Official Film Discussion and Last Movie You Watched

[onebigeric]

Hmm, pretty much what I'd heard about it. But I'm a sucker for easy popcorn CGI movies of dubious quality sometimes. To balance out my more cerebral affairs like Harold & Kumar...

Funny to have 'snorting lines off the butt' Hauser coming out now

That being said, H&K is an example of cinematic brilliance
I never liked any of the 'American Pie'-esque movies, but that one I found to be quite enjoyable.

 

[Line]

I saw Stranger than Fiction Friday...meh.


**1/2

I really went into this movie not knowing what to expect. From trailers, I'd deem it as "Kaufman light" but from most of the reviews I've read it's supposedly anything but that. Those critics are idiots.

Will Ferrel plays Harold Crick, an IRS drone who goes about his day to day life very methodically with no excitement or suprise. The story starts off introducing us to dull Harold and showing us just how regimented of a man he is. Parts of the movie such as this, which demand no emotional connection between the film and its audience play far better than anything else in the script. Here we see a very nicely paced effort with appropriate direction and sleak visuals. Director Marc Forster (Stay) has been known to only care about how an individual shot looks apart from the whole picture and his selfish visual style is evident here as well. On any scenes demanding emotion, Forster comes up well short, even if he is given a good (not great) performance by Ferrel, he simply doesn't know how to channel any real emotion in a way that at all connects with the audience.

As anyone who's seen the trailer can figure out, Crick soon starts hearing a voice narrating his life and he struggles to find who it is and how this is happening; a problem that becomes even more important to him after he here's the phrase, "little did he know it would result in his imininant death" uttered from his narrators lips. Now we have a race against the pervebial clock scenario that ammuses us in the manner that we, as well as Crick, are unaware of just how much time he has left to live. He enlists the help of literature professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman in full I Heart Huckabee's mode) to help track down his life's author, who turns out to be a prominent author (Emma Thompson)that always kills her main characters.

By the end, rookie screenwriter Zach Helm ends up biting off a bit more than he can chew. Even with some clever moments, there are too many inconsistencies and an apparent lack of overall composition; problems which are not easy to ignore. As the narrator changes her story as Harold's clock ticks down, Hoffman's character has this to say about her final revision, "It's okay. It's not the most important literary work of the past few years, but it's alright...I guess."

To be honest, the movie sets itself for the same fate. As Helm is driven towards a forced happy ending you can't help but feel he too felt mediocrity in his story was acceptable.

 

[Pain]

just recieved "15 minutes" and "taxi driver" in the mail. Can't wait to watch them.

Which one do you think i should watch first?

 

[Line]

just recieved "15 minutes" and "taxi driver" in the mail. Can't wait to watch them.

Which one do you think i should watch first?

Haven't seen 15 Minutes so I'd say Taxi Driver.

 

[Pain]

Haven't seen 15 Minutes so I'd say Taxi Driver.

15 minutes looks great, i've seen some of it and it was really good.

 

[Line]

15 minutes looks great

Just read a bunch of reviews and they were mostly negative (which are the best reviews to read anyways) but most of the criticism came from the movie being self-indulgent and too heavy-handed to be effective. So basically, they're saying it takes itself too seriously and never really proves the point it sets out to. Every now and then critics just get too high of expectations for a film so they pan it instead of seeing it for what it is (Scoop and The Life Aquatic are good examples). If you take it from a more entertaining perspective it seems like it could be a good watch though. It will probably be faster-paced than Taxi Driver so if you just want a fun viewing I'd watch 15 Minutes first.

 

[Pain]

The thing i liked most about the movie was the crazy Russians. Karel Roden is great as a villain, Really intense.

 

[Line]

The thing i liked most about the movie was the crazy Russians. Karel Roden is great as a villain, Really intense.

Everyone loves a good Russian villian.

 

[Rocky]

**15 MINUTES MOVIE SPOILER**

I liked 15 minutes - have to say I was geniunely surprised when Bob's character was killed. Ed Burns actually wasn't too bad in it.

 

[Line]

I was just at Blockbuster and picked up Cache (Hidden) and The Proposition. I'll watch them in the next few days and post reviews.

 

[Rocky]

Ain't seen either yet. Almost got both myself the other day. Hidden is meant to be really good. Great atmosphere and character development.

 

[Flex]

I don't understand why the film "Election" starring Mathew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, and Chris Klein was ever created. I had seen small parts before and it didn't make sense so I watched the entire movie and I felt the same way.

 

[Line]

I don't understand why the film "Election" starring Mathew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, and Chris Klein was ever created. I had seen small parts before and it didn't make sense so I watched the entire movie and I felt the same way.

I liked it. Alexander Payne's the man.

 

[Rocky]

^I'd heard only good things about it myself but not seen it.

Finally got round to watching "Mean Streets" the other night. Fcking superb film. Scorsese + low budget = raw, gritty film making. Great seeing De Niro & Kietel as effectively up and coming actors showing what their potential was.

 

[Spike]

do any of you movie freaks like "THE CROW" with brandon lee?

 

[Rocky]

^Thought it was a great film. The less said about the sequals the better.

 

[Flex]

I liked it. Alexander Payne's the man.

Please explain why.

 

[thedon]

i watched rain man again yesturday, such a great movie!!!!

 

[Rocky]

^Top movie.

I made the mistake (against advisement of FF and a couple of others) of watching "A Sound of Thunder" last night.
With such an interesting concept and what appeared to be a reasonably budget I can't believe they couldn't get some better actors, a better script and CGI effects that wouldn't have looked out of place in a 1950's Sinbad movie. Didn't even finish watching it.

 

[thedon]

i just got a 2 disc special edition dvd of patton for 11 bucks. its a fucking steal!! one of my favourite war movies!!