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Topic:
At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Magnus_Darcrider
Registered:
Nov '05
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Date Posted:
6/27 12:17am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Kung Fu Panda had a lot of heart and a good message.
The Tortoise Kung Fu Master was fantastic.
Stay 'til after the credits for a nice scene.
Be seeing you,
Magnus Darcrider
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Killin’ ‘em all and takin’ their stuff since 1987. Pugnantes Malos, No Hos Pugnetis http://steamcommunity.com/id/darcrider
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Kahlan72
Registered:
Dec '00
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Date Posted:
6/27 2:56am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Taking the munchkin tomorrow. If he doesn't talk me into Speed Racer instead. Looking forward to Panda now.
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Kahlan72
Registered:
Dec '00
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Date Posted:
6/28 3:50pm
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Panda Good! Happy to see it again!
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Angel is lame
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GoobaFish
Registered:
Apr '02
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Date Posted:
7/1 6:31pm
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Saw Speed Racer with Kahlan last night, and really enjoyed it.
Simple story, kept close to the cartoon's. Very, very pretty effects and colour.
Good popcorn flick. Liked the family values stuff, and the brother/chimchim stuff wasn't too bad.
Sweet racing scenes which really only got hard to follow when they were spinning to crash the other guys out of the race. But on the whole, very nice racing and effects.
Only time I really got bugged by the CG was one shot inside the Royalton building with them in the golf cart. But one CG shot out of a whole movie is fine by me. Music was great too.
7/10.
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casual-jedi
Registered:
May '02
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Date Posted:
7/10 4:41am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Get Smart.
9/10. The End.
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GoobaFish
Registered:
Apr '02
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Date Posted:
7/10 5:06am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Hancock.
A popcorn flick. Pure n simple.
Comic book styled twists and developments, predicatable, but a decent action and comedy flick.
Smith does what he has to, and this formula still works its magic. Theron thrown in dosen't hurt this movie either.
Bateman's jump back into the movie side of things (Juno he was great) balances it necely with a human feel.
Worth seeing on a big screen for the effects.
A 7.
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Magnus_Darcrider
Registered:
Nov '05
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Date Posted:
7/11 11:15am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Finally saw Prince Caspian Friday afternoon.
Surprisingly good, a huge step above the previous effort, which left me kind of "meh". While a bunch of liberties were taken with the story, some bigger than others, the main plot was the same and well realised.
I liked that the Telmarines were Spanish. Not something I'd considered before, but as a design and casting aesthetic for the race, it was good.
Reepicheep was well realised, and as he should be, a Combat God. Eddie Izzard did a great job with the voice acting. I also laughed when he volunteered to take a team through the gateway; for a brief instant there Narnia had it's own SGC team!
While it wasn't played up as much as it could have been, the kids were deadly. Anytime Susan loosed an arrow something died, Edmund got his licks in, and the fight between Miraz and Peter was brutal and well constructed, with the much younger man beating the villain convincingly. My only real disappointment with the children was that they didn't play up the "Once and Future King" aspect of their return, but that's only a personal preference; the take on the kids and their return was quite good, I even liked the almost romantic subplot between Susan and Caspian.
It was odd to see Warwick Davis as a darker character. Still, he played Reepicheep in the BBC adaptation all those years ago, so I suppose he wanted something different.
Bulgy Bear waving goddbye at the end was too cute.
Apparently this wasn't the success the studio was hoping for, so I dunno what's happening with future installments. Hopefully they'll keep going with these.
Be seeing you,
Magnus Darcrider
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Killin’ ‘em all and takin’ their stuff since 1987. Pugnantes Malos, No Hos Pugnetis http://steamcommunity.com/id/darcrider
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Kahlan72
Registered:
Dec '00
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Date Posted:
7/11 10:43pm
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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yey, someone else that liked Prince Caspian. Susan was pretty awesome.
Hancock. Watched, laughed, groaned. Fair to middling 6/10
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BigBossNass1138
Registered:
Mar '02
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Date Posted:
7/12 6:19pm
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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I enjoyed Prince Caspian greatly. I went in with virtually zero memory of the book and came out very satisfied with the strength of the story and frankly blown away by how good the (surprisingly long) battle sequence looked.
Unfortunately, I too have heard that it's done very poorly at the box office (at least in the US, I believe it's done substantially better internationally, as did the Golden Compass and possible the first Narnia film also). I can't for the life of me think why; this thing was frankly a kick-ass fightin' and killin' movie. Also, I'm surprised the Christian lobby weren't championing it the way they demonised The Golden Compass. Eh, who knows. I do hope they have the funds to continue the series, because I've been enjoying it.
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"A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the word you first thought of." -Burt Bacharach http://steamcommunity.com/id/mrneutron http://twitter.com/timbo1138 (Yes, I'm trying it again...)
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casual-jedi
Registered:
May '02
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Date Posted:
7/16 7:33am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
- Date Edited:
7/16 8:24am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
casual-jedi
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The Dark Knight.
Okay, so here's the truth.. Y'all know that time, when Batman Began(again) couple years back? Wasn't a fan of it... And no, not because of Christian Bale talking deep all the time. Nor was it because the film contained one half of Tom-Kat. I even grew to be okay with the Tank-like Batmobile. I mean it wasn't really a bad flick all things told. It was just that I was a real fan of Tim Burton's gothic vision of Gotham. Guess I wasn't swayed that the franchise needed to press the reset button.. and that's including the farce that was Batman & Robin(though it did make me think). Anywho, getting to the sharp end of it.. This whole, re-telling of the caped-crusader thing, I feel, has really hit it's stride with this second installment. Sure, I still had to wonder if Mr Bale had to buy stock in the Strepsils concern after making this movie.. And I also marvelled at how much being Mrs Cruise has aged Katie Holmes(Hah!). But seriously, The Dark Knight ups the ante some, for future Batman cash-ins.. er, I mean installments.
I really 'felt' the message of this one.. and it's different for different folks I know. But for me, I held on to the message of 'who a person really is' when the excrement collides with the cooling device. I also connected with it's sentiments of endurance.. of having faith that the night is darkest 'fore the dawn. As for Heath, they should give him a frickin Oscar already.. posthumous as it may be.. cos he was brilliant. I mean why not? That ridiculous androgynous statue has been handed to those half as worthy. Ledger was the embodiment of 'method', oozing every ounce of the nihilistic Joker. It seems and I hope it is true, that the Super-Hero trend in Hollywood has woken up to the fact that films like Spiderman 3 are just not acceptable. Because at the heart, there has to be substance... and substance is what I found in The Dark Knight. A brief pall of sadness did envelope me as the credits rolled. Sadness at the passing of one that had found the sweet spot of his art. But my spirits were soon bouyed by the positives I took from this film's message... indeed a worthy legacy for an actor that had proven his worth.
9/10
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morgan-aleghieri
Title: Queen of redundant updates
(event manager)
Registered:
Mar '06
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Date Posted:
7/16 4:33pm
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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I rather liked Dark Knight, but I think it did have a few little issues. The film was 2 1/2 hours long, and it felt that long. There were several points that all felt like they could have been the end of the movie if they wanted to wrap things up at that point, but you knew that wasn't the case because you were only an hour into the flick.
They handled multiple villains far better than Spiderman 3 did however, and despite the fact that the movie felt really long, I'd still happily sit through that again. Mr Ledger was fan-dabby-babulous as the Joker of course, I got a kick out of Eric Roberts presence as mobster for some reason, Harvey Dent was great.
Worth seeing.
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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."
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Magnus_Darcrider
Registered:
Nov '05
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Date Posted:
7/17 10:19am
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
- Date Edited:
7/17 10:22am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Magnus_Darcrider
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Batman is one of those characters where multiple interpretations are equally valid, the appreciation of which depends on personal preference.
Batman '89 is arguably the second Modern Superhero Movie after Donner's Superman, and it was a worthy effort. It hasn't aged all too well in some regards, but the art design of Gotham City and Batman's toys are pretty much timeless. It's major fault is that it kicked off the trope in superhero films of the villain creating the hero, which wasn't really necessary. Batman Returns is an excellent sequel, but it's a bit too grotesque and bloody for my tastes. The psychology behind it is fascinating though, and without it we wouldn't have the excellent run of Batman, Superman, Justice League and Batman Beyond animated series from Warner Bros. over the last decade.
The remaining sequels descended into a neon Hell as the great art design of the Burton films was retrofitted with gaudy lights and Greco-Roman influences. That being said, Batman Forever has it's moments. Batman & Robin could be transmitted into space as a psychological weapon against alien races we wish to conquer, but I'm sure there are galactic accords banning that sort of heinous act.
Batman Begins seemed like a premature reboot following so closely to the last miserable effort, but it was a good film. Drawing influences from the best of Batman's long comic book history, it was an excellent origin story featuring a much nobler and notably saner Bruce Wayne/Batman, with a dream cast trying to tell a realistic superhero film without getting over the top with the grittiness. It had it's faults (that damned microwave generator; the science behind it hurts my brain), but it showed how a superhero film could and should be done for the 21st century. The final scene on the rooftop between Batman and Lieutenant Gordon is my favourite; Gordon delivers a lecture to Batman that was a long time coming, the sequel is set up with the Joker, and the final two lines capture the very essence of Batman and Gordon's relationship.
So, us comic book nuts were expecting great things from The Dark Knight. We got them, in spades. I'd argue your average comic fan doesn't deserve a film this good, but to counterbalance that we’ve had to suffer a lot of tripe and disappointment over the last couple of years. This is how a superhero film should be made.
Christian Bale does an excellent job as Bruce Wayne/Batman again. Batman is shown as a detective here, which is good. He's not a scientist yet though! The idea that Batman's war on crime has been so successful that criminals are afraid to go out at night is neat, and the despair he sinks into when he finds himself facing a foe he can't get a handle on is well played, as he starts to realise what lengths he'll need to go to to win.
Everyone's going to be talking about Heath Ledger's Joker for a long time, for various reasons. While the Joker is another character you can have multiple takes on, the Joker here seems like a natural progression from Caesar Romero to Jack Nicholson to Mark Hamill to Heath Ledger. While the take they have here is not one I've previously appreciated in the comics, I completely get it and love it here; the Joker isn't funny. He's an anarchist, a genius and despite all his talk of hating plans, his grand design is terrible when it's revealed. Nolan managed to play one Hell of a shell game here like in The Prestige, the result of which is that Batman and his allies are usually several steps behind the Joker for the entire film. This Joker also finally lives up to the idea that he is the antithesis of Batman, especially when the Joker clearly states what the stakes are in this film.
However, the only fault with the film lies with the Joker; apparently he has the ability to teleport explosives anywhere he needs them...
Everyone should be talking about Aaron Eckhardt's portrayal of Gotham District Attorney Harvey Dent, but he's overshadowed by Heath Ledger's performance. However, the arc of a good man falling from grace couldn't have been done better I suspect, and the ultimate tragedy of this film lies here. Eckhardt should be a definite A-Lister from this point on.
My favourite scene in the film was the final action scene. Up until this point, you could almost call the film "Batman Fails", as he is very much on the back foot. But with a final hostage situation in play, Batman declares that no one else will die and dives in to save the hostages and stop any casualties from occurring between the hostage takers and the SWAT teams going in. Batman fights like a man possessed here, and with all the despair that comes before, it's almost cathartic when you realise that he may just actually do it.
There's plenty more I could talk about; how the film is brutal without being grotesque, how it plays on prejudices you weren't sure you had, how the scorecard looks at the end of it all; but I've rambled enough. I've got no idea what they'll do for a sequel, but there's a hell of a legacy to live up to now. However, this is an excellent film, and worthy of your attention.
Be seeing you,
Magnus Darcrider
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Killin’ ‘em all and takin’ their stuff since 1987. Pugnantes Malos, No Hos Pugnetis http://steamcommunity.com/id/darcrider
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BigBossNass1138
Registered:
Mar '02
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Date Posted:
7/17 7:30pm
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Great review, Magnus, and I agree wholeheartedly with everything you said.
The Dark Knight is one hell of a movie. Right from the opening it slams you into the back of your seat and hammers you with its dark, unrelentingly bleak view of life in Gotham City. It almost makes you wish the League of Shadows had succeeded in the last film. It would have been a mercy killing, quick and relatively painless. The Joker, on the other hand, wants to kill the city slowly, skinning it alive and watching it slowly bleed itself dry. It's a harrowing film, and I think it would be hard for some people to handle. There's virtually no blood or gore, as Magnus said, but on a psychological level the violence is very, very intense.
It's a story of the White Knight and the Dark Knight, and how they both bring themselves and each other to the brink of destruction trying to save Gotham. And in a very fitting and alegorical final scene, one of them goes (literally) over the edge while the other is left hanging on by his fingertips, only saved by the fact that he's not quite as alone as he thinks he is.
It's the perfect middle act of a trilogy, if that's indeed what we'll end up with. It's The Empire Strikes Back, through and through. It's a real ensemble piece, to the point where Batman honestly doesn't get that much screentime, in the grand scheme of things. It's got a ridiculously good cast. Everyone's talking about Heath Ledger, and with damn good reason, but the entire cast are just as good as him in their own ways. It's just that they pale in comparision next to the Joker, who is a pure force of nature in his portrayal. He has no past, no backstory, no character arc, he simply is what he is. The mystery makes him all the more compelling and all the more terrifying. I don't know if Ledger should win an Oscar for it, but it'll be criminal if he's not nominated.
The film isn't perfect; the length and the number of subplots makes the pacing feel somewhat uneaven at times, and the sheer numbing intensity of the movie means you're thoroughly exhausted at the end of that 2.5 hours, but it's a tour de force, and it's as unlike a typical Comic Book Movie as it's possible to get without being Unbreakable.
It's a really, really amazing film. Loved it.
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"A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the word you first thought of." -Burt Bacharach http://steamcommunity.com/id/mrneutron http://twitter.com/timbo1138 (Yes, I'm trying it again...)
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Kahlan72
Registered:
Dec '00
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Date Posted:
7/18 2:07pm
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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I think with all the hype of eneryone around me loving this film, it was almost certain I wasn't going to love it on the same level. It was a great film, better than almost all the comic book movies I've ever seen. In fact, no, can't think of a better one.
Still, it's a critiquing thread so...
I thought Maggie as rachel was just..not quite right. Either they didn't write the character well enough, or she's not as good an actress as I've always thought. To be fair, Katie's performance wasn't great in the first one, but I felt who she was better in some way. That's probably just me though, and perhaps stands out as all the other characters were so rounded.
Aaron Eckhart I also have never really liked as an actor and I had trouble seeing the darkness overtake him as well as another actor perhaps could've shown it. Even with the Jokers description of how easy it is to push someone into madness, it felt a little easy. He was very easy to like though, he does play the hero part well. Shirt off too much to ask? ( Hey it's my critique)
The whole Lai sub-plot wasn't really necessar and I think detracted from the plot.
Honestly not trying to be one of those whingy internet people....gees I do sound like one though. 
Joker was great, and Heath was as good as everyone said. Scary, mysterious ( I was rather enjoying the succession of stories for how his face got like that, even though I closed my eyes each time after he explained not wanting to see the things to come) and the perfection of evil. No reason, no remorse, but evil purely because he thinks that what the world needs to be the way it should. No way to fight that kind of person or evil, without changing who we are and I guess the entire message of the movie that I took away.
I didn't have too much of a problem with the carnatge and violence, despite the eyes being closed a couple of times, although did find myself crying like a crazy person with the scenes with Two face and Gordon's family, but that's just a paranoid parent thing I suspect.
Beautiful to watch and listen to. Apart from Batmans voice that made me giggle a few times, Christian was perfect, as was Michael Cain and Morgan Freeman. Although my favourite portayal was from Gary Oldman, but he has that amazing ability to Be that person.
I didn't notice the length, loved the Batman gadgets and felt the messages it was trying to convey, and the questions it was wanting you to ask of yourself.
So yeah, really good film, despite my internet geek pickiness..hey I'm allowed once in a while!
9/10
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Angel is lame
His hair sticks straight up
And he's bloody stupid
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Loch-doubt
Registered:
Jun '08
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Date Posted:
7/19 6:44pm
Subject:
RE: At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings
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Not enough batman. Bit long. 7/10.
PS Joker = doubleplusgood
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