What Did You Watch Today?

[Benji]

The Godfather

8/10

I understand why people call this such a great film, but such accolades as greatest of all time are thrown around a lot, and while this film is indeed great, it struggles a little. The acting and scripting is fantastic, but it's thrown off by a very shaky plot, at the beginning it almost feels like it is unsure where to start and until about the first hour has passed it feels like the start was a large waste to be perfectly honest. I'm watching Garden State tonight and Godfather II and III tomorrow likely, here's to hoping II is indeed better, because if it means watching two great films out of four I'm more than content.

[Hugar Twriker Eats Spam]

KING KONG

First of all this was an amazing movie but it had a few problems. First it started off extremly slow. Nothing exciting happen in the first 45 minutes and I was thinking about leaving and demanding my money back, and I got to see it for free, and only one thing kept me in my seat and that was because I knew what was coming. Kong was coming. I was pleasently surprised at the 45 minute mark because they made it to the island and the natives were fun to watch. Than, at the 1:15 mark the king arrived.

Kong looked amazing and so does most of the other animals. In fact one of the high point in the movie is the animals interacting with eachother and the humans(Don't know how far I can go before someone calls spoiler so I won't mention what the interaction is but if you can't guess it than shame on you)

The acting was pretty good all around. Jack Black did a great job in one of his more dramatic roles but it might be overlooked due people expecting comedy genius from him. The other actors did a good job but I don't care enough to note what they did good.

The script, while a classic, did have a problem or two. First, I didn't understand why they entered the sailor-castaway storyline as it wasn't really needed. Also the actor going back to save them was kind of off character for him.

I also got mad during the movie because of some of the stupid things people would do. I mean Adrian Broody leading Kong through half the city just to save some human life was fucking stupid because he probably killed more that way than if he and everyone else just ran away.

Overall if you miss the first 45 minutes than the movie is probably a 9/10 but if you happen to watch it all than it is brought down to a measly 7/10. Now don't get me wrong, 7/10 is still a great movie, but it could of been so much more.

[TAFKA Castroneves]

Mr & Mrs Smith - 4/10

I didn't particulary like this movie, Angelina Jolie is always good but it came off as a poor action movie - the only thing I liked was the tension between the two characters during the meal and dance scenes.

[Timmoru Suzuki]

King Kong 7/10

Not boring, but not gripping. Way too long, and there a a fair few things 'wrong' with the film, but these don't make the film worse, they just make it less exciting. I'll say again, not boring, but not gripping. Just a decent film on the whole.

[Guest The Legend]

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire- 8/10

I really liked it, even though I'm not much of a Pothead, I thought it was well done. One fault to this movie I think were that the scenes really didn't flow. In the beginning I had a hard time understanding what was going on.

[BlackFlagg]

Syriana - 6/10

Shaun of the Dead - 9/10

The Island - 6/10

[Dingle]

Sin City - 9/10

I honestly have no dislikes of this film, however, I couldnt get into it at the start as the style is new to me and thus I prolly wont give this a 10/10 until I either watch it a few more times, or I see sin city 2 and then go back. However, I didnt dislike Clive Owens acting, Elijah Wood was weird but it was a good character. Willis was fucking awesome, Alba did well despite the weird loving of Willis and whoever played Marv did well. Only problem with the Marv character was his damn cheesy escape of the hotel after Goldy was killed. Overall its a really good film.

The Fantastic Four - 7/10

My major gripe with this was that The Human Torch and to a lesser extent The Thing had very little storyline to them and also the fact that The Thing just forgot about chasing his wife or whatever and hooked up with the blind women. Mr Fantastic an Alba did good jobs on their parts and they had a storyline as did Julian McMahon. But Julian is so fucking badass he could have survived without a storyline. In conclusion, really good film.

[Ananas]

The Producers - 4/10

My biggest gripe today with Hollywood today is its constant need for regeneration. With "The Producers" we have an idea that initially enjoyed critical success in its first run, as a film starring Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel. It was then resurrected on Broadway in 2001 as a musical so successful that after a brief recess, the play's real life producers paid out the ear to bring the two stars back in a limited run. Those stars were Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, and proving that people just can't let a good thing go, they're back, along with several of the other original cast members, for "The Producers: The Movie Musical", the screen adaptation of the stage adaptation of the original movie. See? Regeneration.

Summing up the important details of what I've already said, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick lead this talented cast as two would-be producers who venture to make a profit off of the most offensive and worst musical ever made. Perhaps part of the charm of Broadway is it's ability to tell stories with semi-realistic performers, and the somewhat average voices of the various casts make them more relatable while the grandiose British musicals of the 80's and 90's are overblown and filled with opera stars, and are thus as relatable as the sterile future portrayed in so much science fiction. While this may play perfectly well in front of live audiences, it presents a unique challenge when being adapted to the big screen. If you look at the history of screen musicals and the stars you associate with the genre, you're more likely to call on Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin or Fred Astaire than John Travolta, Catherine Zeta-Jones or Ewan MacGregor. While the latter are perfectly good actors doing musical roles, the former were all classicly trained singers with tremendous voices and decent acting ability. Audiences vary in their expectations when they go into a movie, but the general trend is that when they do choose to see a Hollywood musical, they want to be impressed; not so much by the acting and spoken dialogue, but rather with their singing voices, as well as the choreography. Even with audiences that already appreciate the source material, there is an expectation that if a movie must be made, it ought to expand on that material by making it on a larger scale. On both counts, "The Producers" is a failure.

The direction of many of the sequences in this film seem like they are filmed segments from the stage play. If the scale of the movie needs to be brought into consideration, then some of the blame for this film needs to be laid on director Susan Stroman, who also directed the stage version. While musicals like "RENT" and "The Phantom Of the Opera" (which both recieved mixed reviews) were able to expand on the look of their respective films to the point that they were almost overwhelming, "The Producers" achieves none of this, and in some sequences even comes off a little bland. For a Mel Brooks comedy, this is not a good thing. The cast tries its best, and although it may not be the most musically gifted to ever be seen on screen, the performances are exciting and original. Too bad the other aspects of filmmaking were so badly neglected. Thumbs down.

[DFF]

Here's a bunch of films I rated on my forum throughout the last year or so...

Ocean's Twelve 7.5/10

Ghostbusters II 7/10

The Day after Tomorrow 6.5/10

Citizen Kane 7/10

Die Hard II: Die Harder 7/10

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest 9.5/10

Dreamcatcher 7.5/10

Super Troupers 7/10

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith 7.5/10

Resident Evil: Apocalypse 6/10

The Girl Next Door 8/10

Sin City 8.5/10

Batman Begins 8.5/10

The Descent 7.5/10

The Court Jester 8/10

Once Upon A Time In Mexico 6.5/10

I, Robot 8.5/10

The Rocky Horror Show 7.5/10

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory 8/10

The General's Daughter 8/10

Alien vs Predator 4.5/10

Blade Trinity 6/10

Crash 9.5/10

40 Year Old Virgin 7.5/10

How To Lose a Guy In 10 Days 8/10

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 8/10

Serenity 8.5/10

Singin' In The Rain 9/10

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 7.5/10

Flightplan 7/10

Save The Last Dance 7/10

Dreamcatcher 7.5/10

Lord of War 6.5/10

Corpse Bride 8/10

Scrooged 9/10

It's A Wonderful Life 9.5/10

A Nightmare Before Christmas 8/10

[Guest muddatrucker27]

40 Year Old Virgin is one of the worst comedies I have ever seen, I honestly didn't laugh once, it was just boring, they want him to get laid, but hes falling in love...

Its possibly my worst DVD purchase ever, including Roadkill and Bodyshots.

[ROC]

Son of the Mask - 1/10

Name everything in a kid's movie that should not be insinuated in a kid's movie. Son of the Mask has all of those things plus much more awfulness, which gives it the honor of easily being the worst flick of 2005. Lawrence Guterman can die now for all I care. In fact, I may just be the one to shoot him...

[Guest muddatrucker27]

Crash - 8.5/10

Wow, what a movie, really easy to watch, clever and I wanted to bang most of the chicks in it, excluding the 5 year old mexican girl, the heroin filled mother and the fat black chick.

[Docpepper]

Maria Full of Grace - 7/10 - a great movie with one sick part(imo) but its really a good movie that I'd love to watch again.

The 40 Year Old Virgin - 7.5/10 - I'm glad I picked up this dvd. me and my friends laughed so hard through this movie. Steve Carell is one hilarious actor. I can't to see teh sequel to Bruce almighty. He'll be the starring role

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

King Kong (2005) - 9.5/10

Wow, this is bloody awesome. I'd been seeing preview after preview and thought it looked great. Couldn't believe it when it was even better than I expected. Emotion, action and comedy all packed into one. Naomi Watts is brilliant and major hot in this. Jack Black does yet another great job too, as well as just about the entire cast. Just outstanding movie, possibly and probably the best of the year, easily one of the best films I've ever seen.

[Laice07]

The Family Stone: 5/10

Some good moments,but the whole did not equal the sum of its parts.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. (2nd viewing): 8/10

Just as fun as the first time.

King Kong: 9/10

Kong is back as the King in this heartstopping, jaw-droppping remake of the '33 classic. Peter Jackson seals his reputaion as one of the best directors working today and on of the best fantasy/Action adventure director joining the ranks of Lucas, Spielberg, and Cameron. The Special effects is arguably the best ever seen in any film.

[Mysterio2000X]

Four Brothers - 7/10

It won't be winning any type of Oscars any time soon, but it's still a fun, entertaining ride throughout. Better than I expected it to be, and it has a kickass shootout scene to boot.

The 40 Year Old Virgin - 6.5/10

Perhaps I was expecting too much from it, which is probably exactly what happened. The movie's still hilarious, though, and I'd recommend it to anybody.

Serenity - 8.5/10

Having never watched more than just five minutes of Firefly, I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting myself into but.. god damnit, it was fucking great. I love Whedon's witty dialogue, and the special effects were pretty good looking to boot, considering the relatively small budget the movie had. Fan of Firefly/Joss or not, you should see this.

[Tarheels.]

Fun With Dick And Jane: 2/10

It had its little moments, but not really a funny movie. One of Carrey's worst movies that I've seen. Not many laugh out-loud moments, not many laughing moments either. Not a good movie at all

[Guest zscott]

American History X - 9/10 Hoooly shit, this movie made me wanna heil hitler. Seriously though, it's an awesome movie with not so much bullshit in it. Cool ending. It gets a 9 because in the first quarter I was a little confused when they would switch between past and present.

War of the Worlds - 6/10 Special effects and some of the suspense was the only thing it had going for it. Not much of a story behind it, and nothing gets explained. The ending or last 10-15 minutes was as crappy as Signs' though.

Edited December 22, 2005 by zscott

[EWFan2004]

8/10

Just because it's a flim by Speiberg.

[ROC]

Gremlins - 8/10

The gremlins are awesome, Phoebe Cates is hot, the social commentary is clever. Really, what more could you want?