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Topic:
At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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HappyBob
Registered:
Mar '02
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Date Posted:
7/23 10:53am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
- Date Edited:
7/23 11:04am (2 edits total)
Edited By:
HappyBob
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The X-Files: I Want to Believe is not a sequel to the first X-Files movie. Where that film revelled in the big screen budget and an epic conspiracy arc, this is effectively an extended standalone episode, and not a particularly ambitious or action-heavy one at that. This is not criticism. I'm simply highlighting the "apples and pears" scenario.
Think of this as a TV movie that just happens to be set on the big screen: a reunion/relaunch special, written with a much earlier release date in mind, which serves as a pilot of sorts for future movies. Read over this carefully, and you'll be in the right frame of mind to appreciate this story.
I was surprised at just how low-key and introspective this movie was. The core mystery takes a back seat to the characters of Mulder and Scully themselves, but their story is handled with maturity and thoughtfulness. The movie-length running time doesn't add scope to the adventure (which, by the show's high standards, is honestly a bit tame); it simply gives the two characters room to breathe.
For perhaps the first time, their romantic involvement (which, thank god, isn't over-emphasised) feels like a natural extension of their long-running partnership. Chris Carter knows these characters inside out, and David Duchovney and Gillian Anderson act with the confidence that can only come from playing the roles for so long. This is why I was so moved by the very first shot of Scully: you really can see the last decade in her eyes.
While I'm not realistically expecting it to happen, I sincerely hope the movie does well enough to keep the franchise going. As I said, it feels far more like a re-introduction than a coda. It's the only way the choice of story makes sense. But if this is the final word on the franchise, I can live with that. I Want to Believe is true to the two characters at the heart of The X-Files, and that's a pretty nice note to go out on.
It certainly wasn't the movie I expected, and for that reason, I still haven't reached a final opinion. All I can say is that the more I think back, the more the it grows on me. I think...
Yes. I'm pretty sure I liked it. A lot.
?/10
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Magnus Darcrider
Registered:
May '00
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Date Posted:
7/23 10:57am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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The X-Files: I Want To Believe
A pleasant surprise, this film was as good as any of the episodes back in the show's heyday. The movie's ambition is fairly small; it's constructed like an extended episode of the series, with a good horror/sci-fi plot at it's core and plenty of meaty character stuff for Mulder and Scully to play with.
The leads are good and completely in character; this is the same Mulder who threw himself onto moving trains and fought alien bounty hunters in arctic ice, and Scully has the same fire to challenge what's in front of her. The hook to do this has been criticised, but I felt it actually worked rather well. I was surprised at the jokes they made about it though.
There's a weird moment with a photo of George W. Bush...would someone kindly explain that at some point? 
I probably cheered a bit too loudly when my favourite character turned up, but it was the right time for them to do so (though I couldn't remember if they were still alive or not) so was glad when they did.
The only fault is that the script felt like it was meant to be set shortly after the series ended rather than the real time delay, as Mulder could not have been on the run for such a long time in the capacity that he is here. However, it's kind of amusing to think Mulder isn't actually as smart as he thinks, and the FBI simply don't care
In all, this felt like a reunion film; the kind of thing Fox would show on a Sunday night and bill as an event movie, but I am glad it got shown in the cinemas, it's entertaining enough to justify it. And hopefully this will lead to a larger film project down the line.
If you're a fan, check it out. And my thanks again to HB for the ticket.
Be seeing you,
Magnus Darcrider
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I'm a firm believer in the philosophy of a ruling class. Especially since I rule.
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HappyBob
Registered:
Mar '02
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Date Posted:
7/23 11:33am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
- Date Edited:
7/23 11:41am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
HappyBob
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The Bush photo was definitely strange, yes. It felt like an incomprehensible in-joke between Chris Carter and composer Mark Snow that nearly broke the fourth wall in the process. Happily, that's the only point I felt even slightly removed from the X-Files universe.
The "hook" worked well for me, since Scully the Conflicted Catholic Scientist was guaranteed to have a strong reaction. It was a good way to restore Mulder and Scully to their iconic believer / sceptic roles without backpedalling on nine years of character development.
Incidentally, Billy Conelly pulls off the tortured dramatic role well, to the point where I wished he had more screen time. It's funny how that same manaic delivery can translate so well into a "real" performance. Not once during the film did I think of him as That Crazy Scottish Comedian.
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Grieyls
Title: FanForce CR
Queensland AU
Registered:
Dec '00
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Date Posted:
7/31 2:46am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Well finally saw Dark Knight.... Honestly? I'm not sure about this one yet. Being one who lets a film progress without trying to second guess the ending I found myself overwhlemed at times and at others just confused.
In short, just not sure.
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casual-jedi
Registered:
May '02
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Date Posted:
8/1 5:05am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Been a while since I posted here, so there's a back-log.
Mamma Mia.
Pleasantly up-lifting, despite feeling a little self-conscious at being one of 3 males in the whole cinema. Oh, & Pierce Brosnan can't sing! LOL.
7/10
X-Files 2: I WANT TO BELIEVE IN THE QUEST FOR PEACE.
Definately a smaller film than the first. Kinda felt like a 2-hour TV reunion. Nice foot-note on the X-files timeline though.. A 'where are they now' of sorts.
7/10
The Love Guru.
Goodness me, the chuckles were there.. but then again, I am an idiot.
4/10
Forbidden Kingdom.
Somewhat of an Asian 'Lord of the Rings', without the trilogy/walking. Crouching Tiger without the hidden pretenciousness. Seriously, Jackie Chan & Jet Li, re-telling the legend of the Monkey King... You had me at Hello!
10/10.
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Kahlan72
Registered:
Dec '00
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Date Posted:
8/1 6:36pm
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Mamma-mia was a pleasant watch..and no Pierce thinks he can sing..can't, but still manages to sound fair. Meryl was good.
The Robot movie we saw here: Yeah really cool film. Quality was as poor as we thought, although I did forget it at times. Simple but good story. Laughed, giggled and it should look and sound like magic on the mungous screen.
Hoping to see a couple of movies over the weekend if anyone is interested. Savages on at the Dendy Portside is the main one. Would like to see X Files and Forbidden Kingdom at some point.
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morgan-aleghieri
Title: Queen of redundant updates
(event manager)
Registered:
Mar '06
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Date Posted:
8/2 5:25pm
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Went to see Forbidden Kingdom some time in the last week and I rather enjoyed it. It isn't deep, but it looks pretty and you have Jackie Chan and Jet Li making it awesome. I absolutely loved all the stuff with the Monkey King. He was a riot.  Felt like watching a Monkey Magic movie.
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Kahlan72
Registered:
Dec '00
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Date Posted:
8/9 5:22pm
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Finally saw the Forbidden Kingdom. I really thought it was forgettable unfortunately. Entertaining, and the fight scenes between Jet and jackie were awesome, but I just thought the rest was too much like Karate Kid meets Kung Pow, Enter the Fist ( both of which I enjoyed..hmm )
I do like the odd martial arts movie and enjoyed Crouching Tiger and that series, so I'm just not sure what it was that i didn't like...just didn't go..COOL or FUNNY, or THAT WAS GREAT as much as I should have.
Fun movie, glad i saw it. Won't 2nd viewing it. 6/10
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Magnus_Darcrider
Registered:
Nov '05
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Date Posted:
8/20 7:12am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Forbidden Kingdom's enjoyment kinda hinges on your reaction to this statement: "and Jet Li as The Monkey King."
It was fun; I could have done without the modern bookends (was very much like the old Warriors of Virtue); the Asian lass was a terrible actress, the American kid (from Sky High, incidentally) wasn't as annoying as I thought he'd be, Jackie Chan and Jet Li got to be awesome.
This is "Journey to the West" filtered through a teenager's imagination and impressions of too kung fu movies; it's why Jackie Chan and Jet Li are reduced to their most famous roles (a silent monk and a drunken master), and Lady Snowblood turns up for no apparent reason.
Still, it makes me want to see an actual production of "Journey to the West", with Jet Li as Monkey, Jackie Chan as Pigsy, Chow Yun Fat as Sandy, Zhang Ziyi as Tripitaka, and Michelle Yeoh cameoing as either Buddha or The Horse
The Savages is about something a lot of us have gone through or will have to go through or have seen others go through; a family member getting too old to look after themselves and being put in a nursing home. It's sad and morbidly funny, with Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney as brother and sister having to do this for their estranged and unpleasant father. I can see why it got rave reviews and impressed at Cannes.
Pineapple Express is the touching story of the lengths one man will go to to save his drug dealer This got compared to Hot Fuzz to me to entice me to go; a comedy that turns into an action film. It's nowhere near that good, but it is surprisingly funny with some neat action scenes.
Finally, Taken, or "Lian Neeson kills loads of people to rescue his daughter." This is a real throwback to 80s action movies, very simple plot, but well shot and well acted. It's brutal, but all the brutality is happening to very bad people, so you can almost suffer no guilt for watching these horrible things that happen (with one notable exception, you'll know it when you see it).
There were some surprises; Holly Valance turns up as a pop star Liam Neeson's character is working for. His ex-spy buddies were neat; could have had them more involved. The scene where he tells the head of the slavery ring that he's looking for his daughter draws embarrassment from the hoods surrounding him; they're legitimately sorry when confronted with a side-effect of their repulsive line of work.
My favourite scene; Neeson surrounded by thugs and he identifies the one whom he speaks to on the phone in the trailer. The cinema went dead silent when he whispered the line, "I told you I'd find you..."
Be seeing you,
Magnus Darcrider
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morgan-aleghieri
Title: Queen of redundant updates
(event manager)
Registered:
Mar '06
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Date Posted:
8/20 7:49am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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the American kid (from Sky High, incidentally)
That's why he looked familiar!  I knew I'd seen him somewhere...
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"L'il Rorscach’s Journal, March 21: Fwuffy bunny squeezed out candy wainbows on sidewalk. This city fears me, for I have seen its twue face."
"My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today."
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BigBossNass1138
Registered:
Mar '02
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Date Posted:
8/20 6:26pm
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Oh, Taken is out? Nice. I'll have to go see that. 2 hours of Liam Neeson kicking bad dudes' asses is worth 10 bucks any day of the week.
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Luke_Sparkewalker
Registered:
Oct '01
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Date Posted:
8/20 9:27pm
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Tropic Thunder:
Now, my outlook on this movie was always going to be biased because, as most of you know, i've spent the last year working on two war films (not to mention the rest of my life) so this film looked like a great satire of the genre and the industery in general. That, and i'm a big fan of stiller, Downey, black and tom cruise. (stiller having 4 or 5 credits - directing, writing, producer, story, acting!)
I haven't laughed in a long time as much as i did watching this film. Everything was pitch perfect of how things go down, how actors behave etc. From little 'fake' trailers at the start before the actual movie (brilliant!) to little things you see 'on the set' the movie was just a blast of fun.
I know most of the crew from 'the pacific' was looking forward to it as well, a good way to laugh at ourselves.
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NeecH
Registered:
Feb '03
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Date Posted:
8/20 11:21pm
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
- Date Edited:
8/20 11:23pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
NeecH
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Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - If I hadn't just seen The Dark Knight recently, this would easily be the best movie of the year for me. I really enjoyed the original Hellboy movie but it had it's problems and you could really notice the studio involvement and lack of budget sometimes.
That never happens in The Golden Army - this movie is frickin' awesome on every level. Characters, action, FX, Animatronics and Puppetry, script... everything! I also never thought I would say this either but Luke Goss (formerly of the 80s boy band, Bros. and then later the mutant-vampire villain of Blade 2) really needs to be given more work as an actor. His portrayal of the Elf Prince in this movie is so nuanced and filled with real emotion that's still evident through layers of make-up.
I think this opens in Australia next week - go see it!
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HappyBob
Registered:
Mar '02
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Date Posted:
8/21 1:15am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
- Date Edited:
8/21 1:19am (2 edits total)
Edited By:
HappyBob
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I thought the original Hellboy was a decent enough, but for me, the story (especially in its final act) didn't really do justice to the entertaining premise and characters. But while I wasn't wholly satisfied with it as a standalone film, it functioned well enough as an introduction to the universe.
After seeing Pan's Labyrinth, and reading everything he has to say about The Hobbit, I've grown to trust Guillermo del Toro as a filmmaker. Considering he has more creative freedom this time around, I'm very willing to believe the series can pull a [Spider-Man 2 / Superman 2 / X-Men 2 (circle preferred superior sequel)].
Nice to know you liked the movie, Neech. This bodes well.
"Bode". Why don't people use that word more?
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Magnus_Darcrider
Registered:
Nov '05
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Date Posted:
8/21 9:08am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Heh, someone else who remembers Bros. My condolences, Neech
I'm looking forward to Hellboy 2, though I do still plan to watch the original beforehand, a film I have little memory of.
People still use bode, don't they??
Anyway, I also saw Tropic Thunder today, and thanks for putting your review up Luke, I was going to ask you your opinion on it next time I saw you. Saves me some time It is reassuring to hear that someone in the industry got the joke and appreciated it.
It's good and funny. The trailers at the beginning are hilarious and right on the money. The only thing I think would have made it a better film was if Ben Stiller and Matthew McConaughey switched roles; Stiller didn't work for me as an action star (though I'm prepared to admit bias as I'm not a fan of him or his work generally).
Tom Cruise as a sort of modern Al Swearigen movie mogul has got to be seen to be believed.
I'm trying to work out if this is the best comedy I've seen this year. Looking through my ticket stubs accumulated so far, it's a toss up between this, Juno and Death at a Funeral. I think Juno wins just on principle, but this is damn good. Given the subject matter, i found myself comparing it somewhat to Hot Fuzz. it doesn't reach those dizzying heights, but it comes close.
Be seeing you,
Magnus Darcrider
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Killin’ ‘em all and takin’ their stuff since 1987. Pugnantes Malos, No Hos Pugnetis Zombie-Chick Magnet http://steamcommunity.com/id/darcrider http://twitter.com/Darcrider
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