bigHEADinc
El Dandy
Wanted Conway Twitty as a special title.
lest we forget...
Posts: 7,711
|
Post by bigHEADinc on Feb 23, 2008 4:27:17 GMT -5
ENCHANTED
I was really bored and I'd just sparked one and this sounded like a good idea at the cheap seats. Holy crap was it a surprisingly good movie.
I don't feel like recapping this movie, but IMDB handles it quite well... "A classic Disney fairytale collides with modern-day New York City in a story about a fairytale princess who is sent to our world by an evil queen. Soon after her arrival, Princess Giselle begins to change her views on life and love after meeting a handsome lawyer. Can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?"
Mixing old school Disney fairytales with modern romantic comedies, Enchanted surprisingly works. As a kid who grew up with Disney movies, it nailed so many cliches that it's obvious that, while kids will be entertained, there's always a **wink wink** at the older audience to appreciate all the Disney standards met in this movie, including the ever-sappy Happy Ending (And it's SUPER HAPPY in this movie). The story is standard, but there's one big thing this movie has got going for it... And she's not big at all...
Amy Adams is so ridiculously cute and adorable that I found myself smiling for no reason when she was on the screen. The role called for a woman who was not only beautiful, but completely innocent, and she nailed it. I mean, hotness aside, you really just wanted to give her a hug because of how damn cute she is. She soaks up the screen with her big blue eyes and you really can't take your own eyes off of her. Patrick Dempsey plays the straight man to an annoying degree, but luckily Adams is also in most of his scenes. James Marsden, as Prince Edward, heads up the comedic relief alongside Timothy Spall and a CGI Chipmunk named Pip that all bring a surprising amount of comedic relief to the movie and actually had me laughing. Susan Sarandon is the evil Queen Narissa and is beautiful but it doesn't look like she tried that hard. Then again, she was animated for most of the movie.
That's right, the animation... I forgot about it. It's only featured for maybe 15 minutes, but it's a nice mix of the old school animation style with a bit of the new Disney style (I.E. Tarzan, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Aladdin) but it's also very bright and vibrant. I would've actually enjoyed it more if they went with the really old school style of animation, but it's suitable for what it needs to do.
One thing they nailed was the music, which really really harkens back to movies like Snow White and Cinderella. They're classy, but also almost satirical, one more blatantly so (The Working Song). Amy has a great voice.
I can easily recommend this movie, especially if you have kids or are into the classic Disney movies.
***1/2 out of *****
|
|
Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,967
|
Post by Mozenrath on Feb 23, 2008 4:30:23 GMT -5
DUMBO (1941)Saw this film for the first time since I was a child and forgot how sad this film is. I mean really sad there is Dumbo being teased for being different, being separated from his mother and forced to be clown and he only has one friend in the world other then his mother. Poor little guy Anyway the film while short (64 minutes) was touching and pretty good. I felt guilty for laughing at the Crows though. Now I must say what was the staff at Disney on when they came up the 'Pink Elephants On Parade' scene? I mean this film was not made in the drug heavy decades of the 60s and 70s. I mean that scene is some trippy crap. I''m guessing Opium had something to do with it. And who thought that Elephants could be utter vaginas. I will give the film a 3 out of 5. If I recall correctly, saying someone "saw an elephant" was a way of saying they were drunk. Before you could explicitly just say things, they had to be a little more subtle.
|
|
bigHEADinc
El Dandy
Wanted Conway Twitty as a special title.
lest we forget...
Posts: 7,711
|
Post by bigHEADinc on Feb 25, 2008 13:58:45 GMT -5
BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER
In this satirical take on the religious camps that supposedly turn gay people straight that seemed to pop up in the late 90s, Natasha Lyonne plays Megan, a high school Varsity Cheerleader who is religious, innocent, and possibly a lesbian. She doesn't enjoy making out with her boyfriend (Who, from the movie, had that "My tongue goes everywhere" move), she's recently become a vegetarian, she has pictures of women in her locker, loves Melissa Etheridge, and has artwork up with subliminal vaginal messages. Her parents, straight out of 50s and 60s sitcoms, stage an intervention to send her to a rehab camp where, alongside other homosexuals needing to turn straight, she ends up realizing exactly who she is.
With the movie being a satire, everything seems to hit you on the head to make their point. The guys in the movie are not only gay but (Is this PC?) flamingly gay with all the stereotypical wrist movements, squealing, and jumping that you'd associate with that. The women, meanwhile, are either ridiculously butch, goth, or just cut their hair a little short. The woman running the camp is so severely anti-gay, she borders on being as bad as that church that pickets dead soldiers' funerals (with one quote being "It's your choice; you can run off with Megan and turn into a raging bull-dyke or, you can do the simulation and graduate and lead a normal life."). The camp itself consists of classes that simulate what it's like to be either respective sex, with men being taugh to play football and change oil while women are taught to clean and look respectable.
I just plain didn't like this movie all that much. The jokes were way too tired, the satire seemed to be more in the vein of Meet The Spartans (Oh look, gay people! Watch them be gay!), and there just wasn't much there. All the performances were way too campy to be taken seriously and, I don't know if this was the fault of the filmmaker or the quality of the video, but the colors were washed out to make everything look a little more pastel and that just made the whole mood of the movie be a bit sadder than it should've been. Nice scenes of Natasha Lyonne and Clea Duvall kissing though... One of the few times where same-sex kissing actually looked believable.
*1/2 out of *****
|
|
bigHEADinc
El Dandy
Wanted Conway Twitty as a special title.
lest we forget...
Posts: 7,711
|
Post by bigHEADinc on Feb 25, 2008 18:24:34 GMT -5
SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
I don't got time right now to write a full review, but it's an absolutely amazing film that deserves all the praise it gets. I'll write something more later... Or maybe not, as this review pretty much says all I need to.
***** out of *****
|
|
|
Post by thesam07 on Feb 26, 2008 3:23:48 GMT -5
BUT I'M A CHEERLEADERIn this satirical take on the religious camps that supposedly turn gay people straight that seemed to pop up in the late 90s, Natasha Lyonne plays Megan, a high school Varsity Cheerleader who is religious, innocent, and possibly a lesbian. She doesn't enjoy making out with her boyfriend (Who, from the movie, had that "My tongue goes everywhere" move), she's recently become a vegetarian, she has pictures of women in her locker, loves Melissa Etheridge, and has artwork up with subliminal vaginal messages. Her parents, straight out of 50s and 60s sitcoms, stage an intervention to send her to a rehab camp where, alongside other homosexuals needing to turn straight, she ends up realizing exactly who she is. With the movie being a satire, everything seems to hit you on the head to make their point. The guys in the movie are not only gay but (Is this PC?) flamingly gay with all the stereotypical wrist movements, squealing, and jumping that you'd associate with that. The women, meanwhile, are either ridiculously butch, goth, or just cut their hair a little short. The woman running the camp is so severely anti-gay, she borders on being as bad as that church that pickets dead soldiers' funerals (with one quote being "It's your choice; you can run off with Megan and turn into a raging bull-dyke or, you can do the simulation and graduate and lead a normal life."). The camp itself consists of classes that simulate what it's like to be either respective sex, with men being taugh to play football and change oil while women are taught to clean and look respectable. I just plain didn't like this movie all that much. The jokes were way too tired, the satire seemed to be more in the vein of Meet The Spartans (Oh look, gay people! Watch them be gay!), and there just wasn't much there. All the performances were way too campy to be taken seriously and, I don't know if this was the fault of the filmmaker or the quality of the video, but the colors were washed out to make everything look a little more pastel and that just made the whole mood of the movie be a bit sadder than it should've been. Nice scenes of Natasha Lyonne and Clea Duvall kissing though... One of the few times where same-sex kissing actually looked believable. *1/2 out of ***** Man, i haven't watched that movie in years. All I remember was when the camp leader finds the matchbook cover with the name of the gay bar on it and at the end when the main charecter does that cheer. Oh, i mean *SPOILER ALERT* Main charecter does that cheer. *SPOILER ALERT*
|
|
bigHEADinc
El Dandy
Wanted Conway Twitty as a special title.
lest we forget...
Posts: 7,711
|
Post by bigHEADinc on Feb 26, 2008 16:32:46 GMT -5
Man, i haven't watched that movie in years. All I remember was when the camp leader finds the matchbook cover with the name of the gay bar on it and at the end when the main char acter does that cheer. Oh, i mean *SPOILER ALERT* Main char acter does that cheer. *SPOILER ALERT* Fixed and... Cocks***er... WTF kinda name is that for a gay bar? It's just ridiculous for the sake of being ridiculous...
|
|
Millie D
El Dandy
Something VERY special.
I Love Glee!
Posts: 8,923
|
Post by Millie D on Feb 26, 2008 16:52:11 GMT -5
I watched BEOWULF AND GRENDEL this past weekend on DVD. It stars Gerard Butler and Stellan Skaarsgaard. I thought it had a comical twist to it being that Grendel was portrayed as a half human half troll like creature who can have sex like a human and acts mildly add...I thought the BEOWULF movie was better than this one and even though I love Gerard Butler it kinda reminded me of Leonidas fighting a dumb hunchback..I will not watch it again..
|
|
|
Post by BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps on Feb 26, 2008 16:58:41 GMT -5
ORDINARY PEOPLE:
I don't know if this movie counts as a "chick flick", but if it does, you could chalk it up to one of the few that I actually enjoyed.
A friend said that I was bound to cry. Well, as bad as I felt for Conrad, I didn't- but this friend also wept at the climatic speech at the end of Revenge of the Nerds, so take that for what it is.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2008 18:10:40 GMT -5
I just watched Superman 3 & Superman 4 last night & tonight on DVD...Watched the 1st two last week
Superman 3 I actually thought was decent to good, I mean I really like the idea and who doesn't mark for a non-shaving superman? Richard Pyror was was mis-cast though and I never thought I'd say this damn near ruined the film, and the chick/robot at the end was stupid
Superman 4........Good storyline idea, effects......eh, damn hippy storyline, poor execution, however now the mark against nature it is made out to be
|
|
Vengeance Of War
Bubba Ho-Tep
You say you want everyone happy? Well...we're not laughing.
Posts: 619
|
Post by Vengeance Of War on Feb 26, 2008 18:14:57 GMT -5
ORDINARY PEOPLE: I don't know if this movie counts as a "chick flick", but if it does, you could chalk it up to one of the few that I actually enjoyed. A friend said that I was bound to cry. Well, as bad as I felt for Conrad, I didn't- but this friend also wept at the climatic speech at the end of Revenge of the Nerds, so take that for what it is. This ain't no chick flick. This is one of the best dramas I've ever seen. For Mary Tyler Moore to go so against type and play one of the most icy, unfeeling individuals on film is amazing. Sutherland was just as good. How did neither of them win an Oscar?
|
|
Jiren
Patti Mayonnaise
Hearts Bayformers
Posts: 35,163
|
Post by Jiren on Feb 26, 2008 19:08:55 GMT -5
Tourist Trap
Freaky & weird
|
|
|
Post by Bob Schlapowitz on Feb 26, 2008 19:58:02 GMT -5
I just watched Superman 3 & Superman 4 last night & tonight on DVD...Watched the 1st two last week Superman 3 I actually thought was decent to good, I mean I really like the idea and who doesn't mark for a non-shaving superman? Richard Pyror was was mis-cast though and I never thought I'd say this damn near ruined the film, and the chick/robot at the end was stupid Superman 4........Good storyline idea, effects......eh, damn hippy storyline, poor execution, however now the mark against nature it is made out to be The chick/robot scene in Superman III scared the bejeezus out of me when I was a kid. It gave me nightmares for weeks! (Hey! I was 6 when this movie came out, cut a guy a little slack!)
|
|
bigHEADinc
El Dandy
Wanted Conway Twitty as a special title.
lest we forget...
Posts: 7,711
|
Post by bigHEADinc on Feb 27, 2008 16:20:21 GMT -5
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
After trying to watch this several times before and turning it over before the first fifteen minutes are over, I felt as if I owed this movie another chance and resolved to watch the whole thing.
I don't really know if that was a good idea or not.
The movie itself doesn't directly give you any answer to many scenes that happen, but it's stuff you have to put together yourself (I, myself, still had questions when I got done, thank god for Wikipedia as it cleared some stuff up). Problem is some scenes jump quickly while others seem to linger too long. Hell, it took me awhile to figure out that Eli and Peter were supposed to be two different people (I didn't really catch the name in the beginning). The first 15 minutes has no lines at all and others strictly focus on the people working and the scenery rather than communication, but it felt like some of the scenes were shoved in there to pad out the running time, which felt like it went on for ages. The score, which was loud and fast, seemed completely out of place at times with the scenes they were matched up with. The movie irked me a lot.
But the performances were great. Daniel Day-Lewis does deserve his Oscar but the movie itself, in my eyes, doesn't deserve all the heaps of greatness thrust upon it. Paul Dano also deserves a lot of credit as the charismatic and insane Eli, as he also stole so many scenes for himself, even when matched up with the Day-Lewis. In a movie I really didn't enjoy all that much, these two men saved it because watching them was fun. While I didn't really enjoy too many of the long shots, they were absolutely beautiful and perfectly framed the idea of living in the west during that time period.
I give Day-Lewis and Dano all the praise in the world, but I don't think I could ever watch this movie again.
***1/2 out of *****
For Comparison (Other "Best Movie" nominations this year): Atonement - **** out of ***** Juno - ****1/2 out of ***** Michael Clayton - ****1/2 out of ***** No Country For Old Men - ***1/2 out of *****
|
|
bigHEADinc
El Dandy
Wanted Conway Twitty as a special title.
lest we forget...
Posts: 7,711
|
Post by bigHEADinc on Feb 28, 2008 3:17:22 GMT -5
BE KIND, REWIND
The only reason I know the name Michel Gondry is because of the excellent Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I heard good things about The Science of Sleep and I saw parts of Dave Chappelle's Block Party, while also having a friend who just loves the guy, so I had high hopes for this movie, especially since Jack Black is in it.
It's a charming little movie.
Sometimes.
Other times it hits you over the head with the message that we need to save film as an art form and also learn how to love your community, but those parts were the least entertaining. The best were just watching Mos Def and Jack Black screwing around.
There were parts where I sat there, questioning why something funnier wasn't happening on screen, but both of the leads, alongside Danny Glover, do not disappoint in the funny... Sometimes..
Really, I would've just loved it if the whole movie were Sweded movies, especially their version of Rush Hour 2.
In short, I liked it, but I didn't love it. I wouldn't buy it or rent it, but if a friend had and wanted to watch it I wouldn't be against it at all.
*** out of *****
|
|
rra
King Koopa
Posts: 10,145
|
Post by rra on Feb 28, 2008 3:21:25 GMT -5
THERE WILL BE BLOODAfter trying to watch this several times before and turning it over before the first fifteen minutes are over, I felt as if I owed this movie another chance and resolved to watch the whole thing. I don't really know if that was a good idea or not. The movie itself doesn't directly give you any answer to many scenes that happen, but it's stuff you have to put together yourself (I, myself, still had questions when I got done, thank god for Wikipedia as it cleared some stuff up). Problem is some scenes jump quickly while others seem to linger too long. Hell, it took me awhile to figure out that Eli and Peter were supposed to be two different people (I didn't really catch the name in the beginning). The first 15 minutes has no lines at all and others strictly focus on the people working and the scenery rather than communication, but it felt like some of the scenes were shoved in there to pad out the running time, which felt like it went on for ages. The score, which was loud and fast, seemed completely out of place at times with the scenes they were matched up with. The movie irked me a lot. But the performances were great. Daniel Day-Lewis does deserve his Oscar but the movie itself, in my eyes, doesn't deserve all the heaps of greatness thrust upon it. Paul Dano also deserves a lot of credit as the charismatic and insane Eli, as he also stole so many scenes for himself, even when matched up with the Day-Lewis. In a movie I really didn't enjoy all that much, these two men saved it because watching them was fun. While I didn't really enjoy too many of the long shots, they were absolutely beautiful and perfectly framed the idea of living in the west during that time period. I give Day-Lewis and Dano all the praise in the world, but I don't think I could ever watch this movie again. ***1/2 out of ***** For Comparison (Other "Best Movie" nominations this year): Atonement - **** out of ***** Juno - ****1/2 out of ***** Michael Clayton - ****1/2 out of ***** No Country For Old Men - ***1/2 out of ***** THERE WILL BE BLOOD isn't a movie to immediately critical of. You have to ponder and mentally digest its ramifications for a few days before you grade it. That's why I haven't written a review yet for it. Its gone from a very good picture to a masterpiece of this decade for me.
|
|
Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,967
|
Post by Mozenrath on Feb 28, 2008 3:22:46 GMT -5
THERE WILL BE BLOODAfter trying to watch this several times before and turning it over before the first fifteen minutes are over, I felt as if I owed this movie another chance and resolved to watch the whole thing. I don't really know if that was a good idea or not. The movie itself doesn't directly give you any answer to many scenes that happen, but it's stuff you have to put together yourself (I, myself, still had questions when I got done, thank god for Wikipedia as it cleared some stuff up). Problem is some scenes jump quickly while others seem to linger too long. Hell, it took me awhile to figure out that Eli and Peter were supposed to be two different people (I didn't really catch the name in the beginning). The first 15 minutes has no lines at all and others strictly focus on the people working and the scenery rather than communication, but it felt like some of the scenes were shoved in there to pad out the running time, which felt like it went on for ages. The score, which was loud and fast, seemed completely out of place at times with the scenes they were matched up with. The movie irked me a lot. But the performances were great. Daniel Day-Lewis does deserve his Oscar but the movie itself, in my eyes, doesn't deserve all the heaps of greatness thrust upon it. Paul Dano also deserves a lot of credit as the charismatic and insane Eli, as he also stole so many scenes for himself, even when matched up with the Day-Lewis. In a movie I really didn't enjoy all that much, these two men saved it because watching them was fun. While I didn't really enjoy too many of the long shots, they were absolutely beautiful and perfectly framed the idea of living in the west during that time period. I give Day-Lewis and Dano all the praise in the world, but I don't think I could ever watch this movie again. ***1/2 out of ***** For Comparison (Other "Best Movie" nominations this year): Atonement - **** out of ***** Juno - ****1/2 out of ***** Michael Clayton - ****1/2 out of ***** No Country For Old Men - ***1/2 out of ***** THERE WILL BE BLOOD isn't a movie to immediately critical of. You have to ponder and mentally digest its ramifications for a few days before you grade it. That's why I haven't written a review yet for it. Its gone from a very good picture to a masterpiece of this decade for me. Am I silly for making jokes that Vince has ABANDONED HIS BOY?
|
|
bigHEADinc
El Dandy
Wanted Conway Twitty as a special title.
lest we forget...
Posts: 7,711
|
Post by bigHEADinc on Feb 28, 2008 3:27:20 GMT -5
THERE WILL BE BLOOD isn't a movie to immediately critical of. You have to ponder and mentally digest its ramifications for a few days before you grade it. That's why I haven't written a review yet for it. Its gone from a very good picture to a masterpiece of this decade for me. Am I silly for making jokes that Vince has ABANDONED HIS BOY? I'm just waiting for the inevitable online deluge of "I'M DRINKING YOUR MILKSHAKE!!!!!... SSSSLLLLLUUUURRRRRRPPPPPP!!!"
|
|
rra
King Koopa
Posts: 10,145
|
Post by rra on Feb 28, 2008 3:31:10 GMT -5
Am I silly for making jokes that Vince has ABANDONED HIS BOY? I'm just waiting for the inevitable online deluge of "I'M DRINKING YOUR MILKSHAKE!!!!!... SSSSLLLLLUUUURRRRRRPPPPPP!!!" How about instead... "I abandoned MY BOY!!!!!"
|
|
Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,967
|
Post by Mozenrath on Feb 28, 2008 3:31:51 GMT -5
I'm just waiting for the inevitable online deluge of "I'M DRINKING YOUR MILKSHAKE!!!!!... SSSSLLLLLUUUURRRRRRPPPPPP!!!" How about instead... "I abandoned MY BOY!!!!!" I'VE ABANDONED MY MILKSHAKE!
|
|
|
Post by Big DSR Energy on Feb 28, 2008 3:48:52 GMT -5
Less than twenty minutes ago, I finished watching SEVEN SAMURAI on TCM. Fantastic movie, and it moves along quite nicely for a 3 and a half hour long movie (well, most of the time, anyway). I loved the character of Kikuchiyo, who manages to be, at varying times, a drunken boor, the comic relief of the movie, and the most emotional member of the group. And according to Wikipedia:
"Always the show-off, his sword is considerably larger than everyone else's."
That's just awesome. I give it 3.5 out of 4 stars.
|
|