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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. GoobaFish

    GoobaFish Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 15, 2002
    Every time I see Ferris, I wish they'd have made an Enterprise-B show. Harriman had such potential.
     
  2. o__O

    o__O Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2007
    Alan Ruck as brilliant in FBDO. And he pulled the part off very well, considering he was 30 years old at the time, playing a teenager!


    Battlefield Earth - finally saw this, wanted to know what exactly it was about it that was so terrible. Maybe I was hoping on some level that it wasn't TAHT bad. Well it was. It was terrible :p

    The script - was very poor. Dialogue was cheesy, unoriginal, and generally was out of place for the given characters, and relied so heavily on bad cliches and colloquielsims that did not belong there.

    The use of Harrier jets is a common criticism of this movie since it's set 1000 years in the future, and these harriers are still workijg perfectly after so long, which is funny since they only kast about 30 years or so and require daily maintenance by skilled engineers!

    The acting was terrible...Travolta was a joke in this. In all fairness the terrible script didn't help here.

    Slow motion shots were way overused. Swiping transition shot like in Star Wars was an insult to a film series that we all love. The special effects were below average. Some shots of post-apocalyptic Earth were ok I guess.

    There were numerous other bad things about this film, but my memory can only hold so many bad memories.

    I hope L Ron Hubbard gets "probed" by Xenu for the rest of eternity for taking away the last 2 hours of my life :p
     
  3. casual-jedi

    casual-jedi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 6, 2002
    Dutch angles for the win... NOT![face_plain]
     
  4. Fampa

    Fampa Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Jul 20, 2002
    Some long hours flying over the Pacific in the last month gave me a chance to catch up on some flicks that I hadn't seen yet. Thank QANTAS and their wonderful VOD system.

    To LA -

    Zodiac. A very dark and brooding flick. Dialogue, and apparently the ability to hear it, was quite important. Did a lot of lip reading and kinda filled in the blanks as I went along. I liked the sense of dread that built up towards the end...

    Surfs Up. Definately one I wouldn't have bothered with at the cinema but glad I saw it. Simple connect the dots storyline that was signposted a mile away, but still enough laughs for the over 10s. Nice bagging of Happy Feet references as well.

    To NY.

    ZZZZ

    Back to LA.

    Amazing Grace. A nana flick. In fact, my nana did recommend it to me. Would not have seen it otherwise. That Ioan fellow will age quite well methinks. I figure he was going to be triumphant in the end as they wouldn't have bothered making it in the first place.

    Back to BrisVegas.

    Sunshine. Seriously started watching this. In the dark. In a confined space. At 35,000 feet. Once the body count started to rise, I had to switch it off. My plan was to be able to sleep on the flight. That wasn't going to help me.

    Notting Hill. Needed something nice and safe to erase Sunshine so I could get some sleep.

    E News specials. Still wasn't sleeping...needed something mind numbing. It worked.

    Note - Whilst i don't mind the pilot or his best mate interrupting the audio system to introduce themselves, tell me the altitude or the need to put the seatbelt on due to turbulence ahead, perhaps the video game system could pause whilst they do that... but the amount of times I died in my video games because the controls pause but the games don't...
     
  5. casual-jedi

    casual-jedi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 6, 2002
    Resident Evil 3: Beyond Thunderdome

    [image=http://moviesmedia.ign.com/movies/image/article/715/715818/resident-evil-extinction-20060629044443727-000.jpg]

    You know, I went into this film in a little bit of a funk. Lunar cycles and all that.. I'll explain it to yas when you're all older... Anywho, the movie Alice! I gotta tell ya, I was honestly expecting all the classic hallmarks of a franchise in decline. So why did I even go? Guess I'm a masochist at heart. Don't get me wrong.. Thought the first one was okay, and I really liked the sequel, as Milla really got into her stride. But with '07 touted as the year of the sequel... the results have been, luke warm. So it is a rare, and pleasant occurance, when your lowered expectations are hit completely out of the ballpark. Thoroughly enjoyed the movie.. as it is un-pretentious fun. Simplicity in formula, and execution... hot model-type with a coupla bent machete-thingies.. and scores of Zombie fodder lining up at the meat isle... You do the math.

    So the film treads a predictable path along the Zombie theme. The T-Virus has made happy with most of the globe... and no, people aren't donning the bling, and pitying fools! They're just eating 'em. Few survivors band together, and form a motley vehicular convoy, through what can only be described as a Miller-esque desert dystopia. The odds are against them, they're running out of fuel.. sound familiar? Enter the hero... except instead of Mel, it's Milla. It's hard to not sound patronising when saying this, but it's absolutely refreshing to see strong female figures on the silver screen. So easily could this have been a Vin Diesel, or some Thingy Blah-Blah vehicle. Anyway, rounding it up, Resident Evil: Extinction, is 95 minutes of fuss-free zombie fun. If you like your heroines with a little extra ability, and the body-count moderately high.. you can do much, much worse than to catch Russell Mulcahy's zombie homage to Mad Max.

    One Milla enters......about a thousand leaves.

    7.5/10
     
  6. morgan-aleghieri

    morgan-aleghieri Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2006
    The bent machete things are Kukri. (Don't mind me, just being nitpicky [face_whistling])


    Anywho, yes. Movie was enjoyable. Alice beats up Zombies - it's hard to lose.
    I'm still hanging around for River Tam beats up everyone, though. [face_thinking]
     
  7. kahli

    kahli Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 1, 2000
    Saturday Suckfest - Epsiode Next: Surprise!

    Mammoth

    Now the surprise isn't that I watched it around midnight on Friday night (I meant to watch it saturday, really!), but rather that it was kinda quite a good movie. I mean it was preposterous, but still, quite well done and kinda funny, not taking itself too seriously and entirely watchable.

    Produced by the SciFi channel and starring tom skerrit, Vincent Ventresca (who looked very familiar to me but I can't place him, and imbd comes up with nothing I'd've seen him in, but I believe he was the invisible man at some stage, which still would explain why he LOOKS familiar - nyuk nyuk) and Mrs M Sandwhich, summer glau, some of you may hav seen her in a little tv show called firefly at some stage.

    Anyway, some frozen mammoth gets unthawed by some aliens* and goes on a rampage. That is pretty much totally it. Throw in some men in black (well 1 man and 1 woman) and a cool star wars reference at the end and you've got yourself some first class entertainment.

    Check it out!



    *makes more sense at the time than it does in writing...
     
  8. casual-jedi

    casual-jedi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 6, 2002
    Kukri??? Wot? Like a wooden spoon 'n'at?:p
     
  9. Kahlan72

    Kahlan72 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 27, 2000
    Death at a Funeral.

    Hmmmm..
    A British somedy set a funeral with family and friends interracting as one does at these things with jealousy, hatred, awkwardness and lust, interspersed with poo jokes, gay midgets, and a drug afffected Wash.

    I guess I was hoping for something a little more Britishly intelligent, but it was terribly amusing and cringeworthy ridiculous, to the point that you had to laugh. Honestly though if Alan Tudyk hadn't have been in it, not sure it would have been on my list of things to see, and not sure I would want to see it again.

    The most recent version of Mr Darcy was the main character and it was hard to see him as a geeky, conservative, insecure man, although he played it well. I just think it's damaged my ability to find him quite as sexy on rewatchings of the laterst P&P.

    It was fun, and for around $5 at Southbank, can't really be disappointed.
    Four Weddings and a funeral is the obvious comparison although unfortunately it's not in that league. A bit more intelligent humour and a few more characters you could love and it would have been a cracker.

    3/5
     
  10. casual-jedi

    casual-jedi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 6, 2002
    Hot Rod.

    Funny. HaHa.

    7/10
     
  11. morgan-aleghieri

    morgan-aleghieri Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2006
    We caught up with Rattatouille finally - All hail the mighty Pixar. Very humorous, visually pleasing (as always), voice cast was just right, yadayadayada...

    I can't express how much I love their short films... Is there any commercially available source with all of their short films?
     
  12. kahli

    kahli Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 1, 2000
    like itunes?
     
  13. morgan-aleghieri

    morgan-aleghieri Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2006
    Allergic. :p

    I was kind of hoping for something more in the form of one of those deeveedee whotchamagiggers.
     
  14. Magnus_Darcrider

    Magnus_Darcrider Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 24, 2005
    Each Pixar Film DVD release has had at least one short film as an extra so far. The one in front of Ratatouille was the perfect warm-up act for the main feature.

    Anyway, time for MD's Review Backlog:

    Stardust

    When did I promise to review this? No idea. But multiple viewings have affirmed its status as a favourite, and one I'll be grabbing on DVD the day it's released.

    The story is well known by now, so need for a rehash. Lets go straight to the substance of the film. I'll look at the negatives of the film and discuss a debate I had about which is the better film between this and Princess Bride before I get onto what i liked.

    So, negatives:

    Admittedly, the First Act is kinda dull and slow. Tristan's girl problems are kinda painful to watch, and the dialogue doesn't really sparkle.

    Ricky Gervais adds nothing to the film with his performance as Fergy. It's just Ricky Gervais doing Ricky Gervais, which is distracting if you like his style and annoying if you don't.

    That's all, moving on.

    Now, I got into a debate with a young friend who thought Stardust was a superior film to The Princess Bride, and argued that the nostalgia intertwined with the earlier film is what maintains it popularity, especially with those who saw it at the right age.

    True, nostalgia is certainly part of it. However once you divorce yourself from that and look at the film objectively (which admittedly is difficult for me, The Princess Bride was a life changing film) The Princess Bride is still the superior for the following reasons;

    Pacing; there aren't any lulls in the film, while as I said with Stardust, the first act does drag a bit.

    Writing and dialogue; Oddly for Neil Gaiman, Stardust isn't a quotable film really. When you're quoting The Princess Bride dialogue whilst watching Stardust to accurately capture stuff on screen, you know what's winning out.

    Finally, characters; Stardust has got Captain Shakespeare and, at a stretch, Septimus (his scenes in the finale really take the character in another direction). The Princess Bride has, well, pretty much most of the parts with more than three lines. :p

    But that's more than enough negativity or even perceived negativity, what's great?

    One thing that Stardust does better than The Princess Bride is romance. The older film just got it out of the way and took it as written, and that was a narrative choice as the story was being told by an elderly man to his grandson who didn't want to hear the mushy parts. Still, the romantic in me feels that the film suffers from that as it doesn't help portray Westley and Buttercup's love as Epic as it should be.

    Stardust nails it, right from where Yvaine is thanking Tristan for saving her whilst they're tied up in the hold of Captain Shakespeare's ship ("murdered by pirates is good!" :p).

    The two leads really do exemplify the problem with Rule # 98 of "The Top 100 Things I'd Do
    If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord" List:

    98. If an attractive young couple enters my realm, I will carefully monitor their activities. If I find they are happy and affectionate, I will ignore them. However if circumstance have forced them together against their will and they spend all their time bickering and criticizing each other except during the intermittent occasions when they are saving each others' lives at which point there are hints of sexual tension, I will immediately order their execution. :p

    The moment that really sold it for me was when hiding from a wagon moving up the road, Tristan pushes Yvaine into the scrub. As they lie there, Yvaine asks Tristan "Aren't you tempted..?" and glows just a little bit brighter immediately after she says it. It?s wonderful and romantic and sexy all at once.

    Anyway, while things start slow, they improve substantially from the Second Act onwards, basically when we cut to Peter O'Toole's homicidal dying King of Stormhold and
     
  15. BigBossNass1138

    BigBossNass1138 Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 13, 2002
    I need to borrow The Rocketeer from you, Magnus, I haven't seen it in forever and you've made me really want to.
     
  16. Magnus_Darcrider

    Magnus_Darcrider Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 24, 2005
    Had a bit of an emergency the other night; my dad, my nanna and I were settling back to watch Casablanca (my copy's been on loan for the better part of a year, and I only recently got it back) and as the Lauren Bacall introduction came on we started discussing Bogey's other films. African Queen was my nanna and mum's favourite, and while Casablanca's mine, I mentioned a fondness for The Maltese Falcon, which is my dad's favourite.

    My nanna stated piped up here, saying that she'd never seen it.

    "WHAT?" was the general consensus of the male population of House Darcrider. Ms. Bacall's introduction hadn't ended yet, so we stopped the DVD and instead put on one of the greatest film noir pieces ever made...

    The Maltese Falcon

    A mysterious woman comes into the offices of private detectives Sam Spade and Miles Archer, wanting protection from a thug she knows. Smelling a lie, but taking the job for the money, they agree that Miles should meet with the lady that evening, and he ends up getting shot for his trouble.

    Spade now has to find the woman and work out who killed his partner while avoiding the police and the enigmatic Fat Man, all the while trying to hunt down a strange object, a statue of a black bird - "the stuff that dreams are made of."

    You know that this film was made three times? This version was the last, and easily the best and most successful. Humphrey Bogart is in fine form in a role he seems to have been born to play. He plays it calm and cool; the reason they coined the term "Playing it Bogart", and his snap fire delivery of lines is great.

    My favourite moment though is just before he beats up the diminutive Joel Cairo, played by the great Peter Lorre. Bogart has this smile on his face, like a wolf about to eat, before he lays the guy out with a single punch.

    Mary Astor is an incredible femme fatale, and Lee Patrick is probably the best secretary a guy could want :p My favourite character is still Sydney Greenstreet's amiable but dangerous Kasper Gutman, I love the character's inflection and delivery.

    I could wax lyrical about this film, but I'll save you all that. If for some reason you haven't seen it, go and do so as soon as possible.

    Be seeing you,

    Magnus Darcrider
     
  17. NeecH

    NeecH Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 14, 2003
    I got to see Stardust yesterday...

    I'm not going to go into too much detail because I think MD's review says most everything I could say anyway. I will say these few things though:

    - I couldn't stop smiling. Not since The Fellowship of the Ring have I had such a good time at a movie and felt like a kid again.
    - For the first time in a long time, I was actually concerned about the characters and what might happen to them... even some of the 'not so good' people.
    - I want a 'Billy' of my own to attack people that piss me off.
    - Though Ricky Gervais was just being Ricky Gervais, I loved his dialogue with Captain Shakespeare.
    - Great performances all round... especially DeNiro's brave portrayal of Shakespeare.
    - Michelle Pfiefer's getting on in her days but I'll be damned before I kick that woman out of bed!
     
  18. Magnus_Darcrider

    Magnus_Darcrider Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 24, 2005
    In reference to a movie I was trying to remember the title of for BBN earlier this evening. Though I can't actually remember how I got onto the topic of this film...

    What Dreams May Come.

    I originally didn't want to put this here and use the DVD thread instead, as its been nearly ten years since I've seen this film, and I didn't think I could review the film in good conscience from just my memory.

    However I can remember the impact the visuals had on me, and how emotional this film was; I spent much of my time viewing it drying my eyes, so I can recommend it on that basis.

    Chris and Annie are two American tourists holidaying in Switzerland and Meet Cute. They fall in love, get married, and have two wonderful children, Ian and Marie. They're very happy.

    Then Ian and Marie die in a car accident.

    Annie breaks down, and Chris helps her though it with art and therapy. Their lives are sad, but they get back on track.

    Then Chris dies in a car accident.

    And the film follows him to Heaven.

    As Chris adjusts to the afterlife with the help of Albert, a spirit guide, Annie left alone on Earth gives into her despair, and commits suicide.

    She goes to Hell. Chris in Heaven feels it, and despite good advice, he journeys to Hell to save his soul mate.

    Visually stunning; the idea here is that Heaven and Hell are made in your image, and for Chris, his idea of Heaven is living in one of his wife's paintings. Perfectly cast; Robin Williams as Chris and Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Albert give it their all, and it is beautifully performed. A sad movie, but not a depressing movie, which is a big difference. Its certainly not perfect, but it is amazing and higly underrated. Just be aware you will need to keep tissues on hand.

    Now to find a copy so I can watch it again; there's no real Australian release sadly, so I'll have to hunt elsewhere.

    In any case, don't take my word for it; the original Roger Ebert review.

    Be seeing you,

    Magnus Darcrider
     
  19. morgan-aleghieri

    morgan-aleghieri Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2006
    Holy good gravy I remember that movie! :eek: Last time I saw it was probably when it was showing as a midday movie about 10 odd years ago...
     
  20. BigBossNass1138

    BigBossNass1138 Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 13, 2002
    Potential Star Trek plot spoilers. These come from an apparently proven source, and seem to lend a great deal of credence to the Romulan time travel story that's been doing the rounds. Now, I'm on record as thinking that's a bad idea, but this writeup actually makes it sound surprisingly good, provided it's done right. It sounds much more like it's actually striking an intriguing balance: It's got the minutiae that Trekkies will love (Kobiashi Maru!), a solid break with the past by having history be altered and giving us a fresh start, and a good point of entry for new viewers.


    If it were up to me, I'd forget about screwing around with this crap, and just go for a soft reboot without any kind of pandering to the past, but if it were up to me I'd be wealthier and more influential than I am, so I guess it's a moot point. Regardless, I'm now much more interested in this storyline.
     
  21. Lozza

    Lozza Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 8, 2005
    Only just realised that someone actually reviewed this. All I can say is read the book. The movie is barely half of it. I salute the movie for trying to be faithful to the storyline. Other than that - it is a bad bad film.
     
  22. Murder_Sandwhich

    Murder_Sandwhich Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 7, 2004
    I saw Hitman today. I didn't really want to, but my friend wanted to and I had nothing better to do. I'm a huge fan of the Hitman games, so I thought there could have been some fun to be had in the movie. Unfortunatly, I think Yahtzee said it best -

    SPUNK FLAVOURED LOLLYPOP

    Horrid Horrid Horrid movie. Take every action movie cliche', add a barcode on the hero and you've got Hitman.
     
  23. SithLord-Mixo

    SithLord-Mixo Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 21, 2002
    lol as soon as i saw the promo for Hitman I knew to avoid it
     
  24. NeecH

    NeecH Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 14, 2003
    How can these people continually ***k-up video game tie-ins?!! It seriously can't be that difficult to do - the story's already there for you, same with the characters... Oh no, we wanted to go with a different approach and make something completely unrecognizable from the original source material.
     
  25. Magnus_Darcrider

    Magnus_Darcrider Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 24, 2005
    How do they keep messing it up?

    Cos it's so damn easy.

    Be seeing you,

    Magnus Darcrider
     
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