What Movie Did You Just Watch? ... And Robin

[Super Aurora]

The Green Hornet.

I actually liked it. Seth Rogen did a good job as the Green Hornet, to be honest.

All-Star Superman (2011) 7/10 - not bad, far from the worst of the DCAU features and Superman's death is handled much better then in Doomsday. The story is good but sloppy. The episodic nature of the comic run which this is based doesn't translate that well into a feature (well, at least not while they're dead set on handicapping these release with a 75 minutes or less policy). The overarching story is handled very well but the vignettes which make up the majority of the movie just seem random, out of place, and rushed. Insignificant characters just come and go with you often asking yourself "what was the point of that?" Like every DCAU title, this could've benefited from an extended runtime of at least 15 minutes. If you're like me, you may not like Superman because of how perfect and indestructible he is and how goofy or alien some of his foes are. While this story does a good job of humanizing some of the characters, giving some down-to-earth problems, it's still chock full of those goofy elements that just turn me off. The characterizations are spot on but the voice acting is very weak. Superman is mostly wooden and unsympathetic, Loise often feels out of character with her deliveries. Lex was decent but I just don't see the point in them recasting these roles for every movie with celebrities that just don't do the characters justice when they could get the original voice actors to reprise their roles for a fraction of the cost and with better result (that's what the fans want, the original actors and these movies are made almost exclusively for the fans). The movie as a whole suffers from the weak performances. Also, the animation is still not that great. I feel like Young Justice has better animation and since that is an animated series and this is a DTV feature, I'd expect a little more. The score is great throughout, that excellent theatrical quality Christopher Drake brought to Under the Red Hood is here, but with the Superman flare. It's just I was a little disappointed to hear him poaching parts of his score from James Newton Howard (a motif almost note-for-note was taken straight out of his King Kong score). Still, while not as good as Under the Red Hood (which if you remember had flaws of it's own), this movie is still worth checking out.

wait it came out on self already?! Gotta go get it then.

[jpanimation]

Let Me In (2010) 7/10 - this is the American re-make of the 2008 Swedish horror film - Let the Right One In - that seem to have been made entirely for the sake of saving Americans the trouble of reading subs (like the upcoming The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo Remake and countless Korean/Japanese horror films). There is a couple of changes to the movie, such as the murders committed by the caretaker being far less elaborate, they dropped the scene with the divorced dad, and they dropped the embarrassing cat scene; other than that, it's nearly a scene-for-scene remake (so all the good stuff is intact). Of course, there is some unfortunate Americanization. First, it starts off with a high energy sequence out of context, kind of like the opening to Iron Man, then flashes back to the events leading up to that scene. To me, I always hate that. It's as if the director doesn't trust the audience and feels we'll loose interest if they don't start off with some kind of conflict. It's just a cheap tactic. Now if the whole movie is built around flashbacks like Tarantino, then it would be different. Second, they have a stupid deep monster voice for the vampire when she's angry. Honestly, it practically ruins the movie. Third, they edited content, such as the vampire being an effeminate boy who was castrated and the caretaker being a pedophile.

I really don't prefer one over the other (original v remake).

wait it came out on self already?! Gotta go get it then.

It's not out yet. Hits shelves on the 22 but it hit YouTube a week ago.

[Goliath]

Disney's Tarzan (1999)

I still have a love-hate raltionship with the movie's CGI backgrounds. I mean, the deep canvas technique made Tarzan's awesome tree-surfing possible, as well as the beautiful lightning in e.g. the 'Strangers like me'-sequence (when Tarzan shows Jane a hidden place where all the birds she wanted to draw are gathered), so it should be praised. On the other hand, it sometime makes the jungle look like plastic, and there was no need to even animate the water in CGI. Little Mermaid's was hand drawn and that looked more convincing. The CGI-integration didn't fail as miserably as it did in Treasure Planet, though. And I really love everything else about this movie, one of Disney's best from the 1990's! Of course, if you hate Phil Collins, it's going to be hard for you, but I thought the music was great. My only minor complaint (not animation-related), is Terk and Tantor. They were not developed well enough.



Disney's Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Easily belongs in the top 10 of Disney's animated films, outshining recent efforts like Princess and the Frog and Rapunzel. It has heart, warmth, integrity, well rounded and believable characters, and a surprising mix of down-to-earth realism (Lilo's broken family) and outer-space humor and wackiness. Not too mention the beautiful animation and the catchy, memorable and highly original songs. I'm genuinly sad everytime I see the end credits roll and realize I have to say farewell to the characters. Forget the sequels. They have 0,0 of the heart and soul of the original film. They're just simple babysitter fare. Poor Chris Sanders, having to watch his precious creation being turned into a cash-cow...

[dvdjunkie]

Watched Unstoppable (2010) on Blu-ray along with all of the extras and the complete BD Live files. The movie is based on a true incident in 2001 in the state of Ohio when a train broke away with no engineer and it took nearly two hours to bring it under control. This film is based on three seperate incidents involving a "coaster". It stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, and Rosario Dawson and is directed by Tony Scott. Highly recommended.

[littlefuzzy]

Dreadnaught - A martial arts comedy starring Yuen Biao as a laundryman who is being stalked by a murderous psycho wearing a painted Chinese opera face.

A Pig's Tale - A summer camp tale of the battle between the "Pigs" a group of underdogs, and the "Wolves" who are spoiled rich kids.

Mr. Vampire - Basically the start of the Chinese Hopping Vampire comedy genre, causing Lam Ching Ying to become typecast as the unibrowed Taoist priest who has to fight vampires and ghosts with his arcane knowledge and martial arts prowess.

Mr. Vampire II - Set in the modern day, with a family of vampires (including a little vampire kid who becomes friends with a living family.)

Mr. Vampire III - Richard Ng is a fake exorcist, he "captures" two friendly ghosts that work with him, and then says the house is no longer haunted (this was before Peter Jackson's The Frighteners.) He ends up working with the original priest to battle a band of outlaws led by a witch.

Mr. Vampire IV - Lam Ching Ying isn't in this one, rather it's two neighbors - a Taoist priest and a Buddhist priest, who are always at odds with each other, until they have to battle the undead.

Heavyweights - Another summer camp movie (this time from Disney), it's the story of a kid who gets sent to a fun fat camp, only to find out an evil Ben Stiller has taken over the camp and turns it into hell.

Airheads - Brendan Frasier, Adam Sandler, and Steve Buscemi star as a group of rockers who go to extreme lengths to try to get their song played on the radio so they can get a record contract.

Coming up next, Taxi (the original French version, not the presumably crappy Queen Latifah remake.)

[BelleGirl]

The time traveler's wife

Henry has a strange condition: whithout having control over it he regularly travels back (and forward) in time. He can never take his clothes so that each time he arrives stark naked and has to steal something to put on . The time travel enables him to meet his future wife when she is just a little girl, or talk as a grown man to his mother who died in a traffic accident when Henry was six (that's also the moment the time traveling began).Quite an icredible idea, but I like to watch these kind of movies, (the weirder the better ) Actually quite a tragic tale for Henry can foresee his own death - ironically, his death is due to the time travel but also enables his wife to meet him occasionally after he has died!

3 out of 4 stars for a good attempt at making the incredlible look credible.

(maybe I should pick up the original novel some time)

[Goliath]

Elegy (2008)

A middle aged professor of Literature (Ben Kingsley) falls in love and gets into a relationship with a beautiful student of his (Penélope Cruz). Kingsley was acting on automatic pilot and there was no chemistry at all between Cruz and him. The story of their relationship was boring and Kingsley's voice-over narration was painfully corny. The only shining light was -as always- the amazingly beautiful Penélope Cruz, who pulls off playing a student 20 years younger than she really is remarkably well.

[jinkinquackers]

After being bored with the same stuff on TV all of the time – and having the “there’s nothing on” complaint that I’m sure everyone has had at least once – we decided to put on Cinderella to watch for the evening. Loved it, as always.

[littlefuzzy]

Well, I watched the original French "Taxi" and had a blast. It's the story of a taxi driver with a tricked out car who reluctantly helps the police round up The Mercedes Gang. Great action and great comedy!

Taxi 2 - This time, there are ninjas, and his car can FLY (well, it can jump, and it has wings.) Still a lot of fun.

The Big Green - This Disney film is a typical underdogs vs. the evil sports team (this time it's soccer), with predictable results. Still, it was OK.

Lady Kung Fu (aka Hap ki do) this 70s martial arts film has an early small role of Jackie Chan, I'm starting it now.

[SmartAleck25]

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)- 9/10
One of Disney's finest; very magnificent. The animation is just amazing, and I think the filmmakers really captured the spirit of the cathedral. It's not perfect cause most of the music is meh, but that doesn't detract from the overall experience.

[BelleGirl]

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)- 9/10
One of Disney's finest; very magnificent. The animation is just amazing, and I think the filmmakers really captured the spirit of the cathedral. It's not perfect cause most of the music is meh, but that doesn't detract from the overall experience.

What music do you think is 'meh'? The 'Heavens light/Hellfire' song, the church chant, "God help the outcast"? I think most of the music in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) is magnificent and greatly helps to ''capture the sprit of the cathedral' as you express.

[littlefuzzy]

I watched a few more, I'm closing in on 100 movies for the year (5 to go.)

Taxi 3 and Taxi 4 - More fun with the French taxi driver who has the tricked out car. I highly recommend this series of films, the first 2? were written by Luc Besson. I also (without having seen it) would say to stay away from the American remake with Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon.

Bulletproof - One of the few Adam Sandler films I haven't seen, I'd say this is a bit more dramatic role than his normal "man-child". Of course it's an action/adventure buddy comedy instead of just a plain comedy this time around.

I'm starting The Game Plan next.

[Lazario]

My brother came over and we decided to try re-living our childhood of cheese:

We started watching Wicked Stepmother (with Bette Davis and Colleen Camp) but he has to go to work earlier than I do, so we switched over to Sorority House Massacre II (which we both love) and he was drinking- so he passed out during it. I however had to finish it because it's so good.

[dvdjunkie]

The best and only version to have in a Blu-ray collection - The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) starring Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, Olivia DeHavilland and Claude Rains as the Evil Prince John. I have never enjoyed any other version of the story of Robin Hood than I have this version. I own the British TV series starring Richard Greene, it's okay, but nothing says adventure like the original from Warner Bros. with Flynn in the title role. The fact that it is now available in Blu-ray and looks impeccable in its color and its soundtrack, along with the pillar-box 1:33.1 original aspect ratio makes this one of the most entertaining of all movies. And the special features on the Blu-ray disc are amazing including "Rabbit Hood" and "Robin Hood Daffy", both out of the vaults of Warner Brosthers cartoons and given the royal Blu-ray treatment. There is a whole collection of Errol Flynn movie trailers, a narrative about Technicolor by Angela Lansbury and so much more.

[littlefuzzy]

The Game Plan - This was actually pretty funny and touching (even though I don't care for football.)

Taxi (2004) - Starring Queen Latifah & Jimmy Fallon, this Tim Story directed remake of the great French film/series is complete DRECK!!! If you can enjoy foreign movies and are able to read subtitles, CHECK OUT the original Taxi (1998) from France, and it's sequels. They are great fun, with lots of comedy, action, character development, and so on. Avoid this vastly inferior remake!

Bedtime Stories - Another Adam Sandler flick, this time it's his first PG rated family comedy. This was pretty fun, although the Hokey Pokey scene was pretty weird (everything else had a real-world explanation.)

Drive - Mark Dacascos and Kadeem Hardison star in a buddy action/comedy. Assassins are trying to capture/kill Mark's character, and Kadeem's character got sucked up in the wake of the violence.

The Comic - Dick Van Dyke stars as a silent-era film comedian. The film opens with his death, and looks back at his life and some of the wrong turns he made in a bittersweet ode to the silent era.

Iron Monkey - A Chinese "Robin Hood" steals from the rich to help the poor. The character of Wong Fei Hung (a real life Chinese hero who has been featured in hundreds of films) appears in this, as a boy recieving training in martial arts and Chinese medicine from his father. This was very entertaining. This was my 100th film of the year!

[Mooky]

Check my location ... It was pretty big over here when it came out since it initially caused quite an uproar due to its heavy subject. I also agree with your assessment of the movie - I actually find it to be quite good with strong performances from the two leads, but it's delivered in a slightly sloppy manner and bogged down by unnecessary side stories. [...]

Aaah, that explains how you found it. Interesting information you add. Was the film succesful in Bosnia? Did it cause a public debate about the issues presented in the movie?

It wasn't really a public debate per se - I'm not sure how much you know about the war in Bosnia and its aftermath – but basically, the movie caused a public concern over how the side that committed the atrocities discussed in the movie would be shown. It was pretty much a matter of political correctness – thankfully, the director didn't cave in to the pressure and didn't try to sugarcoat anything, choosing instead to tell it like it was. And yes, in the end, the movie turned out to be quite successful and publicly acclaimed.

[Goliath]

It wasn't really a public debate per se - I'm not sure how much you know about the war in Bosnia and its aftermath – but basically, the movie caused a public concern over how the side that committed the atrocities discussed in the movie would be shown. It was pretty much a matter of political correctness – thankfully, the director didn't cave in to the pressure and didn't try to sugarcoat anything, choosing instead to tell it like it was. And yes, in the end, the movie turned out to be quite successful and publicly acclaimed.

Well, I think I know quite a lot about the Balkan wars, though not into details, and I'm sure my point of view would differ greatly from those who went through it. I think I wouldn't make myself popular with any ethnic group by claiming all sides have committed atrocities in the wars --that's not to say there were no 'agressors' or 'victims', but like I said, I think that a movie about such a painful and very recent topic will always be one-sided, depending on the country it was made in. I think it's too fresh a topic.

[SmartAleck25]

What music do you think is 'meh'? The 'Heavens light/Hellfire' song, the church chant, "God help the outcast"? I think most of the music in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) is magnificent and greatly helps to ''capture the sprit of the cathedral' as you express.

I'd say Topsy Turvy, the verses of Out There (the chorus is great), and the Court of Miracles. They're catchy, but they never seem to be what they could've been (especially Topsy Turvy: don't like mostly talking songs too much). God Help the Outcasts and Bells of Notre Dame are beautifully breathtaking, and Heaven's Light is really sweet too. Hellfire... let's just say it's not the song you listen to while working.

[BelleGirl]

The Great Mouse Detective for the first time on my own dvd.

An entertaining Disney movie that does not immediately yell 'classic' to me but has a memorable villain to say the least. The image is crystal-clear, I cannot imagine a blu-ray disc to be sharper or brighter.
Very short 'The making of' that explains briefly how the computer was used to animate the interior clockwork of the Big Ben.

[4th Life of Thomasina]

Pete's Dragon for the first time in years. It just didn't work for me. Whenever the musical numbers started, it was as if the energy of the story was just sapped right out of it. I didn't feel that most of the songs were that great either. Also, all of the characters just annoyed the hell out of me.

The "Candle on the Water" song was the only thing about the film I truly liked.