlin cliches. The director, Peter Yates, made the Steve McQueen classic "Billuit", "Breaking Away", and highly regarded "The Dresser", and does a solid job presenting the action. I came in with zero or almost negative expectations, but "Krull" is an almost perfect children's fantasy work. The first "Star Wars" is slightly better overall, but goddamn if they don't both have the exact same strengths and (relative) weaknesses. Except, Krull's soundtrack is even better... 78/100 |
| Hana-Bi D: Didn't understand it that well.. |
|
| Outrage (2010) |
| The last film I saw was The Town. Slykain said: Hana-Bi D: Didn't understand it that well.. Hana-bi is genius, although understandably confusing at parts. Especially since it is nonlinear and requires a little piecing together. First time I saw it I missed a lot of stuff, but that mesmerizing soundtrack, the bank robbery sequence and bittersweet ending burned into my mind and I couldn't help but go back for more. Kitano's best film (excluding Kikujiro) in my opinion. otonashi_ said: Outrage (2010) Kitano's Outrage? How was it? |
| Yes. Kitano's Outrage. Great movie . I really enjoyed this movie. Brutal, violent ... if You liked Sonatine or Boiling Point, you must to like Outrage too. |
| I was stuck in a hotel room, so I watched whatever was on the two HBOs; 500 Days of Summer (2009)- Two hipsters in their early 20s, Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel), go through the ups and downs of a romantic relationship. The film has some "big ideas", and tries to subvert the standard romantic comedy formula. Problem is, the movie itself is mired in the same cliches! Tom is the wussy, insecure, weak-willed guy. Summer is the beautiful, enigmatic, suave and confident female. There is an unlikely source of sage advice, in this case, irritatingly enough, Tom's 10 year old younger sister. Now, if it were simply a parody, that would be okay. However, 500 Days of Summer is nowhere NEAR funny enough for that. If it was meant to be something deeper and more significant, not only does its crutch on cliches hurt, but so does the lack of any type of serious message. "True love" doesn't exist beyond coincidence? That's the only wisdom you can muster? That would be okay, but the film has two other giant problems. First of all, it is frequently boring and poorly paced. It's a mere 90 minutes long, and yet, while I was watching it in my hotel room, I checked my watch no fewer than half a dozen times. There is literally ONLY 40-50 minutes of real content to the entire movie! So many scenes are pointless repetition, and do nothing to advance the story of Tom and Summer's relationship. Finally, Summer, whether through poor acting or poor writing, is quite literally no one at all. Instead, she's a Frankenstein created from a patchwork of different, contradictory ideas and sources. Part "ideal woman", part "aloof pretty girl", part "Hollywood's idea of a jaded, realistic 20-something", she ends up being more boring than any of them, and even less relatable. You know where you can find examples of truly interesting, quirky, and fucking awesome girlfriends? Go read a Haruki Murakami novel, and choose ANY female he describes in depth. That's exactly the type of woman the director and writers were going for...and totally failed. Listen, the film has its good points; Joseph Gordon Levitt, while I'm not enamored with him, gives a competent, decent performance. The love/hate montage of the same features of Summer was absolutely hilarious. The song and dance number was inspired and funny. Unfortunately, creative editing will only get you so far, especially when there is so little real content, and the core is so weak. 50/100 Rock Star (2001)- Yes, the film is highly predictable. Yes, Jennifer Aniston outdoes herself with an epically poor acting performance. However, the individual scenes are often hilarious, engaging, and at times, astonishingly subtle with the themes they attempt to convey. The character of gay former frontman Bobby Beers is a nice nod to Rob Halford, singer for Judas Priest. There are plenty of flaws, including the ending, but the eventual emptiness and loneliness of the rock star life is presented excellently. 69/100 A Very Brady Sequel (1996)- Watchable crap. The humor is lame, relying on silly puns, double entendres, and with far too many dumb, unfunny cameos from former television stars. However, I do like the idea that this perfect 60's family is fucking annoying and stupid to everyone living in the modern day. The best thing I can say is that it passes the time without ever irritating the viewer. 45/100 |
| All Quiet On the Western Front |
CityLights said: All Quiet On the Western Front The first legitimately great film ever made! Anyways, it was time to watch another classic from Sidney Lumet, my favorite director; Serpico (1973)- Based on the real life story of New York cop Frank Serpico, Al Pacino plays an idealistic officer who grows sick of the lax attitude and corruption he finds within the police department, and finally decides to become a whistle blower for the pay-outs the cops in his precinct accept. Not surprisingly, he is not a popular member of the force because of this. Meanwhile, Serpico's relationships and his once cheerful nature erode, as this quest consumes his life. I loved the characterization of evil in this film; not as an aggressive, ambitious force, but a passive, reserved one. Just look the other way, whether Frank is about to get shot, a rape is occurring in a borderline street, or criminals are paying the right people. Pacino vividly brings Serpico to life, including his intense mania for justice and growing cynicism, as he continually gets fed BS. The portrayal of Frank's relationships, romantic and with other cops, was superb. Some of the film might feel overly dramatized, or even a bit "cheesy" at times...except then you look up the official accounts of what happened to the real Frank Serpico, and realize that not only is the movie amazingly faithful to them, but that it actually toned down certain events the man lived through. A great, tremendous film. 84/100 |
| Ben-Hur |
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull (2008) The worst part of Indiana Jones movies ... |
| This Is England (2006) Thought I better watch it again before I start the series and I am so glad I did. Probably my fourth time seeing This Is England now and it continues to grow on me. Shane Meadows is an absolute genius. |
| I expected this film to be crappy and overrated. I was half correct. Rain Man (1988)- After the death of his brother, an LA businessman finds out he has an autistic brother who is set to receive $3 million of the inheritance. In an effort to get half the money from the doctor, he lures the brother to go with him. On the bright side, it does a very good job showing the difficulty and exasperation of dealing with a loved one with autism. You really see how it drains the hell out of Tom Cruise's character Charlie Babbitt, and the confusion of not knowing whether the next moment will bring out a freak-out or not. Also, the film was more subtle than I gave it credit for; they stayed away from any major epiphanies by Charlie about his love for his brother, and there were no reversals in mental health for Raymond. At the end, he is still a man stricken with severe autism. I also give them credit for resisting the temptation to make the doctor a villain. Instead, he is a decent intelligent man who also cares for Raymond. There are some entertaining scenes, and Hoffman and even Ratboy Cruise are very good in their roles. It could have been a really good film. Could have. Instead, they fucking ruined it. They just HAD to give Raymond completely random, self-contradictory superpowers, which are a perfect memory, being able to do arithmetic really fast, and to individually count really quickly. (Nevermind that these are all quite distinct, and in real life, someone good at one of those would be completely average at the other two) Thing is, it just doesn't have any place in an otherwise serious, realistic film that avoided so many other cliches and stupidities. But worst of all, it completely poisons the central point of the work, that of Charlie's love and acceptance of his brother Raymond. Notice that it's only after Raymond wins $86k in Vegas, saving his brother from bankruptcy and ruin, that Charlie finally appreciates his brother. So was it all a sham? All bullshit? Nothing more than simple gratitude at being saved by a filthy dog? Thanks to the ridiculous Hollywood superpowers Ray's character was imbued with, either interpretation is valid. Really could have been something special. 69/100 |
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