movie recommendations

[Art Blade]

thank you, Binnatics, glad you enjoyed both München and the film :)

fragger, heh heh heh  nice post  :-()

[Binnatics]

Yes Fragger, that one is now in my wishlist! Thank you. Sounds interesting.  :)

Speaking of long movies, here's definitely one that makes its share. It's a 180 min movie called Blood In, Blood Out or Bound by Honor. [imdb]Blood In, Blood Out[/imdb]
I think you could rank this movie in the Gang-category, but imho it reaches far beyond. It's a three hour journey into the life of 3 Mexican-American youngsters in the rough Californian gang-life.  It's a wonderful pastel of the charming gang called the Vatos Locos somewhere in East-LA. You'll become part of their life and experience their way of living. Their struggles, the way they try to make their way out, or into the criminal scene, is fascinating. This story, together with great sounds and excellent camera w@&k makes it to one of my all time favourite movies.

[Art Blade]

that film is one of my earliest DVDs in my collection and a must-see  :) :-X

[fragger]

Lincoln

If you're not into wordy, historically accurate political period pieces it'll probably bore you to tears, but if you are, as I am, it's a treat. From everything I've read and learned about Abraham Lincoln I think Daniel Day-Lewis portrayed him perfectly, and even managed to look a lot like him - in certain shots, anyway. Sally Field, one of my favourite actresses, is a perfect Mary Todd Lincoln. The film is all about the political manoeuvrings that went on in order to get the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution - the abolishment of slavery - passed. It's such a meticulously detailed depiction of the period that it's almost like looking through a time portal. Whatever you might say about Spielberg, there's no doubt that when he goes for the authentic historical look he does it superbly. It's certainly not an action film, but as a historical testament it's up there with the best of them.


The Hobbit

More Lord of the Rings spectacle from Peter Jackson and company. There is a great deal of license taken with Tolkein's story, and an awful lot of embellishment of same, but it's on a par with the LOTR movies in terms of action and visual whizzbangery. WETA proves again that they're the Lords of CG - the movie is a terrific thing to look at, as are some of the breathtaking New Zealand locations. But as with LOTR, this is the first instalment of a trilogy of movies, and since the book of The Hobbit was a relatively slim volume compared to Lord of the Rings, the extra embellishment to the story has been necessary in order to stretch the original tale into a three-part movie experience. Still, I enjoyed it and look forward to the next instalments. Ian McKellan, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood and Ian Holm all reprise their LOTR roles (some quite briefly however), and Martin Freeman as the young Bilbo really does look like a younger version of Holm. Quite entertaining, if you can overlook the original Hobbit story being stretched and twisted like a cheap rubber band...

[Art Blade]

I have got Lincoln on BR, was a bit lengthy but indeed interesting.

I read The Hobbit a long time ago and liked it in a way but wasn't exactly an enthusiast. I've got and watched the LOTR trilogy when it was in the bargain bin and can't say I'm exactly an enthusiast, either.  :-D

[Binnatics]

I've seen the first part of the LOTR trilogy, and it was too much noise for my ears. Maybe because of the Spanish cinema where I watched it, but it was damn annoying. The eye candy was the same noisy appearance (if you can say that of visuals :-D) and the way they cut the story was horrible to me.
Oh, and the hobbits weren't round enough. Except Sam maybe. I always had a great image of a hobbit as being a funny dwarfish creature with a long pipe and stumbling stupidity as well as sudden, self-surprising bravery in it. I didn't like the movie character of Frodo, with his big, speaking eyes, showing human fright instead of Tookish Stubbornness.

I've read all the story and most enjoyed reading The Hobbit to my daughter recently. My father read it to me when I was like 7 or 8 years old. Great story. The fact that they cut that story in three :o for a film makes me curious. That can w@&k in both ways....

Well, I'll stick to the books anyway ^-^

[Art Blade]

Just watched three films on BR. Two were really good and one was average. Not going to give a full summary but a few comments

NOW YOU SEE ME
Magic. Very nice story telling, no lame dialogues, no cheesy love stories. Unpredictable twists and turns. Believable characters, good acting. Finally a film worth mentioning :) Woody Harrelson finally in a role that really suits him, funny, charming, weird. Michael Caine in a nice small side role, as usual impressive presence. Morgan Freeman in a nice side role, not too self-aggrandising -- just a tad which was just OK. Story: An unlikely couple, a grumpy FBI agent and a dreamy female French Interpol detective, always a couple of steps behind tracking down a team of four magicians who pull off coups among which a bank robbery during their spectacular performances and always give away the money to their audiences. Freeman plays a side role who is a former magician set out to disclose the tricks and illusions of other magicians and tries to help solving the case. Caine plays a millionaire who sponsors the four magicians and wants Freeman to shut up. The rest is basically about pulling off crazy shows and heists and escaping the authorities. I hadn't had such a nice entertainment in a long time. Definitely something to watch again :)

PACIFIC RIM
By Guillermo del Toro whom I remember by several of his works. This film is like a blend of Godzilla, Transformers, Iron Man, The Abyss, Star Ship Troopers and Pitch Black. Huge, massive, dinosaur-like aliens called KAIJUNS have been waiting for us since the days of the dinosaurs, hiding in a parallel universe with a portal under water between two tectonic plates to slip through to our world once we finished "terraforming" the earth for them (by polluting everything just enough). Massive, huge, humanoid-looking metal JAEGERS which each require two pilots who also have to connect their minds in order to drive such a thing are humanity's answer to the problem but the enemy adapt and keep throwing bigger and bigger KAJUNS at them.. There has to be put an end to it, of course. Very nice sci-fi/horror and tech adventure, action, grand graphics and animation, very believable imagery. Acting is good, although due to the plot at times a bit shallow. All in all a film I wouldn't have wanted to miss -- actually one I will watch again. :-D

R.I.P.D.
Basically Men In Black meets Ghost Busters. This film isn't really worth watching. You won't miss an awful lot. It is about a special unit of deceased policemen who fight against naughty guys who died but wouldn't accept it, trying to stay in the world of the living. Also some monsters that threaten the living are targets of our Rest In Peace Department. Doomsday is coming, which we can't allow, now can we. Jeff Bridges mumbles even worse than in any other film before. :-D

[fragger]

Nice mini-reviews Art. I was curious about Pacific Rim (the only one of the three films I've heard of) but was wary of it, thinking it was yet another mindless CG effects-driven spectacular of the sort that gets churned out like blocks of butter nowadays. Will keep that, and Now You See Me, in mind. The latter sounds like an interesting and entertaining movie :)

Speaking of films about magicians, I quite liked The Prestige. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale play illusionists, once friends and now bitter rivals, with Jackman trying to discover the secret behind a seemingly impossible feat of stage illusion performed by Bale. David Bowie turns in a surprisingly competent performance as Nikola Tesla, and the movie has a few neat twists. Michael Caine also appears in this one. Something a bit different and original - proof that there still are some outside-the-box thinkers in filmdom :-X

[Art Blade]

Thank you :)

Hehe, and I was wary of The Prestige, I might take a look now thanks to your recommendation, cheers mate :)

[PZ]

 :-X

[fragger]

The Pianist (2002)

A true story based on the experiences of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew and an exceptionally gifted pianist who along with his family are caught up in the horrors of the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII. There are no heroes and there is no sentimentalism or pathos, just a brutally honest and realistic depiction of the events. Possibly Roman Polanski's finest film to date, and a story he could relate to having been caught up in very similar circumstances himself as a youngster (his mother died in Auschwitz concentration camp, however his father narrowly survived in another camp and was reunited with Roman after the war). There actually isn't a great deal of piano-playing in the film as it's more a tale of survival, but what there is, especially during the end credits, is very impressive. Adrien Brody plays the role of Szpilman and was the youngest actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor at the ripe old age of 29, and it was well deserved. The movie also won Best Director for Polanski and another for Writing Adapted Screenplay.

I don't know if it could be called entertainment as it's pretty stark, but I was riveted during every minute of it.

[Art Blade]

interesting, thanks for that mini-review  :)

[fragger]

Captain Phillips

I hadn't even heard of this film, but picked it up from the DVD rentals when I saw that it had Tom Hanks in it, an actor for whom I have much respect. He plays the title character, the captain of an American container ship which was boarded by Somali pirates in 2009. I'll say no more, but it was very suspenseful and proves that you don't need flashy special effects and gung-ho action to make an edge-of-the-seat movie. Based on a true story.

I actually went to the shop to pick up Gravity, which I did, but found it rather disappointing - but then I'm a pretty demanding customer when it comes to space movies. Great eye-candy but rather silly performances from George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. It bagged 7 Oscars, which simply demonstrates to me that: 1) The Oscars don't count for much, and; 2) a lot of people don't know jack about space. Some of the physics the filmakers got right, and were even quite commendable for their realism at times, but the principles of orbital mechanics were apparently a bit beyond their ken (in Earth orbit you can't just point yourself at a target object, accelerate towards it and hope to rendezvous with it - it doesn't w@&k that way at all). I found the movie unbelievable and surprisingly dull.

[Art Blade]

Although I'm not an expert, I already knew about Gravity's flaws regarding said mechanics and other things and I suspect that I might recognise those and then keep face-palming a lot and I just don't want that, I don't need that. On top, Clooney isn't cut out for that type of roles in my opinion. I remember another space film with him (Solaris) which was so annoying to watch that I really don't want to repeat that. In other words, I won't bloody touch Gravity at all or any space film with that actor involved :-()

I like Hanks and his utter dedication to his characters (for me, one of the most impressing films regarding his dedication was Cast Away) and I came across Captain Phillips in my local film shop a few times but it's not really something I'm interested in so I just let it sit on the shelf.

[PZ]

I watched Captain Phillips, and enjoyed it as I do most drama/adventure movies.

[Art Blade]

I just watched The Eagle

-- a great film about a young ambitious Roman soldier whose father led the 9th Legion, some 5,000 men, towards the outer limit of the Roman empire around 120CE. They never returned. 20 years later, his son wants to find out what happened and more importantly, bring back the golden eagle, symbol of Rome, and restore the honour of his family. It so happens that he prevents a Briton from getting killed in a circus and his uncle (side role played by Donald Sutherland) endows him with said Briton as his slave who in return for sparing his life vows obedience to the Roman soldier which for him is a matter of honour. Now that unlikely pair takes on the adventure and travel across the border and beyond into the unknown in search of the lost eagle.

Most of the details are researched meticulously and displayed as authentically as possible, real craftsmanship as opposed to plastic and CGI, and epic vistas of the Scottish highlands as well as a really nice story about friendship make watching this film worthwhile.

[PZ]

I saw that one as well, and fully agree with your excellent mini-review  :-X

[Art Blade]

thank you :)

It's one of those films that, for reasons completely unknown, only got a mediocre rating on IMDb. It is epic, 114 minutes, and shines with stunning visual impressions all the time due to the fantastic research and craftsmanship of all of the gear, the fighting styles, virtually everything. It was a bit short at times regarding certain relations and characters but it already amounted to roughly two hours. I understand that they had to save some time but in my opinion the whole film was really nice and definitely one of the finest "Roman" films that I've come across. :)

[mandru]

We bought the blu-ray for Life of Pi (rated 8.1/10 by IMDb) and found it to be very enjoyable.

It's hard for me to sit in one place for longer than 30 to 40 minutes but the whole last hour of this movie was so engrossing that it flew by without me realizing that I hadn't needed a break.  :)


Also an animated film we'd grabbed a couple months ago called The Croods (made by DreamWorks Animation) was a hoot.  I had to roll back and watch one part of the movie several times that related to the inception of the shoe fetish in women and another part that (having studied photography) made me giggle at a cave painter's concept of the instant snapshot.

As a former caveman (who's had that basic nature beaten out of him over and over with a largish stick  ;) ) there were many parts of this movie where I could identify with the father of the cave family as they dealt with the day to day problems of their world.

[fragger]

I recently watched Noah (2014), merely out of curiosity to see how the story would be put across. I wasn't expecting to be impressed by it, and I wasn't. It was sort of interesting at times, but overall I thought it was pretty ridiculous.

However, there was one sequence late in the film that did get my attention both as an amateur astronomer and equally amateur cosmologist, and was probably the most noteworthy scene in the movie. Noah (Russell Crowe) and his family are in the Ark and Noah is recounting the Creation story. The way it's presented is an interesting take on both the scientific and mythological accounts of creation, a kind of marriage of both.

If you're of a religious nature you probably won't like the scientific aspects of it, and if you're of a scientific nature you probably won't like the religious aspects of it. I have no intention of starting any kind of theological debate here as such discussions are nearly always pointless, plus I believe that everybody has a right to their own convictions, but here's the scene anyway. Make of it what you will - I just like the way it was done.

Noah Movie - "Creation" Clip

[Art Blade]

I like that film snippet. :)

[JRD]

Aaaahhhh Gravity!!

I was hoping to watch this movie on 3D on a big screen but couldn't convince the wife to come along... we ended up watching a Woody Allen flick instead.

I guess this is the kind of movie to watch without counting the flaws in physics but rather trying to embark on the sensation of no gravity. I believe the whole idea of this movie is to make you feel like you are about to die in a realistic environment (our orbit instead of an alien planet). It is a movie about survival and keeping hope despite being stuck in the most inhospitable environment Mankind has ever gotten, not an accurate sci-fi movie. The director, Alfonso Cuarón, also directed Children of Men, one great movie. He has a trademark. He creates very, very long and uncut sequences, making the audience flow along with the situations as if you were part of it all. The way he used sound effects in the movie was great in my opinion. You cannot hear explosions as the sound waves woun't propagate in space but when the astronauts are using their power tools on the Hubble telescope you can hear the "vrrrrrrrr" sound as it would propagate through their  space suits and into the comm system. nice touch!  :-X

He used the soundtrack to create a great atmosphere for the movie. Nothing majestic, rather minimalist actually and it helped create the right mood. He got one oscar for soundtrack wich I believe was well deserved.

Yes, there's Sandra Bullock and her character's personal drama to thicken the story. Clooney being the hero in his annoying nice guy role but try and keep it out of the main frame and just enjoy the visual and smoothness of the movie... it's a nice movie. I'd like to watch it again in 3D, big screen, pop corn and soda!

As for the pysical flaws... come on, we all watch Star Trek, Star Wars, Battle Star Gallatica, Alien, and whatnot and never complain about how innacurate those movies are... and that's just because we ignore that in order to enjoy the fun. It's not a documentary and movies should not always portray the world as it is... otherwise it'd be boredom all over.

Guys, if you ever watch it, let go of all criticism and just enjoy the ride... but make sure you are watching a good high definition copy on a nice TV set, with good sound and no interruptions. This is a movie to plunge into, not a Sunday afternoon flcik while the wife cooks lunch  :)

[Art Blade]

my home theatre setup meets your criteria. I might actually try it, JRD.. :)

[JRD]

Give it a try. Nice eye candy, great special effects... can't be that bad after all!  ^-^

[Art Blade]

well, it can. You know, when "bad" is spelled c-l-o-o-n-e-y.