What films are you watching?

[St Landrew]

Kathryne Bigelow!!

 

Indeed

 

(Fe)Male Gigalow?

 

Watch K-19 too; decent film. Harrison Ford's accent was very dodgy though.

 

Agreed. I thought Liam Neeson was very good though.

[St Landrew]

Star Trek - The Motion Picture

 

I thought I'd have a go through all the Star Trek films over the next week or more. Currently, I'm watching the first of them, and oh boy, is it wooden and slow. I remember being disappointed with it at the time, and the years haven't been kind to it. There's nothing wrong with the story. There's nothing wrong with the characterisation, the props, the special effects. The problem is the adventure could have been wrapped up in a two-part TV programme of around 100 minutes [original series episodes were 50 minutes long]. At around 2¼ hours it's dirge like, and without the pace and action of the original series, it has lost almost everything to attract it.

 

I remember the second film of the series was a huge improvement.

[jeff leopard]

Star Trek - The Motion Picture

 

At around 2¼ hours it's dirge like, and without the pace and action of the original series, it has lost almost everything to attract it.

 

I remember the second film of the series was a huge improvement.

 

As a small child I saw this when it was released and was

 

 

 

 

bored

 

 

 

 

 

 

out

 

 

 

 

 

 

of

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

my

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

mind.

 

 

It was released in the wake of Star Wars, and yet it tried to be 2001: A Space Odyssey, either this is brave filmmaking in the extreme, or one of the most stupid decisions in the history of cinema. You decide.

 

Wrath of Khan was infinitely more fun and probably the best of all Star Trek films, including the re-booted one.

[Sheaf Saint]

Wrath of Khan was infinitely more fun and probably the best of all Star Trek films, including the re-booted one.

 

Totally agree. I did a review of it in post #724 on this thread.

[St Landrew]

Seeing as it was referred to so heavily in the recent Star Trek film, I decided to dig out the DVD of Star Trek II - Wrath of Khan while I was bored tonight. They don't make 'em like they used to eh?

 

 

Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan

 

Ended up watching this last night, as it is a quick 110 minutes. Like the first picture, I probably haven't watched this in perhaps 10 years. If the original picture was awful, this was sublime. Agreed, Ricardo Montalbán is delightfully evil, and manages to get it just right. In fact, he's exactly like his original arrogant character in the TOS episode Space Seed, with the additional necessary bitterness thrown in. All the regular cast do their usual pleasing Star Trek stuff, and apart from the odd peculiar phrase in the script [i was watching the Director's Cut, and it's better, IMO], the film is excellent entertainment. The special effects have dated a wee bit, but it's really only noticeable when the instrument displays are shown. The outside scenes of the ships, when they are maneuvering, and firing, are perfectly watchable, and capture the excitement and grandeur of the ships and space. Of course, the Genesis scenes are always good. The story itself, is a cracker, and any Star Trek episode is enhanced when it draws on the history of the canon, and with Khan they hit the jackpot.

 

Bits of Khan trivia: Kirstie Alley jumps when Shatner smashes the security glass on the locker. She wasn't supposed to, but they left it in.

Khan never met Chekov on-screen, as the episode Space Seed was part of the 1st series of TOS. Walter Koenig [Chekov] joined the cast in the 2nd series. So Khan never even forgets a face he has never seen, it appears. It has since been explained that Khan saw Chekov during his stay on the Enterprise, but they are simply off-screen moments. I think we can forgive that little mistake.

What I always have a little chuckle at is just after Khan tells all that he never forgets a face, he bodily lifts Chekov up with the full extension of his arm. Then puts him down. You don't have to be eagle-eyed to see that Khan lifts Chekov and then pulls him down. The people on the lifting wires were a tad out of sync there.

 

Great fun though.

Edited 12 March, 2010 by St Landrew

[St Landrew]

Star Trek III - The Search for Spock

 

Once again, I hadn't seen this Star Trek film for several years, and I've just finished watching it. For one of those less celebrated Star Trek films, it isn't bad at all. Tbh, I'd forgotten how good it was, and I quite enjoyed it. It doesn't have the excitement of the previous film, but it's fine entertainment, all the same. A pre-Back to the Future-Christopher Lloyd showed a bit of class, as the villainous Klingon Kruge, and Robin Curtis took over the role of Saavik. In all honesty, she made a much better job of it too, even though she wasn't quite as welcome in the eye-candy department.

 

Which leads me to the bit of trivia I know about this one. Apparently, Kirstie Alley thought, after appearing in one film, that she could command a much higher salary for the next one. When she was offered less than what she thought she deserved, and turned the first offer down, the producers just re-cast the role. She may have been pretty good in the TV series, Cheers, but I always thought she was pretty wooden as Lt Saavik. Ah well, onto saving whales.

[St Landrew]

Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home

For me, this is the one which most resembles a TV episode. It is light, humourous, and moral in the Star Trek way. I suppose you either like the ethics of Star Trek or you don't. I honestly can't dislike a canon that has always set out to be entertaining and thought provoking, and not just bang, bang, you're dead. Besides, I always get a giggle out of Spock attempting to spice his language with colourful metaphors.

 

In this case it captured the feelings of the time, and I can't think of a more positive piece of fiction which helped the anti-whaling cause. After the film came out, suddenly, ordinary people in the western world, stopped being indifferent to whaling, and the feeling has never really gone away.

 

Well they saved 23rd century Earth and the Humpback whales, and everyone lived happily ever after. The hell, it's good entertainment.

[Sheaf Saint]

St Landrew - Do yourself a favour and skip number 5 yeah? Trust me!

[St Landrew]

St Landrew - Do yourself a favour and skip number 5 yeah? Trust me!

 

Already watched it Bexy. These are repeat viewings after all, so I sort of know what I'm letting myself in for, even if it has been quite a few years since I last watched them.

 

I'm trying to summon up the enthusiasm to write about No.5.

[saint_stevo]

Triangle- hmmmmm. Annoying, bad, annoying, and bad. 4/10

[RedAndWhite91]

Fell asleep during Human Traffic last night. It seemed good but I was too tired, will definitely have to watch it all the way through at some point, just like all the other films I've fallen asleep during.

[St Landrew]

Already watched it Bexy. These are repeat viewings after all, so I sort of know what I'm letting myself in for, even if it has been quite a few years since I last watched them.

 

I'm trying to summon up the enthusiasm to write about No.5.

 

Star Trek - The Final Frontier

 

OK, let's have a go. For the one ST film adventure that William Shatner directed, I think it was a mistake to make it so light-hearted and jokey. The story is pretty promising, but turns out to be quite dull. The god that they all come to witness, turns out to be false, and is far too easily overcome. It's a shame, because the premise is good. This could have been played as one of the darker adventures, but I understand the studio wanted something light, like the previous film. Anyone who watched TOS, will realise there was a liberal sprinkling of the light and the dark episodes. Unfortunately, this one takes the light hearted side too far.

 

Apparently, Shatner got himself quite fit for this one, and he certainly looks less portly, and throws himself about well. DeForest Kelley looks so frail that a breath of wind might blow him over. Yet he was to do another film before finishing with the series. The rest just go through the motions. Steer clear, unless you're keen.

[Sheaf Saint]

Just been to see Alice in wonderland 3D, and judging by some of the comments on the post-match thread tonight I'm glad I decided to do that instead of sitting at home and listening to the Saints game.

 

There is no doubt from the very beginning that you are watching a Tim Burton film. I have to say that the vision he had for this film was incredible, and it didn't disappoint in any way. The 3D works really well with some of the animation, and TB manages to get exactly the right balance between light-hearted humour and dark, menacing tones.

 

Jonny Depp, as always, is truly magnificent as the Mad Hatter. Perhaps not the best performance of his career but certainly up there with the best. Lots of cameos such as Matt Lucas playing Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-dum, Stephen Fry doing the voice of the Cheshire Cat and Alan Rickman as the voice of Absolom the smoking caterpillar.

 

A timeless tale which appeals to children and adults alike, beautifully executed by a master of his craft. Spectacular, engaging and lots of fun. Lewis Carroll would have approved - I think.

 

8.5/10

[St Landrew]

Star Trek - The Undiscovered Country

 

I like this one, even though by now, the original cast were getting creekily old and were becoming caricatures of their own characters. The story isn't too bad, but we have to put up with a script which doles out a line of dry humour to each regular cast actor, especially if they are not Shatner or Nimoy. Kim Cattrall, as Valeris, was fun though. A smiling Vulcan, at one point..? Once again we were back to quoting from famous literature. With Khan it was Melville, and with this one it's Shakespeare. Christopher Plummer as Klang, quotes away like his life depends upon it. I really don't know why they kept this up, but apparently Nicholas Meyer [Trekkie director, producer, writer] liked having them in, so they said. It didn't enhance them, as far as I was concerned.

 

Crikey, I've just read that lot back and it looks like I only like the picture because of Kim Cattrall. Is that a good enough reason..?

[Jillyanne]

Just been to see Alice in wonderland 3D, and judging by some of the comments on the post-match thread tonight I'm glad I decided to do that instead of sitting at home and listening to the Saints game.

 

There is no doubt from the very beginning that you are watching a Tim Burton film. I have to say that the vision he had for this film was incredible, and it didn't disappoint in any way. The 3D works really well with some of the animation, and TB manages to get exactly the right balance between light-hearted humour and dark, menacing tones.

 

Jonny Depp, as always, is truly magnificent as the Mad Hatter. Perhaps not the best performance of his career but certainly up there with the best. Lots of cameos such as Matt Lucas playing Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-dum, Stephen Fry doing the voice of the Cheshire Cat and Alan Rickman as the voice of Absolom the smoking caterpillar.

 

A timeless tale which appeals to children and adults alike, beautifully executed by a master of his craft. Spectacular, engaging and lots of fun. Lewis Carroll would have approved - I think.

 

8.5/10

 

Superb review, I am going to see it this weekend. I always loved the book as a child and I hope the films lives up to my expectations.

[SuperMikey]

Had a bit of a film-fest at the weekend, and the first one I watched was The Hurt Locker. I went into this film expecting to be completely blown away by some compelling acting, riveting action scenes and unbearable tension, but I actually came away a little disappointed. Yes, it was a good film, and yes I did enjoy it, but I found it a little underwhelming in the end. There isn't very much I can say about the film that I didn't like, but there was something that was holding back my enjoyment. I've now come to realise that that thing was the hype surrounding the film. It's certainly been bigged up as one of the best films in recent times, and the various award wins seem to have backed that up, but I don't really feel that they're deserved. Sure, I can see why some people might think that "oh my gawd, it's simply the best film ever yah?", but I think i'm in the minority when I say that no, it's not really.

 

7/10

 

However, I did cheer myself up about 20 minutes after finishing The Hurt Locker by sticking on a DVD which had been sitting on my desk since Christmas but I just hadn't got round to watching yet, and that was Inglorious Basterds. Again, what i'd gleamed from the reviews and various internet fanboys was that the film seemed largely to consist of too much talking and not enough action, and was a pretty poor effort compared to some other QT films. What I got from the film was quite the opposite. For me, this is QT at his best. Deliciously dark and funny, yet scarily violent and bloodthirsty at the same time, I enjoyed this film immensely. On the subject of the various long conversations in the film, I actually wasn't bothered by them. I do like a good gory film, but i'm not the kind of person who will say "omg der woz 2 much tlkin lololol!!!!!!111one" if a film decides to focus on character development and dialogue rather than 'gung-ho' action, and I actually found the conversation scenes to be riveting, and helped immensely to build up the tension for the explosive finale. As well as the very fine acting in the film, plaudits must go to the script-writers involved in the making of this film, because all the dialogue was so sublimely written that it didn't feel like you were watching a conversation at all. I originally thought that this film would be a lot of silly scenes of kung-fu jews slaughtering nazi troops (and drooled at the prospect, I must say), but i've come away from watching this film rating this as one of my favourite films of all time. And that is a hard list to break into.

 

9.75/10

 

In order to sustain my Tarantino hard-on, i've decided to go back and re-watch a few QT classics that i've not seen in a while. I started with probably my favourite film, Pulp Fiction. Now, I don't need to write an extensive review because everyone will have seen it by now (and if you haven't, what the f*ck are you doing with your life?), but this is simply so perfect that i'm having a hard time finding words to describe it. Although QT purposely broke up the story into sections (all written seperately), they all intertwine perfectly to create a compelling and riveting storyline. Crammed full of delicious dark humour ("Oh sh!t, I just shot Marvin"), fabulous acting (Samuel L. Jackson's monologue at the diner with Ringo remains my favourite scene ever) and still shocking 16 years on, I cannot recommend it any higher.

 

10/10

[jeff leopard]

The Hurt Locker...I found it a little underwhelming...7/10[/Quote]

 

I did a little review of this a while back and also gave it a 7. It was alright, and I’m glad Bigalow got the best director Oscar, but it’s not the best film of the year and it certainly isn’t ‘one of the best war films ever!’ or ‘the most realistic portrayal of war…ever!’ as some of the reviews have claimed. To its credit, it tries to avoid lots of war clichés but ends up falling between two stools, it’s too generic and far-fetched to be a realistic account of war, and it’s too downbeat and introspective to be a balls-out action film. So it ends up like the Derek Smalls of war films, neither fire nor ice, but luke-warm water.

 

I think it’s too soon for the great Iraq war film to be made, and for audiences to want to see it. In the Loop is still probably the best of them. Best 'War on Terror' films so far - Waltz with Bashir, United 93, Good Night Good Luck & District 9 (in that order).

[SuperMikey]

I did a little review of this a while back and also gave it a 7. It was alright, and I’m glad Bigalow got the best director Oscar, but it’s not the best film of the year and it certainly isn’t ‘one of the best war films ever!’ or ‘the most realistic portrayal of war…ever!’ as some of the reviews have claimed. To its credit, it tries to avoid lots of war clichés but ends up falling between two stools, it’s too generic and far-fetched to be a realistic account of war, and it’s too downbeat and introspective to be a balls-out action film. So it ends up like the Derek Smalls of war films, neither fire nor ice, but luke-warm water.

 

I think it’s too soon for the great Iraq war film to be made, and for audiences to want to see it. In the Loop is still probably the best of them. Best 'War on Terror' films so far - Waltz with Bashir, United 93, Good Night Good Luck & District 9 (in that order).

 

IMO James Cameron should've got Best Director and Inglorious Basterds should've won Best Picture, but I agree that the film did earn some recognition. Luke-warm is a very good description of the film.

 

Interesting to see that you count In the Loop as an Iraq film, I was laughing too hard to categorise it!

 

"Judy's lubricated horse c*ck aside..."

[St Landrew]

Star Trek - Generations

 

Sometimes, I feel this film is my favourite of the whole ST film canon. I remember seeing it in the cinema, and being really entertained by it. But my favourite bits are when Captain James T. Kirk is onscreen. And that's the problem with the two preceeding films. All the old cast were there, going through the motions, but in truth, by then only Kirk and Spock were actually worth watching. Some of us were in our childhood when Spock, and especially Kirk, would go knuckle to knuckle with an opponent. And boy, could ol' Kirky boy scrap. Spock had his famous Vulcan neck pinch, but his Captain had to get his hands dirty, and take a few shots, in the process.

 

Which brings me back to the defining moments of this film. Alone, Captain Picard isn't physically competent to find a solution, and is drawn into a timeless environment, called the Nexus. In it, he finds Kirk, and persuades him back to make a difference again. It has the desired effect, and one last time, Kirk does make the difference, but dies in the process. When I was in the cinema in 1994, I remember surprising myself by how upset I was. This was a fictional character, often lampooned, but dear to the hearts of a generation who had loved to watch sci-fi adventure, since they were very young. We had been part of the new space age, and here they were killing off the chief fictional hero. This was the show that I would rush home, from The Dell, to watch on Saturdays at 5.10pm. Often, I would just miss the first few minutes, and my Dad would bring me up to speed. He couldn't say, it's the one where they... because they were all completely new adventures at the time. The film has much to commend it also, for example, Commander Data's little adventure with his brother Lore's emotion chip, and his exclamation of Oh Sh!t, as the saucer section of the Enterprise was hit by the shock wave of the exploding warp core in the main section; the resulting crash of the saucer section into the surface of the planet Viridian 3; and Malcolm McDowell, who raised the quality of the film every time he was on screen.

 

But it is Kirk's death and mourning which sets this film apart. It was reported that baby boomer, sci-fi cinema goers actually cried. Well I don't remember doing that, but a bit of dust got in my eye, and my chin trembled a bit. Although it didn't happen this time, I remembered the feeling. Good film.

[saint_stevo]

god i love pulp fiction. Gonna bang that big mutha f*cka on after the champions league highlights

[jeff leopard]

Pulp FictionAlthough QT purposely broke up the story into sections (all written seperately), they all intertwine perfectly to create a compelling and riveting storyline.

10/10

 

Its been a long time since i watched this, i'll have to give it another go soon. Roger Avery wrote the story for two of the three sections and then went on to direct two brilliant films, Killing Zoe and Rules of Attraction. Then he was done for drink driving/manslaughter charges and my estimation of him dropped considerably He's just been released after his jail tweets became something of a sensation, it will be interesting to see what he does next.

[St Landrew]

Pay It Forward

 

As a break from Star Trek, what is it about Kevin Spacey..? Why is any film he is in, twice as good as it ought to be. The worst film I can remember seeing him in is K-Pax, and he made that passable. Every other film I've seen him in has had something about it. American Beauty was utterly brilliant. The Weather News is a really great film. Glengarry Glen Ross, and loads of others. And this film is one of them too, if you take away the ending, which is smaltzy sh!t of the worst kind. This sort of thing may be perfectly fine for a film like Field of Dreams or It's a Wonderful Life but it doesn't fit here. No wonder the film bombed. Word obviously got around, in more ways than one. Even the USA can stand only so much sugar pill. It's a shame, because this is a good film which uses its premise to examine the finer feelings of people, and how understanding a fellow human's frailties helps a person to help another, and therefore it helps the helper too. It doesn't hurt the film a jot that one of my favourite actresses in Helen Hunt plays the opposite female lead. Of course, the film centres on that annoyingly excellent child actor [at the time], Haley Joel Osment, and he is very good again. But I can't overlook that ending. Pretty good film, which isn't good enough to ride out the terrible ending.

[St Landrew]

Star Trek - First Contact

 

Wrote a half decent review that I'd really thought about, on a friend's PC, earlier this evening. Went to submit it, and bloody IE logged me out, and then didin't remember the text in the window. I bloody HATE Internet Explorer nowadays. Wish I'd written it here, on Firefox. At least if I'd been logged out it would have remembered the text.

 

Anyway, I liked this film a lot, but I'm not writing the whole bloody thing out again.

 

Bollix..! :mad:

[Saints1980]

Watched Dirty Pretty Things last night.

 

A film about the perils of legal and illegal immigrants in London.

 

Had received very good reviews and co-starred Audrey Tautou, so I thought I would have a look. Overcooked nonsense about that hotel kidney scam with some terrible acting to boot, it was rubbish. The immigration officers were particuarly bad. 3.5/10.

[Sheaf Saint]

Pay It Forward

 

As a break from Star Trek, what is it about Kevin Spacey..? Why is any film he is in, twice as good as it ought to be. The worst film I can remember seeing him in is K-Pax, and he made that passable.

 

Just goes to show how subjective these things are. I think K-Pax is a superb film. You are right that Kevin Spacey makes it what it is, as the film centres around his character anyway, but Jeff Bridges was also very good in it though.

[St Landrew]

Just goes to show how subjective these things are. I think K-Pax is a superb film. You are right that Kevin Spacey makes it what it is, as the film centres around his character anyway, but Jeff Bridges was also very good in it though.

 

Tbf to K-Pax, I think it says more about the mood I was in, rather than the film itself. I remember praising Master & Commander to the skies, and Ponty thought it was very average. He admitted he wasn't being that attentive to it though. That was the same for me with K-Pax. I'll give it a proper go one day.

[miserableoldgit]

Watched an excellent indie film, "Frozen River", tonight. A woman lives in a trailer with her two children, and is deserted by her husband and left penniless. She falls in with a Mohawk woman and gets involved in smuggling illegal immigrants across the Canadian-American border. Well worth a watch.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0978759/

[St Landrew]

Started watching The Departed. Try as I might, I can't watch Martin Scorcese films anymore. I've never found his films particularly inviting, in any case. He seems to purposely find and create subject matter that is ugly and twisted, often with a Mafia family basis. And seeing as he would consider himself to be a serious director, I imagine his attitude would be that we take his films seriously too.

 

I suppose I'm biased. Perhaps I take them too seriously.

[thesaint sfc]

I watched Harry Brown the other day. Probably one of my favourite Michael Caine films as usually I think he's just a ***. Very depressing and not much of a story to it, but not too bad. Having said that I think he fits the roll of Alfred in Batman perfectly.

[thesaint sfc]

Just goes to show how subjective these things are. I think K-Pax is a superb film. You are right that Kevin Spacey makes it what it is, as the film centres around his character anyway, but Jeff Bridges was also very good in it though.

 

Agreed. Spacey is a f*cking brilliant actor. The Life of David Gale was another of my favourites by him. I love films that put you through a torrent of emotions and make you really think and look at things from a different angle, and he does that so well. After all his films I feel differently about life for a short while, before becoming numb and going back to normal.

[jeff leopard]

I Am Legend

 

Those fools, those nerdy boffins playing god, creating unnatural things in labs which they naively think will make life better. It spreads like a virus and by the time people notice that something is very wrong, its way too late, its everywhere, no one is untouched by the horror they call....CGI!!!!:smt103

 

For all the good things in I Am Legend, are there are a few, the cgi drags everything down with it. A cgi car speeds through cgi streets hitting rubbish cgi monsters, cgi explosions send cgi flames across a cgi sky, is anything real? is will smith real? Give me the extra's in unconvincing masks any day or lizards dressed up to look like dinosaurs, but please just quite it with this sh1t cgi.

 

Yes, the story goes off the rails in the second half of the film, but end of the world films usually do. Yes it force feeds you Christianity in the same way prison guards used to force feed hunger strikers (ie with a big stick) but least we forget, those puritans were originally british so we should share some of the blame. And yes, its basically a mega-budget 28 Days Later with Will Smith playing the saviour of all mankind, but for all its early promise, the last half hour is so sugar coated, the film should come with some kind of health warning :vom: And its vision of a new Eden at the end of the film made me want to gauge my eyes out and replace them with burning coals.

 

4/10

[St Landrew]

Know what you mean Jeff, re: sugar coated endings. I guess Hollywood doesn't quite know how to do a genuinely proper positive ending [not necessarily happy] anymore.

[St Landrew]

Star Trek - Insurrection

 

Yeah, back on the train. Saw this one, once before, and thought it complete garbish. After seeing it again, I don't quite know why I thought that, first time. It's not brilliant, in any way. Patrick Stewart is at his annoyingly stagey worst. For example, at one point, Picard [stewart] enters his quarters, and asks the computer to play some music. The computer responds by playing some of his usual classical genre. Picard stops the music and asks for a Mumba, which he then proceeds to move to, before looking into a mirror to check the line of his face. We are to infer that he looks and feels younger. It's an OK scene, but it is so clunkily done by Stewart, as to be embarassing.

 

As usual, the story, special effects, etc... are all fine. The Enterprise is involved in upholding the morals of the Federation, and try to stop the removal of a people [baku] from their chosen planet [not their native one] because the very rocks radiate life giving properties. This is very important to the Federation, and to another race of people [sona]. But I won't tell you any more, as you might actually have not seen it before, and remain curious.

 

To be honest, this one is more suited to Star Trek's occasional double TV episode format. As a film, it doesn't have enough wowee factor. Certainly not after First Contact, the previous film. And F. Murray Abraham is finally reduced to Chief Villain in a TV series film, Several years after being an Oscar winner in Amadeus. Another board treader, but one who is less stagey than Stewart. Just shows you the power of Star Trek fame.

Edited 21 March, 2010 by St Landrew

[Nexstar]

Green Zone

 

Saw this at the cinema yesterday, and was very impressed. It stars Matt Damon playing the role of a military chief in the opening weeks of the Iraq war, leading his team to areas where there are supposed weapons of mass destruction. There is a good mix of action and military politics, uncovering an interesting conspiracy theory about the war.

 

Damon was brilliant in it and it was well worth the watch. 8/10

[mikey_boosh]

The Road

 

I absolutely loved the book and the film pretty much stuck to the original story. Although, I seem to remember alot of seemingly endless walking in the book, which for me highlighted the bleakness and desperation of the post apocolyptic world. The film seemed to cut alot of the walking out, skipping to the 'more interesting' parts. However, I wonder how much, if at all, this would have improved the film.

 

8/10

 

Invictus

 

Watched this a couple of weeks ago. It follows Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) after his release and first year as President of South Africa and his efforts to unite the nation with the help of the South African rugby team and their captain François Pienaar (Matt Damon). Thoroughly enjoyed it. Did seem to drag in places though. Was a little odd to see Freeman with his very distinctive voice playing someone else with a very distinctive voice, but I think he pulled it off. Good performances all round.

 

7/10

 

Also watched the Bounty Hunter last weekend, but the less said about that the better.

[jeff leopard]

Know what you mean Jeff, re: sugar coated endings. I guess Hollywood doesn't quite know how to do a genuinely proper positive ending [not necessarily happy] anymore.

 

I suppose if a film costs $100 million and stars Will Smith you know its going to get pretty sickly by the end, that's why lots of filmmakers will only do films which cost arond $20 million, they can take lots more risks and not have to tie everything neatly in a bow at the end.

 

SPOLIER FOR I AM LEGEND * * * * * IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE LAME-ARSED ENDING, LOOKAWAY NOW * * * *

 

Apparently there are two endings for the film, one left-wing tree-hugging do-gooder love-in where the main zombie and will smith make their peace, get hitched in a civil partnership and adopt a coloured baby. And the one they used, where Will Smith kills all the evil terrorists, i mean zombies, cos the only good illegal immigrant, i mean zombie, is a good one. USA! USA! USA! BOMB IRAN! BOMB-BOMB IRAN!

[Smirking_Saint]

I suppose if a film costs $100 million and stars Will Smith you know its going to get pretty sickly by the end, that's why lots of filmmakers will only do films which cost arond $20 million, they can take lots more risks and not have to tie everything neatly in a bow at the end.

 

SPOLIER FOR I AM LEGEND * * * * * IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE LAME-ARSED ENDING, LOOKAWAY NOW * * * *

 

Apparently there are two endings for the film, one left-wing tree-hugging do-gooder love-in where the main zombie and will smith make their peace, get hitched in a civil partnership and adopt a coloured baby. And the one they used, where Will Smith kills all the evil terrorists, i mean zombies, cos the only good illegal immigrant, i mean zombie, is a good one. USA! USA! USA! BOMB IRAN! BOMB-BOMB IRAN!

 

Personally i thought I Am Legend was ok, better than a 4 anyways, but like you said not great. Makes you wonder though why anyone would take on a script with one guy and nobody to talk too, personally i found it a little boring and like all hollywood movies these days was loosely based on a fantastic book (well worth reading)

 

Also to ST Landrew, if you like all things Spacey (as do i, does he ever do a bad film ??) watch The life and times of david gayle absolutely superb film IMO. I also really liked K PAx personally.

 

This week i watched Hurt Locker which i actually thought was a very very good film with, for once a decent ending. Not full of action as i hoped for but a very good portrayal into one mans psychie and i was hooked all the way through it without really being able to explain why ?? If that makes sense ?

 

7/10

 

Also saw Avatar 3D which i had not got around to watching but went tonight, it takes a loooong time to get into it IMO but the effects and vision of cameron is fantastic. The moods and the visuals are stunning and it actually has a very very good storyline to it. It's only downside are, like i said the time it takes to actually kick off and when it does kick off it just leaves you wanting a little bit more than it delivers. Without spoiling the storyline either there were a fair few cheesy parts of which i thought could have been left out and towards the end a few 'that was obvious' moments but all in all a decent film in which i engaged with the characters. Well worth a watch, though i would catch it whilst still in 3D or else you will miss at least a third of its appeal.

 

8/10

[St Landrew]

Star Trek - Nemesis

 

In the last of the films that the TNG have made and, I think, ever will, they go into battle facing a clone of Picard; hence the title of Nemesis. The good points are the usual photography and special effects. But another usual is the TNG cast, who really can't seem to shift their arses anymore. Patrick Stewart is doing his stage overacting again, and the rest are as wooden as hell. Tom Hardy, the actor who plays Picard's nemesis - Shinzon, is the only one who seems to be making an effort. He's actually pretty good as the baddie, and stands out like a sore thumb amidst people who should either be getting behind the camera and staying there, or getting bit parts in Casualty and Holby City. A sci-fi adventure without much spark, IMO.

 

At least there's nothing between me now and another watch of the latest film, edition of Star Trek, made last year.

[Sheaf Saint]

Shutter Island

 

Off work for a few days after a minor operation and decided to watch a hot copy of this film that a friend furnished me with last week.

 

I'll start by stating that I really used to hate Leonardo Di Caprio. He was really annoying in Titanic and completely ruined The Beach for me, but my opinion of him has changed somewhat over the last few years after seeing him in some really good roles, noticeably Blood Diamond which I thought was brilliant.

 

I had no idea what this film was about so went into it completely blind if you like. That's always good I find because otherwise you may have certain expectations which may probably never be met. So it starts off as a seemingly simple detective movie with Di Caprio playing the part of a US Marshal in the 1950s sent with his partner to investigate the disappearance of a patient at a mental institution on a remote island only accessible by a ferry. As it goes on it becomes evident that He has a personal interest in taking this case due to past traumas that he has suffered, and it soon becomes obvious that the staff at the facility are not being entirely truthful with regards to the disappearance.

 

From this point, I can't really say any more because it will totally ruin the fantastic story which unfolds thereafter. Suffice to say that what ensues is very unexpected and that LDC plays the part superbly. This is a film that will confuse the hell out of you for a while but keep you totally engrossed until you finally realise exactly what is going on.

 

8.5/10

[St Landrew]

Also to St Landrew, if you like all things Spacey (as do i, does he ever do a bad film ??) watch The life and times of david gayle absolutely superb film IMO. I also really liked K PAx personally.

 

Yeah, I will give K-Pax another go, and your other recommendation. Never seen The Life and Times of David Gayle . I have a copy of K-Pax, so I might as well use it. As to whether Kevin Spacey makes the odd bad film, well yes, I think he does, but he is never poor in any of them himself. It's remarkable that he is so good at film, when he is first and foremost a stage actor.

Edited 25 March, 2010 by St Landrew

[bpsaint]

Agreed. Spacey is a f*cking brilliant actor. The Life of David Gale was another of my favourites by him.

 

A brilliant film that seems to have completely slipped under the radar as far as Hollywood goes.

[St Landrew]

Star Trek [iX]

 

OK, so it's only been less than a year since I first saw it, but it still has that bite in it that the worst other ST films are missing. It's noticeable that, although the actors are changed, the roles they play are entirely familiar, and so this film isn't the culture shock one expects it to be. Yes, it is more like Star Wars in its pace, but that series never had the gravitas [pun not intended] either, despite the... may the force be with you, bullsh!t.

 

I won't go into the story, as plenty of people will have not seen this one yet, but suffice to say, the writers must have spent long nights trying to get the plot to fit into the Star Trek canon, without seeming to be improbable, and they almost managed it. I can imagine one of them suddenly shouting, Eureka..! I've got it... before explaining a story outline where the lives of Kirk and Spock, etc... are sent off in a different direction in an alternate timeline. It means that all the original Star Treks are in place, and the writers can, in future sequels, pretty much do as they please, whilst occasionally dipping back into the Star Trek of old, and having a fine set of rules to run by. Add in a ready made and captive audience, if they play their cards right, and this series could run and run. But hopefully not too much more like Luke.

[St Landrew]

Ali [2001]

 

Can't believe this is the first time I've watched this. I recorded it off the TV a couple of years ago, and finally burned it to a DVD. Basically, it's a dramatisation of When We Were Kings and One Punch Too Many, which, if you've seen the genuine footage they use, this fills in the gaps, and makes the whole scenario just that bit more approachable and human. It's impressive, as anything about Mohammed Ali would be. But the real stand out is Will Smith, who positively lives and breathes his performance. He has Ali's voice and mannerisms almost perfect, and the rest is a mixture of pure theatre and history. Good film.

[badgerx16]

Currently got Apollo 13 on TV - the best project management training film ever made; "We want you to take the flight plan-------and tear the cover off".

[saint_bert]

Bruno. Was funny 8/10

[St Landrew]

K-PAX

 

Well I don't know what I was doing the last time I watched this film, but whatever it was, it must have distracted me really badly. I gave it the full attention this time, and it's a little better, to say the least. As some people have pointed out to my previous comments, K-PAX is a much better film than I gave it credit for. It's still not utterly brilliant, because it loses its intensity every so often, and intensity is what helps keep it watchable. There is also that little hope one has that Kevin Spacey's character is exactly what he says he is, and as the film progresses, the hope gets bigger and smaller. Is he Prot, or is he Robert Porter, or is he both..? And where did Bess go..?

 

As we've recently got together the unofficial Kevin Spacey appreciation society here, I suppose I ought to give some credit to Jeff Bridges, who acts his head off to keep up with Spacey; and carries it off as well. It's the best I've seen him do for quite some time, IMO. Spacey is totally convincing, as usual, and makes the part entirely his own. You actually wonder who else could play it so well. Imagine if the lead roles were reversed..?

 

All right, K-PAX is a lot better, than I thought. Now go and give Master & Commander the attention it deserves, Ponty.

[BLINK]

master and commander is utterly brilliant. Crowe in his best performance.

[Marsdinho]

Eagle Vs Shark:

 

Stars Jermaine Clement of Flight Of the Conchords fame, funny film if you are into the kind of humour that its based around. I am, so I liked it.

 

8/10 - The fight scene at the end is FAF.

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0494222/

[St Landrew]

Amistad

 

Been saving this for years. Every time someone has offered me the DVD to borrow, I've turned it down until I was in the mood for it. Then it came on TV last year, and so I recorded it. Well late night I decided to watch it. Can't honestly say it held me in thrawl. Sure it is good, but my expectations were high, and it got nowhere near them.

 

Acting wise, it was very uneven, IMO. I guess I don't how a kidnapped negro from a far land would behave, but by god, Djimon Hounsou gives something like the account of it I would imagine. There's the faintest touch of the token noble savage about it, but it is so powerful as to blow that away. He's brilliant, and steals every scene he's in. Matthew McConaughey is the only other one who comes out of this with any other credit, really. He's very good, and just shows that he can do thoughtful stuff and not just fast action adventure. I noticed most of the ugly or nasty US characters that were up front were played by English actors. I wonder why Hollywood does this..? Do they think they'll harm any US actors careers if they are asked to play characters from America's less than savoury parts of history, or do US actors turn these parts down..? Anyway, an uncaring ninth US President was played invisibly by Nigel Hawthorne, and the prosecuting attorney was played OK by Pete Postlethwaite. Talking about invisibility, Morgan Freeman must have done all his acting while I was blinking, because all he seemed to do was stare back at the captives, and get John Quincy Adams to refuse to help the cause, time and again. Which brings me onto Anthony Hopkins as Adams. I don't know why, but I can never get my head around Hopkins mechanical caricature way of acting. Why doesn't he just do it, instead of trying to be a bloody chameleon..? Suffice to say, he added nothing for me, and his trial ending speech had very little impact.

 

Perhaps because this was based on fact, and tried to keep close to the original story, there actually was as little drama as there appeared to be. Nobody, apart from the two mentioned above, seemed to actually give a sh!t, and so consequently, above and beyond the rightful injustice of the historical event, neither did I. In all honesty, I started to nod off. Oh dear.

[Marsdinho]

Papillon:

 

Good prison film, Hoffman and McQueen are excellent.

 

7/10