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Now watching Quantum of Solace.
- After seeing No Country For Old Men and loving it, i decided to check this film out, as it was directed by the same guys. To be honest i didn't like it. It was too slow, bad pacing, too much talking, long and extended scenes, i couldn't keep focus on the movie at all. It was just uninteresting, i found myself on facebook a lot during the movie, and i just didn't see the point in the movie by the end. I might have to give it a second viewing (When i am ready to), but for now i don't really like it.
2/5 - Average
It wasn't a bad movie, very poignant, profound with a dash of joyful mood at the same time and with an all-around good performances by McGregor, Plummer and Laurent.
3/5
Classic action film. 9/10
P.S. You should use your manners in the movie theaters. Get off of Facebook and don't interfere with someone else's film going experience just because you are uninterested in it. That has to be one of the rudest things I've heard going on at a theater.
The story was great, the acting was great, and the action was absolutely unrivaled.
Its on Netflix instant play if you have an account. But its definitely worth a rent if you want a good martial arts/revenge flick for a Saturday night.
9/10
I'm watching "Sympathy For Lady Vengeance" right now, and holy crap, this is great! I'm going to watch "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" next, and then finish the trilogy (backwards, ironically) with Oldboy, which I'll have to buy. But the complexity of Lady Vengeance's character is beautiful, and man can she act!
- But i wasn't at the cinemas, i was watching it on a DVD at home i bought, i WILL watch it again, i'm not putting the rating i gave it as 'official', i didn't give it a fair trial, sorry again
Night of the Creeps
Event Horizon
like most Stallone vehicles it's a bit half baked and there is as much bad as good, but overall I'll give it a pass
there's no back story as such, these guys just exist, you've seen this all this before, so they don't feel any need to explain the details of this variation
they are mostly derivative of the A team in their cartoonish nature and commando-ish missions
Stallone's face looks old and lumpy, but the body still seems in decent shape and beard helps
Arnie and Bruce make a nice uncredited cameo appearance, but Jason Statham is the real number two guy in the Expendable pecking order
Jet Li is number 3, being the other "still on the big screen" star, and then we have straight to DVD Dolf, followed by a gaggle of ex professional wrestlers like Stone Cold, with the rejuvenated Mickey Rourke taking the cool tail gunner spot on the credits
the story is wafer thin, but Eric Roberts makes a serviceable villain with Stone Cold as his enforcer, although he doesn't have much to do, however for me the whole Generalissimo character is problematic
politically the film seems to want to blame everything on Roberts rogue American agent and El Supremo is somehow meant to arouse our sympathy as having been led astray by the evil gringos (yeah right)
basically there is no room for such subtle distinctions in this genre, he should be bad to the bone just like Roberts and Stone Cold
either that or get a much better script
also how Dolf gets forgiven after he changes sides and leads an all out assault to try and kill Stallone and Li is beyond any logic
misogynists will find plenty to cheer about here, as Stallone expounds his "you can only trust your mates and women are only good for one thing", which is reinforced by the unfaithful behaviour of Stathams girlfriend (childlike inconstant things, they just can't help themselves) and his own slight distain as he declines to kiss the Generals daughter at the end
as for the action itself, it's a bit of a frustrating mix, much of it is incoherent and more reminiscent of late 90s post 2000 action movies than the golden age 80s to which it is supposed to be a throwback
but then suddenly there will be a brief sequence that is spot on
and there is some ham fisted humurous banter which makes it more fun than Rambo 4 anyways
Sky Riders
James Coburn stars in a preposterous but entertaining action flick
adventurer Coburn's ex wife Susannah York and son are kidnapped by a 70's terrorist group seeking a ransom in arms from her rich current hubby, Robert Culp
Coburn still has a soft spot for her and the boy so he turns up to help out Culp and Police Chief Charles Aznavour
turns out the terrorists are hold up in a seemingly inaccessible disused monastery on top of a spectacular rock formation (in reality "The Holy Monastery of Rousanou/St. Barbara")
part of a complex of scenic monasteries later used in James Bond (except "The Monastery of the Holy Trinity" was used for FYEO)
Coburn is wondering how to get in when he has a flash of inspiration, why not make use of the latest 70s craze, the hand glider
he seeks out a travelling hand gliding circus troupe led by John Beck (who I coincidentally just watched in Rollerball) and persuades them to join him in mounting a daring commando style rescue
fortunately, as well as being proficient with hand gliders, they are also dab hands with automatic weapons and grenades
once you've swallowed that, away we go
as long as you don't think about it too much it moves along well enough and provides some wonderful aerial footage of the spectacular Meteora scenery
as with "Firepower" it's more fun than his wannabe "Thomas Crown" efforts, like "Dead Heat On A Merry-go-round" and "The Internecine Project", while offering more satisfying action and drama than his "Flint" and "Presidents Analyst" Bond spoofs
like Charles Bronson, as a lead actor Coburn doesn't often get to work with the best of material, so I rate this one of his better efforts
and on that basis, if you’re a Coburn fan this is a must
Violent Saturday
I've got a soft spot for Victor Mature, as a kid I used to laugh at his silly name and wet performance in "The Robe"
then I saw him in "My Darling Clementine" I started to quite like him
now I see him as sort of the Sylvester Stallone of the 50s, loved by the public for his Biblical blockbusters like "The Robe", "Demetrius & The Gladiator" and "The Egyptian", the "Rocky" or "Rambo" of their time, but maligned by the critics who nicknamed him "Victor Manure"
I watched "Kiss Of Death" earlier this year, big Vic's ok but Richard Widmark steals the show as a giggling psychopath
Violent Saturday is sometimes billed as a noir, but the drama aspects are a bit too soapy for that, so "melodrama with a bank robbery finale" is a more accurate description
big Vic leads a stellar ensemble cast, who are all allowed their spots to shine, including Steve McNally, Richard Egan, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine and Sylvia Sydney
a group of seemingly unrelated people are observed acting out the small dramas of their lives until their paths all cross at the bank and things will never be quite the same again
the Richard Egan storyline is pure soap but does allow Virginia Leith one badass female scene where she really gets stuck into Margaret Hayes (verbally)
the script and direction allow Steve McNally, Lee Marvin and J Carrol Naish each to sketch out interesting and distinctive characters as the bank robbers, as much using mannerisms as dialogue
in that respect the film displays an unexpected subtlety and depth
the showdown at the farm is a crisp well constructed set piece with some quality action as big Vic gets to deal out some justice with the help of unlikely Amish farmer Borginine
surprisingly good then and a must have for any fans of big Vic
The Naked Spur
Jimmy Stewart and Anthony Mann at the top of their game
one of the "small group of disparate people thrown together by circumstances" sub genre of western
with Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh and Ralph Meeker filling out the group along with the obligatory old timer
Ryan is the slippery villain, Meeker the wild colonial boy, Leigh the naive babe and the old timer is, of course, a prospector
that leaves Jimmy to play the good man haunted by an unfortunate past
Jimmy is less likable than usual, his character a bit hysterical at times and there doesn't quite seem to be enough back story to justify it
sure his wife sold the farm and skipped out while he was away fighting the civil war, but is that enough to cause screaming nightmares and wild eyed rants?
I would have thought some kind of massacre or death of a loved one would be needed to justify the level of intense emotion Stewart displays here
also the speed of Jimmy's recovery from being shot around the knee area is somewhat miraculous…
however apart from that it's very well put together, with revelations that ratchet up the tension and alter the group dynamic sprinkled along the way
as with most Stewart / Mann collaborations it's filmed in the mountains among much greenery, unlike the desert landscapes favoured by John Ford and others
that scenery is majestic and utilised to great effect, so, taking all things into consideration, it's a bit of a classic
Bonanza (episode "San Francisco")
in which Hoss takes on the whole of San Francisco in a fist fight... and wins (with some exuberant assistance from Little Joe, who's not so dusty either, and Pa)
the man mountain of the Cartwright family comes on like a combination of the Hulk and Ben Grim (The Thing), proving to be impervious to the black jack and undauted by being dropped through a trap door into the harbour!
King Of The Khyber Rifles
stirring stuff from the age of empire, a swashbuckling sub genre popular in the 40s
Gary Cooper did "Lives Of A Bengal Lancer", Cary Grant and Doug Fairbanks jr did "Gunga Dhin" and much of Errol Flynn's "Charge Of The Light Brigade" is set in India
this is Tyrone Powers entry in the field
what lifts it out of the ordinary is that the main theme is racial intolerance, Power plays a man with an English father and an Indian mother, who has to deal with various subtle and not so subtle shades of racism, while serving on the infamous North West Frontier
the film also features the most prominent involvement of punkas and punka-wallahs this side of "It Ain't Half Hot Mum"
every second scene seems to have a punka flapping low overhead with someone asking the punka-wallah to speed up, or cursing the punka-wallah, or going to the window to see where the punka-wallah has got to
the justification for this comes when the punka-wallah turns out to be a bad egg, who tells the men that the bullets for the new Lee Enfield rifles have been stored in pig grease
which is based on a true incident that occurred during the "mutiny"
Power is athletic and does earnest determination well, but lacks the ability to switch between that and casual charm when called for, in the way that Errol Flynn could
amongst the customary daring do there is one short but grisly execution, where Powers race tolerant room mate is skewered by the villain
his characters childhood friend leads the Indians (or Afghans?) who seek to over throw the British and he is portrayed as a formidable foe, both physically and mentally impressive, so much so that Power has to be saved in at the climax, when at the point of seemingly inevitable death at his hand, by one of his soldiers
Tyrone lives to return to the girl, who has been staunchly colour blind all along, and love conquers all
solid stuff
Somewhere In The Night
a superior film noir starring John Hodiak and Nancy Guild
like Tyrone Power, Hodiak lacks the ability to break up the tension a bit by injecting some devil may care charm or humour into the role, in the way that Bogart or Ladd or Mitchum might
he just doesn't have the "x" factor of charisma to explain why the girl falls for him on such small acquaintance
and neither does Nancy Guild really, but the rest is so good it doesn't matter
the supporting cast who include Richard Conte, Loyd Nolan and Harry (Col Potter) Morgan are all excellent
there's plenty of double dealing and although, in the end, it's a bit of a stretch to suppose that there is not one person left in town who might have recognised Hodiak from the old days, the film is almost over by the time that thought occurs
very enjoyable
The Black Swan (1942)
contender for the best pirate movie ever, why?
for a start there's a bravura performance by Laird Cregar as Henry Morgan, IMO he is Henry Morgan
and not far behind him is George Sanders, enjoying himself as the red bearded villain
Thomas Mitchell gets to play something other than the town drunk for a change, although that's not to say he's become an abstainer
Maureen O'Hara is also in fine form and Anthony Quinn also has a small role
secondly there is another technically superior sword duel between the proficient Tyrone Power and whoever they got to don the red beard and take George Sanders place for the action scenes
and thirdly there is a plot which hangs together better than most pirate movies
as usual Tyrone Power is athletic, but lacks the easy charm of Errol Flynn
but overall it's right up there among swashbucklings best
- I was leant this film on DVD from a good friend, and decided to watch it last night.
This was the first film i'd seen that had anything to do with Clint Eastwood, and by goodness it is a great film! Eastwood directs, produces and stars in this film. It is worth the slow(ish) pace for the unexpected (BRILLIANT) ending. The film turned out to be something totally better than i expected, and a great, long-lasting film of our generation.
5/5 - Brilliant
I went to see The Rum Diary last night. Not bad but it did drag on somewhat after a while. Depp is fine and Amber Heard shows a lot of potential in spite of having a limited part. 6 or 7 out of 10.
- Much better than expected, i never watched the first one, though i don't think i really needed to. Despite reviews, i thought it was a very good comedy, unlike most "comedies" it was ACTUALLY funny, especially with being a Bond fan so that i could pick out the 'Bond' references. I thought it was highly underated, it's a really good film too.
4/5 - Very Good
Now this was a movie that took a great advance of the 3D technology. Not overdone in anyway. I think 3D works better with cgi animations like this. The movie looked great. Everyone was so lifelike , even if caricatures. It felt a bit like Steven Spielberg's live-action films and Tintin comics too. 4/5
disappointing comedy / romance / thriller starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie
the film doesn't quite succeed at any of it's three areas and IMO the main reason is the limp performance of Johnny Depp
I found Angelina Jolie's "Lady Penelope" impersonation perfectly suitable for the occasion, but if she's going to play the cool one, then Depp needs to be far more animated
he's the "ordinary guy" caught up in extraordinary circumstances, so it's up to him to follow Cary Grant's example as Roger Thornhill in North By North West
or channel a bit of Bob Hope into his characterisation of "Frank", in order to draw out the humour from his fish out of water situation
where's the indignation? show me the panic! in this scenario underplaying doesn't cut it
also Depp is the one who has to convince us that he can capture the femme fatale's romantic interest
she's a mysterious babe with moola, so job done for Jolie
he's the nerdy teacher, so he can't be more "mad, bad and dangerous to know" than her current beau (symbolised by Rufus Sewell), in which case he'd better be amusing and engaging
in this scenario, just looking like Johnny Depp doesn't cut it
Stephen Berkoff is the epitome of evil as usual, Rufus Sewell's charisma shines like a beacon, so he doesn't even need to speak to convince that he is "the guy the are really after"
Paul Bettany's character is a bit of a problem for me, his attitude is far more MI6 than Scotland Yard, as are the SAS type operations he runs
Timothy Dalton gets a welcome run out as his boss
but do they really call up teams of snipers to apprehend white collar criminals? I'm not so sure
would the skint British authorities, with their threadbare budgets, really spend 8 million quid chasing down a white collar criminal, no matter how much back taxes he owed?
that's not the only plot issue I had
at the finale, the villain asks "where is the safe?" and I'm wondering what century are we in?
in these days of "e commerce" and elaborate bank transfers, who would keep 2 billion in a wall safe?
in fact, who would keep 2 billion in a wall safe in any century?
the final "surprise twist" is also of the variety that calls into question the validity everything that went before
the worst kind of twist for the sake of a twist, the "no one will be expecting this, therefore lets do it, even though it undermines everything that went before…" twist
<b>The Prisoner Of Zenda</b> (1937)
The Ronald Colman, Doug Fairbanks jr, Madeleine Carroll, Raymond Massey, C Aubrey Smith, David Niven version
(as opposed to the Stuart Granger, James Mason, Deborah Kerr, Robert Douglas, Louis Calhern, Robert Coote version)
apparently most people prefer the original, as is traditional with remakes, but I enjoyed both about equally
Ronald Coleman is very charming and suave, so much so that he has trouble conveying the intended impression that his Crown Prince character is a wastrel in the early scenes
he is also rather unconvincing in the action scenes, particularly in the sword fighting duel, where his stiff movements look jarringly noticeable compared to those of athletic swashbuckler Fairbanks and his sword double
points to the often maligned Granger then, who as well as looking the part, makes a much more convincing wastrel and swordsman
Doug Fairbanks puts on a spell binding performance, but perhaps he is also almost too charming for his own good
whereas IMO James Mason makes for a more aloof and appropriate aristocratic villain
Madeleine Carroll and Deborah Kerr are both very comely, but after that I'll have to give all the casting kudos to the 1937 version
Massey is always hard to beat in the evil department, there's no better friend of the hero than Niven, and C Aubrey Smith, who apparently played the twin lead in the London play of 1896, is incomparable as Colonel Zapt
all in all an excellent swashbuckler
<b>The First Of The Few</b> (1942)
entertaining biopic about the design genius who gave us the Spitfire and before that a series of record breaking, trophy winning aeroplanes during the pioneering, golden age of flight
Lesly Howard is excellent as RJ Mitchell, the driven designer and David Niven suitably dashing and debonair as the test pilot
tragically Mitchell's life was cut short by cancer, but not before he hade delivered one last great gift, to help save his nation from the Nazi menace
eerily Howard's life too came to an abrupt end shortly after this film was completed, shot down in a civilian airplane that the Germans suspected was carrying Winston Churchill
staring Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, and Deborah Kara Unger
directed by: David Fincher
this film seems to often get forgotten about when people bring up Fincher and his work.. they always seem to jump at Fight Club or Social Network first - but this is the film that I believe solidified himself as a thriller director and he executes ever aspect of this film with an almost Hitchcock flair... not only does this film feature one of the best uses of the song "White Rabbit", it also features an outstanding ending, that I never saw coming...
Michael Douglas is in top form in this film, as the nasty and dreary Nicholas Van Orton - a man so consumed by his work and lifestyle, that he fails to remember what the real world is to everyone else (one of my favorite performances, next to Falling Down) - an off chance meeting with his brother, sends Nicholas to CRS, a company which turns your everyday life into a "game"... shortly after Nichalos agrees to play along, bad and unfortunate things start happening to him.
8* out of 10*
Vampire in Brooklyn
Dracula (1931)
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein
The Rock finally gets back to what he should be doing, instead of awful children's movies and bit parts as the action star he hasn't quite managed to become
the movie starts out looking like a typical modern, morally bankrupt, shaky cam, should be straight to video, vigilante revenge movie but manages to surprise by slowly becoming more complex and interesting than these sort of movies generally are, which is no mean feat
the Rock starts out as the driver for a gang of skanky bank robbers who get double crossed by an even skankier bunch of crims afterwards
the Rocks "brother" is the leader of his gang and he gets his throat cut, even after the Rock reveals where the money is to try and save him
but why should I care? he's a bank robbing skank, good riddance I say (can you smell what Seve is cooking)
the Rock does some hard time, then when he gets out he picks up his muscle car, a gun, and a list that someone has prepared for him of the skanks and starts killing
which leads to the police putting Billy Bob Thornton on the case, a walking cliché of a movie police officer who is not only drug dependant, but ten days from retirement and of course, separated from his wife and young kid, who really still love him if only he'd give up the drugs and the job
meanwhile the skank leader hires some amoral psychotic "Mr & Mrs Smith" clones to kill the Rock
this couple are the part of the story that doesn't really seem necessary or relevant
they are physically beautiful but shallow, self involved skanks who live in a designer house with a spectacular view, drive super sports cars... and kill people as a "hobby".
they deserve no sympathy from the audience (and yet the director changed the ending of the movie partly because the audience had somehow grown to like them, a sad comment on the society we live in today)
all this seems very unpromising, but after the first couple of killings, there begin to be consequences of killing, which are revealed and dealt with in various ways by the Rock, rather than there being ignored, as might have been expected
many might say they were trying to have their cake and eat it to, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt
in the end I found it better than average
<b>The Dilemma </b>
I have to admire Vince Vaughn for his brave attempts to make movies based on some of the more uncomfortable situations in life
"The Break Up", "Four Christmases", "Couples Retreat" and now "The Dilemma"
but when you get on to subjects like these, the margin for error is small
and for me none of them have succeeded, in terms of being funny enough in pure comedy terms
because IMO, first and foremost, a comedy needs to make me laugh, anything else it brings has to be a bonus, not a substitute
or maybe I'm just not a big fan of "cringe" comedy
<b>Who Was That Lady?</b>
screwball comedy starring Tony Curtis, Dean Martin and Janet Leigh, filmed during the heyday of the "rocket ship" bra look
the premise for this movie is wafer thin, but if you want to see the way Deano used to roll in his prime, then this is the place to be
the king of comedic cool is off the leash in this one, while Curtis and Leigh play the willing attractive "straight men"
many of the scenes in this movie are pure unadulterated Deano in action, as the mediocre script leaves plenty of room for scene stealing mugging and improvisation from the master
<b>Drumbeat</b>
Alan Ladd and Charles Bronson square of in this politically incorrect western
a "fairy tale" where under the treaty the Indians were apparently allocated better lands than they had before
and where it's the Indians who bring weapons to the peace negotiations and treacherously murder the white representatives
to be fair there are also some good Indians depicted, who know their place and place their trust in Shane, I mean Alan Ladd
however if you can put aside the twisted morality and take it at face value then it's rather good
Alan Ladd is solid as usual and Charles Bronson has one of his biggest and best pre stardom roles, as the leader of the bad Indians, displaying some roguish bravado while meeting with triumph and disaster and "treating those two impostors just the same"
(some may also recognise Dr Bellows from "I Dream Of Genie" as President Ulysses Grant)
there is plenty of good scenery and action, along with a splattering of picturesque deaths when the Indians go on the warpath, particularly the lady who takes it right in the cleavage!
<b>The Banger Sisters</b>
an enhanced Goldie Hawn, Susan Sarandon and Geoffrey Rush combine here in a "old friends meeting up after 20 years" comedy
it's not "Thelma & Louise" but it's nice enough way to pass the time and a solid autumn outing for Hawn and co
- Even at 3 hours long it is Brilliantly paced, entertaining, refreshing, funny, and humorous along with being very very sad and with some very 'shocking' moments.
I don't think there are many films as good as this at reaching a human's emotions. The ending is extremely powerful (Perhaps the most powerful ending i've ever watched to a film), and it IS tears worthy (I honestly felt like crying at times). The acting and directing is superb. This is one film you should NEVER leave out.
9/10
(5/5)
you would hope so seeing he was on screen
lets see the beach photos of Tim before we go jumping to conclusions