What is the last film you watched?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It was entertaining, but the movie was a complete mess. Unfortunate, because it had potential and a stellar trailer.

[QMM 4]

Wellington has so many movie theaters, it's ridiculous

Saw Speed Racer again. Most, if not all, reviewers seemed to miss the point of the movie. I can't understand the low marks that were given to it. I had just as much fun as the first time. It's a shame a sequel probably won't get made, I'd love to see them top this.

Kung Fu Panda

Agree with what Morlock had said before, strongest Dreamworks Animated picture yet. Could've used more Ian McShane though (never enough!).

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The reviews this year have been way off. I really enjoyed Speed Racer.

[A24 4,326]

Alex how many DVD's came with the player, too bad it didnt come with something like the 4 disc version of Ben Hur.

7 DVDs.

I watched the first episode of Firefly and I take back all the bad things I've said about it (based on Serenity). But still, it's more Western than Sci-fi.

Kung Fu Panda

Agree with what Morlock had said before, strongest Dreamworks Animated picture yet. Could've used more Ian McShane though (never enough!).

I hear Pixar's Wall-E is pretty good as well and it has a subject and style that are more appealing to me. (I'm not reading the Wall-E thread)

[QMM 4]

Kung Fu Panda

Agree with what Morlock had said before, strongest Dreamworks Animated picture yet. Could've used more Ian McShane though (never enough!).

I hear Pixar's Wall-E is pretty good as well and it has a subject and style that are more appealing to me. (I'm not reading the Wall-E thread)

Wall-E doesn't come out here until next month, but yeah I agree. The best Dreamworks animated film still falls quite short of the bar raised by Pixar, but at least they're getting better. It was a hell of a lot more interesting than Madagascar or the other stuff they've put out (Shrek included).

[Bryant Burnette 654]

The reviews this year have been way off. I really enjoyed Speed Racer.

That's still my favorite movie of the year thus far (although WALL*E comes very close). The quality of the filmmaking is just impeccable, and I enjoy the way the movie manages to create a cartoonish world that feels incredibly exaggerated, but also very realistic within the boundaries of the exaggerations. It's a real shame the movie didn't catch on, but I think it's going to be a cult classic for many years to come.

The best Dreamworks animated film still falls quite short of the bar raised by Pixar, but at least they're getting better. It was a hell of a lot more interesting than Madagascar or the other stuff they've put out (Shrek included).

I'm a die-hard Pixar fan, and yet I think it's kind of a shame that every CGI animated film that comes out has to be measured against their work. It's the truth -- Pixar really is working at a different, higher level than anyone else in the field -- but it's kind of a shame; it makes me feel a little bad for the competition, some of whom are doing perfectly respectable work in their own right.

I liked Kung Fu Panda pretty well. It reminded me a lot of Surf's Up in that it's a movie that takes itself seriously, is beautifully executed, and doesn't resort to the cheap sort of LCD pandering that I've found the Shrek movies and the Ice Age movies and Madagascar and the like to be guilty of. Kung Fu Panda has great voice acting, and cool fight scenes, and a generally whimsical but NOT overbearingly comical approach. I think there's a lot there to like.

I watched the first episode of Firefly and I take back all the bad things I've said about it (based on Serenity). But still, it's more Western than Sci-fi.

Ah, Firefly. What a great series. It gets better almost every episode, and by the end of the series, you start to get a sense that this could have been one of THE best shows in history if it had had more time to develop. The acting and the character inter-relationships are incredibly well done. Hopefully, Whedon's new show, Dollhouse, will be able to pick up where Firefly left off in terms of quality; that'd be something to be excited about.

I like Serenity pretty well, but it's not on par with the series, and it's not the direction I feel the movie ought to have taken. And god, what a lousy score; it's a real shame the studio didn't just allow Whedon to use Greg Edmonson, who did such good work on Firefly. David Newman brought absolutely nothing to that movie.

[A24 4,326]

Dollhouse? What is it? Western? Sci-Fi? Western/Scifi?

[Morlock 11]

I don't recall Newman's score in the movie, but listening to the Varese 30th set, I can't stop listening to his End Titles.

[QMM 4]

there wasn't enough banjo in the score

[Elmo Lewis 6]

the only real flaw of the film was that the story was a direct rip-off from WOTW and SIGNS.

I fail to see the similarities between any of these films.

With The Happing? Well, then again you fail in most levels anyway.

[Marian Schedenig 8,159]

I've been wanting to check out Firefly for a while. What is the correct point to start? The series? Or Serenity?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I watched the first episode of Firefly and I take back all the bad things I've said about it (based on Serenity). But still, it's more Western than Sci-fi.

Ah, Firefly. What a great series. It gets better almost every episode, and by the end of the series, you start to get a sense that this could have been one of THE best shows in history if it had had more time to develop. The acting and the character inter-relationships are incredibly well done.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's start posting pics of Inara and River.

[John Crichton 4]

I've been wanting to check out Firefly for a while. What is the correct point to start? The series? Or Serenity?

The series, as presented on DVD, not the broadcast order. As much as I enjoy Serenity the movie, it's just a pale shadow of the series. (That distinction has to be made because the 2 part pilot for the series is also titled Serenity. )

And to Alex: Dollhouse looks to be more pure sci-fi than anything Joss has done yet. It centers around a covert government agency that implants personalities and memories onto its operatives for each mission and then wipes them.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Shortbus.

Yikes! I prefer watching excessive violence over hard-core porn (art) that has no attractive women!

[A24 4,326]

And to Alex: Dollhouse looks to be more pure sci-fi than anything Joss has done yet. It centers around a covert government agency that implants personalities and memories onto its operatives for each mission and then wipes them.

Memory implants, huh? Hm, sounds familiar.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

Shortbus.

Yikes! I prefer watching excessive violence over hard-core porn (art) that has no attractive women!

Isn't that Shanti Carson quite a good looker?

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

Prince Caspian.

The Movie was not bad, but i was very dissapointed by the Special effects. I was expecting Mumakil, Gwaihir - ROTK, King Kong quality....

I thought that the whole money going for one great SFX studios will benefit the movie but i was wrong. There are far more odd looking animals than in the previous installment, the griffin flap their wings like the FOTR Gwaihir or worse, the centaurs movements are too slow, smooth when they stand or walk, and arward when gallop. Even Aslan was a let down.

The art departments and props were cool.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

So Luke, what about the acting, script, direction, camerawork?

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

what's that?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Films are not just about special effects, Luke!

[Elmo Lewis 6]

Hollywood begs to differ.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Semantics!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

the only real flaw of the film was that the story was a direct rip-off from WOTW and SIGNS.

I fail to see the similarities between any of these films.

With The Happing? Well, then again you fail in most levels anyway.

The Happening is about some environmental crisis that causes people to commit suicide.

Signs is about an alien invasion on Earth.

War Of The Worlds is about an alien invasion on Earth.

Yes, Signs and War Of The Worlds share similarities, however both are extremely different. But I don't see how The Happening is similar to either of them.

[Bryant Burnette 654]

the only real flaw of the film was that the story was a direct rip-off from WOTW and SIGNS.

I fail to see the similarities between any of these films.

With The Happing? Well, then again you fail in most levels anyway.

The Happening is about some environmental crisis that causes people to commit suicide.

Signs is about an alien invasion on Earth.

War Of The Worlds is about an alien invasion on Earth.

Yes, Signs and War Of The Worlds share similarities, however both are extremely different. But I don't see how The Happening is similar to either of them.

All three movies are about a small group of people who are forced to experience a crisis. In all three cases, it is a science-fictiony crisis, so these groups of people are not only having to face physical threats, they are also having to face changes to their understanding of the very nature of the world they live in.

In both War of the Worlds and The Happening, the protagonists have to leave their homes and go on a cross-country survival trek. In both films, they end up finding themselves in confrontation with strange and very unbalanced people. In both films, the theme of family is very prominent: in War of the Worlds the emphasis is on a family that is trying to survive a divorce, in The Happening the emphasis is on a family that is on the verge of falling apart (with the "child," in the case, being a catalyst for the family staying in one piece). In both movies, the military is shown to be largely incapable of dealing with the crisis.

In both Signs and The Happening, the climax of the film takes place in a rural setting. There are scenes in both involving characters on one side of a door staring at it in dread of what is on the other side. Again, in both movies, the emphasis on the idea of family is very prominent, with the crisis that forms the heart of the plot being used at least partially as a subtextual mirror for the threat that has been posed to or is being posed to the family. (Part of the reason The Happening isn't a better film is that the attack by nature is obviously meant to be seen as a symbol for the threat of climate change or a similar natural disaster, whereas the characters do not reflect this element of the theme at all; the crisis they are plunged into impacts only their lives and their relationship, whereas in a better movie there would be something at stake for them that had a direct meaning in terms of the movie's "green" message.)

I don't think The Happening is a rip-off of either Signs or Spielberg's War of the Worlds, but I think the similarities between these three movies are undeniable. And I can throw in at least one other movie The Happening bears some similarities to: The Birds, which is also about a strange crisis posed by nature.

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

Ufff. As expected, the Incredible Hulk tanks on CGI department.

Ang Lee version is much better, CGI aside.

[A24 4,326]

I agree, even though I haven't seen The Incredible Hulk.

Imaginary Heroes: Family drama with Sigourney Weaver. Not bad. Good acting.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Was it not always a given that Ang Lee's film woud be better then the version co-scripted by Ed Norton, who was fantastic in Primal Fear, but in nothing else?

[A24 4,326]

Ed Norton is good in Fight CLub, at least, that's what I thought at the time. But you're right, a very limited actor he is.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yes he is limited, but so many hollywood actors are. so I do not really mind.

The problem is that he is limited, and rather boring. He has hardly any screen charisma.

[A24 4,326]

Yes he is limited, but so many hollywood actors are. so I do not really mind.

The problem is that he is limited, and rather boring. He has hardly any screen charisma.

Yep, just watch him in Red Dragon or The Illusionist. Zzzz...

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Have not seen The Illusionist, but he adds nothing to Red Dragon, a film that is filled with some good acting by the rest of the cast.

[Bryant Burnette 654]

Um . . . American History X?

If Edward Norton isn't excellent in that movie, then I guess I don't know what excellent is.

I really don't get the Hulk-bashing. I thought the CGI was terrific, and that the movie in general was also pretty fine. But to each his own, I guess.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I thought American History X was overdramatic and overacted. Then again, I only saw 20 minutes of it on cable television.

[Henry B 50]

... I only saw 20 minutes of it...

Normally, I would sardonically point out that this is a common theme. Unfortunately, I can't, because this is my comment on Ed Norton: I saw five minutes of 25th Hour and was very impressed.

[A24 4,326]

Have not seen The Illusionist, but he adds nothing to Red Dragon, a film that is filled with some good acting by the rest of the cast.

True, Fiennes and that girl somewhat saved the movie from being a total disaster. So why did he impress us in American History X and Fight Club? Because doing tense Travis Bickle impressions is the only thing he's good at.

I haven't seen The Painted Veil so I can't speak of his whole oeuvre.

I thought American History X was overdramatic and overacted. Then again, I only saw 20 minutes of it on cable television.

You might have a point. The second time I noticed it's not such a good film.

[QMM 4]

I haven't seen The Painted Veil so I can't speak of his whole oeuvre.

Alex

I liked it (save for the ending) but I don't think his performance will change your mind

[Bryant Burnette 654]

Star Trek: Insurrection

I had only seen this one once, on its opening night; so I remembered virtually nothing about it. Earlier this year, though, I rewatched all of Next Generation, and I'm finally getting back to the movies.

It's not a bad movie, but it's not exactly what I'd call a good movie, either. It's just kind of there, sitting on the screen. The cast is excellent (as always), though too many of them have virtually nothing to do. For example, did Gates McFadden do something terrible to one of the producers? She may as well have not even been in this movie; and what a shame, too.

Lots of ideas in the film, but none of them come together. One example: I like the idea of Picard and co. taking the moral high ground even though they know it could cost them their careers. However, since the opposition is represented only by one (obviously weak) Admiral, it doesn't feel like our crew is actually risking anything, so that plot element is a dud.

Several excellent scenes, though: the scene in which Geordie sees his first sunrise with his "new" eyes is marvelous; the couple of scenes between Riker and Troi are charming (though, again, that plot thread ends up going nowhere); and the scene in which Ruafo (I'm sure I misspelled that) loses his temper, causing blood to come trickling out of a wound on his face, is disturbing in a way that Trek rarely manages. In fact, there are very few scenes that don't have something decent going on; the scenes just never manage to amount to anything in total.

I should also mention that I liked Jerry Goldsmith's score a lot more than I expected; I had a memory of it being bland and utterly disposable, and I seem to have gotten that one wrong. I may need to motivate myself to buy a copy of the CD, which I've never owned and have never listened to.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Insurrection is an underrated Goldsmith score. "Ba'ku Village" is lovely and lyrical with a sort of tone you'd hear in a Joe Dante movie. "Children's Story" is short and sweet, "New Sight" is utterly gorgeous, and "End Credits" contains my favourite recording of Goldsmith's Trek theme.

Highly recommended.

[Marian Schedenig 8,159]

It's Goldsmith's best TNG score. The action music might be Goldsmith on autopilot - but it's top notch Goldsmith on autopilot. The album doesn't do it justice though.

I thought American History X was overdramatic and overacted. Then again, I only saw 20 minutes of it on cable television.

Then how can you tell? I think it's an excellent film. And if Norton can only play those kinds of characters well, that's good enough to earn some praise. But I also like him a lot in Keeping the Faith.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

True, Fiennes and that girl somewhat saved the movie from being a total disaster. S

Actually Red Dragon is a very good film, but Ed Norton adds nothing to it.

[A24 4,326]

Actually Red Dragon is a very good film, but Ed Norton adds nothing to it.

Says who? Red Dragon does everything Silence of The Lambs and Manhunter tried to avoid, namely, it tried to be a typical, standard, generic film. Norton made it even worse. The whole project seems to be made without love.

A very good film is Silence Of The Lambs.

Alex

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

No Silence Of The Lambs is a brilliant film.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

No Silence Of The Lambs is a brilliant film.

I remember when I first saw it, I was disappointed that Hannibal wasn't in it much. Grrr.

[A24 4,326]

No Silence Of The Lambs is a brilliant film.

Hm, I know it's very good. A few elements came together during the making of this film: Intelligent script, intelligent director and Hopkins.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

don't forget Foster thats one reason why Hannibal is a piece of crap, because Foster is not there

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

don't forget Foster thats one reason why Hannibal is a piece of crap, because Foster is not there

And the fact that Hopkins doesn't play Hannibal the same anymore. Instead of the Katherine Hepburn/Truman Capote voice he did in Silence, he just sounds like a kindly old pom.

[A24 4,326]

don't forget Foster thats one reason why Hannibal is a piece of crap, because Foster is not there

I disagree. Foster acts very unnatural. She's got charisma, though.

[Marian Schedenig 8,159]

I wouldn't call it "unnatural". "Unusual" perhaps. I think I recall thinking she at times gave an odd feeling about her overall bearing, but it didn't seem acted or out of character.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

BLADE RUNNER yesterday, BATMAN BEGINS this morning. Three-quarters of E.T. this afternoon.

Insurrection is an underrated Goldsmith score. "Ba'ku Village" is lovely and lyrical with a sort of tone you'd hear in a Joe Dante movie. "Children's Story" is short and sweet, "New Sight" is utterly gorgeous, and "End Credits" contains my favourite recording of Goldsmith's Trek theme.

Highly recommended.

Agreed. I prefer the FC main theme, but the overall score is much more exciting. Even stuff like "The Drones Attack," which as others have mentioned is JG on autopilot, is great.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I thought American History X was overdramatic and overacted. Then again, I only saw 20 minutes of it on cable television.

Then how can you tell? I think it's an excellent film. And if Norton can only play those kinds of characters well, that's good enough to earn some praise. But I also like him a lot in Keeping the Faith.

Well I'm not a good source, I'm just sharing what I thought from what I saw. I saw most of The Painted Veil yesterday, and it was quite boring to me. His acting wasn't anything special. I like Norton in his comedic roles. I thought Death To Smoochy was a great film.