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FF:QLD At The Movies - Reviews & Critical Musings

Discussion in 'Oceania Discussion Boards' started by casual-jedi, Aug 3, 2006.

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  1. BigBossNass1138

    BigBossNass1138 Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 13, 2002
    Shortpacked, I <3 you.
     
  2. morgan-aleghieri

    morgan-aleghieri Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2006
    Wow I've missed the internet. Anywho, saw Iron Man Saturday morning, loved it to bits. If I had any issues with the movie, I can't remember - and if they existed they weren't enough to take away from my glee at seeing this movie. It was fun. Need to go see it again.
     
  3. casual-jedi

    casual-jedi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 6, 2002
    Ironman is good... and that.
     
  4. CCD

    CCD Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 1, 2002
    ^ word.

    And top direction from the comic relief in Daredevil!
     
  5. casual-jedi

    casual-jedi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 6, 2002
    The Happening - Your 15 minutes are almost up Shyma-lama-ding-dong!

    With n'er a hint of his patented 'twist-a-rooney' schtick, this latest offering from suspense 'auteur' M. Night pulls up a little lame. Seems there wasn't too much 'Happening' after all. Two positives in the form of Zooey Deschanel and Marky-Mark Wahlberg, breathes a little life into what is essentially a dull script. In the end, the viewer leaves with only a smattering of (quite well done)gore, and a less than subtle environmental message. Best to let this one blow by with the next gust of wind.

    4/10.
     
  6. HappyBob

    HappyBob Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 7, 2002
    I enjoyed all of Shyamalan's films up to and including The Village (which seems to be more than most), but there has been a clear downward curve in the quality of his work, and I'm not sure anyone has good things to say about The Happening.

    I really hope this movie is the low point that motivates him to reevaluate his career and get his act together. When all is said and done, he's still a talented filmmaker.
     
  7. Luke_Sparkewalker

    Luke_Sparkewalker Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2001
    god this movie was bad. People in my cinema were laughing at the end. nearly everything was like a b grade film, the acting, the camrea work, the script. As CJ pointed out, the two mains are good. Thats. About. it.
    I like most of his others films, but yeah...this was bad
     
  8. casual-jedi

    casual-jedi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 6, 2002
    You Don't Mess With The Zohan.

    Perhaps Happy Madison's most silly offering, brimming with crudeness, stereotypes, and turning the single entendre switch to eleven. In the coiffure loving, Israeli super soldier Zohan, we have what could be seen as Adam Sandler's version of Borat. Yet for me, it was one of those.. "it's so silly it's funny!" deals. Sandler is a polarising comedian, so if he's your cup of tea, then you'll know what to expect, and you'll appreciate 'The Zohan'. But if the very thought of his schtick annoys the Hummus out of you, then do yourself a favour and go watch "Sex And The City" or something. In the end, beneath all the ridiculous-ness.. "You Don't Mess With The Zohan" has a few pertinent things to say about the futility of conflict, and the import of staying true to your dreams. Not quite so 'Silky-Smooth', but there's a couple of good guffaws in there.

    7/10.
     
  9. morgan-aleghieri

    morgan-aleghieri Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2006
    Saw Prince Caspian this evening with Kahlan. It was... ummmmmm... shiny? I'm honestly not sure if it was a good film or not - but I might say that one's enjoyment of the film is directly related to how much of the book you can remember - or don't remember, as it were. I kind of wondered if the script writer had picked up the wrong book when writing, as a lot of stuff in the movie seemed so foreign. The costume designs were brilliant though of course, and as said, it was all very shiny.

    Going to have to give the book another read through, to see how much of the plot got meddled with... [face_thinking]
     
  10. Luke_Sparkewalker

    Luke_Sparkewalker Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2001
    yeah, i pretty much felt the same way about this film, didn't quite know how i felt when i walked out. i know that i liked the first film alot more though.
     
  11. casual-jedi

    casual-jedi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 6, 2002
    KUNG FU PANDA

    [image=http://movie-preview.tv/wp-content/plugins/IMDB/cache/movie_0441773_fd6a593ffb3725aeb97ad2c7f122af6e.jpg]

    Legend tells of a legendary Dreamworks movie whose Kung Fu attractiveness were the stuff of LEGEND. It is said that this film's enemies(critics) would go blind from over-exposure to it's pure awesomeness. Well, I for one certainly didn't go blind.. and intend on revisiting the legendary Panda legend, again and again, and again. Lucky for me, that once you're in your seat, there is no charge for awesomeness.. or attractiveness.

    SkaDoosh! 10/10.
     
  12. Magnus_Darcrider

    Magnus_Darcrider Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 24, 2005
    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
     
  13. Kahlan72

    Kahlan72 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 27, 2000
    Taking the munchkin tomorrow. If he doesn't talk me into Speed Racer instead. Looking forward to Panda now.
     
  14. Kahlan72

    Kahlan72 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 27, 2000
    Panda Good! Happy to see it again!
     
  15. GoobaFish

    GoobaFish Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 15, 2002
    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.
     
  16. casual-jedi

    casual-jedi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 6, 2002
    Get Smart.

    9/10. The End.
     
  17. GoobaFish

    GoobaFish Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 15, 2002
    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.
     
  18. Magnus_Darcrider

    Magnus_Darcrider Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 24, 2005
    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
     
  19. Kahlan72

    Kahlan72 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 27, 2000
    yey, someone else that liked Prince Caspian. Susan was pretty awesome.

    Hancock. Watched, laughed, groaned. Fair to middling 6/10



     
  20. BigBossNass1138

    BigBossNass1138 Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 13, 2002
    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.
     
  21. casual-jedi

    casual-jedi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 6, 2002
    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
    =D=
     
  22. morgan-aleghieri

    morgan-aleghieri Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2006
    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.
     
  23. Magnus_Darcrider

    Magnus_Darcrider Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 24, 2005
    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
     
  24. BigBossNass1138

    BigBossNass1138 Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 13, 2002
    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.
     
  25. Kahlan72

    Kahlan72 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 27, 2000
    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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