What is the last film you watched?

[Morlock 11]

We'll have to agree to disagree - I was genuinely shocked by most of the twists.

Maybe it's because I just find some plots hard to follow - I'm not the most intelligent guy around here (I have a tendency to get so fixated by one particular task, that I miss relatively obvious things if something else demands my attention) - but I just didn't see them coming. In fact, just before I saw the Sixth Sense, I was looking at the OST tracklist and asked a friend online whether the last track name meant anything. To this day, I thank god that he said 'no', but I was so engrossed in the film that I just completely forgot about it and was, as expected, bowled over by the twist.

I am often rather slow when it comes to twists and such, which is why I was so dissapointed by being able to anticipate the twists in that one. Or, I should say, I could anticipate most of them, and by the time the last couple came, I just ceased to care. I did not like the experience of knowing I am going to, without really enjoying the elements that go into the twist. I did not care for the characters.

[QMM 4]

Decent cinematography and camera-work, the Tarantinoesque scene on the beach was well done.

What on earth is Tarantino-esque about it?

The entire shot never cuts.

That is not Tarantino-esque

[Morlock 11]

Decent cinematography and camera-work, the Tarantinoesque scene on the beach was well done.

What on earth is Tarantino-esque about it?

The entire shot never cuts.

That is not Tarantino-esque

No, it is not. Not at all. A Tarantino-esque shot is a shot of the hood of a car opening (taken from Godard, I'm told), a revolving shot around a table, or an close-up of someone's foot. Unbroken shots are nobody's realm (even though, to a certain extent, the French new wave gave it new meaning). And the unbroken shot in Atonement I found to be quite bad. Well executed, but almost entirely meaningless, a crystalization of the pointless use of war imagery in a movie where it meant nothing.

[henrythomasgirl 0]

E.T................ My favorite.

[Hlao-roo 389]

E.T................ My favorite.

I'm a Jade Calegory man myself.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Decent cinematography and camera-work, the Tarantinoesque scene on the beach was well done.

What on earth is Tarantino-esque about it?

The entire shot never cuts.

That is not Tarantino-esque

No, it is not. Not at all. A Tarantino-esque shot is a shot of the hood of a car opening (taken from Godard, I'm told), a revolving shot around a table, or an close-up of someone's foot.

Considering there is at least 1 in all of his films, you can add that to his style of film-making. Yes, any director can do it, but that doesn't mean it isn't Tarantino-esque. He is well known for it.

[Morlock 11]

So....instead of admitting you overstated your case, you're digging in with your incorrect attribution. Fascinating!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Taratino-esque means it is in his style. Long takes with no cuts is a part of his style, therefore the scene was Taratino-esque.

[Romão 2,274]

I really didn't find it to be stunning. The movie hits you over the head with twist after twist...the final one didn't seem any bigger than the others, and they were all basically plainly obvious. The movie is interesting in that it in itself is a trick, it constantly tries to trick the audience, while offering very little substance, very little meat to hang on to.

We'll have to agree to disagree - I was genuinely shocked by most of the twists.

Maybe it's because I just find some plots hard to follow - I'm not the most intelligent guy around here (I have a tendency to get so fixated by one particular task, that I miss relatively obvious things if something else demands my attention) - but I just didn't see them coming. In fact, just before I saw the Sixth Sense, I was looking at the OST tracklist and asked a friend online whether the last track name meant anything. To this day, I thank god that he said 'no', but I was so engrossed in the film that I just completely forgot about it and was, as expected, bowled over by the twist.

I was particularly struck by the line Caine said:

"I knew a sailor once, got tangled in the rigging. We pulled him out, but it took him five minutes to cough. He said it was like going home. " and later on he rephrases it, saying " I lied. He said it was agony". Great look on Agier's face too.

[Trent B 337]

I watched "The Kid" with Bruce Willis tonight for the first time. I know it's 8 years old but as I said I hadn't seen it before and I enjoyed it, it was a good family film.

[publicist 4,643]

Taratino-esque means it is in his style. Long takes with no cuts is a part of his style, therefore the scene was Taratino-esque.

Do they say 'f..ck' a lot in this beach scene in 'Atonement'? If not, i'm inclined to say it's about as Tarantino-esque it is Wilderesque, Hitchcockian (ever seen 'Frenzy'?) or maybe even Renoirian...we can add certainly 20 other directors who've liked to hold a shot for over a minute.....

The Monty Python discussion inspired me to grab 'Time Bandits' and 'Life of Brian' again. While the latter is much more famous, i saw 'Time Bandits' first and was astonished to learn that this odd beast of a movie was actually at the Nr. 1-Spot of american B. O. in 1981- ungraspable, with those parents exploding at the end. Terry Gilliam might be an odd beast himself, but i really like the doped-out quirkiness he brings to his fantasy films. Does the narrative suffer? Boy, it does but rarely my imagination is as spurned as after watching a Gilliam film...well, there is also 'Brothers Grimm'...so let's say in his 80s films.

[A24 4,346]

Terry Gilliam is too much of a brute fantast for my taste. The sledgehammer seems to be the only tool at his disposal. He's the extravagant fantasizer and we are merely the spectators of his creations, never the contributors or participators. Yes, fantasy often exaggerates but Gilliam's style borders on the burlesque. To evoke a response through means of subtlety is not in his dictionary. I can't watch any of his films.

Alex

[Hitch 57]

CLOVERFIELD....thought this was a sequel to LOVE FIELD. You should have seen the disgust on my chins when I found out otherwise.

Thoroughly enjoyed the movie...bravo Paramount for bringing us back a true monster/disaster movie with a wallop.

[Morlock 11]

Taratino-esque means it is in his style. Long takes with no cuts is a part of his style, therefore the scene was Taratino-esque.

That is plainly wrong and displays a lack of knowledge about film before 1990. The fact that a director often uses a technique that's been around forever and has been a staple of many, many filmmakers before him, does in no way mean that that technique can be attributed in any way, shape or form to that director.

Terry Gilliam is too much of a brute fantast for my taste. The sledgehammer seems to be the only tool at his disposal. He's the extravagant fantasizer and we are merely the spectators of his creations, never the contributors or participators. Yes, fantasy often exaggerates but Gilliam's style borders on the burlesque. To evoke a response through means of subtlety is not in his dictionary. I can't watch any of his films.

I agree in the broad strokes, but I find many of the details in his films to be so loving, and innocent of anything other than presenting a random idea, that I find a number of his films (Baron Munchausen, Fisher King, Brazil) quite endearing, despite lacking coherence or being real 'films'.

I saw A Simple Plan again. I see no flaw in this movie on any level. A stunning portrait of the The American Dream vs. 'The American Dream'. One of the best movies the '90s. Elfman's score has a very apt and effective Thomas Newman/Mychael Danna soundscape. ****/****.

[Marian Schedenig 8,211]

Considering there is at least 1 in all of his films, you can add that to his style of film-making. Yes, any director can do it, but that doesn't mean it isn't Tarantino-esque. He is well known for it.

So is Branagh...

[Elmo Lewis 6]

Much moreso than Tarantino, I might add. And Cuaron is trying to get known for it, too.

[SturgisPodmore 0]

Well, the ones in Children of Men were amazing, especially the car scene.

~Sturgis

[Red 75]

I saw A Simple Plan again. I see no flaw in this movie on any level. A stunning portrait of the The American Dream vs. 'The American Dream'. One of the best movies the '90s. Elfman's score has a very apt and effective Thomas Newman/Mychael Danna soundscape. ****/****.

Definitely Sam Raimi's best film, and probably my favorite performance by Billy Bob Thorton.

[Trent Hoyt 13]

Aladdin. Some great songs in this movie. The height of Disney's renaissance in the 90s. Another great score by Menken.

[Morlock 11]

The height of Disney's renaissance? It was preceeded and succeeded by better films. The movie comes down to the Genie and the songs. Most other characters suck.

[Trent Hoyt 13]

Even though he did more, I like to think of the "Menken trilogy (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin)" as the movies that brought Disney and the musical back. The animated musical has since been in decline, I know they add a few more throughout the 90s, and Disney has not had a successful animated film since those days. They have been saved by their purchase of Pixar, ensuring the flow of quality animated movies coming out of Disney.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Disney? Bleh...

[Ollie 1,059]

Disney reached the top with the Lion King and went downhill.

[Trent Hoyt 13]

The Lion King is probably the greatest animated film of all time, but Disney still had some great animated films after it. As I like to look at it, the full "Disney renaissance" was from 1989-1999.

I think the list speaks for itself:

The Little Mermaid 1989

The Rescuers Down Under 1990

Beauty and the Beast 1991

Aladdin 1992

The Lion King 1994

Pocahontas 1995

The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1996

Hercules 1997

Mulan 1998

Tarzan 1999

No doubt after that the traditional animation style has been replace by computer animation. Plus we have no animated musicals nowadays. These films truly stand on their own.

-trent who is a huge Disney fan

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Well, Enchanted was a clever re-working/parody of the traditional animated Disney musical, and they're also doing The Princess and the Frog and Rapunzel for next year.

[indy4 155]

I can't wait to see Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. That could be spectacular!

Sorry, got off topic.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Wow, didn't know he was doing that. I expect it'll be terrifying.

[Trent Hoyt 13]

I haven't yet seen Enchanted, I'll get the dvd when it comes out, but Disney Animation Studios has really lost its allure over the years. I'd really be surprised if those films were any good, but I really want them to be.

[indy4 155]

Wow, didn't know he was doing that. I expect it'll be terrifying.

Yes, I wonder how he'll approach it. But the story is already Burtonesque, I can totally see him doing this. And I think we can expect a great score by Elfman.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

I haven't yet seen Enchanted, I'll get the dvd when it comes out, but Disney Animation Studios has really lost its allure over the years. I'd really be surprised if those films were any good, but I really want them to be.

Didn't they up and fire almost all of their animators a few years back? I feel like that was an Eisner move, but I'm not too sure about the details.

[Trent Hoyt 13]

They were planning to do Toy Story 3 in house until they bought Pixar. So, I'm really not sure on the current status of the Disney animators.

[A24 4,346]

5x2: Hmm, in this viewer's opinion, it's a lesser François Ozon film. Good performances, though, and Ozon's direction is as candid as ever but the material just isn't adequate enough.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I can't wait to see Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. That could be spectacular!

Sorry, got off topic.

Burton is doing Alice in Wonderland?

Awesome.

[QMM 4]

and a remake of Frankenweenie

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

He's remaking Frankenweenie?

... Why?

[Ollie 1,059]

They were planning to do Toy Story 3 in house until they bought Pixar. So, I'm really not sure on the current status of the Disney animators.

One of Pixar's top personel is now head of Disney's animation studio and they plan to continue to make traditional hand drawn animated films. One of the results can be seen before National Treasure 2 as they are also returning to doing animated shorts before Disney films.

Toy Story 3 will now be made by Pixar, thanfully. It would have been a disaster if Disney had proceeded and also lost the deal with Pixar. Their computer animation studio is nowhere near Pixar's.

[Trent Hoyt 13]

Batman Begins. I completely forgot about the ending, they set the Joker up in the films last scene, I can't wait for The Dark Knight. The score was serviceable but highly forgettable. Although the movie didnt call for a heroic theme I still thought the score could have been better.

[indy4 155]

I think Koray said something about Zimmer writing a theme for the first film, but deciding not to use it because he felt the character wasn't ready for it.

[QMM 4]

There is a theme and it's used a handful of times in the film. Zimmer did say it was because of where the character was and that it'd be elaborated on in the next films.

[Morlock 11]

Walk Hard: The Dewie Cox Story. Somewhat dissapointing. The soundtrack is brilliant.....but the movie is a bit too much like Ray and Walk The Line. Still, very funny performances, and some hillarious lines ("This is a particularly bad case of someone getting cut in half").

But, really, the soundtrack is a real treasure, even if the film is nothing special. **/****.

Hot Fuzz. I admit it, I short-changed the film the first time I saw it. I guess I was expecting more parody, but this is just as much a tribute as it is a parody. It is very funny, and terrific as an action movie. Performances are terrific. And you gotta love all those British thespians. I wish they all had more screen time....but Simon Pegg is brilliant in the lead. ***/****.

Now watching the begining of Small Soldiers. I love Jerry's main titles!

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

John Rambo - I'm a big Rambo fan (even of the cartoony sequels) but this somehow managed to disappoint me. Well, actually it was pretty decent up to the climactic battle. In that bit, *SPOILER ALERT* he doesnt actually do anything but stand at a spot and blast away for a good 15mins with a 50cal like a level from Beach Head 2000. *END OF SPOILER* Not even close to the cool showdown of the first movie, or the crazy cartoon action of the second and third.

[Quintus 5,399]

In The Valley Of Elah. A very good film about the futile efforts in Iraq and the affect it may have on the troops fighting over there. Tommy Lee Jones is tremendous, possibly his best role yet. 4/5.

Oh and I thought Hot Fuzz was terrible. It was a mess of editing and plot and it somehow managed to commit the ultimate crime of comedy in that it wasn't actually funny. Perhaps funny to people who are not British, but to someone who is it amounts to nothing more than a couple of usually good comedy actors pratting about trying to make the best of a bad script. 1/5.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

In Bruges (***1/2)

A great film, very funny and very realistic with it's violence. Great performance from Colin Farrell, his best movie IMO. Brendon Gleeson and Ralph Feinnes are also magnificent. A fitting score by Carter Burwell, I'll probably pick it up. Some surprisingly good cinematography, some of the shots and lighting were great. Definitely one of the best movies of 2008 so far.

[Morlock 11]

I can't wait to see that. I'm a sucker for anything with Brendan Gleeson.

In The Valley Of Elah. A very good film about the futile efforts in Iraq and the affect it may have on the troops fighting over there. Tommy Lee Jones is tremendous, possibly his best role yet. 4/5.

I wassurprised by the good reviews this got. I don't know, I didn't feel it had much to add on the 'war sucks' front. Jones is fantastic, but he's always fantastic.

Oh and I thought Hot Fuzz was terrible. It was a mess of editing and plot and it somehow managed to commit the ultimate crime of comedy in that it wasn't actually funny. Perhaps funny to people who are not British, but to someone who is it amounts to nothing more than a couple of usually good comedy actors pratting about trying to make the best of a bad script. 1/5.

My thoughts were along similar lines the first time I saw it. But, upon seeing it again, it was much better, and funnier.

[Henry B 50]

The Simpsons Movie.

Not bad, but I wasn't astounded. The first half of the film seemed uncomfortably quiet. Maybe it was really designed for the theater. I found that the "epic" elements didn't mesh well with the regular comedy. The entire town of Springfield attempting to lynch the Simpson family? It was a little much. Zimmer's score was decent. It should have been mixed much more prominently, though.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

Oh and I thought Hot Fuzz was terrible. It was a mess of editing and plot and it somehow managed to commit the ultimate crime of comedy in that it wasn't actually funny. Perhaps funny to people who are not British, but to someone who is it amounts to nothing more than a couple of usually good comedy actors pratting about trying to make the best of a bad script. 1/5.

My thouhts were along similar lines the first time I saw it. But, upon seeing it again, it was much better, and funnier.

I agree with TheGreatEye...i'm not sure whether I want to sit through it again.

[Henry B 50]

The Bucket List

Pretty funny. I liked Freeman and Nicholson and the message is good but the blatant amount of CGI just pissed me off, especially in the sky diving. This is the one movie they should have overturned the insurance people and had the actors do everything themselves since it's such an important part of the film's message. Score was pleasant enough as well.

I only noticed CGI during the skydiving sequence. It was jarring, of course, but not a big deal. Overall, I felt the film was solid but unengaging. Jack Nicholson was just being Jack Nicholson, really. The script submitted to a number of Hollywood cliches.

[Trent B 337]

Die Hard With A Vengeance

I hadn't seen it in a while and forgotten how fun this film was to watch. I bet Sam Jackson and Bruce Willis had a fun time making this film together.

[Red 75]

It's better than Die Hard 2, that's for sure. Second only to the original.

[QMM 4]

Jeremy Irons makes the movie for me