Official Film Discussion and Last Movie You Watched

[mexiFRO]

Hot Fuzz. Love watching it.

 

[Zigurd]

Just saw American beauty, I love that film.

 

[Pain]

Shaun of the Dead was on tv last night, so I watched it.

 

[Rocky]

There's talk that Damon and Paul Greengras are on for another Bourne film!

 

[Beefcake]

^^Here would be the place to discuss Diary of the Dead. Thoughts? I'm basically salivating over it.

Good movie. Not a great movie. If you're a Romero fan, you'll probably like this flick then. I'm a big Romero fan, but I was a bit let down by it. It was good, but could have been MUCH better. Romero was basically just telling his social commentary of how a zombie movie was to be made.

Pros:

Spoiler

interesting story lines
good direction
good plot devlopment
decent acting

Cons:

Spoiler

Only really kills 5 - 7 zombies
has complicated and elaborate dialogue
slow action
hand-held camera, produces cloverfield effect

 

[onebigeric]

Good movie. Not a great movie. If you're a Romero fan, you'll probably like this flick then. I'm a big Romero fan, but I was a bit let down by it. It was good, but could have been MUCH better. Romero was basically just telling his social commentary of how a zombie movie was to be made.

Thank you for the detailed opinion, Beefcake I definitely look forward to catching Romero's latest entry.

 

[Beefcake]

Glad I could be of some help.

 

[Line]

Why American Gangster Sucks

The problems with American Gangster range far beyond that of general disappointment in terms of entertainment values, something I consider quite secondary as is though something can be taken from this complaint. The film does not act as if it is purported to fall within any particular genre but instead safely dances outside the borders of character study and mob film and discludes either category's more endearing qualities. Sure, Washington and Crowe are both apt in their roles by neither are spectacular or anything outside of by-the-books solid leaving both the characters they portray and the film itself stagnant and forgettable. Ridley Scott would like to think of the film as another cautionary tale but with a racial twist, making it new and cinematically progressional but instead it's far too safe and redundant. For a film that attempts to rely on character development the source material is weak and thus Scott feels the need to include brief scenes of overtly uncharacteristic violence or aggression in order to appease the minds of the common filmgoer. Such events are evident when Lucas shoots a man down in the street and at any point during an interrogation when Washington decides to flip out and yell, knock over a cup of water/coffee, etc...these, for the most part, don't depict the natural or street-crafted rage of the Lucas mold but instead come off as weak acts of desperation on the part of our filmmakers who do fail to include anything as a prelude or follow for such actions; they merely exist and are for all intents and purposes arbitrary.

From a craftsmanship standpoint the film doesn't fair much better. Cinematographer Harris Savides is extremely unimpressive in his effort here and after looking over his resume there's little work worthy of notation to his credit. By far his best work is Zodiac (also from 2007) but I find it to be a bit of a mystery as to why Scott chose him as the only director that he's worked consistently with is Gus van Sant whose lower budget works tend to make for less of a feast for the eye as they do for the mind. Perhaps the notion was that the hiring of a DP with more indie experience would allow for a better tie-in between thematics and visuals but it fails here as the film fails to deliver anything impacting and the camera work is a messy shot-countershot production. Yes, it is as generic as the content of the film itself but that's not say this correlation is an appropriate or good one.

The question that remains is, "What are we left with?" The answer is a resounding "meh" of bland technical efforts and good yet forgettable performances. The film says nothing and attempts nothing new. The inclusions of the "heroin house shootout and chase scene" are obnoxious and over the top (topless women cutting up drugs so that when bullets strike the bricks they explode and cause these cinematically convenient clouds to further commote the already chaotic scene) as is the notion that Det. Roberts acted as a prosecutor against Lucas (no, it didn't happen like that in real life, it was just to get Crowe and Washington more screen time together). So as I said, we're left with very little and as a whole it's probably lucky to get a 4/10 from me.

 

[Lionheart]

The Assassination of Jesse James by Coward Robert Ford (2007) - 7,0/10
Rambo (2008) - 7,5/10 (incredible action)
We Own the Night (2007) - 8,0/10
The Golden Compass (2007) - 6,0/10

 

[Zigurd]

Just saw Slither, funny horror movie. I`d recommend it. Good movie reviews too.

 

[Line]

The Assassination of Jesse James by Coward Robert Ford (2007) - 7,0/10

That's exactly what I rated it as well. Glad to hear you liked it.

 

[Rocky]

Early screening reviews of De Niro's and Pacino's match up latest "Righteous Kill" haven't exactly been overwhelming.

 

[Line]

Early screening reviews of De Niro's and Pacino's match up latest "Righteous Kill" haven't exactly been overwhelming.

I might see Coppola's latest Youth Without Youth this weekend which is also supposed to be a rousing disappointment.

 

[Rocky]

Alway a disappointment to see once greats falling from grace.

I believe Pacino's latest solo effort 88 Minutes which seems to have been floating around in non-release hell for some time is depressingly predicatble and run-of-the-mill.

 

[Line]

There Will Be Blood...again.

 

[rockdj]

"finding nemo" - hahaha! grrrreat!

 

[Zigurd]

"finding nemo" - hahaha! grrrreat!

Great movie, I just saw Shrek :3

 

[Beefcake]

Enemy of State was on T.V. so I caught the end of it as I just got back from Columbus, OH.

 

[Lionheart]

Ondskan (2003) - 8.0/10
IMDB

 

[Rocky]

Vin Deisel and Paul Walker are back for the next Fast & Furious film.

Says a lot about their careers.

However the girl in it looks good: Gal Gadot.