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Films - 31 to 60

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Anarain

Anarain has left the building

Thu 7th Jul '05 5:26PM

THIS IS SPINAL TAP	11/10

classic rockumentary. feckin hilarious.

Amanshu*

Giggity Giggity goo

Mon 18th Jul '05 8:41AM

2707 Posts

Member Since

25th Aug '04

FERRIS BUELLER's DAY OFF	7/10

Cheesy eighties movie about three kids who decide to have a day off school before they graduate, this is a coming of age comedy with style. Following their adventures in New York, avoiding parents and a goofily stupid dean of students, this movie is full of little touches that make it, and has enough plotlines to tie everything together rather nicely.

Possibly not for people who've never seen it before, it's a great trip down memory lane for those who have!

Second opinion by General on 2nd Nov '05	9/10
My alltime favourite teen movie.

Second opinion by Ginger fury on 7th Nov '06	9/10
I went to the premere of this movie in Manchester and was invited to the after party as my mums friend used to give me tickets for this type of thing. The worrying thing was though I was still at school at the time and I got very drunk on the free wine in the night club that was the venue. Aww those were the days.

	Average Rating 8.33

Doughnut

What am I doing here? And where are my shoes?

Tue 6th Sep '05 10:45PM

45 Posts

Member Since

4th Aug '05

CINDERELLA MAN	9/10

This film stars Russell Crowe and Ren?e Zellweger. It's about James J. Braddock (Crowe), a middle heavy weight boxer. In 1928 he was doing well and supporting his family comfortably, but by 1933 they are on the bread line, following the stock market crash of 1929. The film follows his come back and how he became a figure of hope for many of the poorest in New York.

I'm not a fan of boxing at all, but this film is excellent. It's extremely well filmed and I was very involved in the action.

Clara

Even red onions have a silver lining

Mon 19th Sep '05 10:27AM

838 Posts

Member Since

27th Sep '04

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE	10/10

Starring the marvellous Matthew MacFadyen from Spooks, Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland, Keira Knightley and 'Saint' Judi Dench. I was a little apprehensive before watching it about ruining the memory of the classic Jennifer Ehle/Colin Firth extravaganza, but my worries were completely unfounded. And even Keira Knightley acts well.

It's wonderful - funny, romantic and lots of breeches. Tom Hollander as Mr Collins is a comic actor of massive proportions (although not massive physically, you understand). No 'lake' scene, but lots of walking broodily in the rain for Mr Darcy.

Of course - due credit to Jane Austen. She didn't half know how to spin a yarn.

Made a very happy Clara.

General*

Windows Bob - the best!

Sat 29th Oct '05 10:47PM

4210 Posts

Member Since

7th Apr '03

Battle Royale	7/10

In a nightmare future students are so out of control that schools are a war zone where teachers have no control.

To send out a warning that this behaviour won't be tolerated the Japanese govenrnment select random classes of school children fly them to an island and make them fight to the death over 2 days. All the children are fitted with exploding neck braces and if they don't co-operate or stray into the wrong areas they loose their heads in gruesome fashion.

The children soon form factions some trying to escape, some getting on with the task and some refusing to participate.

What shocks you most about this film is the lack of hollywood morality (Think about the films Scream parodies) good and inocent people die, justice isn't always done etc. This film slaps you in the face. The kids start off thinking they are on a school trip and then sudenly wake up to a video cheerfully telling them that they have to kill each other. A few minutes later some of them have had their heads blown off in a demonstration, several have killed them selves and a few have already notched up some kills. An hour and a half later 38 school uniformed children have been brutaly murdered.
The violence is made even more shocking, by the name of each child appearing on screen and being crossed off followed by the number still to die.

A worthwhile film if you are prepared for the violence.

General*

Windows Bob - the best!

Tue 1st Nov '05 1:29PM

4210 Posts

Member Since

7th Apr '03

SAW	5/10

Two chaps wake up chained to pipes in a filthy bathroom and are informed that in order to survive they are going to have to go through a trial that might kill them both.

The cinamatography and overall theme are very much like Seven. With a number of flawed individuals killed in an agonising way by a seemingly omnipotent killer. The twist is that if the victims are prepared to do anything to escape then there is a way out (Cutting a key out of the stomach of a still living cell mate etc).

It's a great horror premise and a potentialy fantastic fim let down by some of the worst acting I have ever seen on the part of Cary Elwes who plays main character and victim Dr. Lawrence Gordon. The gravity of any situation is instantly undermined as Cary dead pans (Adopt best sarcastic tone of voice) "Oh, please don't kill my family, oh no I'll be really upset." In a voice that reminded me of a cross between Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins and Ray the man inflicted with a terminaly sarcastic tone of voice from The Mary Whitehouse Experience.

I could have forgiven them for this if they didn't rely so heavily on what I call the Marelyn Manson camera trick where every 10 minutes they have a scary cut scene montage involving a pale faced person twitching in a spidery way with strobe lights and a wildly spinning camera. Having previously just watched the Amityville horror remake which also overuses this already cliched technique horribly all the way through, by the end of SAW I wanted to throw somthing at the screen the 90th time we randomly orbited a screaming torture victim

Anyone who doesn't like scenes of torture or inprisonment will find the film dificult to watch and as I suffer from crappyactophobia I was terrified!

Second opinion by Spanners on 1st Nov '05	8/10
Mighty! But don't watch when you're eating

	Average Rating 6.5

Diziet

optical moose

Tue 8th Nov '05 8:09PM

2522 Posts

Member Since

20th Jul '05

versus	9/10

prisoner KSC20-303 and his buddy have escaped from prison. they've arranged to meet the men who engineered their escape in a forest clearing so they can jump in a car and drive as far away as possible.

the only problem is that the men they meet are a bunch of hardnosed gangsters looking for a fight. on top of that the gangsters have dragged along a kidnapped girl. on top of THAT the clearing is in the Forest of Resurrection and anyone who dies there immediately comes back as a zombie.

after a tense stand off, during which the prisoner demands that the girl be released and shoots the lead gangster (who comes back as a zombie and gets shot again. lots) the film turns into a whirlwind chase through the demonic forest.

this japanese movie is as bonkers as conkers. the hero and the kidnapped girl leg it through the forest only stopping to kick 12 bales of poo poo out of anyone who gets in their way using fists, guns , swords and, at one point, a missile launcher. zombies, gangsters, samurai, vampires, immortal god type creatures and psychotic police officers all meet up for vague reasons in the forest and join in the blood and gore soaked fun.

there is a plot (sort of) but its secondary to the blindingly fast action and set pieces. the subtitled version adds an extra dimension of craziness thanks to the incredibly bad translations:

'hey, don't be so choosy!' (hey, don't be so hasty - i think)

'why don't you just take your wig off, huh?'

'should i give you a rest, mmm? forever?'

'the dead can be back alive here!'

if you're looking for something to watch with the lads or ladettes (although my girlfriend despises this film, so it may be a boys only thing) on a friday night then you can't go far wrong with Versus.

laugh - as the prisoner taunts his enemies by throwing down his gun and then shoeing them in the face.

wince - as a fist punches through a head and shakes disembodied eyeballs from it's fingers.

wonder - at what the hell the plot is actually about.

cry - when its all over and you having left to watch but This Year's Love.

Spanners*

Father McDivot - He's the daddy!

Thu 10th Nov '05 12:25PM

4593 Posts

Member Since

7th Apr '03

It could happen to you	8/10

This film centres around a New York policeman (Nicholas Cage), his evil materialistic wife and a down-on-her-luck waitress in a local diner. The policeman buys a lottery ticket before having lunch at the diner and when her realises that he doesn't have enough cash to leave a good tip he promises to split his lottery winnings with the waitress. Then he only goes and wins the jackpot!
So the wife is all material and runs out to buy fur coats and stuff all the while complaining about giving away half the cash while the first thing the waitress does is is give everyone in the diner a free scoop of ice cream and then buys a huge jar of olives!
Needless to say it's ultimately all about money not buying happiness and true love appearing in the most random of places. Such a heartwarming film you'll not often see

Second opinion by Diziet on 10th Nov '05	8/10
if i remember correctly, this film was released with virtually no hype. i stumbled across it while channel hopping one night and i have to say i loved it. its always refreshing to see an american movie that tugs at your heartstrings in an honest way and doesn't resort to sugary sentiment. reminded me a bit of Amelie and As Good As It Gets

	Average Rating 8

BrightonBabe

Would you like to see me blink? It really is quite impressive.

Fri 25th Nov '05 12:56AM

894 Posts

Member Since

25th Aug '03

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	100/10

What can we say other than wow
AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING
best so far
very very funny very very sad very very scary
Everything a brill film needs
Lots of Harry Potter Love
Brightonbabe and Shivtastic xxxxxxxxxxxx

Ummm Interesting !!!!

Second opinion by The Guv on 25th Nov '05	10/10
Agreed this by far the best and darkest so far, I have just watched all 4 of the films in one go with my daughters and i though that they are all good but this one defo outshines the rest. Every Potter fan (thats Harry and not Brian) will love this

	Average Rating 55

Spanners*

Father McDivot - He's the daddy!

Tue 3rd Jan '06 11:40PM

4593 Posts

Member Since

7th Apr '03

40 Days and 40 Nights	0/10

Pretty boy decides to abstain from sex for 40 days.
Oh you poor baby however will you cope? Why is life so tough eh?

Clara

Even red onions have a silver lining

Wed 4th Jan '06 3:37PM

838 Posts

Member Since

27th Sep '04

King Kong	6/10

Now, Peter Jackson, why oh why do you love CGI so much?

The narrative of this story is actually pretty good, the acting is spot on (Jack Black, Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody etc etc etc) and it should make for a classic, but...

TOO LONG! Unfortunately the CGI takes over from the story in at least three places in the film. They could just as well have inserted a frame saying 'look, aren't we techies clever, we'll just suspend the nicely flowing story for 10 minutes while we show off a bit'. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Second opinion by General on 3rd Oct '06	7/10
Good but faar to long

	Average Rating 6.5

Amanshu*

Giggity Giggity goo

Thu 19th Jan '06 12:31PM

2707 Posts

Member Since

25th Aug '04

The March of the Penguins	7/10

This is a documentary about the breeding cycle of Emperor Penguins in the Antarctic. It's is narrated by Morgan Freeman and contains some brilliant scenery and shots (although every so often you'll REALLY want a shot of something other than snow and ice...). The story itself is a pretty harrowing mixture of 70+ mile treks and parents forced to the edge of starvation in order for their young to survive.

Unfortunately it only covers the breeding cycle. It never really explains what happens to the parent who lose their chicks, or the chicks that lose their parents. It's quite a short film, only about an hour and twenty, so they could have easily fitted some more things in and it would have been nice...

Second opinion by Spanners on 26th Jan '07	8/10
This is a wonderful documentary, and works fantastically on the big screen. But I think that Planet Earth and Blue Planet would look even more amazing.

	Average Rating 7.5

Amanshu*

Giggity Giggity goo

Mon 30th Jan '06 10:27AM

2707 Posts

Member Since

25th Aug '04

Underworld: Evolution	7/10

The sequel to Underworld delves into the history of the vampires, focusing upon the heroine Selene, her mentor the traitorous Viktor, and Markus, the only remaining living Vampire Elder. It does at time rely quite heavily on flashbacks, which isn't too bad (although isn't too good either) but the plot carries on at a rollicking pace and the fight scenes are fun. The entire film does have a slightly predictable cast, and it does seem to be one of those films that the more you think about it the bigger the plotholes seem to be. But it does a good job of hiding it as it goes, so it's not until afterwards.

There's also a lot more actual mythological fights in it, as opposed ot Underworlds person-who-happens-to-be-a-vampire versus person-who-happens-to-be-a-werewolf with guns...

Basically if you liked ~~Kate Beckinsale in tight PVC~~ the first one then you'll like this one - and possibly even prefer it. If you didn't, then you won't. It's as simple as that

Second opinion by Swoop on 26th May '06	7/10
I saw this a week after seeing the first one, and I think that if I'd had to wait a year or 2 like most cinema watching people, I'd have been both baffled and grumpy. As it was, it followed quite well as a 'second half of the film' - it takes place only minutes after the first one. It's still trashy vampire action nonsense, but if you're going to see it, refresh your memory first.

	Average Rating 7

Diziet

optical moose

Mon 13th Feb '06 10:06PM

2522 Posts

Member Since

20th Jul '05

audition	8/10

a traditional love story from japanese director takashi miike.

its an age old tale and one we've all seen before: businessman seeks new wife after death of first wife, businessman arranges a movie audition as a way of screening prospective partners, businessman finds said partner in the young, beautiful and mysterious Asami, businessman wooes the girl, wins the girl, loses the girl and is then tortured with needles by the girl and has his limbs dismembered with razor wire.

brilliantly dark and disturbing, the film starts out like an afternoon romance and then descends into a chilling and stomach churning examination of the effects of child abuse and how that abuse can follow its victims into adulthood.

have a bucket ready for the final scene.

Second opinion by General on 3rd Oct '06	7/10
Wasn't as good as I was expecting from all the critical plaudits. Kiri kiri kiri!

	Average Rating 7.5

Diziet

optical moose

Wed 8th Mar '06 6:38PM

2522 Posts

Member Since

20th Jul '05

get rich or die tryin'	0/10

WINNER OF THE AWARD FOR BEST MINI-REVIEW
AT THEDADDY.ORG FORUM MEET 2006

Little Marcus lives with his mother, Lady Penelope Cressington-Smythe in stately Costington Hall which is situated within the lush rolling countryside of Berkshire.

One day, Lady Penelope has to go away and Little Marcus is forced to live with his grandma, Baroness Fyffe-Huntingley, in the slightly less stately Richman Manor. Here, Marcus begins to learn about the hardships of life, having only 64 rooms to roam about in and a mere 13 horses to ride.

Slowly, Little Marcus begins to rebel. At boarding school he masterminds a cunning takeover of the tuckshop (by boring the previous tuck shop monitor to death) and starts selling crackers to his classmates. He also joins the choir.

All the while aware that he has a smaller mansion than his fellow students, Little Marcus grows angry and one day he threatens the school squirrel with a half-chewed rubber eraser.

Fearing that Little Marcus may be a bad influence on the rest of the students, wicked Principal Forthington-Kingly-Majestic-Lucre sentences him to half an hour's detention (in the geography classroom). While incarcerated, Little Marcus has an epiphany: he realises that to survive the half hour he must either express himself or die tryin'. So he scribbles his initials on the underside of a desk. One of the ones right at the back of the classroom that no one uses.

Upon release, Little Marcus goes back to selling crackers and singing in the choir. He's really determined to be lead soloist but, due to a lack of any recognisable talent or even (as suspected by most of his teachers) any higher brain functions, he fails dismally.

Little Marcus, in a finale that should be watched by all the children of the world as lesson in how to achieve your dreams, decides that the time has come to truly find himself. He changes his name to 50 Pence, buys a Glock 9mm from a local sheep farmer and returns to the school. He then pops a cap in the ass of every beeaaatch who ever treated him like a punk. By finally murdering everyone who ever failed to respect him, 50 Pence finally understands the true meaning of respect which is to kill anyone who doesn't respect you in order to win their respect.

Second opinion by Spanners on 8th Mar '06	-7/10
50 Cent can so kiss my ass right here. Anyone who glamourises gang violence like that should have been a victim of it long ago.

Second opinion by Demian on 3rd May '06	3.14/10
Having never seen the film in question, I'd just like to add that this is probably the greatest review in the history of the MROE board

	Average Rating -1.29

Amanshu*

Giggity Giggity goo

Mon 20th Mar '06 2:17PM

2707 Posts

Member Since

25th Aug '04

Kiss kiss bang bang	10/10

Quite simply one of the best movies I've seen in a long, long time. I know that sounds like hyperbole, but I'm actually pretty serious. This is a comedy, film-noir buddy movie. It follows Harry LockHart, a petty New York criminal who accidentally stumbles into a movie audition and ends up with a free trip to LA and Gay Perry a real life hard nosed PI.

Pretty much as soon as he's arrive Harry meets Harmony, a failed actress who hires him to help find her sister's murderer. It's around about this point that the first body starts appearing and general hilarity ensues.

This is a film that's fresh, funny and realistic. The acting is spot on and (with a minor exception near the end which is pretty much forgiveable) the character's are perfectly believable. The script itself is tightly paced and I really can't think of a single scene that I didn't enjoy immensely.

In case you haven't guessed yet, everyone should see this movie

Second opinion by Diziet on 2nd Apr '06	10/10
watched this twice in as many days. its the best film i've seen in ages.

	Average Rating 10

Amanshu*

Giggity Giggity goo

Thu 23rd Mar '06 10:07AM

2707 Posts

Member Since

25th Aug '04

V for Vendetta	8/10

Based on a DC comic, this movie sets out to ask a simple question - can terrorism ever be justified? Set in a fascist Britain in 2020ish, it follows the journey of Evey.

One night she is rescued by the mysterious V, a Guy Fawkes masked, knife-wielding terrorist. Slowly she is drawn further and further into his world and his attempts to destroy not only the current government but also the people who created him. Trailed by Chief Inspector Finch, a policeman who is desperately trying to catch V, the two of them embark on a dark journey towards the future.

This movie is packed with ideas, to the extent that some of them are never properly explored. It also suffers from V never removing the grinning mask he wears. Although this does add to his mysteriousness in many ways it also means that he becomes somewhat boring on the, many, occasions that he starts spouting philosophy.

However this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The mask of V allows him to become a cypher, nothing more than the personification of an idea. The story becomes more about Evey's journey, the slow awakening of Finch through his hunt for them, and the changing attitudes of London around them, as seen by some minor characters reactions to the events unfolding.

Overall this is a dark movie to make you think. Although it is an action movie to some extent, the small amount of action takes second place to the exploration of the world that the characters live in, and the effect they have upon it.

Second opinion by Demian on 31st Mar '06	10/10
One of the most imortant graphic novels of the 20th Century, faithfully realised and now more relevant than ever. Despite his refusal to have his name attached to the film, Alan Moore would have been proud.

	Average Rating 9

Amanshu*

Giggity Giggity goo

Fri 28th Apr '06 10:51AM

2707 Posts

Member Since

25th Aug '04

Ice Age 2: The Meltdown	7/10

Manny is worried he's the last mammaoth. Diego is terrified of water. Sid wants to be respected by his friends. Elly is a mammoth who thinks she's a possum. The Ice is melting and soon it will flood the valley. The vultures are hungry. Two weird dinosaur things have defrosted from the ice and are hungry. Scrat is after an acorn (still).

Or in other words there are too many subplots and not enough actual plot. It does however have amazing animation and great characterisation (since that's what most of the movie is).

Plus more of Scrat's hunt for an acorn to call his own! Yay!

Basically it's well worth a watch, but don't expect to blown away by it. More sort of gently and happily ruffled.

Swoop*

CHIMPO

Fri 26th May '06 11:06PM

1558 Posts

Member Since

9th Apr '03

Lucky Number Sleven	8/10

An El Mariachi type situation in a contemporary gangster based film. That is, a case of mistaken identity where our hero arrives at a friend's flat in a strange city, supposed to be a safe haven but instead finds himself mistaken for the absent friend and held responsible for certain debts outstanding. Repeatedly, by various different amusing sets of people.
It's fairly formulaic on the surface, but it's tongue in cheek without ever becoming cliched or irritating and there's a bit more depth revealed as it progresses. The witty banter doesn't get tiresome, there's always someone on hand to punch the guy in the nose before he starts to grate. A fair amount of violence, but again quite understated.
Even when you realise the plot twist approaching, (which you're supposed to, there are always twists these days) and which you'll do before most of the characters, it doesn't hammer it home, it just keeps going at the same lethargic pace the rest of the film. And it's that laid back tone of the whole film that makes it for me.
It's funny and action packed, but it doesn't ram it home. It doesn't need to.

Second opinion by Diziet on 27th May '06	8/10
excellent crime thriller. hats off to bruce willis - one of his best performances in years.

	Average Rating 8

Amanshu*

Giggity Giggity goo

Fri 7th Jul '06 10:41AM

2707 Posts

Member Since

25th Aug '04

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest	10/10

The story is initially held up with the character's backstory between the two films. But this is every bit as good as the first film, with a number of lovely touches for fans of the first. Plus, one of the best sword fight scenes I've seen in a long time! More of a setup for the third film than anything else, but they're all obviously having a whale of a time and the ending is superbly done.

Basically if I have any complaint it's that I've got to wait so damn long for everything to be resolved

I wanna be a pirate!

Anonymous on 10th Jul '06	10/10
You may find that watching this film puts you off tucking into a plate of calamari for quite some time (it's not short on terrifying squid action), but given the general wonderousness of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, this is a small price to pay I think. I, too, want to be a pirate (although only if i can have access to lots of seasickness tablets and am not forced to have a wooden leg!)

Second opinion by Spanners on 12th Jul '06	6/10
Maybe I should have seen the first one first. I got a bit lost.

	Average Rating 8.67

Diziet

optical moose

Sun 9th Jul '06 5:37PM

2522 Posts

Member Since

20th Jul '05

grizzly man	10/10

this is a documentary by werner herzog about timothy treadwell.

treadwell spent most of the final 15 years of his life living with grizzly bears in alaska's national park. when he died, he left behind over 100 hours of footage and this documentary is herzog's attempt to capture and understand the life of a very troubled individual.

treadwell believed he was a grizzly bear. he had no grasp of the borderline that exists between man and nature and this, ultimately, was his downfall. he believed he was protecting the bears from poachers and unwanted intrusion by human beings (he never realised that by allowing the bears to get used to his presence he was probably doing them a disfavour)

the film gives us a deep insight into exactely how disturbed timothy treadwell was. we see footage of him crying in frustration, flying into incoherent rages at the park officials and, most touchingly, describing himself as having no life.

in 2003 treadwell and his girlfriend were killed and eaten by one of the grizzly bears he was so keen to protect.

i can't really describe exactely how moving this film is. its definitely something you should put on your 'must see' list.

Second opinion by Demian on 26th Jul '06	9/10
This is exactly the sort of film I'd never have watched if it wasn't for these forums. Awesome movie, thanks!

	Average Rating 9.5

The Guv

I have no idea what to put here........ HELP ME

Tue 25th Jul '06 7:10PM

320 Posts

Member Since

29th Nov '04

Clerks 2	9.5/10

WOW

Any Kevin Smith fans will love this, same cast as the first and defo as funny, if you liked the Original Clerks then you MUST MUST MUST see this.

Second opinion by Spanners on 1st Oct '06	9/10
Just finished watching this and it does indeed rock quite hard. Also contains the most truly random and perverse scene I've witnessed since last time I saw Eraserhead.

	Average Rating 9.25

Diziet

optical moose

Sun 30th Jul '06 11:53PM

2522 Posts

Member Since

20th Jul '05

superman returns	2/10

a 3D IMAX showing couldn't stop me nodding off to this CGI-ridden snorefest.

zzzzz.......

Second opinion by Oooood on 1st Aug '06	7.5/10
Anybody who feels that tingle inside when they hear the superman title music will still love it. Pretty much along the same lines as all the superman stories, just later on in time

Second opinion by Clara on 14th Aug '06	3/10
Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored. Looked at my watch after only 15 mins and couldn't believe we'd only been there for that short amount of time. No plot, no pizazz. A snorefest indeed. You know a film is in trouble where 10 minutes is devoted to beating someone up.

	Average Rating 4.17

Amanshu*

Giggity Giggity goo

Thu 17th Aug '06 3:36PM

2707 Posts

Member Since

25th Aug '04

The Break-up	7/10

Not your normal Rom-com, this is really about the break-up of a relationship. If you've read any reviews of this then you'll know that there's no real chemistry between Vince Vaughan and Jennifer Aniston. This is blatantly untrue, but since it's a film about the end of a relationship rather than the start of a relationship the chemistry is limited to long meaningful glances. The problem most people seem to have with this is that it's not what they are expecting.

It's full of lots of very interesting secondary characters who are never really fully explored and just sort of exist as a backdrop (real life anyone?). However it's main failing is that you just can't get over the fact that Jennifer Aniston could do sooooooo much better. She's beautiful, sensitive and she cooks, cleans and generally looks after Vince Vaughan. He's supposed to be this amazingly funny guy that everyone loves - except you're only really told he is, you don't actually ever really see it. And he's whinny. And slightly annoying at times.

Second opinion by General on 16th Nov '06	4/10
I watched half of it on a plane before switching it off. Anistons character is pretty, intelligent, thoughtful etc etc and Vaughn come accross as a crass, selfish, bully who doesn't really display any of the charm his character would need to posses to balance out hs bad points so you are left thinking why the hell is she with him?

	Average Rating 5.5

Arabstrap

Daddy-licious

Sun 20th Aug '06 1:35PM

215 Posts

Member Since

16th Jun '05

Tideland	7/10

Poor Terry Gilliam - if he's not getting lambasted for 'trying to be mainstream' he's getting bad reviews for being 'too contraversial' or 'shocking for shocking sake'. The fact that Terry himself issues the audience with a disclaimer before the film starts is, well, the film's biggest dissapointment.

This film has all the things your average Daily Mail reader loves to hate / challenges some very difficult social issues, such as; drug abuse, paedophilia and death. All from the perspective of an 8 year old girl.
The film is supurbly cast; with the ever-unintelligable Jeff Bridges as the rock-star heroin addict father of Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland) and husband of the tragic, chocaholic waster that is Queen Gunhilda (Jennifer Tilly). Ferland's performance is incredible.

Gilliam is something of a hero of mine. I love the way he fuses the mundane with pure fantasy and this is something Tideland has in abundance. Jeliza-Rose's world of talking squirrels and doll heads constantly vying for her attention set in endless fields of wheat, interrupted only by the occasional high-speed train or the distant rumble of quarry blasting.
He rarely relies on CGI to get his point across, and when he does, it is both subtle and convincing. A refreshing change from today's all-but-the-actors CGI-fests.

Tideland pushed all the right buttons for me, fans of Jake and Dinos Chapman's artwork will know what i mean. Yes, it's slow at times, but this only adds to the feel of the whole thing. An 8 year old girl in a strange environment, starving, with nothing more than her imagination and her slowly decomposing father to keep her company is going to be prone to boredom and Gilliam makes the viewer recognise this. It - as with the majority of his films - dares to be different, succeeds and makes people question things.
Unfortunately, for some people that question is likely to be either; 'why did i sit through that' or 'why did he do that'. Well, each to their own.

If you are expecting another Time Bandits or Holy Grail, you WILL be dissapointed. For me this film sits on the Gilliam spectrum somewhere between Brazil and Fear & Loathing.
If you enjoy all things enigmatic, and fancy putting yourself in somebody else's shoes (a monolith of an understatement) for a couple of hours then give it a go. It won't blow you away, but it will stay with you.

Second opinion by Diziet on 7th Feb '07	7/10
i agree with 'strap. its a bit of a hit or miss affair but when its good its REALLY good. and the little girl puts in one of the most mature and brave performances i've seen from a hollywood moppet.

	Average Rating 7

Amanshu*

Giggity Giggity goo

Tue 29th Aug '06 4:00PM

2707 Posts

Member Since

25th Aug '04

Snakes on a plane	10/10

Is as great as the inevitable sequel will suck.

Second opinion by Diziet on 30th Dec '06	4/10
shite on a flight. john mclane would have done it so much better.

	Average Rating 7

General*

Windows Bob - the best!

Tue 3rd Oct '06 11:13AM

4210 Posts

Member Since

7th Apr '03

Black Dahlia	5/10

1940's set film noir style detective movie based arround the real life unsolved case of the black dahlia.
Looks lovely and has a decent cast , but suffers from being far too long and not as clever as it thinks it is.
Unlikly plot twist, piles on random plot twist coming at a rate of once every 10 minutes untill you loose track of what is going on and finaly cese to care because of how how much like a bad episode of columbo on acid it has become.
Avoid, unless you like Scarlet Johansen in which case go see it anyway.

Diziet

optical moose

Tue 3rd Oct '06 10:22PM

2522 Posts

Member Since

20th Jul '05

crank	8/10

jason statham has been billed as the new bruce willis. i think this might account for his dodgy cor-blimey guvnor attempt at an american accent on most of his hollywood films. thankfully he drops the fake accent for this full on action movie.

statham plays a hit man who has been injected with a poison that will kill him if his heart rate slows down too much. que an hour and a half of increasingly high octane action set pieces as he tries to track down the gangsters who injected him while keeping his heart racing. injections of synthetic adrenalin, doses of haitian crack (while listening to 'achy breaky heart') and a very public sex scene keep our baldy hero alive so he can confront his enemies in a completely over the top finale.

great if you like full on action films. not so great if you don't.

Amanshu*

Giggity Giggity goo

Wed 11th Oct '06 11:19AM

2707 Posts

Member Since

25th Aug '04

Children of Men	8/10

This film is set in 2027 - a world where all women are infertile and Britain hunts down all refugees and systematically deports them. It follows Clive Owen, a depressed alcoholic, who is recruited by his ex-wife to help smuggle a young refugee across the country to Brighton.

It's not the easiest film to watch - the term unrelenting springs to mind - but it's chock full of ideas and it does remarkably well to cover them all. It's also technically amazing - there are a number of long hand held shots that involve large numbers of characters running around a huge set that is systematically being destroyed.

I've got to admit however that whilst everyone I was with seemed to be blown away by this film I found it slightly lacking somehow. Don't get me wrong, it's a really good film that I recommend you see and I would happily watch again. It just only really made me want to read the book and I felt ever so slightly cheated by the ending.

Demian*

Oh Lordy, Plegaleggole

Mon 6th Nov '06 6:15PM

4678 Posts

Member Since

7th Apr '03

Saw 3	6/10

More of the same, with the plot twists getting a little less impressive with each movie. Probably the most gruesome of the three, but obviously only for shock / publicity value - there's nothing new to see here, folks. It's just about entertaining enough to watch all the way, but not much more than that.

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