DVDizzy Forum

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

It was much better than I had expected; it was quite good actually

9/10

Margos wrote:

Lazario wrote:Actually, Dave... I agree with him.

Laz agrees with Goliath!?

THE APOCALYPSE IS NIGH!!!

He disagreed with me first.








This film, though critically adored, is a test of how well the arguments each of the two lead characters fire off at each other hold up after closer inspection. How did each of them do? Not well. Before the overlong kidnapping finale puts a strangehold on the film, watching these two "battle wits" with each other comes off more like two ugly donkeys giving one a kick and then eyeballing slyly to see if the other will have the balls to kick them back. But seriously, why are they fighting so much? The hackneyed Clinton imposter they got (the director in a cameo, though he sounds more like Dan Quayle's granddaddy with a vice-grip on his lower extremities) even mentions, "maybe you two got some kinda sick thing goin' on." Yeah, they do. Although it's sick, it's not that complicated. She takes him too seriously, though she lets him have it every now and then (and she can't do any better than mocking him with: "you're a typical, red-blooded American male," a clear sign of desperation, or readiness to give up). And he pouts like a little bratty boy who doesn't get his way (yet, he was so faithful to her husband's team when he was on it). Then, they start getting along and it feels so phony- he smiles too quickly and too much. And you almost miss their fighting scenes. But the reason you don't actually miss them is because they were not that satisfying in the first place. Also, I was let down by Austin Pendleton's ratty, predictable limo driver... Poor guy- was he typecast (somehow) after My Cousin Vinny? If she was really going to challenge him, she wouldn't give up so quickly, and though I hated her with a passion when she'd get the President to chew him out, I ended up really not caring anymore because Nic Cage's Doug is so boring. Now, the only thing I'd care to see from this movie is for someone to hang up on that little pisher playing The President. Though not before shouting, "I don't care what you think!" into his ear.

I just watched A Walk in the Clouds- I loved, loved, loved, loved it! Amazing! When I have money, I'm definitely buying the DVD.

Lazario wrote:

Margos wrote: Laz agrees with Goliath!?

THE APOCALYPSE IS NIGH!!!

He disagreed with me first.

I just meant that you guys finally agree with each other about something. It seems that almost every thread becomes a Goliath v. Laz all-out-brawl here lately.... except maybe the Death penalty debate, in which you also agree with some of his points.

Margos wrote:I just meant that you guys finally agree with each other about something. It seems that almost every thread becomes a Goliath v. Laz all-out-brawl here lately.... except maybe the Death penalty debate, in which you also agree with some of his points.

Oh, we've agreed before. But I actually don't mind disagreeing with Lazario. I know some people have tried to paint a caricature of me as somebody who can't take disagreement, but I like a discussion when the other brings in good arguments --which Lazario does.

DaveWadding wrote:To be fair, I'd rather go bash my head into a brick wall than "argue" with you. At least the wall knows how to take a point.

Yeah, sure, that's what I would say, too if I didn't have any arguments besides rolling my eyes.

The Aristocats
The Pink Panther (animated series, not the Steve Martin movies)
The Jungle Book

The wrong man (1956)

Not one of Hitchcock's best, but all-right overall. About an innocent man (Henry Fonda) who almost got convicted for assault and robbery because of a case of mistaken identity.

Goliath wrote:

DaveWadding wrote:To be fair, I'd rather go bash my head into a brick wall than "argue" with you. At least the wall knows how to take a point.

Yeah, sure, that's what I would say, too if I didn't have any arguments besides rolling my eyes.

The Princess and the Frog - Second viewing of this. Absolutely fantastic... again.

(500) Days of Summer - First time seeing this. Pretty good. Not as good as I expected. I'll watch it again.

The Blind Side - I thought this was going to be too sappy and overrated, but it really is fantastic. Sandra Bullock gives one of her greatest performances ever, and definitely the greatest of her '09 films. Recommended.

A Secret Affair- A 1999 TV movie. I loved it- to some people, maybe it would be predictable, but I didn't know what would happen. I really enjoyed it. A+

Little Children Quite fascinating! I like how in the end the people seem to come to their senses. Poor Ronnie, though, he felt he had to do someting drastic te become "a good boy". (If you want to know what I mean just watch the movie too)

Mystic River (2003)

Very good film. With both Tim Robbins and Sean Penn, you can't go wrong. The only thing I disliked were the three endings. Not to give new twists to the story, but just to add meaningless scenes. When the film's over, it's over. End it there.

Paranormal Activity

This has got to be one of the worst excuses for a horror movie I have ever seen. I was not scared one bit by this movie, and I suggest you stay far, far away from it. It does not live up to its hype in the least bit and was probably one of the most disappointing films for me.

Heimat (selected episodes)
The Sudden Wealth of the Poor People of Kombach
Heart of Glass (nothing to do with Blondie at all )

The reason I've been watching these films is because of an exam I have to do tomorrow on German cinema. And it's in less than 12 hours now. Eeekers.

The Tollbooth - Very unique and funny, too. It stars Marla Sokoloff, otherwise known as Gia from Full House , as an aspiring artist in New York City, watching her strict, Jewish family's life falling apart. Idina Menzel, the highlight and reason I picked up this movie, had a small-ish part as the bitchy/pregnant sister. Recommended.

Yesterday I watched Keith, starring Jesse McCartney & Elisabeth Harnois. I had wanted to watch it for a while, and it did not disappoint. A

After an incredibly rancid opening 8 minutes (bad 80's music (which somehow reminded me of one of the better tunes from Just One of the Guys), bad Ghostbusters-rip off sequence, boring dialouge between Regie and the theater manager (Stanley Brock from Weird Al's UHF), bad misuse of Valley Girl's Michael Bowen - who is way foxier than shown here, and a Stepmother vs. Stepdaughter slap-punch fight that makes Dynasty look like Gone with the Wind; featuring powerhouse Sharon Farrell of It's Alive- who's seen better days before, and hopefully since), the film finds solid ground to moon-walk on. Catherine Stewart awakes to find the outside streets of L.A. to be uncharacteristically deserted (a relentlessly beautiful scene which 28 Days Later definitely nicked, though it used this in a radically different context) and rides her would-be boyfriend's motorcycle through the empty city home through empty streets on a Saturday morning and finds her bouncy cheerleader sister in a state of freakish denial about the fact that everyone else is gone.

I rarely decide to recap plot points, but right there- that ought to tell you what kind of movie this is. Refreshingly, it's early attempt to get brutally realistic gives way to a starkly energetic existentialism. The sights of empty L.A. (which somehow is a lot more impressive to me personally than an empty London, since I've never seen a movie about London or been there) and the now Mars-like visor-dome of red sky over everything is immediately arresting and all the more effective since 1986's Maximum Overdrive tried for the same thing (and could be considered a direct rip-off of this, were it not for the fact that there are no zombies in it). The consistency of quality wavers a little bit, mostly the cheesy action scenes suffer from PG-13-itis and a couple irritating one-liners ("lucky for you I like kids!"). But apart from that- it delivers a lot of damn sharp humor, smart characters, great special effects (the zombies look surprisingly scary), and even though the music stinks, the energy level stays high, the pacing is fast, the acting is decent enough, and there are surprises around every corner.

A good recommendation and I'd like to in turn recommend it to others. Definitely one to check out if you haven't already.

Shakespeare in Love- I had heard good things about it, but it was just alright. B+

Captain Correlli's Mandolin- I was really excited to watch this one, since the trailer made it look awesome (and, hello, Christian Bale ), and I did like it, but not quite as much as I was hoping. A-/B+