DVDizzy Forum

I went to a free screening of Morning Glory last night. It was awesome. I adored Rachel McAdams' character. It was an inspiring movie in some ways...I'm definitely envious of that character... I definitely recommend seeing this when it comes out!

It's been a somewhat tough and almost long road, but I'm finally beginning to warm up to this unbelievably unattractive film. The other night's rewatch was a real eye-opener. It takes me forever to see subtle character development and for once (every time I start it and really start to watch it, it feels foreign to me), this time I felt somewhat at ease and could really understand a lot more of it than I did before. I'm starting to see how like the Bill Lee character I am personally- and it kinda freaked me out. Powerful instinct, I attract younger people (almost all of my high school close friends were at least 2-3 years younger), in social situations I get by on being an amusing sideshow freak, I was the storyteller in any group, I have strong addictive behaviors, I've almost always lived with a drunk or someone who's on drugs, and I form passionate non-sexual relationships with women- I grow to need them more than any man. Either way, I always criticized the movie for being too about the special effects and not gay enough. I hate feeling like a movie doesn't have the guts to be highly intelligent and admit it's about clearly gay people. But now I feel like it really is being honest; just listen to the Mugwump characters. They're a whole other kind of insight into things that aren't explicitly said. They said everything the humans didn't seem to be saying.

The Lion King (1994)-
Still my favorite movie ever: everything's perfect for me in this.

Cold Mountain and Toy Story 3. Both were excellent and are definitely going to be rewatched soon.

I have watched half of Bridge on the River Kwai and I will finish the other half tomorrow. So far it's a pretty entertaining War film (Though it takes a while to get to know which character is what).

Lazario wrote:

That movie is false advertising!

pap64 wrote:

Lazario wrote:

That movie is false advertising!

I think about that scene every single time that disc is in my player:

"I can think of at least two things wrong with that title."

pap64 wrote:

Lazario wrote:

That movie is false advertising!

I remember that Simpsons episode.

Lazario wrote:

pap64 wrote:
That movie is false advertising!

I think about that scene every single time that disc is in my player:

"I can think of at least two things wrong with that title."

Yes! That was the correct line. I tried looking for it but couldn't find it.

Legend of Guardians.

Sadly didn't get to see it in 3D, because it was playing in two 2D theaters. But still, I loved it. The plot was great, the animation was spectacular, I loved it.

HERE BE SPOILERS






House of Sand and Fog (2003)

Intense drama that left me gasping for air after it was all over. It's the story of Kathy (the über-beautiful Jennifer Connelly) who gets thrown out of her home because of a mistake from the county district. Her house gets purchased for a fraction of its worth by Mr. Behrani (Ben Kingsley), an Iranian who fled his home country when the ayathollahs took over power. He works two hard, badly paid jobs to support his family and sees the house as an investment for his wife and kids. The first half of the film, the film finds a nice balance between the two sides and makes it hard for the viewer to pick just one side. Then it almost loses itself in sudden black and white depictions.

We find our Behrani was a Colonel in the infamous Secret Service of the Sjah, known for its torture programs; and he seems to be ill-tempered and hits his wife on one occasion. This could have been the thing that killed the film. I really feared the film would take the lazy route from there on. But it came back surprisingly strong. New, redeeming facets of Behrani were introduced; and Kathy's pledge was hurt by her emotionally instable actions and her new boyfriend's irresponsible actions. He, a cop who abuses his power to help his new girl, is the one who eventually takes the steps that leads to the emotional heart-wrenching finale.

I was talking to my tv set, hoping it would end differently than it did. I was so invested in these characters, which is really a compliment to the strong writing, but most of all the incredible performances of Ben Kingsley and, most of all, Jeniffer Connelly.


Garden State (2004)

One of those films that I can "crawl into", as I like to call it. I know it after the first 10 minutes: "oh, this will be one of those films". I will be emerged into the film and only get out when it's over. It has to do with the characters, the black comedy, the realism, the fun, the atmosphere. It's a little movie, a little tale, about a guy who comes home for his mother's funeral and gets back to his old friends and meets a new girl (the gorgeous Natalie Portman) and falls in love with her. That's all; it's as simple as that. But the film is about their characterizations, their feelings, their relationships. And sometimes, if it's well-executed, that's enough. It depicts life as it is: a series of loosely related accidents and coïncidental events. No big message, no morality. Just the way it is, and done with a lot of sweet, subtle humor.


The guns of Navarone (1961)

From the category "they don't make films like this anymore". Good action flick starring such wonderful actors like Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn. Suspense, action, drama, and high pacing makes for an exciting war movie without a boring moment. Added value comes from the exploration of the character's inter-relationships, and the sense that the team is more divided than you'd expect in a WWII movie. There's room for nuances, in-fights, betrayal etc. Makes it better than a standard WWII flick.

Toy Story 3 (2010)- 10/10
An amazing and touching film, ramped up by nostalgia. Feels just like the previous 2 despite the 11 year gap, and it's topped only by the Lion King (doubt anything will pass that as my favorite movie). Wow. My top 2 in 1 week!

Watched an oldie but a goodie out of my extensive collection - Rebel Without A Cause (1955) starring James Dean, Natalie Wood, Jim Backus and Sal Mineo.

Directed by Nicolas Ray, this tale of 'lost' youth is priceless to watch. Early role for Dennis Hopper, and probably the best filmed "chicken" drag race ever. Dean shows why it is sad that his life was cut short by his carelessness.

If you haven't seen this, I can highly recommend it.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Pretty decent but I still can't believe they didn't end it with the funeral. Plus I'm still kind of miffed that the whole battle at the end was completely cut out. I get that they didn't want to have so much action in this film because they wanted to save it for Parts 1 and 2 of Deathly Hallows, but still, they could've had at least some sort of confrontation.

Millennium- Part 3: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009)

Reviewers have said this was the weakest of the three installments, but I disagree. This part is about a conspiracy against Lisbeth Salander by a top secret agency within the Swedish justice system. If there's anything I'm crazy about, it's movies about conspiracy theories being unraveled by a few brave citizens, who have to face terrible intimidation, violence and death threats, but eventually reveal the conspirators and see that justice gets done!

I'm normally not someone who wants to see sequels, but I'd really want to see more about the two main characters, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. They're the ones who kept the otherwise decent, but not too special stories alive. Overall, the movies were good, but defibitly not worth the hype they were given in Dutch media.

Hereafter.

I didn't agree of what the critics say on Rotten Tomatoes, I thought it was a great movie.

I watched Saturday the 14th and Saturday the 14th Strikes Back, I think I preferred the first one. The second one was really jumbled together.

I'm watching I Come In Peace now (aka Dark Angel.)

Watched an underrated film from 1980 called Fade to Black starring Dennis Christopher and Linda Kerridge. If you like classic gangster films, then this is something that you might like. Christopher plays a kid who is bullied and pushed around by his colleagues at work and through his love of gangster movies he recreates different way to kill this bullies off, all the while he is stalking his movie idol, Marilyn Monroe (Kerridge) and the ending of the movie is straight out of "White Heat", one of James Cagney's best films.

Nicholas and Alexandra Historical drama from 1971 about the tragic fate of the last Russian Tsar and his family. A bit slow, but worthwile with impressive scenes. Most remarkable is the murder of Rasputin. In the end you feel the tension when the whole family of the Tsar is waiting in a room and you know that any time the Bolsjewist will open the door and kill them all. You don't actually see the bullets hitting their bodies but you see the horror on their faces and lots of blood against the wall. Very effective.

Finally saw The Social Network and it was really, really good. I hope Andrew Garfield is up for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars. In case any Disney Channel fans were wondering, Brenda Song was great as well.