Monte Carlo Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 (edited) OK, so I saw Rocknrolla last night. Genre: Typical Guy Ritchie London crime caper Monte Score: 7.5/10 Best comedy villains: The two bondage-loving Russian ex-commandos who spend a lot of time comparing scars I have to open this short review by admitting that I am a big fan of both Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. Ritchie drives a lot of people up the wall with his alleged adulation of London's criminal classes, which I can see, but I view him as the bastard offspring of the Ealing comedies, Carry On movies and hard-arsed 1970's crime drama. Rocknrolla is already a period piece: it opens during the climax of the London property boom (i.e. the summer of 2007) where Lennie, a London gangster is embroiled in a number of planning scams for crooked property developers. People laughed at this when the movie was launched on D-Day +1 of the property crash, but if you were living in London in late 2007 you'd recognise the sleezy aura of money and greed is simply indicative of it's time. So it's no biggie. The plot concerns Russian kleptocrats, small-time villains, a washed-up junkie pop star who happens to be Lennie's stepson (a roman a clef I suspect, because he's a bit like Pete Doherty) and a beautiful accountant (Thandie Newton) with too much time on her hands and terminal ennui. There's also a classic Maguffin (a Russian icon) that is clearly trying to compete with Marcellus Wallace's mysterious briefcase from Pulp Fiction. Gerard Butler is one of the small time villains. I like him, he's an easy to watch screen presence although I expect him to scream SPARTA! at any second and run around in his swimming trunks. He gets involved in two robberies. There's also a subplot about who's informing for the police, the aforementioned Russian ex-commando hitmen and one of the wittiest sex scenes I've ever seen in a film (it's completely chaste). Is it ground-breaking or astonishingly original? No. It's actually less stylised than either of his two previous London crime movies, except for some obvious Tarantino-esque genuflection. Is it a well-made, stylish movie that does exactly what it says on the tin with a superb cast of character actors? Hell, yes, and for this alone it comes recommended. Cheers MC Edited March 5, 2009 by Monte Carlo
Asol Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Did anyone else bother to watch W? I saw it a while ago, I was suprised that Oliver Stone chose to go gentle with Bush. Or at least he didn't really seem to wanna bash him in particular. I got the feel through the movie that George W. Bush was just a simple guy from Texas, not particularly bright, but not outright stupid either. And I felt kinda sorry for him in the end, because the movie potrays his failing abilities as a consequence of the enormous responsibility and being pulled/manipulated in every direction, by advisors who do think he's an idiot and want to push their own agenda through. So I think it's good, but mostly because I knew nothing of the guy except what he said and did as president. I thought most of the same. The player is a bit too burly for bush though, the guy could have played or have been playing Brett Farve or something all of the representations were rather hammy. Also they made a point of incorporating some of his famous one liners and miss speakings but no fish remark At least superficially it was highly promotional towards him. It also has triple threat Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush. All deception is self deception all hypnosis is auto-hypnosis
Shryke Posted March 6, 2009 Posted March 6, 2009 watchmen bit perturbed about the glowing blue **** dangling all over the place, but otherwise an awesome movie when your mind works against you - fight back with substance abuse!
Gorgon Posted March 8, 2009 Posted March 8, 2009 Monty Python's the meaning of life. It's the only film in existence with musical acts I can stand watching, also the best Python movie bar none. Na na na na na na ... greg358 from Darksouls 3 PVP is a CHEATER. That is all.
Amentep Posted March 8, 2009 Posted March 8, 2009 Watchmen; given that no adaption is going to be perfect (that's why it exists in its original media), I thought they did a decent job adapting the story to the screen. Not perfect, but what is? I cannot - yet I must. How do you calculate that? At what point on the graph do "must" and "cannot" meet? Yet I must - but I cannot! ~ Ro-Man
theslug Posted March 8, 2009 Posted March 8, 2009 (edited) Layer Cake Saw a good portion of this movie a long time ago and was pretty interested in it and finally got to watch it completely. Daniel Craig is a nameless mid level drug dealer who becomes the middle man in series of complex and botched circumstances. It's set in the UK so some of the dialogue is tough to read through making the film a little tougher to decipher but there's a characteristic of English films that appeal to me so it's just something you gotta deal with. Either way, it was a pretty good movie. Good story, good sound (some of the music choices were a little odd but it all fit well), good style, not a whole lot of action but it was never boring either so I gotta say I really enjoyed it. Also I want to say the ending irked me but it really didn't. I shall give Layer Cake a solid 8.9 out of 10. Edited March 8, 2009 by theslug There was a time when I questioned the ability for the schizoid to ever experience genuine happiness, at the very least for a prolonged segment of time. I am no closer to finding the answer, however, it has become apparent that contentment is certainly a realizable goal. I find these results to be adequate, if not pleasing. Unfortunately, connection is another subject entirely. When one has sufficiently examined the mind and their emotional constructs, connection can be easily imitated. More data must be gleaned and further collated before a sufficient judgment can be reached.
Oerwinde Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 Saw Watchmen. Next to Sin City probably the most faithful adaption ever. There was the odd thing missing, but the Directors Cut is sposed to be like 40 minutes longer, so that will likely fill in all the parts that were missing. I quite enjoyed it, nicely shot, great effects, decent acting all around. The area between the balls and the butt is a hotbed of terrorist activity.
Kor Qel Droma Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 I caught the late show for Watchmen as well. It was good, but I think it would have been better if they had stuck with the squid ending. Jaguars4ever is still alive. No word of a lie.
Deadly_Nightshade Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 I caught the late show for Watchmen as well. It was good, but I think it would have been better if they had stuck with the squid ending. Meh. Maybe, but i doubt many non-purists would have liked it. "Geez. It's like we lost some sort of bet and ended up saddled with a bunch of terrible new posters on this forum." -Hurlshot
Gorgon Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 Campbell's best work is on Hercules/Xena. Bubba Ho Tep was okay to good. Some parts were amazing. Bruce nailed his part for the most part. Evil dead 1 and 2 (essentially exactly the same movies) are hilarious, army of Darkness is merely ok. And don't forget Brisco County Jr. Hercules and Zena slipped past my radar because, well, I'm not 13 years old. Na na na na na na ... greg358 from Darksouls 3 PVP is a CHEATER. That is all.
Gfted1 Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 Brisco County Jr. That was set in the old West, right? I remember liking that show quite a bit. "I'm your biggest fan, Ill follow you until you love me, Papa"
taks Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 i've been pretty happy with campbell's work on burn notice. he fits the character rather well, IMO. last thursday's ending was pretty good to boot! taks comrade taks... just because.
Trenitay Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 Burn Notice is fantasic. Hey now, my mother is huge and don't you forget it. The drunk can't even get off the couch to make herself a vodka drenched sandwich. Octopus suck.
Volourn Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 Decoys 1 & 2: Decent non horror horror flicks with B00BIES! DWARVES IN PROJECT ETERNITY = VOLOURN HAS PLEDGED $250.
Amentep Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 I caught the late show for Watchmen as well. It was good, but I think it would have been better if they had stuck with the squid ending. The screenwriter said in an interview that he changed the end because he didn't figure scenes of streets full of dead bodies and blood in NY would work in post-9/11 US so they went with what they felt would be equitable to the books end but with a different kind of destruction There are some things I wish the end did differently, but I'm not sure I'm bugged by the lack of the squid . I cannot - yet I must. How do you calculate that? At what point on the graph do "must" and "cannot" meet? Yet I must - but I cannot! ~ Ro-Man
Kor Qel Droma Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 I'll admit I wanted to see the carnage of the aftershock of the original ending. But I guess I wasn't comfortable with Dr. Manhattan being vilified. Besides, what would the world powers be able to do against him? Nothing, most likely. The alien ending satisfies me more. Then again, old Blue **** wasn't much human anymore. Anyhoo, very good flick. Jaguars4ever is still alive. No word of a lie.
Calax Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 Watchmen... There was a lot of imagry that you could find (Davinci, last supper and portrait of man among others). It was probably one of the better movies I've seen recently. Of course that doesn't say much, all I've seen in the recent times has been Taken, Pink Panther2 and this. I think I liked it more than Dark Knight because the characters weren't all black or white. Of course I did love the line "Adrian, I'm disappointed in you" Victor of the 5 year fan fic competition! Kevin Butler will awesome your face off.
CoM_Solaufein Posted March 10, 2009 Posted March 10, 2009 The new Indiana Jones movie. I finally bought it on DVD. They should have done this years ago when Ford was still in his prime. Seeing him doing this as an old man is just sad. Nice to see Marion back. War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is StrengthBaldur's Gate moddingTeamBGBaldur's Gate modder/community leaderBaldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition beta testerBaldur's Gate 2 - Enhanced Edition beta tester Icewind Dale - Enhanced Edition beta tester
I want teh kotor 3 Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Watchmen. Utterly amazing. In 7th grade, I teach the students how Chuck Norris took down the Roman Empire, so it is good that you are starting early on this curriculum. R.I.P. KOTOR 2003-2008 KILLED BY THOSE GREEDY MONEY-HOARDING ************* AND THEIR *****-*** MMOS
Kor Qel Droma Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 I'm about halfway through the boxset of Band Of Brothers. I'm really enjoying it so far. Jaguars4ever is still alive. No word of a lie.
Deraldin Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 I had a sudden urge to watch Bourne Supremacy last night so I stayed up late to watch that. Now I want to see Ultimatum again, but I don't have that one on DVD.
Amentep Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 Watched DARK FLOORS the Lordi film. It had a nice premise, but I could kinda tell by how the story progressed what was going to end up happening. I cannot - yet I must. How do you calculate that? At what point on the graph do "must" and "cannot" meet? Yet I must - but I cannot! ~ Ro-Man
Gfted1 Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 Marvel delays superhero movie dates Mar 12, 7:53 AM (ET) 9 NEW YORK (AP) - Fans of "The Avengers" will have to wait a little longer to see their favorite superheroes on the big screen. Marvel Entertainment Inc. (MVL) (MVL) said Thursday it will debut the flick on May 4, 2012, nearly a year after its previous launch date of July 15, 2011. "The Avengers," which features a team of comic book characters, will be the culmination of a series of movies based on individual Marvel characters that will be released leading up to it. "Iron Man 2" will launch on May 7, 2010, as scheduled. It will be followed by "Thor" on June 17, 2011, instead of its previously planned release date of July 16, 2010. "The First Avenger: Captain America" is now coming out on July 22, 2011 instead of May 6, 2011. Separately, Marvel confirmed that "Spider-Man 4" from Sony Pictures Entertainment, is slated to hit theaters on May 6, 2011. The new schedule "maximizes the visibility of our single character-focused films, leading to the highly anticipated release of the multi-character 'The Avengers,'" said David Maisel, chairman of Marvel Studios, in a statement. "I'm your biggest fan, Ill follow you until you love me, Papa"
Calax Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 Marvel delays superhero movie dates Mar 12, 7:53 AM (ET) 9 NEW YORK (AP) - Fans of "The Avengers" will have to wait a little longer to see their favorite superheroes on the big screen. Marvel Entertainment Inc. (MVL) (MVL) said Thursday it will debut the flick on May 4, 2012, nearly a year after its previous launch date of July 15, 2011. "The Avengers," which features a team of comic book characters, will be the culmination of a series of movies based on individual Marvel characters that will be released leading up to it. "Iron Man 2" will launch on May 7, 2010, as scheduled. It will be followed by "Thor" on June 17, 2011, instead of its previously planned release date of July 16, 2010. "The First Avenger: Captain America" is now coming out on July 22, 2011 instead of May 6, 2011. Separately, Marvel confirmed that "Spider-Man 4" from Sony Pictures Entertainment, is slated to hit theaters on May 6, 2011. The new schedule "maximizes the visibility of our single character-focused films, leading to the highly anticipated release of the multi-character 'The Avengers,'" said David Maisel, chairman of Marvel Studios, in a statement. Bah, I hate to say it but you can't really do team books in movies without having half the characters have minuscule personalities. Victor of the 5 year fan fic competition! Kevin Butler will awesome your face off.
Gfted1 Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 Yeah, I was just happy to see Iron Man 2 and Spiderman 4 still on schedule. Captain American and Thor are of slight interest and The Avengers not at all. "I'm your biggest fan, Ill follow you until you love me, Papa"
Recommended Posts