The Desert Colossus

Because Whocares loves his movies and it's not really necessary to start a new topic every time because it all boils down to the same thing.

So, because hitting up Wikipedia would help destroy the point of this thread, can someone explain the premise of "The Book of Eli" to me?  It looks interesting, if only because it has Denzel Washington in it, but, as Mags will be quick to point out, never trust a trailer. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NeverTrustATrailer)

From what I have heard it's basically a Mad Max ripoff.

Also, here are the fifteen movies I bought today. So, like, rate the ones you have seen and stuff. I included my ratings, and put BB for the ones I blind bought.

• The Abyss (BB)
  
• The Big Sleep (BB)
  
• Dial M for Murder (BB)
  
• The Cowboys (BB)
  
• Fort Apache (8/10)
  
• Gone with the Wind (9/10)
  
• Jeremiah Johnson (8/10)
  
• Lawrence of Arabia (9/10)
  
• The Maltese Falcon (8/10)
  
• McCabe & Mrs. Miller (10/10)
  
• The Postman Always Rings Twice (BB)
  
• Rio Bravo (9/10)
  
• The Searchers (10/10)
  
• The Train Robbers (BB)
  
• The Wild Bunch (BB)

Finished The Abyss, and however much of a mess the plot, concerning underwater divers attempting to remove nuclear missiles from a submarine and their encounters with aliens, is (especially the theatrical cut) I must say I think it's my favorite James Cameron film. It's probably his most technically accomplished, too, considering much of the scenes are either underwater or in partially flooded rooms, and the special effects have held up very well. 7/10

Quote from: Whocares on January 24, 2010, 01:36:09 PM
From what I have heard it's basically a Mad Max ripoff.

Yeah, I never watched that, so that doesn't really help me any.

They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? has updated its list of the 250 most acclaimed films of the new millenium. (http://www.theyshootpictures.com/21stcentury_films1-50.htm) I'm sure several of you will be happy to know that The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, A Serious Man, Up, The Dark Knight, and Slumdog Millionaire have entered the list, while others like Spirited Away increased in rank. (It's now #6!) The reason Avatar probably hasn't made it is because it was released very late in the year, when many best-of-decade and best-of-year lists were already released. Just wait 'till next year, though.

I, for one, am happy to see four of my five favorites of the decade (In order of rank, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Elephant, Russian Ark, and Moolaade) have increased in rank. (Waking Life was the one that decreased.)

Also, as of right now only thirty movies from the previous decade are on the website's 1,000 Most Acclaimed Films list.

Post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller film series from late-70's/early-80's Australia the brought Mel Gibson to international fame.

Seriously, Whocares, just as with Jdog and his constant topic creation to discuss music, one thread to discuss movies ought to do just fine, and I have one down in the Chatboard.  If you want, we can get it stickied and moved to this board.

Yeah, I might be a bit obsessed with neat organization.

Technically speaking, this is about a list, not a movie.  :P

One, it's a list about movies, which can be discussed in list format in the Supermovie thread.

Two, did you already forget about your first "Most Acclaimed Films List" thread?  It's not even on the second page of the GD, and it's more or less the same thing.

Three (because there's always a three), see my last post.

So should I just merge this with the Supermovie Topic or lock this? Admittedly, I'm too lazy to merge it. :P

yeah that really doesn't... expand plot there, wc. just so we're clear on that.

On the other hand, I just got finished watching the best movie ever. It's called MEGA SHARK VS. GIANT OCTOPUS.

This is a stunning example of 2009-era special effects (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBizgLZX7W0). (he shouts HOLY *EXPLETIVE DELETED* at the beginning; be warned)

Merge it.

Saw three movies today:

• The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) From Billy Wilder, director of Sunset Blvd. and Some Like It Hot. It's probably the best Holmes film. Known best for a hilarious scene where Holmes pretends to be gay with Watson so he doesn't offend a woman trying to hit on him. 9/10
  
• Bend of the River (1952) Awesome old Jimmy Stewart western, shot beautifully on location in the northwestern mountains. 9/10
  
• The Nutty Professor (1963) The most famous movie of Jerry Lewis' career concerns a clumsy professor who transforms himself into a hunk in order to get the girl of his dreams. Sometimes rather juvenille, but overall funny and smart. 8/10

Blargh, okay.

EDIT: Merged. Go back to your lives, citizens.

About the Mad Max trilogy, Part 2: The Road Warrior (considered the best of the trilogy) will be on Encore Action at 10:30 am Eastern Time Zone, for those who have the Encore channels. I'll update this post when I'm done watching it to tell you what I think about it.

• Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) A classic example of how above-average 80's scifi has become lauded as a masterpiece. Look, just because it's more technically well-made than most of the other scifi films of the decade doesn't make it a masterpiece. It is still loud, noisy, testosterone driven, unintelligent, and hopelessly aimed at an almost entirely male demographic, and it has some of the gayest looking "cool" futuristic costumes I've ever seen. Also, let's be honest, do we even HAVE characters here, rather than things? 5/10

By the way, I just saw "Book of Eli" yesterday, and I found it more enjoyable than I expected. It could have been deeper in some parts given the setting of the plot, but is actually well driven.
At first I thought it was going to be a Mad Max ripoff, but there is more to the movie than you might think.

Saw The Last Picture Show (1971), Peter Bogdanovich's controversial look at small-town life in the early 1950s that predates American Beauty by almost 30 years. Still, I'm somewhat mixed. The cast is awesome, and though I'm not an expert on 1950s American small-town life, I guess its presentation of the transition towards the modern era at the time is fairly accurate. Still, it's even more sexual than American Beauty, so much so it often felt pornographic, and I couldn't help but feel that it was somewhat contrived. Overall, I liked it, but it isn't the masterpiece people often make it out to be. 6/10

Also, got finished watching Groundhog Day for the billionth time. LLLLOOOOVVVVEEEE it. 10/10

Quote from: Whocares on February 02, 2010, 12:30:55 PM
Also, got finished watching Groundhog Day for the billionth time. LLLLOOOOVVVVEEEE it. 10/10

Oooh, yeah. Good movie, that. Epic character development.

I just saw Avatar. Freakin' awesome. Definitely a must-see, guys. It was gorgeous, and the story, while admittedly not really unique, is told in such a way that it feels brand-new. As for any paralells between Avatar and Dances With Wolves, well, I've never seen the latter, so don't ask if I noticed any.

Last week, I saw The Lovely Bones. I thought it was a very well made movie, and my Mom, who read the book, enjoyed it as well, in spite of the "why the heck did they change that?"-style alterations that are present in every book-based movie. You know, the really stupid changes that were made for seemingly no reason -- like, for example, one character's hair is dark in a film when it was blond in the book it was based on. The kind of things that don't need to be changed but are for some reason.

Prior to that, I saw three Coen brothers movies: Raising Arizona, Fargo, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?  All were great and very enjoyable. Raising Arizona has a highly-enjoyable story with a good flavor of humor. Nicolas Cage plays his part well! Fargo -- now that's a great movie. I can definitely see why it's considered such a classic. Very well-written script, excellent characters, and great acting. Wonderful! O Brother, Where Art Thou?, based on Homer's Odyssey, does a fantastic job of illustrating a Dustbowl-era South, from the landscaping and the soundtrack employed to the cultural cues and fashion. Recommended!

Quote from: Edward Elric on February 02, 2010, 11:28:24 PM
Last week, I saw The Lovely Bones. I thought it was a very well made movie, and my Mom, who read the book, enjoyed it as well, in spite of the "why the heck did they change that?"-style alterations that are present in every book-based movie. You know, the really stupid changes that were made for seemingly no reason -- like, for example, one character's hair is dark in a film when it was blond in the book it was based on. The kind of things that don't need to be changed but are for some reason.

That's why I like watching the "making of" specials some DVDs come with.

The Lovely Bones is a movie of the book?  Hm, I'll have to see if I can't find the book and read it before I watch the movie.  But it'll have to wait until I finish Lord of Chaos, A Crown of Swords, and Rhapsody.

Quote from: MagmarFire on February 02, 2010, 05:43:15 PMOooh, yeah. Good movie, that. Epic character development.

Don't you just love how he must have spent 100 years worth of Groundhog Days doing everything he did?

Quote from: Edward Elric on February 02, 2010, 11:28:24 PM
I just saw Avatar. Freakin' awesome. Definitely a must-see, guys. It was gorgeous, and the story, while admittedly not really unique, is told in such a way that it feels brand-new. As for any paralells between Avatar and Dances With Wolves, well, I've never seen the latter, so don't ask if I noticed any.

Last week, I saw The Lovely Bones. I thought it was a very well made movie, and my Mom, who read the book, enjoyed it as well, in spite of the "why the heck did they change that?"-style alterations that are present in every book-based movie. You know, the really stupid changes that were made for seemingly no reason -- like, for example, one character's hair is dark in a film when it was blond in the book it was based on. The kind of things that don't need to be changed but are for some reason.

Prior to that, I saw three Coen brothers movies: Raising Arizona, Fargo, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?  All were great and very enjoyable. Raising Arizona has a highly-enjoyable story with a good flavor of humor. Nicolas Cage plays his part well! Fargo -- now that's a great movie. I can definitely see why it's considered such a classic. Very well-written script, excellent characters, and great acting. Wonderful! O Brother, Where Art Thou?, based on Homer's Odyssey, does a fantastic job of illustrating a Dustbowl-era South, from the landscaping and the soundtrack employed to the cultural cues and fashion. Recommended!

Dances with Wolves has the exact same problems Avatar has been said to have (pretentious, White Messiah, Noble Savages, overlong, preachy, simplified, and several others) but I really liked it as an adventure film that doesn't rely so much on action as it does on mood.

I've pretty much heard nothing but bad things about The Lovely Bones (except praise for Ronan's and Tucci's performances), most of them about the abrupt genre changes or complaints about it being over-produced. Still, I was very bored by Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Well, I haven't seen Part 2, but I've seen enough) so I can't say it's on my to-see list for 2009.

As for the Coen Brothers, I've seen Fargo, No Country for Old Men, and Burn After Reading and I don't liked either of them. Their films, to me, basically feel like stuck-up film school fare, the characters are pretty thin, and loaded down with false philosophies (especially No Country for Old Men)

Quote from: Whocares on February 03, 2010, 03:28:25 PM
I've pretty much heard nothing but bad things about The Lovely Bones (except praise for Ronan's and Tucci's performances), most of them about the abrupt genre changes or complaints about it being over-produced. Still, I was very bored by Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Well, I haven't seen Part 2, but I've seen enough) so I can't say it's on my to-see list for 2009.

As for the Coen Brothers, I've seen Fargo, No Country for Old Men, and Burn After Reading and I don't liked either of them. Their films, to me, basically feel like stuck-up film school fare, the characters are pretty thin, and loaded down with false philosophies (especially No Country for Old Men)

Life is full of abrupt genre changes.  Why can't a movie reflect that?

As for the Coen Brothers, I haven't seen the first two, but like I said about Burn After Reading, it could have been a good movie if they actually took the time to finish the movie properly.  Instead of seeing the final events unfold, we're told about it; it didn't bring me the closure I'm sure the Coen Brothers were hoping for.

Quote from: Winry Rockbell on February 04, 2010, 07:31:23 AM
Life is full of abrupt genre changes.  Why can't a movie reflect that?

Because it is inconsistent. Duh.  :P

Also, created a poll for 2009's Oscars. Vote for what you think should win, and stuff. Unless it has to do with the Oscars, I'll keep any movie discussion here, though.

Quote from: Whocares on February 03, 2010, 03:28:25 PM
Don't you just love how he must have spent 100 years worth of Groundhog Days doing everything he did?

At least. Knowing what goes on every single second and learning about every single person, along with learning a whole buttload of things to try to impress Rita, such as French poetry and ice sculpting, makes a century seem like only a wedge of the cheese.

And obviously, I like it more due to the parallels I can draw between it and Majora's Mask. :P It really does make it quite apparent that MM was influenced by it, to the point where learning about everyone's schedule, down to the last minute, during a particular cycle becomes a gameplay concept!

I really liked groundhog day.

I wanna put Monty Python and the Holy Grail on this supermovie thread along with

Napolean Dynamite
and
Kung Pow - Enter the fist

Finally saw Memento (2000). I'm going to agree with its detractors that the complex narrative style (which is so confusing I won't tell you about it, so anyone who does not know what it is about can start fresh) is hiding a really messy film with an absurd plot. However, the point here is to make such a narratively experimental film that we're more concerned with solving it all than about realism, and Guy Pearce gives an awesome performance. I much prefer this to director Nolan's later The Dark Knight. 7/10

Recent viewing:

1. Andrei Rublev (1966) - The great Andrei Tarkovsky's second feature is about the 15th century icon painter, but uses that as a building point for the difficulty of maintaining religion in the material world, and the tragedies many artists face. It can be difficult, but it's certainly a masterpiece. 10/10

2. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) - Woody Allen's most famous film of the 1980's. It follows Hannah, her two sisters, and the two men that cross their paths several times. It's very funny, insightful, and well-acted enough that you'll forgive the usual worship of the Allen character. 9/10

3. The Stranger (1946) - The third movie of Orson Welles' career, after Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons. Welles plays an ex-Nazi hiding in Connecticut that must conceal his identity from a federal agent. The script is a mess, and it's somewhat empty compared to Welles' other films, but The Stranger is still an original and involving noir thriller. 8/10

4. The Cat Returns (2002) - Another gem of a family film from Studio Ghibli, this one directed by Hiroyuki Kondo. A girl saves the prince of the Cat Kingdom, accidentally ends up become engaged to him, and is rescued by the Baron statue and the cat Moon from previous Ghibli film Whisper of the Heart. While as a piece of storytelling this faulters compared to their best, this is mostly just fun spectacle, and it succeeds at that. 7/10

5. Tales from Earthsea (2006) - Hayao Miyazaki's son Goro's debut feature is a huge disappointment, and Ghibli's only failure to date. The characters are all built around the barest of emotions, and there is so much plot in such little time (only two hours) that things rarely make much sense. Even though Ghibli has some of the best animation in the entire industry, the quality here somewhat bottom of the barrel for them. 3/10

One of the new characters being introduced in Toy Story 3 is one of the cutest things I have ever seen! (http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=63017)  :D

I have seen:

• Bright Star 10/10
  
• The Class 9/10
  
• District 9 6/10
  
• Fantastic Mr. Fox 7/10
  
• Gomorrah 7/10
  
• The Hurt Locker 3/10
  
• Moon 8/10
  
• Ponyo 8/10
  
• Two Lovers 9/10
  
  I still have to see:
  
  1. 24 City
  2. 35 Shots of Rum
  3. (500) Days of Summer
  4. 9
  5. Anvil! The Story of Anvil
  6. Avatar
  7. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
  8. The Beaches of Agnes
  9. Broken Embraces
  10. Burma VJ
  11. Coraline
  12. The Cove
  13. Il Divo
  14. An Education
  15. Flame & Citron
  16. The Headless Woman
  17. In the Loop
  18. Inglourious Basterds
  19. The Limits of Control
  20. Mary and Max
  21. Munyurangabo
  22. Night and Day
  23. Of Time and the City
  24. Police, Adjective
  25. Precious
  26. Red Cliff
  27. Revanche
  28. The Road
  29. A Serious Man
  30. Sin Nombre
  31. A Single Man
  32. Still Walking
  33. Summer Hours
  34. The Sun
  35. Three Monkeys
  36. Tokyo Sonata
  37. Tokyo!
  38. Up
  39. Up in the Air
  40. Where the Wild Things Are
  41. The White Ribbon
  
  Recommend me some you think I would like, or want me to see.
  
  Also, this list includes non-2009 films first given a theatrical release in the US during 2009. (Such as Red Cliff and The Hurt Locker)

Moving to the Supermovie topic.

I was working yesterday after the garage closed down, and I was out zoning in the electronics. I came across "Dante's Inferno" the Animated epic, and I swear I almost bought it. It looked awesome, and has a cool story. I should see if I can't find it online. Has anyone seen Wolf Man yet? It looks a little cliché, but worth watching.

Wolf Man has been getting very awful reviews.

Which, depending on where the reviews came from, doesn't mean you shouldn't go see it for yourself.  Myself, I tend to ignore "professional" critics.

As for Wolf Man, judging by the trailers, I have no desire to see it.

Yes, Mags, I know that trailers lie (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NeverTrustATrailer), but they're not lying good enough.

Speaking from experience, reviews in general are a very poor indication of how much any one person will enjoy a movie. Or, for that matter, any reviewed material. In addition to differing tastes, some reviewers are biased from the outset for or against whatever they're reviewing, and as such will do their best to either justify or completely gloss over shortcomings in the film or downplay or even outright trash things the film does well. Again, this doesn't apply only to movies. This has taught me to more-or-less ignore "critics", so-called, and judge a movie/game/whatever based on my own tastes and storytelling preferences.

You know how I decide whether or not to check out material? By how interesting it looks to me. Trailers, Wikipedia-crawling, however I come across them. Then I'll research it more and see if it sounds like something I would enjoy. And you know something? By doing this, I've very rarely come across any material I didn't enjoy, and the only times I have are when I didn't put much effort into researching it (Killzone 2, for example). Critics and their reviews play a minimal part in the process when they're involved at all.

To be fair, critics are helpful when it comes to reviewing things like electronics, because you can't really be biased when it comes to those without making it totally obvious, at which point most people would write off your review as useless anyways.

Everyone is biased. It's just that critics are hired to be biased. Besides, most critics know more than the average person about what they're talking about, and considering the very large number of average reviews for a typical wide-release film, you get a very wide base of opinions, several liking different and hating things about it than others. So, generally speaking, you should read reviews if you actually care about whatever medium of art/entertainment you've encountered. You'll probably learn a lot more about it than you first thought.

Also, it helps if you find critics who have very similar taste to you.

Although, I disagree with critical majority several times myself. For example, yesterday I saw The Hurt Locker, and I for one thought it was just another in an every-growing list of propaganda films disguised as anti-war films, a list that I would argue also includes acclaimed "masterpieces" like Apocalypse Now and Saving Private Ryan.

Like most US films about the Iraqi invasion, it hardly even bothers to consider what it would be like for the citizens there to be living in such turmoil. The film is shot in an annoying MTV-esque two-second-shot style with shaky camera work that attempts to bring "REALISM!!!!!" but instead looks rather on the stupid side. Additionally, the film is plagued with double-think that recalls director/critic Francois Truffaut once having said that by sheer design there is no such thing as an anti-war film, as they have to be gripping and/or involving due to the requirements of the medium; we're supposed to applaud the craftsmanship of the filmmakers and feel thrilled during the actions scenes, but at the same time shake our head at the horror of it all. Additionally, the main character is very difficult to relate to, especially when

*spoiler*

he practically tells his son he doesn't love him.

*end spoiler*

Also, most war veterans from Iraq have questioned the film's accuracy. 3/10

Saw Ponyo, finally. The animation is great, and a lot of what makes Miyazaki great is still here. However, it doesn't compare to his best. The plot is a bit too childish for anyone over seven to fully get into, and everything the characters talk about ranges from environmental and family issues to pure nonsense. I like it, but not his best. 7/10

I recently watched the French film, Un Prophète, I had wanted to see it since it came out in the UK (sometime in January I think) but the closest cinema showing it was London. So I ended up buying the DVD from the French Amazon site.
It was a bit of a struggle as I presumed that it would have the option of English subtitles (since the DVDs we get here have them in about 5 different EU languages) which it didn't! So then I thought well it will have French subtitles right because I have studied French for a while and can read it pretty well, but no. The easiest bits for me to understand were when they spoke Arabic and Corsican because then it had French subtitles, but sadly my French is not good enough to recognize a lot of the (heavily accented) dialogue.

ANYWAY despite this it was amazing. I knew the plot previously but it still kept me utterly gripped with some brilliant scenes and Tahar Rahim was stunning as the lead, Malik. It won Best Foreign Film at the BAFTAs and I can definitely say it deserved it. 

So yeah watch if you can, I highly recommend it and I will definitely buy the UK DVD when it is released.

Quote from: AliCal on February 27, 2010, 09:15:44 AM
I recently watched the French film, Un Prophète, I had wanted to see it since it came out in the UK (sometime in January I think) but the closest cinema showing it was London. So I ended up buying the DVD from the French Amazon site.
It was a bit of a struggle as I presumed that it would have the option of English subtitles (since the DVDs we get here have them in about 5 different EU languages) which it didn't! So then I thought well it will have French subtitles right because I have studied French for a while and can read it pretty well, but no. The easiest bits for me to understand were when they spoke Arabic and Corsican because then it had French subtitles, but sadly my French is not good enough to recognize a lot of the (heavily accented) dialogue.

ANYWAY despite this it was amazing. I knew the plot previously but it still kept me utterly gripped with some brilliant scenes and Tahar Rahim was stunning as the lead, Malik. It won Best Foreign Film at the BAFTAs and I can definitely say it deserved it.  

So yeah watch if you can, I highly recommend it and I will definitely buy the UK DVD when it is released.

It just came out in the US yesterday, and I'm so renting it when it gets out on DVD. I hate when DVDs don't have subtitles, too. Lucky for me, though, most of the movies I've been watching lately are either foreign-language or so-called "artsy" stuff, so they almost always have subtitles.

Also, you're British, so maybe you have seen Happy-Go-Lucky. I just saw it earlier today, and I really liked it. Sally Hawkins was amazing. At times it was a bit too... well, happy-go-lucky for my tastes, but overall it is quite good and very funny.

Oh yeah, Roman Polanski's latest (and most likely final) film, Ghost Writer, is out. Very interested in it.

Quote from: Whocares on February 27, 2010, 12:39:16 PM


Also, you're British, so maybe you have seen Happy-Go-Lucky. I just saw it earlier today, and I really liked it. Sally Hawkins was amazing. At times it was a bit too... well, happy-go-lucky for my tastes, but overall it is quite good and very funny.

Oh yeah, Roman Polanski's latest (and most likely final) film, Ghost Writer, is out. Very interested in it.

Unfortunately I have not seen it, but it looks familiar. (Now have just looked it up, it was on TV here in December, hopefully it will be repeated, it looks like my sort of film!)

I saw The Princess and the Frog the other day (I know its been out for a while in the US) and it was so lovely. I needed something a bit lighter after A Prophet and it was just right. The music was very nice, although not very memorable, but what impressed me most was the art, it was so beautiful and the setting was perfect.

Today I booked tickets to see Avatar on Tuesday (I know I'm so late but its leaving my local cinemas on Thursday and I thought I just had to see it. Plus its my first 3D film) and Alice In Wonderland for Sunday. To be honest I don't have high hopes for Alice, but hopefully it will surprise me.

I'll get around to Avatar when it gets on DVD.

Saw my first Paul Thoman Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood) film yesterday: Punch-Drunk Love. That's right, the Adam Sandler movie his fans hate but movie buffs love! Now, there are only two times I agree with Sandler fans; the first is that The Wedding Singer is pretty good, the second is that Punch-Drunk Love sucks. This movie is so all over the place that it's hard to believe in any of the characters or situations. Additionally, I failed to laugh once. Not a total disaster, but still quite bad. 3/10

I'm currently in the midst of watching "The Invention of Lying." It's actually, so far really good, I like it.

Uh, I'm not sure what to say about it, except you should watch it. Humans never evolved the ability to lie, so everyone tells the truth until someone discovers how to lie. And yeah...

Just watch it.

In the upcoming movie Repo Men, it appears that if you can't pay for an artificial organ, which I can only assume you received to save your life, a repo man will come up to you and take it back, even if it kills you.  Does anybody else see the glaring flaw in that logic?

Quote from: Winry Rockbell on March 04, 2010, 09:29:24 AM
In the upcoming movie Repo Men, it appears that if you can't pay for an artificial organ, which I can only assume you received to save your life, a repo man will come up to you and take it back, even if it kills you.  Does anybody else see the glaring flaw in that logic?

Hmm...

I see a reverse Hayate the Combat Butler here.

Anyone else?

But I yes, I see the flaw in the logic.

Dune (1984) - The worst movie ever created, even if David Lynch directed it. No joke. 0/10

Quote from: Whocares on March 04, 2010, 05:02:28 PM
Dune (1984) - The worst movie ever created, even if David Lynch directed it. No joke. 0/10

Geeks will kill you for saying this. You know that right? At least you didn't bash the books.

Can you elaborate on why it is full of suck please?

Really? I heard the majority of fans who saw the film didn't like it. Anyway:

• It looks ugly, moving through very disgusting makeup, obscure looking sets, laughable costumes, and mediocre special effects for a big-budget film.
  
• The script is an insult to the English language. So bad, in fact, we can just throw good acting out the window from the get-go.
  
• Can anyone make any sense of the plot? The novel is supposed to be incredibly long and complex, and it's incredibly wrong-headed for a movie not even two and a half hours to try and contain all of it. Several plot points and characters simply come and go without actually amounting to anything at all.
  
• Director David Lynch and producer Dino De Laurentiis can't agree on what direction this movie should go; Lynch wanted another one of his gloriously obscure films, but Dino wanted a new Star Wars. It just ends up all over the place.
  
  I'm sure it would be a lot easier to follow if you read the books; I haven't, though, so I couldn't.

I meant geeks would linch you for bashing Dune altogether. I'm sure they hated the movie, but it's still Dune. I read part of one of the books and liked it, so long as you don't bash the books you're fine.

But yeah, judging by what you say I wouldn't like the movie.

So in honor of today's Oscars, my ten best and ten worst Best Pictures:

The Best:
1. Sunrise (1927-1928) - Sublime.
2. The Last Emperor (1987) - Visually magnificent.
3. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) - Amazingly touching.
4. Unforgiven (1992) - Powerful stuff.
5. All Quiet on the Western Front (1929-1930) - The most influential of all war films.
6. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - The desert! The desert!
7. Gone with the Wind (1939) - No one doesn't give a damn about this gem.
8. Out of Africa (1985) - Streep and Redford! What a couple!
9. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) - So what if it is innacurate?
10. Annie Hall (1977) - There's a spider in the bathroom.

The Worst:
74. Forrest Gump (1994) - Stupid is as stupid does.
75. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) - Backstage circus melodrama.
76. The Hurt Locker (2009) - OMG another bomb! Didn't see that coming...
77. Chicago (2002) - Most of the numbers are just awful.
78. Cavalcade (1932-1933) - The maid's voice is so annoying...
79. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) - I prefer playing video games to watching them.
80. Cimarron (1930-1931) - The only movie about cultural acceptance that is loaded with stereotypes.
81. No Country for Old Men (2007) - It failed to thrill me or make me think about anything.
82. Crash (2005) - Magic invisible blankets can defeat bullets!
83. Gladiator (2000) - I am not entertained!

Quote from: Whocares on March 04, 2010, 07:27:06 PM

• Can anyone make any sense of the plot? The novel is supposed to be incredibly long and complex, and it's incredibly wrong-headed for a movie not even two and a half hours to try and contain all of it. Several plot points and characters simply come and go without actually amounting to anything at all.
  
• Director David Lynch and producer Dino De Laurentiis can't agree on what direction this movie should go; Lynch wanted another one of his gloriously obscure films, but Dino wanted a new Star Wars. It just ends up all over the place.
  

Sounds like a bad case of adaptation decay. Yikes.

Also, on Dune, there are times when you randomly here what the characters are thinking during a scene.

Saw another Best Picture winner today - Shakespeare in Love. (1998) Yes, that's right, the movie that won over Saving Private Ryan. Shakespeare, while experiencing writer's block during the writing of a new play, Romeo and Julliet, falls in love with a young woman who disguises herself as a man in the Theatre in the Round. (Remember, women weren't allowed to act back then) Most of the movie is taken up by pretentious Shakespeare references (Shakespeare tells her than he loves her while she is on a balcony) and middlebrow messages about artists and underdogs and what have you. Still, the cast if fairly excellent and sometimes the film manages to be affecting, and at least it stayed true to the artist and the spirit of his material, unlike another overrated Best Picture winner, Amadeus. (1984) 5/10

I have 18 winners left to view, and plan on finishing by the end of the year. You can see what you have and have not seen on this checklist. (http://www.listsofbests.com/list/64512-best-picture-winners)

My DVD purchases today:

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) 10/10
The Far Country (1955) Blind Buy 9/10
Mulholland Dr. (2001) 9/10
My Neighbor Totoro (1988) 9/10
Two Lovers (2008) Blind Buy 9/10
Unforgiven (1992) 10/10

I love my Neighbor Totoro.

I thought most of you would enjoy this. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZuGX7-_1Yk)

Norton's list goes to show that I still really need to see Ruggles of Red Gap, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and The King of Comedy.

I saw "How to train your Dragon" last night (on a date with my new GF), and I found it pretty enjoyable! There are sme parts that kids shouldn't see however, but nothin too gruesome!

Funny movie. If your into humor, go see it.

It has dragons in it, and it's by Dreamworks.  Of course I plan on seeing it.

Did the dragon from Shrek get a cameo appearance?

Sadly, I can't say that she did. But it's still worth watching.

Quote from: Jean Havoc on April 02, 2010, 09:19:46 PM
I saw "How to train your Dragon" last night (on a date with my new GF), and I found it pretty enjoyable! There are sme parts that kids shouldn't see however, but nothin too gruesome!

Funny movie. If your into humor, go see it.

If you read the book "How to Train Your Dragon" then go see it just to see how they completely mutilated the story.

If there is anything to go on by the commercials then it's been gutted so bad 4-kids wouldn't recognize it.

Not saying it wouldn't be good. Just not true to the original story.

I mean, what happened to Toothless? He's like, 9 feet tall! He was only about 3 in the story.

XD Sorry, rambling.

Quote from: Winry Rockbell on April 02, 2010, 09:41:54 PM
It has dragons in it, and it's by Dreamworks.  Of course I plan on seeing it.

Ditto. I want to see it. :<

Quote from: Tom Satan Bombadil on April 03, 2010, 08:11:34 AM
If you read the book "How to Train Your Dragon" then go see it just to see how they completely mutilated the story.

If there is anything to go on by the commercials then it's been gutted so bad 4-kids wouldn't recognize it.

Not saying it wouldn't be good. Just not true to the original story.

I mean, what happened to Toothless? He's like, 9 feet tall! He was only about 3 in the story.

XD Sorry, rambling.

Wait, it's based on another story?

Wow, talk about epic adaptation displacement (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AdaptationDisplacement). :o

Happened to me with both Twilight and Watchmen. Sort of.

Quote from: MagmarFire on April 09, 2010, 10:15:22 PM
Wait, it's based on another story?

Wow, talk about epic adaptation displacement (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AdaptationDisplacement). :o

Yeah, i told my friend about it, he read the book and was like, "OHEMEFFGEE TIHS MOVEE SOCKS"

So yeah, I doubt the movie was horrible, but the book was better. (Usually how it is.)

I'm interested in How to Train Your Dragon - it is supposed to be the first really good movie DreamWorks has made. Although the three animated films I'm most looking forward to are The Illusionist, The Secret of Kells, and Sita Sings the Blues. Kells is out in a limited release, and Sita can be (legally!) downloaded online. I'll watch it sometime this weekend.

I saw Kick-*** yesterday and I loved it.  It was basically the best combination of hilarity and epicness that I have ever seen.  [minor spoiler]If you get a kick out of seeing a ten year-old girl slaughtering a bunch of bad guys, this movie is for you.[/spoiler]

Quote from: Darth Wyndisis on April 18, 2010, 03:49:38 PM
I saw Kick-*** yesterday and I loved it.  It was basically the best combination of hilarity and epicness that I have ever seen.  [minor spoiler]If you get a kick out of seeing a ten year-old girl slaughtering a bunch of bad guys, this movie is for you.[/spoiler]

cue epic laughter.

I want to see it so bad.

You must see it.  There is a part where [minor spoilers] a guy dressed up like Batman breaks into a building and kills a bunch of people.  Also, during one of the many fight sequences involving Hit Girl she uses some harpoon thing to make a guy shoot himself in the head.  It was so cool! [/spoilers]

just wana say, Kick ass was a fantastic movie. It was a unique mix of funny, serious, and superhero. Somehow it worked. i loved it!

Paris, Texas (1984) - Kurt Cobain's favorite movie. I trust I needn't say more. 10/10

Just finished watching the second National Treasure movie on USA.  Not quite sure how Mesoamerican culture made it's way up to Cheyenne/Lakota territory, but (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Ptitleuvmtqrxe?from=Main.BellisariosMaxim) whatever (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RuleOfCool); it was a decent action movie with a nice heroic sacrifice at the end from someone I didn't expect it from.  Book of Secrets draws about even with the first movie in my book.  And was it just me, or did the movie end on a minor cliffhanger?

Yes it seemed like that to me too. I was.actually hoping for a sequel to that one too.

Quote from: Whocares on April 13, 2010, 12:22:30 PM
it is supposed to be the first really good movie DreamWorks has made.

Didn't Dreamworks do Shrek?

Like he said the first really good movie DreamWorks has made XD

I really didn't like Shrek

I don't care very much for anything DreamWorks I have seen yet, but Shreks is okay.

I have never liked Shrek... I guess mainly because it was overplayed... But I'm with you Whocares

I honestly think it was insanely funny, yet still had very rounded characters who all stayed true to their natures, and a very strong story for its style of humor. The second movie was very funny, but perhaps lacking a little in story, and the third I found not to be funny at all really, but had a very good story. I think the original will always remain among my top movies of all time.

Yi yi (2000) - Everything about family life caught on film in under three hours. 10/10

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) - The folks at Disney Animation Studios attempt to go Indiana Jones, but failed, with this early 20th century tale of explorers going underwater to find Atlantis. Much of the character design is awful, and some of the story makes little sense or isn't developed. More fun than I expected, though, and a lot of the other aspects, such as the gorgeous backgrounds and fast-pacing, are quite good. 5/10

Also, I have five Disney 'toons left to see before I have seen all 49 of them. End-of-the-month-goal, anyone? Just so you know, those five are:

• Brother Bear (2003)
  
• Home on the Range (2004)
  
• Chicken Little (2005)
  
• Meet the Robinsons (2007)
  
• The Princess and the Frog (2009)
  
  Also, Tangled, a take on Rapunzel, will be coming out this year, and there will be 50 total. Hopefully.

I just got back from seeing MacGruber.  It was amazing.  I laughed so hard I almost had an aneurysm.

Quote from: Tom Satan Bombadil on April 23, 2010, 09:11:28 PM
Yes it seemed like that to me too. I was.actually hoping for a sequel to that one too.

Knowing Disney, you just might get your wish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Treasure:_Book_of_Secrets#Sequel).

As for me, the second movie was good. Just not as good as the first one. It was comparable to Twilight Princess in that it was strictly formula (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StrictlyFormula).

Quote from: Kixash on April 24, 2010, 10:48:13 PM
I honestly think it was insanely funny, yet still had very rounded characters who all stayed true to their natures, and a very strong story for its style of humor. The second movie was very funny, but perhaps lacking a little in story, and the third I found not to be funny at all really, but had a very good story. I think the original will always remain among my top movies of all time.

In regards to the second movie, the pop culture references and surprisingly-epic moments more than made up for it. I actually didn't notice a lack in story, actually.

Saw the first Star Wars for the first time the other night.

Awesome.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to seeing next one! :D

First as in phantom menace or a new hope?

Either way you're pretty behind.

XD

A New Hope. The original, from 1977.

Of course that one is amazing. You'll be disappointed in Revenge of the Sith, if you have yet to see it, but you'l die of awesome from Return of the Jedi.

Of course you look back on those movies and say, that first one was shot on a low budget and a time crunch, and still looks as good as the stuff we have today.

Revenge of the Sith would have been much better if they didn't overuse the CG and if they made Anakin's transition to the dark side seem less abrupt.  He goes from accidentally aiding in the killing of Mace Windu to killing children in about ten minutes.  It would have been much more believable if they showed him killing some older Jedi, whom he could have seen as an actual threat, then slipping further toward the dark side, far enough to kill children.  This Wookieepedia article (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Operation_Knightfall) on Operation: Knightfall shows that Darth Vader didn't just march into the temple and start killing children right away as the movie made it seem.

All the Disney films, rated and ranked:

1. Fantasia (1940) 10
2. Pinocchio (1940) 10
3. Dumbo (1941) 10
4. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) 10
5. Bambi (1942) 9
6. Beauty and the Beast (1991) 9
7. The Little Mermaid (1989) 9
8. Sleeping Beauty (1959) 9
9. Lady and the Tramp (1955) 9
10. One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) 9
11. The Jungle Book (1967) 8
12. The Lion King (1994) 8
13. Cinderella (1950) 8
14. The Three Caballeros (1944) 8
15. Bolt (2008) 8
16. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) 8
17. Aladdin (1992) 8
18. The Princess and the Frog (2009) 7
19. Lilo & Stitch (2002) 7
20. The Rescuers (1977) 7
21. Alice in Wonderland (1951) 7
22. The Great Mouse Detective (1986) 7
23. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) 7
24. Mulan (1998) 6
25. The Black Cauldron (1985) 6
26. The Emperor's New Groove (2000) 6
27. The Sword in the Stone (1963) 6
28. The Rescuers Down Under (1990) 6
29. Pocahontas (1995) 5
30. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) 5
31. Brother Bear (2003) 5
32. Meet the Robinsons (2007) 5
33. Fantasia 2000 (1999) 5
34. The Fox and the Hound (1981) 5
35. Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) 5
36. Tarzan (1999) 4
37. Home on the Range (2004) 4
38. Melody Time (1948) 4
39. The Aristocats (1970) 4
40. Robin Hood (1973) 4
41. Fun and Fancy Free (1947) 4
42. Hercules (1997) 3
43. Treasure Planet (2002) 3
44. Peter Pan (1953) 3
45. Make Mine Music (1946) 3
46. Oliver & Company (1988) 2
47. Saludos Amigos (1942) 2
48. Dinosaur (2000) 2
49. Chicken Little (2005) 1

Also, I recommend you watch all the Star Wars films, and then watch 2001: A Space Odyssey, Forbidden Planet, and Solaris (the 1972 version, I haven't seen the 2002 version), to see just how much better they are.

"The Empire Strikes Back" did not disappoint. Looking forward to the next film! :D

Ironman is still great the second time...one of my favorites ever...I need to see the sequel.

Eraserhead (1976) - David Lynch's first movie. I'm afraid of being a parent now.

Badlands (1973) 4th viewing - Terrence Malick's first. So dreamlike and mysterious.

Quote from: Edward Elric on May 30, 2010, 09:43:46 PM
"The Empire Strikes Back" did not disappoint. Looking forward to the next film! :D

Return of the Jedi does not disappoint, just to reiterate. ;)

And I'm looking forward to Toy Story 3, of course.

I'm seeing Toy Story 3 opening day.

It'll be the first time in years I've actually been in a movie theatre.

Quote from: MagmarFire on June 13, 2010, 06:28:41 PM

Quote from: Edward Elric on May 30, 2010, 09:43:46 PM
"The Empire Strikes Back" did not disappoint. Looking forward to the next film! :D

Return of the Jedi does not disappoint, just to reiterate. ;)

And guess what? It didn't!

Last night I saw The Phantom Menace. I enjoyed it very much, and the more advanced CGI effects made everything even more realistic and engrossing.

I can say one thing, though -- I can definitely see why so many people hated Jar-Jar Binks. I can also see why so many people love him.

Wait, is this the first time you've seen any of them?

Yep. Watching all of them, too, one at a time.

It's Jar Jar's voice that gets to me.  Otherwise, I could care less about him.

I really have no desire to see the fourth Shrek movie, but I liked the first one, and I saw 2 and 3, so now I feel like I should finish out the whole series.

You know what's strange? By making the prequels, George Lucas has effectively cancelled out one of the most famous plot twists in movie history. I mean, George Lucas is no genius, but that's shockingly stupid. At least you watched them in order of age, TW. (Though you probably already knew the twist in the first place.)

Really?  It's the Star Wars prequels that destroy the plot twist and not the fact that the original trilogy has been around for thirty-plus years, giving everyone enough time to learn that Anakin Skywalker grew up to be Darth Vader?

Forgive me for thinking that if you rename the original trilogy episode IV, V, and VI, and create episodes I, II, and III, you intend for them to be watched in that order.

Whocares, it doesn't matter what order you watch them in today.  It's common knowledge that Darth Vader is Luke's father; it's why no one puts it in spoiler tags.  The prequels didn't cancel out the plot twist; time did that.

Don't most boys watch them before they are 10? Do you think most 9 years olds know the twist? I don't.

Congratulations.  I know wholeheartedly regret rejoining this thread. ???

MANDATORY CHANGE OF TOPIC!!!!

Out of curiosity, is that new...western...Jonnah Hex based on a comic book?  I watch the trailers and I get the impression that it is.

Yes, and there is only a single 'n.'

Toy Story 3 - Surprisingly better than the first two, and joins films like Pinocchio and The Brave Little Toaster in the category of "****** up children's films."

Also, a Totoro doll makes a cameo. <3

Quote from: Whocares on June 18, 2010, 02:44:08 PM
Toy Story 3 - Surprisingly better than the first two, and joins films like Pinocchio and The Brave Little Toaster in the category of "****** up children's films."

Also, a Totoro doll makes a cameo. <3

I agree.
This is the only one that... well... I mean... It was hard for me not to cry in the end. I didn't cry but it was really hard not to. There were some pretty dark moments in the movie. All in all, I was really really impressed with it, and I'd be hard pressed to say it was in fact better than the first two. The first one to actually stir up emotions in me. You know what's funny is that when I saw Toy Story 1, I was about Andy's age. Now, watching Toy story 3, he's about to go to college just like me. Do you think they planned that?

They planned it. Also noteworthy - Andy has been voiced by the same kid in all three movies.

I like the first two Toy Story movies, but compared to, say, Finding Nemo or Up, they seem more like a glimpse of the greatness Pixar would later reach - practice. They just aren't very affecting. Hey, at least they're funny and smart.

To rank every Pixar I have seen (all of them):

1. Finding Nemo (2003)
2. WALL-E (2008)
3. Up (2009)
4. Toy Story 3 (2010)
5. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
6. Toy Story 2 (1999)
7. Cars (2006)
8. Toy Story (1995)
9. Ratatouille (2007)
10. A Bug's Life (1998)
11. The Incredibles (2004)

Totoro:

(http://www.collider.com/wp-content/image-base/Movies/T/Toy_Story_3/misc/Toy%20Story%203%20Totoro%20reference.jpg)

Quote from: ZeldaVeteran on June 18, 2010, 04:31:48 PM
I agree.
This is the only one that... well... I mean... It was hard for me not to cry in the end. I didn't cry but it was really hard not to. There were some pretty dark moments in the movie. All in all, I was really really impressed with it, and I'd be hard pressed to say it was in fact better than the first two. The first one to actually stir up emotions in me. You know what's funny is that when I saw Toy Story 1, I was about Andy's age. Now, watching Toy story 3, he's about to go to college just like me. Do you think they planned that?

Yep, totally planned. They pulled a sharp J.K. Rowling on that one, and I'm glad they did. It was a smart move, too, considering the majority of the viewing audience is over the age of sixteen, apparently. Excellent for marketing.

Hard not to cry? Hoo, boy, do I second that notion! Luckily, I was able to hold it in until I made it to the car door, but...yeah, I couldn't hold it in forever. I mean, (nearly) killing off some of the most beloved Disney characters in history by burning them in an incinerator!? If you couldn't notice the gravity of the situation and recognize the major emphasis on nakama (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Nakama) in that scene, your heart's simply impenetrable. That includes the ending when Andy reflects on his childhood and just about all his toys' characters for us to laminate them in history.

EDIT: Gosh darn it, IE, for being so darn inconsistent!

I thought Toy Story 3 was a very good movie.  There were a lot of good laughs in it as well as a touching ending.

They should totally make a Toy Story 4 where they bring back Sid from the original Toy Story and show that he has been so traumatized by what happened that he went insane and started his own religion where he is the god of all toys and he like, sends his toys on missions to kidnap kids' toys and bring them to his temple that he built out of building blocks at the North Pole.

Quote from: Darth Wyndisis on June 29, 2010, 07:23:22 AMThey should totally make a Toy Story 4 where they bring back Sid from the original Toy Story and show that he has been so traumatized by what happened that he went insane and started his own religion where he is the god of all toys and he like, sends his toys on missions to kidnap kids' toys and bring them to his temple that he built out of building blocks at the North Pole.

Well, at least it's original.

Even though Sid becomes the garbage man from Toy Story 3. :P

Did he really?  I didn't even notice.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) - Amazing film. Set sometime in the near future, Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey are a couple that has recently had problems, and Kate has her memories of the relationship erased by Lacuna Inc., and Jim does the same soon after. I won't spoil the rest for you - it's too good. 11/10

Quote from: Darth Wyndisis on June 30, 2010, 07:12:20 AM
Did he really?  I didn't even notice.

Neither did I, really. It's what I heard, though.

I'm gonna have to see it again to confirm it. GET ON WITH THE DVD SOON, DISNEY, 'KAY!? :D

Remember the 1,000 Greatest Films list I posted earlier this year? Well, the website has made an anti-consensus: Ain't Nobody's Blues But My Own (http://www.theyshootpictures.com/aintnobodys.htm). The goal of this list is to collect the little-known personal favorites that got very little votes in the 1,000 list and couldn't make it.

If Being John Malkovich were a person I would make love with it. That is how good it is. It's hilarious.

Apparently a movie about Facebook is coming out next month. It's supposed to be funny.

In a late response to the above, I heard that it's actually good.

Anyway, I'm bringing this topic back because I saw Tangled the other night. HOO, BOY, is it good! It has an interesting twist on the Rapunzel story most of us probably heard of (I'm assuming you aren't in the know of the Grimm version), has plain hilarious moments, plays with your general emotions, and (believe it or not!) has moe appeal! The latter probably wasn't intentional, but it's still there.

GO. SEE. THIS. MOVIE. Chuck Norris commands it!

I would love to find the first Tron movie somewhere so I can watch it before I see Tron Legacy.

And before I watch Gulliver's Travels, I want to try to find the book it's based on and read it.  Right now, I'm not so sure about the modern twist they gave it.

Yeah, I'm not sure about it, either. The trailer makes it look, for lack of a better word, stupid. That, and there's also this... (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gullivers-travels-2010/)

I saw The Roommate this weekend.  It was pretty good, but some parts were quite predictable.  [spoilers]Like the minute Sara brought the kitten to her dorm room, I knew Rebecca was going to kill it.  The ending sort of annoyed me because there I seriously doubt a box cutter to the back is enough to kill someone.[/spoilers]

So, skimming through this month's Game Informer brought my attention back to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.  The fourth movie, On Stranger Tides, will be coming out May 20.  Here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5AqJww06bw) is the official trailer.

I just finished watching Kick-Ass.

What a delightfully, satisfyingly violent film. Really an adrenaline-pumper. Hit-Girl's balisong techniques (and the balisongs she uses) are simply gorgeous, as well. The ending's a little ambiguous, though, unfortunately, but if you can take the foul language and the violence, I'd very much recommend it.

Bump time.

If anyone is going to watch "What's Your Number" because you want to watch a stupid movie, but don't like the romantic comedy genre, let me save you some time and money with this plot synopsis I put together from the trailers.

Ally is sitting with her friends at a bar or some other sort of drinking establishment, when someone makes (or more likely repeats) the logically ridiculous claim that if a woman doesn't get married by her twentieth boyfriend, she will never get married.  Ally realizes that she only dated nineteen people and she's on her "last" chance to find a husband.  So she gets some guy she knows to help her track down her exes in an attempt to get married before she hits that dreaded number (which for once isn't thirteen or four), despite the fact that there were very good and very obvious reasons why she broke up with them.  By the end of the movie, she falls in love with the guy she got to help her and comes to the conclusion that "You can't live life by the numbers," a line she straight out says in one of the trailers.

Take that money and watch Wolverine play with boxing robots (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Steel) instead.  It's probably just as stupid, but dude.  Boxing robots.

On another note, for anybody who watched "True Grit" and the 2010 remake:  Should I watch the remake?

I actually like the remake better than the original, HNS.

The original True Grit was a fantastic movie and can't be matched by any remakes in my opinion, but the remake did an excellent job-- not as a remake, per se, but more as an homage.  Casting Jeff Bridges was an excellent choice.

Quote from: Tacheon Black on September 22, 2011, 12:17:40 PM
The original True Grit was a fantastic movie and can't be matched by any remakes in my opinion, but the remake did an excellent job-- not as a remake, per se, but more as an homage.  Casting Jeff Bridges was an excellent choice.

It was, I'd say it's one of his best performances.

Great cinematography, too.

Absolutely.  Surprisingly, he did an excellent performance in Tron as well.

Haven't seen the new TRON. Or the old one, for that matter.

He also deserved his Oscar fro Crazy Heart, and I liked him a lot in the first Iron Man. Jeff Bridges really has been on a roll lately.

Okay so speaking of True Grit, I rewatched the original this weekend, and now I kind of like it more than the remake.

Now, let's get this out of the way: There are two areas where the remake is unquestionably better than the original. The first, Hailee Steinfeld is much better than the good-but-not-great Kim Darby in the role of Mattie; it's my second favorite performance of 2010 (the first being Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole). The second is the cinematography, and while the first is a definitely well-shot western, the second is just mind-numbingly gorgeous.

After that, much of it is debatable, but I mostly prefer the original. Bridges is great, but Wayne is better and his role is more personal, given that he spends much of the movie parodying his public image while also playing it straight; a difficult balance to hold, but he succeeded. It's one of his best performances from the late period of his career, behind only The Shootist, I'd say. I personally like Glen Campbell more than Matt Damon, if only because I don't have the feeling that I am watching Matt Damon every second he is on the screen (and BOY, for some reason it was really distracting). I know the Coen Brothers remade the movie (or adapted the book, depending on your point-of-view) because they wanted to concentrate more on Mattie and Rooster, but personally, I prefer Rooster. Finally, I like the original better because it has something missing from the remake: heart. The remake is all fine and perfectly made from a technical standpoint, but I couldn't help but feel that it was rather empty, like it was just... there. I remained involved but too distant to really be entranced. The original made me feel things, at least. It's perfect family entertainment with something for everyone to enjoy.

Of course, I'm in the minority with this, so... yeah...

Dumbo looks really great on Blu Ray, in case anyone here considered buying it (which all of you should be). Still one of the very best of all the Disney animated features.

I dunno.  "Pink Elephants on Parade" still freaks me out just by thinking about it.  That number ruined the movie for me when I was a kid.

Hells yeah!  Finally! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit_(2012_film))