Movie review thread...

taniwharugby

Beneath Hill 60; war flick based on the true story of an Aussie tunnelling company charged with getting under Hill 60 to blow up the Germans in the largest explosion ??? outside of Hiroshima IIRC. 
 
Is quite slow to start, but ends up alright, 7/10.

Toddy

[quote name='Nepia']I just watched The Town. Bloody good movie in the same vibe as the other Boston crime movies (The Departed, Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone etc). 
Starred and directed by Ben Affleck, who I actually think is a good actor when playing these types of roles, and is a good director with the potential to be one the greats. 
 
Movie is a little but like Heat in that it has bank heists, but it doesn't compare unfavourably. I'd give it a solid 8/10. 
 
The other actor in it is Jeremy Renner from Hurt Locker. I don't know whether it's because of Hurt Locker which I thought was horribly overrated (in many respects this could be a reflection due to the fact I had just finished watching Generation Kill so HL seemed un dramatic), or if the guy just annoys me, but his performance was the one I thought fell flat - yet all the critics will laud it. 
[/QUOTE] 
 
Pretty much totally agree with what you've written except that I thought Renner was pretty bloody good. Better than Affleck any way. Agree that Damon could have done a good job of the character though. 
 
There always seemed to be the rumour that Ben Affleck piggy backed Damon to an Oscar in Good Will Hunting. But after two quality movies in Gone Baby Gone and The Town it makes you think it may have been the other way around.

Victor Meldrew

Watched a pre-release of "Red" last nite - Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman and Karl Urban. 
 
Hackneyed, predictable plot, formulaic action sequences and utterly brilliant. One of the most fun films I've seen in recent years 
 
The acting is superb (particularly Helen Mirren & Bruce Willis) and very,very tongue-in-cheek. Highly recommended 8/10

Munter

I can't wait to see Jeremy Renner in The Town, especially after his outstanding performance in The Hurt Locker <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> 
 
I went to see The Social Network the other night and really liked it. It doesn't seem like a good idea for a movie (the story of Facebook's creation) but the dialogue and the characters are very good and it moves at a good pace. Justin Timberlake is surprisingly good in this movie. I'd give it a 9/10

taniwharugby

Animal Kingdom; gritty Aussie crime/drama (described as the same style as Underbelly - that I've not watched) I liked it, solid 7.5/10

Sneakdefreak

Paranormal Activity 2: Missed the first few minutes but didn't miss anything really since the film doesn't pick up until the halfway point. 
Great concept but this movie doesn't pull it off for a number of reasons. Too vague and too many thumb twiddling moments. 
 
4/10

Tim

Watched Argento's [I]Opera[/I]. I enjoyed it a lot - very high production values, awesome set pieces, and the best use of scissor noises you'll ever experience. Usual caveats about plot holes, dialogue etc apply. 8/10. 
 
Do see it for the best slow-mo bullet through a door's spy hole sequence you can imagine. Don't see it if your disturbed by the possibilities of a killer who is fascinated by being observed, and who has quite a way with needles and sticky tape ...

taniwharugby

RED - Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban 
 
6.5/10 - Is a DC Comics graphic novel to movie, Willis is a super duper ex-CIA agent, Urban is a newbie CIA, and he has to kill Willis. LOve John Malkovich as the paranoid ex-Agent as well, one of my fave actors.

Tim

Runaway Train. Damn fine movie. Recommended.

LAKiwi

Finally saw 'Get Him to the Greek' 
Great movie - both actors were perfect for the roles. 
 
Russell Brand (playing a character he wouldn't have to step far from his own self to portray) and Jonah Hill's also perfectly cast. 
Very enjoyable movie. 
 
Hill's character has to get the drug and alcohol fueled Brand to the Greek theater to play a 10 year reunion concert. 
All hell breaks loose on the way from London to there.

Tim

[I]The House of the Devil.[/I] *** (/*****) 
 
Looks good, develops atmosphere, good acting, a spooky synthy score. Doesn't have a great climax though. 
 
It's a fun movie. Tom Noonan is always good. Main actress is cute (dig those her high waisted jeans). Would've liked to have seen more Mary Woronov. Cool sequence set to a [I]The Fixx[/I] track.

taniwharugby

Piranha - exactly what you expect, almost a spoof horror type flick, easy 88 or so mins! 
 
Not too sure we needed to see the Piranha with someone's tackle...

Nepia

[quote name='LAKiwi']Finally saw 'Get Him to the Greek' 
Great movie - both actors were perfect for the roles. 
 
Russell Brand (playing a character he wouldn't have to step far from his own self to portray) and Jonah Hill's also perfectly cast. 
Very enjoyable movie. 
 
Hill's character has to get the drug and alcohol fueled Brand to the Greek theater to play a 10 year reunion concert. 
All hell breaks loose on the way from London to there.[/QUOTE] 
This is the most bipolar movie I have ever watched. It went from the sublime to the shit a number of times. When all hell wasn't breaking loose the movie was rather dire. When it was breaking loose, which usually involved P Diddy it was hilarious. 
 
Not as good as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and way below Superbad, Pineapple Express from the Aptow stable, but an enjoyable half a movie nonetheless. 
 
Disappointing because it could have been the movie LAKiwi describes with a little tweaking.

red terror

[URL="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/damned_united/"]The Damned United[/URL] (2009) 
 
Can't say how accurate this one is to the real facts, but I thought it one of the best sports films I've ever seen. It's about Bryan Clough's rivalry with Don Revie, Clough's inflated ego, his relationship with assistant (genius scout & tactician) Peter Taylor and the ascension of Derby County in the late 1960s, and ultimately his disastrous 44-day reign as manager of Leeds United in 1974. 
 
Brilliant! 8.5/10 
 
The DVD also comes with some swell extras, including a featurette about English FA football in the 1970s, which is a trip down memory-lane for me as that's when I first got into Match of the Day and started following English football. (If memory serve me correct, it was broadcast during that era on TVNZ at noon on Sundays, and I well remember as a young boy Billy Bremner being presented as one of the shining stars of English football, but in the movie here he's played as a thug (the wikipedia entry does note his "reputation for being dirty.")

red terror

Get Him to the Greek. 
 
[quote name='Nepia']It went from the sublime to the shit a number of times.[/QUOTE] 
 
Agree. I saw it at the cinema when it came out, and was laughing my ass off in places. (Memorably, when the Brand character was telling his minion that "the only logical thing to do" is stick heroin up his arse. Somebody once actually tried pulling something similar on me at a customs inspection a couple decades ago (not heroin, thank god, but mushrooms), and the situation was definitely not funny.) 
 
[QUOTE]... a little tweaking.[/QUOTE] 
 
Yup. A bit more care, and they could have made it something really special. Yet for me it's more than a passing grade. Comedy is tough. If you can get me laughing a half-dozen times in an hour, I'm willing to forgive gags that flop. I enjoyed it, but agree, it could have been better. 7/10

red terror

The Town (2000) 
 
Well, I must say, I went into this one skeptical and cynical and wanting to hate it. Critics have been lavishing praise on it and it's one of the best reviewed films of the year. I wanted to be the Grinch. 
 
It's starring and directed by Ben Affleck. Irish mob in Boston story. It's a really good story with very good suspense, some good action and tension, and moves along nicely. It's certainly not groundbreaking second-coming of Orson Welles or anything, and I think that's where Affleck actually succeeds as a director. He doesn't try to do too much, he isn't flashy, he plays it mostly straight and restrains the flair, which is smart, 'cos the story and actors are good enough to make it work. Rent it. 
 
8/10

mariner4life

[quote name='LAKiwi']Finally saw 'Get Him to the Greek' 
Great movie - both actors were perfect for the roles. 
 
Russell Brand (playing a character he wouldn't have to step far from his own self to portray) and Jonah Hill's also perfectly cast. 
Very enjoyable movie. 
 
Hill's character has to get the drug and alcohol fueled Brand to the Greek theater to play a 10 year reunion concert. 
All hell breaks loose on the way from London to there.[/QUOTE] 
Watched it yesterday, laughed a lot. Yep, P Diddy was funny as fuck, quite surprising really.

mariner4life

[quote name='Victor Meldrew']Watched a pre-release of "Red" last nite - Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman and Karl Urban. 
 
Hackneyed, predictable plot, formulaic action sequences and utterly brilliant. One of the most fun films I've seen in recent years 
 
The acting is superb (particularly Helen Mirren & Bruce Willis) and very,very tongue-in-cheek. Highly recommended 8/10[/QUOTE] 
Exactly what this bloke said. Loved it, highly entertaining. John Malkovich is piss funny as the unhinged ex-agent, a good character well done. Richard Dreyfuss as "the bad guy" is very good too. All star cast really.

mariner4life

I also watched Prince of Persia last night (i have only recently discovered "sourcing" movies from the internet). It got some shit reviews, but i liked it. Its fun, its Disney so its a bit childish (see Alfred Molina's entrepreneur character), its a fairly formulaic fantasy story, but fuck that, so is every book i read. I was entertained through the whole movie, its looks cool, with heaps of cool stunts. And Gemma Arterton is seriously hot. Not one to add to the DVD library, but one i would probably watch again when it comes on Austar.

Virgil

[quote name='mariner4life']I also watched Prince of Persia last night [B](i have only recently discovered "sourcing" movies from the internet)[/B]. It got some shit reviews, but i liked it. Its fun, its Disney so its a bit childish (see Alfred Molina's entrepreneur character), its a fairly formulaic fantasy story, but fuck that, so is every book i read. I was entertained through the whole movie, its looks cool, with heaps of cool stunts. And Gemma Arterton is seriously hot. Not one to add to the DVD library, but one i would probably watch again when it comes on Austar.[/QUOTE] 
 
Mate where have you been! 
 
Have watched a few movies in recent weeks.. 
 
Machete , not bad as expected really. Over the top gore and a great cast. Hell you get to see Lindsay Lohan take her gear off. 7.6/10 
 
Toy Story 3, very very good. Have been my favourite animated 'Kids film series, great way them to end. 8.9/10 
 
Knight and Day, as said in previous posts pretty cheesy film, entertaining enough without being memorable, just something about Tom Cruise thats unsettling. 7.3/10 
 
An oldie in Event Horizon, have never properly sat down to watch it. Man what a waste of a movie, great potential plot wise. Just silly and overall shit script with a wasted cast in Sam Neil and Morpheus from the Matrix. 6.0/10

The Silver Fern

Movie review thread...