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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Amph Film Releases & Trends of a Decade Retrospective: The Nineties A-Z. Now Disc: 1993 D-G

Discussion in 'Community' started by The2ndQuest , Apr 15, 2009.

  1. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    The year 2002 in review- what's worth seeing (once or several times?), what's worth keeping?

    Skimming back through the lists I posted, IMO:


    Worth Keeping: (aka: get the DVD!)
    -Big Trouble
    -Blade II
    -Die Another Day
    -E.T.: Special Edition
    -The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
    -Red Dragon
    -Resident Evil (though I know many people will disagree with me here)
    -Signs
    -Spider-Man
    -Star Trek: Nemesis
    -Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
    -xXx

    Worth Seeing a Few Times: (aka: maybe get the DVD)
    -Austin Powers in Goldmember
    -The Bourne Identity
    -Catch Me If You Can
    -The Count of Monte Cristo
    -Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
    -Ice Age
    -Insomnia
    -Mr Deeds
    -Minority Report
    -Panic Room
    -The Rookie

    Worth Seeing Once: (aka: rent it or get it in the $5 bin at Best Buy or Walmart)
    -8 Mile
    -Changing Lanes
    -Collateral Damage
    -Eight Legged Freaks
    -Gangs of New York
    -Jackass: The Movie
    -Jason X (depending on your tastes)
    -John Q
    -K-19: The Widowmaker
    -Knockaround Guys
    -Men in Black II
    -Reign of Fire
    -The Ring
    -Road to Perdition
    -Super Troopers
    -The Sum of All Fears
    -The Time Machine
    -The Transporter
    -We Were Soldiers

    If It's on Cable: (aka: not completely awful, but no need to intentionally seek it out)
    -Analyze That
    -Clockstoppers
    -Eight Crazy Nights
    -Kung Pow! Enter the Fist (depending on your tastes)
    -National Lampoon's Van Wilder
    -Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
     
  2. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    January & February 2003

    Notable releases: (listed in release order)

    January:
    -Just Married
    -A Guy Thing
    -Kangaroo Jack
    -National Security
    -Darkness Falls
    -Biker Boyz
    -Final Destination 2
    -The Recruit

    February:
    -Deliver Us From Eva
    -How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
    -Shanghai Knights
    -Daredevil
    -The Jungle Book 2
    -Dark Blue
    -Gods and Generals
    -The Life of David Gale
    -Old School
    -Cradle 2 the Grave

    T2Q Comments:

    -Darkness Falls: I never saw this one, but it seems to have been decently received- anyone here seen it?

    -Final Destination 2: A sequel that tops it's original. It manages to do so without becoming a parody or by-the-numbers like the 3rd one.

    -The Recruit: Decent drama with Al Pacino and Colin Farrell. The imprisonment test stood out to me as a memorable element.

    -Shanghai Knights: Despite having more action better suited to a film with Jackie Chan, this one was not as good as Shanghai Noon. Good sword fight at the end, though.

    -Daredevil: Though the Director's Cut is superior, I still feel the normal cut is unfairly maligned (I think most of it has to do with Affleck hate). It's probably the darkest superhero script we'd had up until that point and, with exception to the score, wasn't really any better or worse than Batman 1989. And even though it lacks an awesome Elfman score, it does have a very good soundtrack that helped launch Evanescence's popularity to new heights.

    It had decent comedic relief by Kevin Smith and Jon Favareu, and a memorable, stand-out performance by Colin Farrel as Bullseye. Affleck was servicable as Murdock and, skin tone aside, the take on the Kingpin was pretty decent. It also had a few excellent sequences (most notably the murder of Elektra's father).

    The Director's Cut adds in more ivestigation elements that really improves the film too.

    -Dark Blue: Never heard of this one, anyone seen it? Kurt Russell is in it.

    -Gods and Generals: Never saw it (Civil War stuff, like mafia films, is difficult for me to really get into) but notable for it's creation of being a prequel to 1993's Gettysburg and being financed entirely by Ted Turner after the film was unable to get greenlighted due to the underperformance of Gettysburg. Likewise, the poor box office performance of Gods and Generals has prevented even Ted from funding a third film. Seems almost like it was filmed to be a miniseries, as it it's extended cut is rumored to run 6 hours long.

    -Old School: One of the funniest, dominating comedies of the decade (Superbad is probably the only thing to rival it). Great cast and just a greta sense of fun throughout. Not to mention it once again got Whitesnake stuck in people's heads. <img src="http://www.denimfilms.com/boardpics/rockdevil.gif">

    -Cradle 2 the Grave: Another DMX/Jet Li billing, but I never saw it.


    Overall Trends:

    Final Destination would continue as a notable, if no longer dominating, horror franchise, mostly thanks to this first very successful sequel. Shanghai did decently enough to establish Chan's second American franchise, with a 3rd, Shanghai Dawn, intended to be made one day. Daredevil's successful debut helped establish the Valentine's Day weekend as a viable genre action flick launch window and would spawn a spin-off that sadly wastes any potential setup in this film, subsequently killing the series till it gets rebooted. Old School established the "Frat Pack" as a prominent cast for comedies to leverage.
     
  3. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    March & April 2003

    Notable releases: (listed in release order)

    March:
    -Bringing Down the House
    -Tears of the Sun
    -Bend It Like Beckham
    -Agent Cody Banks
    -The Hunted
    -Willard
    -Boat trip
    -Dreamcatcher
    -Piglet's Big Movie
    -View From the Top
    -Basic
    -The Core
    -Head of State

    April:
    -A Man Apart
    -Phone Booth
    -Anger Management
    -Bulletproof Monk
    -A Mighty Wind
    -Holes
    -Malibu's Most Wanted
    -Confidence
    -Identity
    -It Runs in the Family
    -The Real Cancun

    T2Q Comments:

    -Bringing Down the House: Steve Martin, what happened?

    -Tears of the Sun: I remember finding this a pretty decent flick, but I can't remember too much about it other than Bruce Willis' name and the trivia fact that the title originated in an unused subtitle for Die Hard 4 during it's development.

    -Willard: I still gotta see it. Crispin Glover seems perfectly cast.

    -Boat Trip: Cuba Gooding, what in the name of god happened?

    -Dreamcatcher: Didn't live up to it's potential. I recall the last 3rd dragging.

    -The Core: A stupid movie with a sillier premise. Still, it does manage a few ok moments. However, "your kung-fu is not strong."

    -A Man Apart: Pretty decent revenge film with Vin Diesel.

    -Phone Booth: Solid thriller with Colin Farrell and the voice of Jack Bauer. ;)

    -Anger Management: An ok Sandler film but not one that needs to be saught out.

    -Bulletproof Monk: Light but entertaining.

    -A Mighty Wind: Not as funny as Best in Show, but still a very funny mocumentary.

    -Holes: The Beouf is unleashed!

    -Identity: Overall a solid mystery thriller though i recall the end twist overconvulting some of the events.


    Overall Trends:

    Though it may not be entirely true, I kinda want to say The Core was the last nail in the coffin of the wave of mid-90's disaster flick trend (with only Emmerich and Devlin primarily being the only ones to produce beyond this point). A Man Apart is the last of the shelfwarming Vin flicks. The Beouf will be a rising star in a few years time.
     
  4. Leviathan_

    Leviathan_ Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Jun 30, 2002
    Bend It Like Beckham - pretty awesome film, arguably launched Kiera Knightley on her way to stardom.

    Agent Cody Banks - Frankie Muniz taps into his 'Malcolm in the Middle' persona in this spy (kid) thriller. Enjoyable enough novelty film, also stars Lizzie Maguire ... err I mean Hilary Duff as the love interest (though I was half expecting an animated Lizzie to pop up somewhere :p). Did well enough to spawn a sequel which I've never seen.

    The Core - ANOTHER 'world is ending, gotta send an elite team to save us all!' scenario. Thank Thor this genre has more or less died off excepting all the Emmerich/Devlin films.

    Phone Booth - has some faults here and there, but not a bad little thriller. Seems weird to hear Sutherland's voice considering how identified he is now with Jack Bauer.

    Anger Management - the previews made this out to be a lot funnier than it actually was.

    Holes - intriguing premise and a fun film, and yes it's funny to see Shia so young. :)

    The Real Cancun - with 'reality TV' becoming the big thing in the early 00s it was only a matter of time before some studio would try to bring it to the big screen ('reality film'?). Seems the idea never went any further than this film, which is pretty boring unless you enjoy perving on blurry sex scenes and other wild antics by a bunch of 20-somethings. Oh well, at least the nerdy guy got lucky. :D
     
  5. Obi Anne

    Obi Anne Celebration Mistress of Ceremonies star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1998
    Didn't see many of these films, but here you go:

    The life of David Gale - saw it years later on tv, and it really makes me uncomfortable. The story is strange, especially with the twists in the end.

    Bend it like Beckham - BILB is a great film, I might have seen it because it was Keira Knightley, and at that time it felt like only the Royal Handmaiden Society knew about her, but she's just a small part of what makes this such a good film. I love it.

    View from the top - I think this one went straight to DVD. It's an OK film, nice for an evening at home when there's nothing else on. And I think that was the setting I saw it in.

    To me it feels as if this time period is looking a bit for a new trendsetter.
     
  6. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Real Cancun also had a very fast production-to-theatrical-to-video run: it was in theaters about a month after filming finished, and it was on video within 2 months after that.
     
  7. Rogue1-and-a-half

    Rogue1-and-a-half Manager Emeritus who is writing his masterpiece star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2000
    The Recruit I really didn't like; Pacino just sleepwalking and Farrell being about as bland and uninteresting as he could be.

    You're right about Daredevil; very unfairly maligned. Pretty good movie, Farrell is a shot of pure fun and adrenaline and I loved Duncan as Kingpin, particularly the bit where he unmasks Daredevil; I've been waiting for that scene to happen in a superhero movie my whole life. Knock him down and pull off his mask, dude! :p

    Final Destination 2 is definitely a great little horror flick; it does improve on the first film by expanding the premise and making it even more metaphysical. A rare feat for a horror franchise. Third one let everything go sadly and the franchise is essentially dead to me now. :p

    Darkness Falls is a great, great little horror flick. It was unfairly bashed by a lot of people on its release and actually still shows up on a few "worst films" lists, which is totally screwy. It's very atmospheric, relies on slow tension instead of fast bang stuff and it has for its protagonist one of the few really intelligent and clever main characters I've ever seen in a horror movie. Plus, there's a just monster great sequence in a police station late in the film. Definitely worth watching; I seem to be one of the few people still defending this film, but I loved it.

    Identity was a great mystery/thriller. I loved every minute of it.

    Anger Management had some laughs, but by and large, Nicholson notwithstanding, it was just another in the endless string of Sandler vehicles, which seemed to be getting less and less funny with each entry.
     
  8. StateOfLoveAndTrust

    StateOfLoveAndTrust Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2001
    Going back to Daredevil, I've never had a problem with The 'Fleck, but he doesn't work as a superhero. And I still maintain that the playground fight is one of the stupidest movie scenes ever.

    I've never seen Holes, but isn't that the one that brought Dumbass to the attention of Spielberg? If so, boo 2003.





     
  9. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    I didn't have a problem with the playground scene (outside of the wirework, which is more a criticism of the style of the film's action as a whole, not just that particular scene), I thought it worked well as one of those "playful flirty" fights they were going for. Though perhaps it's a bit too cheery/upbeat of a sequence in contrast to the rest of the film, so I can see how it might stand out.
     
  10. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    May & June 2003

    Notable releases: (listed in release order)

    May:
    -X2: X-Men United
    -Daddy Day Care
    -The Matrix Reloaded
    -Down With Love
    -Bruce Almighty
    -The In-Laws
    -Finding Nemo
    -The Italian Job
    -Wrong Turn

    June:
    -2 Fast 2 Furious
    -Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd
    -Hollywood Homicide
    -Rugrats Go Wild
    -From Justin to Kelly
    -The Hulk
    -28 Days Later
    -Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle


    T2Q Comments:

    -X2: X-Men United: The best of the X films and by far the best comic book film pre-Iron Man/Dark Knight, it took what worked in the first X-Men movie and really hit some great notes with it, with enough details for fans to freak out over (the file names on the computer screens), some great casting/performances (Nightcrawler) and some amazingly tense and awesome sequences (the assault on the mansion), and setting up one of the biggest storylines in comics (Pheonix Saga) history (though, sadly, setup all but discarded and outright ruined by the awful X3- seriously, we saw the frelling firebird in X2, you can't just ignore and change that!).

    -Daddy Day Care: Once upon a time, there was a man who was very funny by the name of Eddie Murphy, and his movies entertained so many and made them laugh by bringing a fun edge to most films he was a part of.

    Then one day Eddie lost his mind.

    Ever since then, he's made awful, awful movies advertised using the same big red lettered font against white backgrounds in their trailers and on posters, and the world, was sad- very, very sad.

    -The Matrix Reloaded: Though it's not without it's problems, I still think Reloaded gets unfairly bashed. It's certainly not as good as the original film, but the Burly Brawl and freeway chase were awesome sequences, and there are some very interesting characters and developments throughout the movie. The main faults in the movie lay in the subsequent third movie failing to pick up the threads established in this film and resolving them in a satisfactory manner (which is different from internally or thematically consistent). Also, oddly, the actors tend to have bad performances during scenes set in Zion, yet the same actors are actually quite good in the footage set in Zion shot for the Enter the Matrix video game side-story.

    -Bruce Almighty: One of Jim Carrey's best comedy efforts this decade that evokes his string of 90's domination hits.

    -Finding Nemo: The best Pixar movie made to that point (The Incredibles and, possibly, Wall*E have topped it in recent years, however)

    -The Italian Job: Awesome little heist flick with a great cast (even if Norton had to be dragged kicking and screaming to take part in it), very fun.

    -2 Fast 2 Furious: The weakest of the franchise is still fun for what it delivers- and the "run" competition was a great sequence.

    -Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd: I was not that big a fan of the original, so a terrible prequel held no interest to me (or, apparently, anyone else ;)).

    -Hollywood Homicide: A Harrison Ford movie whose trailer greatly annoyed me every time it played. It just didn't seem to play with any of his strengths (ala Air Force One or The Devil's Own) with neither the "so-bad-it-'s-kinda-watchable" of 6 Days 7 Nights or the "Generic-Ford-Movie-Plot" of Firewall.

    -From Justin to Kelly: I hate American Idol. Churning out this movie to star the top 2 winners of the first season furthered that hate- though, thankfully, it died at the box office (even after theaters protested Fox's initial decision to put it on video weeks after it hit- something they backed off on but then returned to after it bombed).

    -The Hulk: While I can appreciate the attempt to put this particular poetic spin on the material, it just doesn't work out to be that of a good movie. From transitional effects attempting to replicate the style comic panels that only resulted in distracting and annoying the audience from the story (except for one very effective moment where Nolte's eyes are placed across the top of the screen towards the end) to a randomly confusing final battle (just who/what charact
     
  11. Rogue1-and-a-half

    Rogue1-and-a-half Manager Emeritus who is writing his masterpiece star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2000
    Bruce Almighty was the last really great Jim Carrey movie. It's right up there with Liar Liar in my opinion. Not the least of its significant charms is that it really introduced me (and many others, I think) to the brilliance of Steve Carrell, who Carrey even let upstage him beautifully in the film's most hilarious scene.

    Finding Nemo is still astonishing. X2 was far better than the original film. And Hollywood Homicide should have been ticketed for illegal use of Harrison Ford. A wasted opportunity, which is a shame because there was one quite hilarious chase scene set to Missy Elliott that just really worked. Also, I agree with you on Reloaded.

     
  12. tom

    tom Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2004
    not a fan of eternal sunshine, rogue? to me it's carrey's most understated role, but also his best film.
     
  13. Rogue1-and-a-half

    Rogue1-and-a-half Manager Emeritus who is writing his masterpiece star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2000
    Yeah, that one slipped my mind. I guess I mean his last great purely comedic film.
     
  14. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    July & August 2003

    Notable releases: (listed in release order)

    July:
    -Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
    -Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
    -Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
    -Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
    -The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
    -Bad Boys II
    -Johnny English
    -Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
    -Seabiscuit
    -Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over


    August:
    -American Wedding
    -Gigli
    -Freaky Friday
    -Le Divorce
    -S.W.A.T.
    -Freddy vs. Jason
    -Grind
    -Open Range
    -Uptown Girls
    -Marci X
    -The Medallion
    -My Boss's Daughter
    -Jeepers Creepers II




    T2Q Comments:

    -Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines: T2 was, and remains, one of my great film obsessions since I was in 4th grade (saw it on video). So, needless to say, I had been waiting years for this movie- though obviously quite dissapointed that Cameron decided not to be involved after Titanic (when, originally, he made T2-3D as a specific stepping stone to T3).

    The teaser trailer was an incredible experience to have in the theaters- despite being a simple logo teaser. Just hearing that music in a theater for the first time was just epic.

    Sadly the film just made so many bad decisions and sloppy ideas that the few truly brave parts of the movie were drastically overshadowed. From the increased amount of humor that bordered on parody to the awful continuity with the first two films (seriously, how hard was it to get John Connor's age right? IT WAS RIGHT THERE ON A SCREEN IN T2. Or realize that T2 did NOT happen in 1997?). Add the "why are we treading water with another time traveling robot after John instead of moving the story forward?" aspect, some strange out of place sci-fi (robot cars in 2003) and it's justs o terribly dissapointing.

    What bugs me most is the film actually would have been actually watchable if they had just reshot about 15 minutes of the movie. It may not have been worthy to the legacy of the first two films, but it wouldn't have been such a medicore embarrassment. (check out the fan re-edit titled "T3: the Coming Storm" for something that represents an improved, streamlined version of the film that was achieved through some creative edits, new titles and data screen alterations.

    I mean, you are handicapped from the outset with this film by not having Cameron or Hamilton involved. Why would you make the BONEHEADED decision to NOT use any of the existing Terminator musical themes? (the end credits does not count!) Why would you dig that hole that much deeper? WHY?

    Everyone should just ignore this movie and watch the outstanding Sarah Connor Chronicles series. It is just so much more worthy as a sequel to T2, it's not funny.

    The International Trailer really trys to sell the movie people wanted, I think. Alas...

    I guess it can be noted that this was Arnie's last real starring role- all his other appearances since then have been cameos due to his political career.


    -Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: Excellent, fun adventure film. Jack Sparrow is a classic character and this film pretty much resurrected Depp's career to a huge star. I liked the sequels but even if you don't the first is still fun.

    -The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Awesome idea (never read the comics), some great casting (Connery), crappy movie.

    -Bad Boys II: I didn't like the first Bad Boys at all- it was just a bad sitcom plot. Love the sequel though. Does everything right a good Michael Bay movie should do. Fun, over the top ridiculous action (throwing cars on the freeway, the boat, the hummer through the shantee town, etc).

    -Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life: big improvement over the first film. Not even to make it a greta series, but at least it came across as a semi-decent Indiana Jones wannabe here.

    -American Wedding: I actually think this was my favorite of the original 3 films. But then, I wasn't as blown away as most people seemed to be with the original. I actually lik
     
  15. Rogue1-and-a-half

    Rogue1-and-a-half Manager Emeritus who is writing his masterpiece star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2000
    I actually really enjoyed Freaky Friday and thought it was actually way funnier than the original film.

    S.W.A.T. was a movie made with everyone coasting. Everyone except Jeremy Renner who I have loved ever since I saw him create a real character out of his villain while everyone else just showed up and mugged for the cameras.
     
  16. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    He definitely did impress there.
     
  17. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    September & October 2003

    Notable releases: (listed in release order)

    September:
    -Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
    -The Order
    -Cabin Fever
    -Lost in Translation
    -Matchstick Men
    -Once Upon a Time in Mexico
    -Anything Else
    -Cold Creek Manor
    -The Fighting Temptations
    -Secondhand Lions
    -Underworld
    -Duplex
    -The Rundown
    -Under the Tuscan Sun


    October:
    -Out of Time
    -School of Rock
    -Mystic River
    -House of the Dead
    -Intolerable Cruelty
    -Kill Bill Vol. 1
    -Runaway Jury
    -The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
    -In the Cut
    -Beyond Borders
    -Brother Bear
    -Radio
    -Scary Movie 3


    T2Q Comments:

    -The Order: I may have seen this, I can't remember. It just seemed to be in that slump of films Ledger had that were either not very good or bombed or both, and it's memory kinda gets lost in there.

    -Cabin Fever: Haven't seen it, but I recall it was one of those small flicks that got a lot of buzz and momentum on the net leading to it's release.

    -Lost in Translation: Good performances (especially Murray) and shot very well, but I never seemed to have the love for this other people have. It's worth seeing but I have no inclination to ever watch it again.

    -Matchstick Men: Nicholas Cage playing a conman with a lot of nervous ticks and quirks? Yeah, not a stretch for him, but I still enjoyed this one from Ridley Scott, even if it's premise has that somewhat cliche "and now this character has to deal with having a daughter" concept.

    -Once Upon a Time in Mexico: Awesome conclusion to the El Mariachi trilogy. Great cast with Banderas, Depp, Rourke, DaFoe, etc. Gonna have to make a point of watching this one again soon...

    -Secondhand Lions: It could have been awful, but I actually somewhat enjoyed this one. Caine and Duvall make a good pair here. I remember the main point of interest here was seeing "that kid from The 6th Sense" in another role.

    -Underworld: Vampires vs Werewolves with a bit of The Matrix thrown in using weapons to try and out-Blade "Blade"? Yes please. Sure, Mythbusters debunked that "shooting circle into floor" escape, but that was cool :D. The one shot that stands out the most to me, though, is that shot of her jumping off a building and landing on the street with just a slight bounce to her step (the shot is about 1:45-1:50 into the trailer). Something about that motion/reaction visual to that small moment has always stuck with me in ways it was probably never intended to.

    -The Rundown: The film meant to introduce The Rock as the successor to the action stars of decades past (thus the Arnold cameo meant to "pass the torch"), and though Dwayne hasn't quite followed that path (generally sticking to family comedies where he's done quite well) this action comedy with Sean William Scott is still a pretty enjoyable flick (plus: Walken!).

    -School of Rock: Jack Black's first big hit and it's a pretty good one. Obviously letting him leverage his love of rock and music probably helped, but still.

    -House of the Dead: Uwe Boll finds ways of making movies worse. Intercutting video game footage into a horror film adaptation of it? Really?

    -Kill Bill Vol. 1: The action-centric half of this duo was probably my favorite Tarintino flick until Inglorious Basterds came out. Plus it made sure this piece of music would be used everywhere from now on (even shamelessly in Transformers).

    -The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Having not seen the original, I can't compare it to the remake, but I thought the remake was pretty decent on the whole. The teaser trailer (which I can't seem to find a proper version of on youtube) was also a particularly excellent teaser, with a great sound-only mix on blackness for a long stretch.

    -Scary Movie 3: A shift away from the edgier comedy of the Wayans used for the first 2 movies, shifting to a safer PG-13 Airplane-esque humor (personified by Leslie Nielsen's inclusion). It worked at times, but it ultimately lacked the punch that made the first two so great.

    -Brother Bear: Ne
     
  18. Rogue1-and-a-half

    Rogue1-and-a-half Manager Emeritus who is writing his masterpiece star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2000
    Mystic River and Lost in Translation are both masterpieces. School of Rock is incredibly lovable.
     
  19. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    I do have to get around to seeing Mystic River eventually.
     
  20. MandalorianDuchess

    MandalorianDuchess Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 16, 2010
    I watched both Kill Bill movies in theaters and enjoyed them both a lot. However I remember being disappointed at the time that they couldn't have released it as one big film. But I figured that sooner or later it would be available as one complete movie for home video release.

    Seven years later, I'm still waiting. :(
     
  21. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Wow, I didn't even think about the perspective of how long we've been waiting for the single-film version of Kill Bill- 7 years? Has it really been that long? Damn. It's certainly one of at least 3 films long-promised that I've been waiting for a DVD release of (the others being the entire Grindhouse experience, and the fabled director's cut of Event Horizon).
     
  22. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Making a brief jump-back here, but apparently I made a major oversight for Oct 2001 which I've only now just discovered after having seen the movie in question and checking this thread only to see it's omission.

    Donnie Darko.

    Just watched it for the first time with no idea what it was about outside of what Frank's costume looks like. Fantastic movie, really really loved it. Somewhat ambiguous ending, but not in a bad way.

    And who knew Seth Rogen existed in 2001? ;)
     
  23. Obi Anne

    Obi Anne Celebration Mistress of Ceremonies star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1998
    I haven't seen many of these films either, I guess they are in my lull of moviegoing, I would pick it up and go to the cinema a lot more later.

    The only ones I've seen are School of Rock, which is a cute film that I enjoyed, and Lost in Translation. I had very high hopes for Lost in Translation, especially since I loved Coppola's Virgin Suicides, but it wasn't able to draw me in. I've seen it, but will probably not see it again. For me it's the weakest of Coppola's three films about young women (the Virgin Suicides, LiT and Marie Antoinette).
     
  24. StateOfLoveAndTrust

    StateOfLoveAndTrust Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2001
    I saw Mystic River for Sean Penn and Tim Robbins, and I'm glad I did, because the way Morpheus and Footloose solve the case...that's pretty dumb.





     
  25. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    November & December 2003

    Notable releases: (listed in release order)

    November:
    -The Matrix Revolutions
    -Elf
    -Love Actually
    -Looney Tunes: Back in Action
    -Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
    -The Cat in the Hat
    -Gothika
    -Bad Santa
    -The Haunted Mansion
    -The Missing
    -Timeline

    December:
    -The Last Samurai
    -Big Fish
    -Something's Gotta Give
    -Stuck on You
    -The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
    -Mona Lisa Smile
    -Cheaper by the Dozen
    -Cold Mountain
    -Peter Pan
    -Monster
    -Paycheck


    T2Q Comments:

    -The Matrix Revolutions: It fixes some of the problems from Reloaded (the actors in Zion are no longer consistently terrible), throws back to more of the style and feel of the first film, and presents an astounding set piece (the defense of Zion is, by far, the "skip to this chapter on the DVD" sequence), yet fails to satisfyingly resolve the series (the ending may be consistent with certain concepts- but it's not the same thing) and highlights some of the failures of the Matrix sequels well (mainly it includes/introduces several great characters/elements, then never resolves them- ie: the Merrovingian, Twins, Vampires, etc).

    Plus, for the first franchise in recent memory where humanity losing would have seemed a plausible and almost expected result, the actual resolution of the primary conflict is pretty damn disappointing.

    So, it's both better and worse than Reloaded, just in different ways. Oddly enough, they complement each other well in a sort of mirror of each other.

    -Elf: One of the better xmas movies of recent years. Cute concept, and while Will Ferell fits the role well, James Caan kinda steals the movie in the end.

    -Looney Tunes: Back in Action: Never saw it- better or worse than Space Jam?

    -Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World: A pretty decent naval action movie. I'm not in love with it as much as other people (it's a bit dry and overly long at times) but it's depiction of the historical combat probably redefined the subgenre's expectations.

    -The Cat in the Hat: Jim Carrey was The Grinch, so they had to try and copy it with Mike Myers here. While not as lacking to it's source material as the Grinch was, it still fails to really grab the essence of the story/character. Dakota Fanning was the most interesting element here- but she generally is, regardless of the material.

    -Bad Santa: Another modern xmas film that covers the black comedy flipside to Elf's cheerier optimism. While I don't think it deserves the raving cult classic status it's achieved recently (it's no "Scrogged"), it's still a funny flick and worthy of at least some cult success.

    -The Haunted Mansion: Thankfully they're remaking this. Outside of a few cameos, it had little to nothing to do with the actual story of the ride.

    -The Missing: A Ron Howard film whose trailer kinda dulled/annoyed me. Never got around to seeing it for those reasons, even if I generally like most of his films.

    -Timeline: Never saw it, but I will eventually- as B-movie as it likely is, I tend to like anything based on a Crichton novel (yes, I even found enjoyable aspects of Congo ;)).

    -The Last Samurai: One of my favorite movies. I never had a problem with Cruise (something that seems to turn some people off from the film) but I think he's good here, and Ken Watanabe is excellent. Sure, it has aspects of that Dances With Wolves/Avatar story, but, and maybe this is just the appeal of the samurai culture, it doesn't seem all that overt here and makes for a generally awesome film.

    -Big Fish: It's been awhile, so i don't recall too many specifics, though I recall enjoying it on the whole. More Pee-Wee's Big Adventure than most recent Burton flicks.

    -The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Outside of my issues with the Army of the Dead almost ruining the movie, the too-many-endings complaint and the disappointing simplification of Gollum's arc (aspects seemingly carried over from the books themselves, which I have not read), it's a generally awesome epic flick that wraps up a fantastic trilogy.

    -Cheaper by the Do