313 replies to this topic

[petetherock]

Inkheart

This is another family orientated movie, which is played to its best by Brendan Fraser, who is the master of the Indiana Jones Lite movies, as seen from his ventures into the Mummy Franchise, Journey to the Centre of the Earth etc. he has an able supporting cast and despite the PG rating, gives adequate development to the plot, the emotions and family dynamics, even though the mother/wife does little.

A plot that reminds you of Jumanji is the basis of the story but Brendan manages to carry it off. Plot 3/5

Action: there is plenty of adventure, and it is all in good fun, with little blood, so you can bring junior to this. 3/5

Chick factor: apart from a sweet young lady who plays his daughter, there is little eye candy 2/5

I would say this is worth a rent and those with kids may even consider a purchase if junior likes it. It has elements of honor, honesty and family in it.

[petetherock]

C + Detective

This is a Pang Brothers directed effort, and they are well known for their shock and horror genre, but it works quite well here in a suspense thriller cum detective story. The title is a play on the Cantonese title which literally means private detective, who is played by Aaron Kwok to good effect as a not too successful PI, who gets an apparently simple case to investigate a woman.

But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the case becomes more sinister and complicated and the build up is done neatly with plenty of the Pang trademarks.

Plot - 4/5

Action - given the suspense nature, there is little action, but the sound effects are well done and add to the thriller 3.5/5

Chick factor - the extras in the show offer some eye candy, although since this is more of a thriller, they don't stay long enough to make much impact 2.5/5

Rent / Buy / forget it - there is plenty of suspense and it ties things up pretty neatly at the end, but when you know the ending, its hard to watch it too many times. Good for a rent and a re-watch with your GF....

http://www.lovehkfil...2/detective.htm

[guywithoutaname]

Wristcutters: A Love Story

This is an extremely black comedy about life after death and other stuff centered around a bunch of people who have committed suicide. And it has Tom Waits in it (+). And lots of Gogol Bordello music (++++++)

Plot - 5/5 (if its something you are interested in) otherwise 3/5

Action - None. Which benefits the film as it would have been completely misplaced 5/5

Chick factor - Yeah. But it'd have to be a chick would want to watch a love story involving various people who have committed suicide (and on that note YOU would also have to be the sort of person who might want to watch a love story involving various people who have committed suicide) 5/5 (if its something you are interested in) 2/5

Rent / Buy / forget it - If it's the sort of film you're interested in I'd rent before buying. If the premise is not something you'd be interested in I'd avoid it. I personally loved it and it is a definite keeper for me

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477139/
http://movies.nytime...ies/19wris.html
http://www.ericdsnid...s-a-love-story/

[petetherock]

Bayside Shakedown



This is quite a refeshing change from the Lethal Weapon / Dirty Harry genree of cop shows. Instead the action is keep to a minimum and yet you won't feel bored.
The show is kept alive by the excellant chemistry of the actors, who also did the series by the same name together and came back to make this show which scored USD 100 mil at the box office.
It takes a comical and rather satirical look at a fictional police station in Tokyo and how the handle a busy 3 days of crime, where the commissioner is kidnapped, someone steals all their receipts (great side story) and a serial killer who disembowels the victims.
Aoshima is the policeman who sleeps very little, and tries to hang onto his beliefs on why he fights crime whilse dealing with idiotic and bumbling seniors who brown-nose too much and are more interested in golf and who takes the fall for screw ups than real police work. The kind of politics and red tape can be seen in all other companies and professions.
Plot 4/5.
Action: as mentioned, very minimal 1/5
Chick factor: actually the women are empowered in their own way with 2 rough and tumble policewomen who even struggle with resignation due to the oppresive environment. Quite different from the usual roles given to ladies in Jap shows. 3/5
I reckon this is a keeper, although not in the same vein as Transfomers, with copious action, this one is kept to bring back a giggle or two for the bumbling seniors and how to keep plugging at a poorly paid and unappreciated job.
Actually after this movie, applications to the Jap police force shot up.

[mcduck]

caught part of this on tv last night
remember watching it years ago
good movie and one i've now added to my wishlist
Secondhand Lions
http://www.ezydvd.co...item.zml/787606



and this one was good too
on my list as well
http://www.ezydvd.co...item.zml/224275

[mcduck]

watched Man From Earth last night
can't say much except the acting seemed crap at the beginning but the story really drags you in
thanks MACCA350 for the reveiw and recomendation
i'd put the link here, but can't find it
i will be watching it again

[MACCA350]

mcduck, on May 14 2009, 07:27 AM, said:

watched Man From Earth last night
can't say much except the acting seemed crap at the beginning but the story really drags you in
thanks MACCA350 for the reveiw and recomendation
i'd put the link here, but can't find it
i will be watching it again

I've watched that one three times already and I still want to watch it again

cheers

[GTO]

mcduck, on May 10 2009, 04:13 AM, said:

caught part of this on tv last night
remember watching it years ago
good movie and one i've now added to my wishlist
Secondhand Lions
http://www.ezydvd.co...item.zml/787606



and this one was good too
on my list as well
http://www.ezydvd.co...item.zml/224275

SECONDHAND LIONS---A "feelgood" film, but A RIPPER! I really enjoyed it....never heard of it before, but as there was nothing else on TV the other night, my wife & I watched it...enjoyed it from beginning to end. Robert Duvall, as usual, was brilliant. A top movie for the whole family.
Cheers, GTO.

[mcduck]

GTO, on May 15 2009, 02:54 PM, said:

SECONDHAND LIONS---A "feelgood" film, but A RIPPER! I really enjoyed it....never heard of it before, but as there was nothing else on TV the other night, my wife & I watched it...enjoyed it from beginning to end. Robert Duvall, as usual, was brilliant. A top movie for the whole family.
Cheers, GTO.

i bought it last monday

[petetherock]

Review of Star Trek


What makes a successful blockbuster? The current trend of series re-boots has been emulated by many, after the initial success of franchises like Superman, Batman, James Bond amongst others. This approach is also adopted by Star Trek, which also has a large following, with a fan base that spans at least 3 decades, which rivals the James Bond one in size.

So how do you keep the old faithful happy and attract new fans? Well first make sure the old names are there; Spock (in which Leonard Nimoy actually plays an older Spock), Kirk, Sulu, Scotty are all here. The Enterprise looks identical, and the cockpit is similar. Then add some cute new faces who have become hot young stars that have begun attract their own fans in other productions. Throw in some kick ass action scenes with enough but not too much CGI, and mix… then sit back and wait for the billions that adoring fans will bring. And indeed, this is one spectacular show on many fronts.

But we all know that some who have the same mix have fallen flat on their faces. So what makes this show such a success? First, spend enough time and effort to source a solid villain, who is menacing, mean and looks like he means business. Eric Bana was a great choice, who is almost unrecognizable as the Romulan baddie that seeks vengeance through a path of destruction and mayhem. A strong villain makes the heroes look better when they defeat him. And a tag team of heroes with their own hang ups and woes adds dimension to their characters.

James Siberius Kirk is a rowdy young upstart here, albeit one a with astounding military savviness, and Spock has emotions, gasp! Throw in an obligatory babe and some funny scenes which lighten the mood between the action. And yes, this is still an action movie, which help this show differentiate itself from the older slower ones, and that helps attract a whole new fanbase with less cerebral stuff. The CGI combines well with excellent sound effects to elevate this movie to the reference level for the whole HT experience. When the explosions come, it is breath-taking and although older fans will recognize the space craft and the whole scene, new CGI effects have taken the franchise to a whole new level.

The story has a nice time space thread which allows the franchise to be cleverly re-booted into a new story line, but yet allows the introduction of all the main protagonists and showcase the main members of the team as they get introduced into the movie as the story unfolds.

The pace of the action is well done, and with some comic relief by Simon Pegg as Scotty, the movie moves along quite evenly and John Cho makes for a good Sulu as well.

There is genuine chemistry and sparks fly as the whole cast gel well to make a sterling new entry into the Star Trek adventure. May this cast live long and prosper!

[mcduck]

Hubby was watching Dead Man yesterday, the one with Johnny Depp
a good movie, as are most of Johnnys

it made me remember some of Brendan Frasers old movies, it's not all about George
every one has probably heard of Gods and Monsters, but one of his best to date i think is The Passion of Darkly Noon
also worth a watch are

School Ties - basically about a Jewish boy with a Scholarship to a Catholic School
The Scout - Baseball
The Twilight of the Golds - he plays a gay man trying to get acceptance from his family
Still Breathing - was a lovely Romance

anyway here we go
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000409/

and i just noticed Duckman, course i'm going to have to check it out

Edited by mcduck, 22 May 2009 - 07:12 AM.

[zorg]

a quick one on Artic Tale HD-DVd.

Amazing story on the animals ie the walrus and polar bear follows them from birth.

Great scenery and shots of the environment, weel worth a look no plus but inet have it for $1.99 at the moment.

Narrated by Queen Latifah

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0488508/

Did you know a male walrus will sing for up to 50hrs to get his supper?

[petetherock]

Terminator Salvation


With a base of Terminator fans and an almost impossible task of surpassing T2, what can this summer blockbuster movie in this yet another franchise reboot offer? The key lies in the opposite to T2 where the term “Liquid Metal” was introduced to an good effect to win a special effects Oscar, and here the key lies in the ‘human’ element, which is cleverly used to differentiate this from the previous 3 movies and other recent bit shows.

Every filmmaker in recent times has realized the reboot technique works allowing you to keep old fans happy (witness the use of “I’ll be back”) and yet allows the director to take the film into a new chapter to win new fans. But CGI and big explosions can only make a movie half decent, the additional elements of using a “who am I” theme added to flesh out the so called enemy and the effect of blurring the lines of who is your enemy makes this better than just a short action movie with lots of big bangs.

But do not get me wrong. The is a movie where you get a home theatre system demo worthy soundtrack and almost continuous action peppered with large explosions to test your subwoofer and those who crave the big screen action will not be disappointed. There is good use of live action and the additional of CGI serves to add flavor rather than become the centre theme of the show.

There are several nods to adoring fans, even to the point of using Arnie’s 3 famous words: “I’ll be back”, and other small points that fans will recognize.

Christian Bale makes a good John Connor and Sam Worthington is an excellent thespian who adds dimension to his role as a covert operative machine who has an identity crisis. Linda Hamilton even has a brief cameo as an old lady, and of course old Arnie makes a grand appearance as a terminator, although he looks a little younger and fitter than the real person.

Plot 3.5/5

Action 4/5
The chick factor in such an action boiler is limited and Moon Bloodstone (some name!) does not make the top 10 list of hot chicks 2.5/5

Would I buy/rent or forget it?

As a Terminator fan who has owned 3 different copies of T2, 3 copies of T3, I will buy this, but not only because I am a big fan, but because the new addition was enjoyable and promises a new storyline with a good cast which can carry this off well with a nice combination of CGI, action and most importantly a good yarn with a human element. It will be back…

[mwd]

Wonder if the movie will kill off the Sarah Connor Chronicles TV series 3 which has been supposedly axed.

Waiting to see the movie loved the TV series bar from a few very lame episodes.

Would love to check out Cameron's Nuclear Power Supply.

[709er]

STATE OF PLAY - Rusty Crowe, Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck, Robin Wright Penn

Excellent "who dun it" or should I say "who planned it" that only takes about 5 mins in to have you fully immersed. Fantastic score, tension filled scenes and fast pacing makes this compelling viewing. Rusty (as Washington newspaper reporter investigating a murder of a young woman) just never lets you down - even the American accent disappears quickly. Ben Affleck (wooden as usual) is an old friend - now Congressman. Very little romance, action when it's needed and lots of good acting
Enough said.

Movie : 4/5
PQ:   : reasonably dull at Readings, almost seemed slightly out of focus 3/5
AQ:   : fantastic 4/5

[vorlon]

Hiya
A big surprise movie for me was Pans Labyrinth.
I new nothing about this movie except that it was not for kids even though the cover looked like that sort of movie.
I just turned it on for a quick look and found that i could not leave it.
The Picture is 10 out 10  Soundtrack 10 out 10
I think that alot of people wont watch this because it is in spanish with english subtitles a fact i did not know about when i bought it and if i did i might not have bought it and it would have been my lose.
A Fantastic film.

[goldgxl]

Gran Torino - classic Clint. A must see.

[Jpower]

Superbad - So wrong on so many levels!

[petetherock]

http://www.koreanmov..._an_Agent01.jpg


My Girlfriend is an Agent Its travelling time again and also time to catch up on the latest shows....

First up, I will not wait til the end to tell you, watch, or buy this.
It looks similar in vein to the older "My Sassy Girl" or "My Wife is a Gangster" genre, but it is packed with action, humor and just the right amount of romance to make this work. Add a super gorgeous and yet demure girl who kicks butts for breakfast then looks lovingly at you. Mix in the idiotic Korean hapless chap (which BTW is is pretty much the opposite of reality i Korean) and with good chemistry between the actors, this show works.

You do get a glimpse of how corperate world in Korea works and its hierachy, amidst the fun and action, but since it is keep superficial it gets its point across without being too heavy.

It comes as no surprise that this show was no 1 in Korea, with the keen pacing, twists and good humor to keep it going well.

Plot: usual lady isn't what she seems to be, spy / travel agent girlfriend, but watch for the twists etc 4/5

Action: plenty to satisfy the action buffs and it should be a fine workout on video for your HT system 4/5

Chick facotr : A1 with plenty of eye candy, although I am not sure if everyone wants their GF to be like her... 4/5

So yes, buy or at least rent this....

[mcduck]

i'm currently trying to get through the BBC series 1 of Demons
so far it looks ok ish, but only seen 2 episodes
it's about a teen decendant of the Van Helsings
kind of like a very bad Buffy type thing

[petetherock]

International


Clive Owen makes a good living out of acting in suspense thriller, cum espionage type movies, and he excels in this one. The political thriller with the bad guy being a bank is a fresh angle. The ingredients of a good thriller are all here, snappy storyline, tight editing, and a clever chemistry with Naomi Watts make this an above average show. There are subplots and twists to keep things interesting.

There is action, believable plot which all adds up to a smart plot. There is no chick factor, but you don’t really need this for such a story. I would recommend this for a nice rental at least.

[petetherock]

Race to Witch Mountain 2009


This is a fast paced sci fi movie meant for the kids, but with enough action, humor and thrills to impress the accompanying parents too. It is a remake of an older 70s hit from Walt Disney which I enjoyed as a child. The newer blockbuster is filled with action and fancy new CGI, but the human element, which is what makes this movie distinctive from the rest is diluted here in favor of the thrills and spills and effects. Still it makes for a decent enough distraction for a Sunday rental, although not enough for a purchase, it is still a fun filled ride.

[petetherock]

Pink Panther II


The press says this movie was awful. Well, I felt it was awfully… funny and silly. This movie will never make it into any awards, but it is a fun, and pleasant diversion for an hour and a half. Steven Martin and Jean Reno combine well, with ridiculous cameos by Jeremy Irons, Baldwin, many others. The jokes are not crass, crude, and perhaps that may not appeal to those looking for the Jim Carrey style or Coen brothers kind of humor.

The plot is almost secondary to produce the silly antics to make Steve Martin look stupid, or good, depending on which part of the storyline we are at. It is no wonder that the press dislike it, there is not much depth to the plot, its pretty much a laugh a minute kind of movie, that you will forget soon after it ends.

Plot: 2.5/5
Chick factor: A Rai and Nicole try to spice it up but its sort of a token eye candy with Steve Martin meant to soak up all the attention. 2.5/5
Action: little again, with verbal jousting and humorous acting being the order of the day 2.5/5
So should you even rent this? I would say you may not want to own it, but it is definitely worth a rent, and a good laugh on a dull Sunday afternoon.

[petetherock]

Fast and Furious
Vin Diesel has had a checkered movie career so far, with quite a few hits but he has been bogged down by some rather nasty an expensive misses. What better way than to go back to his roots with a modest production in a series where he made it big? Car enthusiasts will like this and there are enough of them to lap this up and forget the holes in the plot, the acting and just enjoy the action, the babes and the cars. All your basic ABCs…

You are aware this is not a massive budget show, with less fancy CGI, less cars and mayhem than other recent hits. Yet, the live action scenes have their appeal, and Vin plus to a lesser extent Paul Walker carries the show well. Paul Walker needs to have a wider range of expression than his angst look and will hope the success of this show brings him to better offers. But he must have more to offer by then.

Plot: 2.5/5
Action 3.5/5

Chick factor: no car movie is complete with a bevy of babes and yes, they did get quite a few to fill up the screen. 4/5

So rent / buy / forget it?
I know a few guys who follow this series and even a girl who would not miss it. Just the sound of those high octane engines and American muscle cars will suffice, so I believe this movie deserves a rental.