A couple o' movie mini-reviews

[nat]

I refuse to see this movie because it contains Matthew McConaughey.  He is on my list of hated actors along with John Leguizamo, Diane Keaton and Vince Vaughn.

I'm with you 100%, which is one of the major reasons I didn't want to see this movie. Hence the comment:

Whatever-his-name-is actually played a part I didn't despise

I was caught completely off guard however, the chemistry between the actors (all of them) was uncanny.

I watched Shaun of the Dead today and enjoyed it somewhat, though probably not enough to label it a classic.  Zombies and humor go quite well together, and the references to Evil Dead, 28 Days Later, and Romero's works were nicely done with smatterings of dry, English wit.  I'm really looking forward to seeing Hot Fuzz now, as well as whatever the third title will be in the trilogy.

Ha, we had a great time with both of those. Shaun of the Dead is the better flick but if you're any kind of Bond fan (I am) you'll enjoy seeing Timothy Dalton play the anti-Bond in Hot Fuzz. Both those movies will become cult classics, no doubt in my mind. And what's this about a third movie?

[Necromancer]

And what's this about a third movie?

Pegg and Wright have referred to the first two movies as part of the "Blood and Ice Cream" trilogy, or alternately the "Three Flavours of Cornetto".  Apparently, the third one is tentatively titled "Paul" and revolves around a road trip across the U.S.  I haven't a clue when it is supposed to be released.

[nat]

10,000 BC - Cool movie. Went in not expecting to like it much, came out satisfied. It pulls off the "epic movie" thing really well, has a happy ending, and the characters are all likable. Does a good job getting you to care about the people and what happens to them. The only downfall is that the story is pretty predictable and follows the old cliched formula: girl gets kidnadpped, guy goes on a quest to rescue girl, guy rescues girl, everyone lives happily ever after.

[ceti alpha]

10,000 BC - Cool movie. Went in not expecting to like it much, came out satisfied. It pulls off the "epic movie" thing really well, has a happy ending, and the characters are all likable. Does a good job getting you to care about the people and what happens to them. The only downfall is that the story is pretty predictable and follows the old cliched formula: girl gets kidnadpped, guy goes on a quest to rescue girl, guy rescues girl, everyone lives happily ever after.

Man, I was going to completely avoid this movie at all cost after this scathing review I saw someone give on CBC. I mean he tore into it hard. lol. But the chick looks hot as hell so I'll check it out regardless. hehe 

[nat]

She's cute, but 90% of the time she's bundled up in animal furs and rags so it's tough to get a good look at her.

What were that reviewer's complaints about the movie?

[Joe Redifer]

It's a rip-off of Apocalypto... IN ENGLISH!

Some cavemen get kidnapped by Egyptians to be slave labor to build the pyramids with the help of wooley mammoths. Along the way they get attacked by some crazy dinosaurs with beaks and feathers.

No, I'm not making this up.

I have always hated Ronald Emmerich.  He sucks ass.  Tha Day Afta Tommrow was a horrible, horrible movie.  Don't make me review that!  So was Independence Day.

[ceti alpha]

She's cute, but 90% of the time she's bundled up in animal furs and rags so it's tough to get a good look at her.

I like my girls to be savage a la Nova from Planet of the Apes.  O:)

[nat]

Along the way they get attacked by some crazy dinosaurs with beaks and feathers.

I was wondering about that part. Did they just make those animals up? What the f*ck?

I have always hated Ronald Emmerich.  He sucks ass.  Tha Day Afta Tommrow was a horrible, horrible movie.  Don't make me review that!  So was Independence Day.

I'll have to disagree. TDAT wasn't anything special but it wasn't horrible. And back in the day when ID came out, it kicked ass. I haven't actually watched it in like 10 years though so I don't have a fresh perspective on it.

[Joe Redifer]

The Day After Tomorrow was indeed awful unless you were watching purely for the shitastical CGI.  I saw Independence Day 6 months before it was released and it was better then than the final release.  A subsequent recut a couple of months later (a few months before release) was even better, but it still sucked.  The final cut resembled the first cut more than the second.  I never got into calling it "ID4" because that is just retarded.

Oh!  And let's not forget about the truly awful Godzilla from 1998.  Ronald Emmerich truly has no right being alive.

[nat]

I never got into calling it "ID4" because that is just retarded.

You got that right. Who started that? How did they come up with it? Why did it catch on? These are the eternal questions of humanity that need to be answered.

Oh!  And let's not forget about the truly awful Godzilla from 1998.  Ronald Emmerich truly has no right being alive.

I remember seeing Godzilla back in '98 with my girlfriend at the time.

That's funny, now that you mention it, I can see the similarities between all these movies. Who was he? Writer? Director? I'm not familiar with that name (and am too apathetic to Google).

[Kitsunexus]

Donnie Darko - WOW. JUST WOW.  10/10/10/10

Red Dawn - Good, but a bit sappy. 8/10

Dazed And Confused - I was talking trash about this in the shoutbox, but I like it now. 10/10

[Joe Redifer]

Ronald Emmerich is a director/producer/writer who has a taste for the "epic" movie ("bombastic" is probably the more appropriate word) with lots and lots of cheap CGI effects.  Movies he's directed include:

10,000 B.C.
The Day After Tomorrow
The Patriot starring Mel "Sugar Tits" Gibson
Godzilla starring everyone's favorite wimp, Matthew Broderick
Independence Day
Stargate - This was crap.  I was forced to verify the print when this came out.  I was paid to do this and I still wanted a refund.
Universal Soldier
Moon 44
Hollywood-Monster
Joey
Arche Noah Prinzip, Das (He's a German guy, after all).
Franzmann (no, this is not a movie about Hanz and Franz).

[MurderDate]

last buncha movies I saw:

THE KING OF KONG - This is the only video game doc I have seen that is any good.  I didn't say I loved it, but it was watchable and had some interesting folks.  Steve Wiebe seems like a solid, genuinely nice guy.  Roy Shildt is always worth a laugh. (I remember reading about him in Answer Me magazine back in highschool!)  Does he make appearances at video game conventions?  Billy Mitchell has kind of lost his mind somewhere over the years and puts on a good show. A bit of a psycho-drama, really.  That was a surprise. Definitely recommended to anyone on this board.

EASTERN PROMISES - Not-bad Russian mob movie.  Doesn't get my highest recommendation but it wasn't awful either. Recent Cronenberg.

CHUCK & BUCK - Hated it; practically everything about it.  Made me feel like I hate LA. I would've guessed this was made in 1995 but it was 2000?  The only worthwhile part of this movie is the latino lady who owns the theatre (she also plays the maid in CLUELESS, a movie about LA that I love). Somehow all of these people need to clear their throat before they speak. It makes me sick to listen to people talk through phlegm like this (I could only take 5 mins of the commentary - it's 10x as bad there.  Is it cool to not clear your throat in LA??).

REST IN PIECES - PORTRAIT OF JOE COLEMAN - eh, artwork is so-so but ego abounds. Yeah, I wish I had some NY art world money coming in so I could hang out in US civil war attire smoking cigars all day too.

THE BIRDS - Hitchcock - classic. No reason to deliberate about it here. Awesome subject matter and air-tight movie making.

THE STORY OF RICKY - Wonderful 90s Hong Kong gore movie - definitely a must see for anyone here.  I have had a third gen VHS tape of a Chinese copy of this (with crappy subtitles) for years - glad to see it a bit clearer on DVD. Notice I said "a bit", as the quality of the DVD picture left much to be desired.

I think that's it for me this week?  I've been watching a shit-ton of LOST (Season 3).  It's pretty good..  some of it is crap but overall I'm impressed. Some of the dialog in the more dramatic moments is laughable (as in bad).  That's TV drama for you. Otherwise, the story has it's worthwhile elements (lotsa twists to explain past events in the storyline - the writers were definitely making this up as they went along) and characters are easy enough to connect with (they were designed that way). 

I need to get a job !  :-"

[nat]

I like my girls to be savage a la Nova from Planet of the Apes.  O:)

Must be a Canadian thing, eh?

[ceti alpha]

Must be a Canadian thing, eh?

lol. I just thought everyone had the hots for Nova.