The Movie Thread

[Hazen]

Being a UK based forum the subject line should probably read 'Feature Film' - but whatever.

If you've been to the cinema or rented a dvd, share your thoughts/impressions here.
If you want to recommend/slag it off, please say why.

[Hazen]

Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence

I'll start the ball rolling with 'Ghost In The Shell 2'

Most Manga that I've seen are basically kid's cartoons, with any excuse for a spot of (super-fit female) nudity. 'Ghost In The Shell' was the first major departure from the established format which resurrected the old SF writer's favourite subject of consciousness in machines and the subsequent question: Can a creation become greater than it's creator?
(This same theme being recently re-popularised by the Matrix/Animatrix, Terminator films etc.).
I assume that such animation is now CGI, rather than by hand and the advances in visual effects are quite superb. Even watching this film on my ageing laptop, it looks excellent, combined with a storyline which you actually need to pay attention to, to follow (one of Hollywood's major failings, IMHO) and a soundtrack which complements the visual imagery in the same degree of complexity.
My verdict: 9/10 - definite thumbs up



Edit: merged threads

[tkingdoll]

Ahem. Nitpick alert (sorry, sorry).

Manga (with a small 'm' when not at the start of a sentence) is the written form (the cartoon books and comics). The animated form is called 'anime' (sometimes in the US it's called Japanimation which is plain stupid).

However, there is a film company called Manga which produces anime. Their films were the first make it big in the West (Akira, for example) although Studio Ghibli has vastly overtaken them now. This popularity led to many people mistakenly referring to animated movies as manga when in fact they are called anime. The difference is quite huge because there are always manga versions of anime. You can buy the manga of Ghost in the Shell 2 but the pages would serious jam up your DVD player :D

End of nitpick! Sorry to be such a nerd.

PS If you liked GITS2, you might enjoy Black Jack.

[Hazen]

You are quite correct, I bow to your superior knowledge.

[tkingdoll]

It's ok, I only found this out myself when I made the same faux pas a while back when I was just getting into anime. :D

OK, a very quick movie review from me.

Mission Impossible III - A Skeptic's Perspective.

I am, generally, a fan of Tom Cruise movies. Not because I like the actor (I think he's average with occasional flashes of great when paired with the right director), but because more often than not I like the films he chooses. Magnolia is one of my favourite ever flicks, Minority Report is thoroughly exciting, and I found Vanilla Sky to far exceed the original, Open Your Eyes.

Why, then, when watching Mission Impossible III, did I find myself wanting to smash his stupid gurning face into his own gadgets? Simple. Since seeing my last Tom movie, I have become a Skeptic. My knowledge of the practices of Scientology overwhelms my ability to simply switch off and watch the character. Instead, I found myself watching the actor, thinking "but you're brainwashed! You stupid little man!". His power, fame and influence is dangerous - I must assume that he personally is responsible for many thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of new recruits into the seedy cult that uses his name so well.

Mission Impossible III co-stars my all-time favourite actor, Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Sadly, my usual joy at watching him was marred by the nagging thoughts that kept popping up "I wonder if Tom is recruiting him. I wonder if he read the leaflets?" (for Tom insists on a Scientology recruitment tent on every movie set he works on). The female lead bears a passing resemblance to Katie Holmes, and I found myself mentally shouting "don't marry him, he's bonkers!".

Some paranoics are insisting there are veiled references to Scientology in the movie. Frankly, pre-armed with enough knowledge, you could draw comparisons to any religion in any movie. I'm surprised at the skeptics who do this, it's the plot equivalent of pareidolia. I find it highly unlikely that any casual moviegoer would learn anything about Scientology from this film (unless they already knew about it, in which case, what would be the point?). This is not Battlefield Earth, it's standard action movie fare.

The film was superior in special effects and plot than its two predecessors, but once again a heavy reliance on 'the old switcheroo' made the story seem hackneyed. We've seen it all before, give us a plot that doesn't rely heavily on luck and coincidence, please. The emotional aspect, heralded as the movie's trump card, was well played and effective enough, but a mis-delivered "Wait...I love you!" from Tom had the entire cinema laughing at what should have been the emotional climax.

Verdict? I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more sans the Cultster, sorry, Cruisester, so a 4 out of 10 from me.

[vbloke]

Ahem. Nitpick alert (sorry, sorry).

Manga (with a small 'm' when not at the start of a sentence) is the written form (the cartoon books and comics). The animated form is called 'anime' (sometimes in the US it's called Japanimation which is plain stupid).

However, there is a film company called Manga which produces anime. Their films were the first make it big in the West (Akira, for example) although Studio Ghibli has vastly overtaken them now. This popularity led to many people mistakenly referring to animated movies as manga when in fact they are called anime. The difference is quite huge because there are always manga versions of anime. You can buy the manga of Ghost in the Shell 2 but the pages would serious jam up your DVD player :D

End of nitpick! Sorry to be such a nerd.

PS If you liked GITS2, you might enjoy Black Jack.




*cough*
geek!

[vbloke]

I have to say that I am a hardcore 1950's/1960's Sci-Fi B-movie fan.

Everything from "Plan 9" to "Forbidden Planet" are excellent - especially so is "It Came From Outer Space" since it deals with not alien invasion, or aliens coming here to warn us of the impending doom of nuclear war, etc, but it's a good social commentary on humanity being afraid, aggressive and paranoid of things it does not understand.

The aliens crash land on Earth and have to "kidnap" people in order to assume their forms to get equipment to repair their ship.

The hero of the story, an amateur astronomer (must be why I like him), tries to convince the townsfolk the aliens aren't a threat, but they march on the ship, all flaming torches and pitchforks, only to discover that the aliens are here by accident and they only want to leave as soon as possible. They free the "kidnapped" townsfolk unharmed and head off on their merry way, telling the hero that the time for them and us to meet will be far in the future...

Oh, and if anyone knows where I can get a copy of "This Island Earth" on DVD, please let me know, it's been criminally neglected for release.

[Mongrel]

Oh, and if anyone knows where I can get a copy of "This Island Earth" on DVD, please let me know, it's been criminally neglected for release.

Won the lottery recently (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6305077983/qid=1147371849/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8398907-5195047?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=130)?

[vbloke]

*cries*

[Nettles]

Okay, what's with dull movies starring Bill Murray? Fair enough, he wants to be a serious actor in his old age, but why do they bill Dead Flowers as a comedy? Why did people like Lost in Translation? The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou had a few moments, but not Bill's.

Now that I think of it, was he ever actually funny?

Ghostbusters, maybe.

Sorry -- what was the topic?

[Admin]

I'm not a movie lover and certainly not a movie goer. If I have to pick a type of film to watch then I too would go for the old black and white 'B' movies.

I prefer a good storyline to a load of techno graphics.

God what an old fart I sound. :-[

[Mojo]

Being a UK based forum the subject line should probably read 'Feature Film' - but whatever. With John being based in Newcastle, it should read "Fillum".

[Hazen]

Have just seen 'The Da Vinci Code'. I'll write some blurb when I've got some spare time.
Anyone seen X-Men 3?

[tkingdoll]

Have just seen 'The Da Vinci Code'. I'll write some blurb when I've got some spare time.
Anyone seen X-Men 3?

Hell, yes, opening night!

It totally rocked. There's an extra scene after the credits that I missed but a kind soul at JREF filled me in on the details.

We don't have a spoiler tag here so I won't say too much.

[Admin]

We don't have a spoiler tag here


Good point. They work really well on JREF.

I'll see if there's a one available for this system and if not, I'll suggest one. O0

[tkingdoll]

We don't have a spoiler tag here


Good point. They work really well on JREF.

I'll see if there's a one available for this system and if not, I'll suggest one. O0


Yes please. Some absolute twat just spoiled the big twist in X-Men three over in the JREF review thread, I'm on an utter rant right now. I mean, I've seen it, but most people won't have and might be reading the thread to see if it's any good before going. ARRGH!

At least with a spoiler tag the risk of that is minimal (as shown by the zillion considerate people who chose to use it before some moron came along).

>:(

[median]

Actually I saw V for Vendetta on DVD the other day and thought it was jolly top-hole.
True it was wordy, pretentious and took itself far too seriously but it was entertaining ;D

Reminds me of some of the threads that I've been involved with on other forums ???

[Dr B]

aaahhhh....maybe the sequel should be called T for Toouk! O0

[Mongrel]

Just finished watching The Island - meh :-\

A few things spoiled it for me, so it got bumped to the level of slightly thinky action movie;

Sean Bean as the villian <----This is a me thing
Violently unsubtle product placement (Although I managed to buy the phone from the movie before seeing it, I feel dirty :'()

Main thing though was I've read the awesome book Spares. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0006512674/qid=1149111027/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_3_4/202-6502958-9343035) It looked liked they wanted to do that but since the movie rights for that are still tied up for a few years they settled with nicking major plot elements and slapping a happy ending on it :(

[tkingdoll]

Just back from the cinema, we saw Brick which was superb.

[median]

Speaking of X Men. I recently got into a discussion about it with a mate. My position challeneged whether Magneto realistically using a magnetic force to halt an object (e.g. aircraft) and hold his position (for every reaction etc etc..... He didn't thank me for it ;D bloody skeptics :)
This kind of reminded me of quite a few years ago when a group of friends and I used to rip the piss out of a lot of films. Debating whether the energy beam down the Empire State Building would rip it apart was one.. :o..must get my skeptimeter recalibrated.

I think there was a web site I recently saw on feasibility in films..will have to dig it out..y'know usual stuff about proporational strength of spiders (Spiderman) and surface area to weight ratios...

Christ, you skeptics are no fun at all ;D ;D :o ;D :D ;D

[median]

Ah here it is

http://www.intuitor.com/moviephysics/

[Admin]

I'm looking for a spoiler tag that will fit into this forum. O0

I'd forgotten... :-[

[Admin]

I'll sort the bloody thing out later. >:(

[Hazen]

Sean Bean as the villian <----This is a me thing


He made a good villain in 'Goldeneye'.
I'm guessing he's a Geordie, but did a great silver spoon accent.

[Hazen]

I think this film (fillum) suffered from over-hype. I went to see it because it really knotted some vatican knickers.
Basically, it's a slight re-hash of the many Merovingian/knights templar/rosicrucian conspiracy stories.
In El Greco's words: "There go my hopes for a great blasphemous movie".

As a thriller it starts of well enough, a bizarre murder where all is not as it seems, followed by a mad dash across Europe, then it kind of fizzled out and anti-climaxed with an ending that went nowhere.

Pros: Audrey Tatou
Cons: Not naked

5/10

[Admin]

My wife wanted to drag me along to see this movie. Thankfully, due to many negative reviews, I've been spared the ordeal.

I'm not an enthusiast at the best of times.

[Hazen]

So, anyone been to see the new Bond film?

[kath23]

Noooooooo! But I saw Borat, that was brill and a lot of 'religious/spiritual people I know won't see it, they think it's unchristian :D

[Dr B]

I saw the new Bond film on Thursday, it was truly excellent - one of the best.

On a side issue my wife dragged me to see George Michael in concert at the NEC last night - but I have to say, it was excellent even though its not my kind of music...great singer, great showman, great sound.....cant ask for more...... O0

(I reserve the right to deny seeing george in future conversations ;D)

[Admin]

The last film I went to see was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

I thought it was great, but then, I was only 4. ;D

I hate going to the pictures. ???

[kath23]

u might love it now tho :) most films are better than chitty b ;D

[Mongrel]

I'm with John (except for the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang bit). I just hate being stuck somewhere with that many people, same goes for weekend shopping. I just hate crowds :(

[kath23]

nowadays u don't have to wait long for the dvd to come out for the cinemaphobes, I know wot u mean, I used 2 have panic attacks in them. hiding at the bak is best :)

I tend to face my fears a bit tho. If you study CBT (which I think has some evidence for it) exposure is the way to beat anxiety.

I can see that it's not necessarily something you want to pay for as 'entertainment' tho if it just does your head :)

[Hazen]

CBT?

[kath23]

sorry -Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=469

[vbloke]

not the CBT I thought at first...

http://www.dsa.gov.uk/Category.asp?cat=106

[kath23]

LOL that might be a bit stretching for my powers of co-ordination ;D

[Hazen]

One of the few Phillip Dick novels that I've not actually read, but being a fan/enthusiast of much of his work, I was keen to see this when it appeared.
Having been written (finished) in 1977, (IIRC) that bizarre post-Nixon era of turmoil, it seems just as relevant to today's situation, if not more so, than when it was written.
Just mention the 'T' word and anything is justified - even in the land of the free, the home of the brave.
Recommended.
8/10

[median]

People

Saw 'Hot Fuzz' last night. From the crators of Shaun of the Dead

I give it a high rating.

If you like an action comedy with copious amounts of ketchup all set in a sleepy Wets Country village then this one's for you O0

[kath23]

Ooooh hot fuzz! My partner and I want to see that one. We like everything with Simon Pegg in, he has a friendly face :)

[ann]

Well, aka Da Vinci Code, my husband was inthat, abliet briefly, as he is a Extra and has been for years! He was last seen walking through the Cathedral (supposedly Westminster but actually Lincoln) with a friend, right by Tom Hanks and Ms Tatou for around, hmmmm - let's see, 45 seconds ;D

The film itself was terrible, and the book even worse!

I love Movies - but they have to have some class - anyone remember THE LION IN WINTER with Peter O'Toole? He should have won an Oscar for that! This is a favourite and films like it, and I do love Sci Fi but not the US kind of all guns blazing - it really HAS to have a STORY!

Ann

[huw-l]

I love Movies - but they have to have some class - anyone remember THE LION IN WINTER with Peter O'Toole? He should have won an Oscar for that!

*adds to lovefilm queue.

Thank you.

[ann]

My pleasure - enjoy :) Ann

[Dr B]

When it comes to films...I have three words

Life of Brian.

Quite simply the best comedy film ever made. O0

[median]

I concur. O0

If you look at most comedy films now, they all pay some sort of homage to Python in one way or another.

Shaun of the Dead is up there too but possibly because I can identify the characters with some of my stoner mates of old :D (er that is Shaun and Ed..not the zombies) ;D

[Dr B]

LOB was the greatest thing the Pythons ever did. It is clever, silly, makes you think, makes you laugh and probably more accurately portrays life in those times than any biblical nonsense.

"He is the messiah....and I should know...I've followed a few"! (the very reason which proves he does not know.... :D....fantastic....).

Dont get me started on quoting LOB....or we will be here all night ;D

[median]

But what have the Romans ever done for us? O0

Actually one of the funniest MP scenes I saw was the Philosopher's football match especially the bit when Descartes was trying to argue with the referee (trying to debate the existence of a red card)

And as for the Spanish Inquisition... ;D

[Dr B]

Ah yes.....very true....absolutely hilarious stuff. They made being intelligent cool instead of it being geeky....

[ann]

;D ;D ;D Oh Yes, always look on the bright side of life ;D Ann

[Cuddles]

I think no-one should be allowed to call themselves British unless they can quote, verbatim, the entire script of at least one Monty Python film.