[Closed] Recent Viewing Part III

It'd be lots of fun in that system!

That one's coming out this month on BluRay over here and I can't wait to see it, although there are a lot of mixed reviews. Empire alone already: gave it 4 stars when in the cinema, now recently 2 stars for the BR release claiming it was boring, artsyfartsy and trying to stuff an uneven message down your throat. However, your report made me sure of it again that I must see this!

And, eh... I'm quite sure you're not supposed to like the message . Or do you mean you don't agree with it?

Just watched the new Doctor Who.

Good:
Quick-moving plot, good direction, good dialogue.
Not overly melodramatic.
Matt doesn't look too young.
Karen Gillian as new assistant Amy Pond looks like 16, but Steven's right: she IS very cute.
The Coming Soon feature! Looks like a good run!

Meh:
Matt is trying to channel David Tennant in MAJOR fashion, and not pulling it off.

Bad:
The "quirky"Tardis "retro" look. Welcome back 1979.
The new intro theme.

In summary: Matt badly needs to develop his own Doctor -both Eccleston and Tennant made the role their own the very first instance- , but I guess the script will give him time to do so. Well, I hope so anyway.
Not blown away by a long shot, but it's intriguing enough to see how it'll pan out.

That good eh!?

HEAT

I don't know which time. When I bought it on DVD, I watched it 3 times in a row.

One of my favorite movies of all time. They just don't make it like this anymore.

The camera work is pure beauty, about 60% of the movie was made with Michael Mann himself behind the camera. This movie shows how great can hand-held work be. The shootout scenes are pure beauty in their chaotic drama. I think that the bank shootout is the best scene of this kind of the 1990s and Mann did it again with the best shootout scene of the 2000s in Public Enemies - the Little Bohemia scene. People should learn from it. The movement blocking (all actors went through weapons AND tactical training - the "police officers" through police training, the villains through military, in his commentary Mann commends the actors for using their trained moves all the time) is just amazing and the camera work borders on pure action scene beauty. The sound mix is amazing - reportedly they wanted to re-record it in a studio, but the original sound from location was much better than whatever they could do later. The stylish shots of the city at night, especially helicopter ones, make me want to visit Los Angeles, really. Using real locations (none of the movie was made in the soundstage) also helps with authenticity.

Acting. Robert de Niro and Al Pacino in one of their last amazing performances. And again, training did well for Pacino. A major famous scene was partly improvised by him and the actors' reactions (the questioned character's fear and the police officers' laugh) are genuine. Pacino is very intense, but never goes as far as to overacting and his antics are supposedly real for good crime cops, his character was also supposed to be a cocaine addict, but this was cut from the movie. De Niro is more low-key and this very much works. He makes a villain likable and deep and the depth is part of the magic of the movie and makes the end very emotional - again they don't do it today anymore and what we get are caricatural villains with no depth to them (but still fun for the actors to play). It all gives poignancy to the movie. Val Kilmer doesn't have much personality, but that's his character. Tom Sizemore is amazing, so is Kevin Gage as Waingro. William Fichtner's little part is great to watch and shows how capable he is. The women deliver too. Natalie Portman is particularly great, so is Ashley Judd.

The music. Michael Mann, the perfectionist (but also a great guy on the set, at least to actors), is hard to work with for composers, who get their scores partly replaced with modern ambient/industrial/post-rock music (sort of a song version of Terrence Malick?), but the music also works great. The mood is conveyed beautifully and the use of music IS part of the movie's unique atmosphere.

I saw Miami Vice yesterday and to be honest, that movie got me wanting to see Heat again. The reason is simple - its final shootout scene visually looked like a rehash of the bank shootout. That movie was much inferior - hardly as developed characters and no chemistry between the good actors who played Sonny and Tubbs. Compared to Mann's best movies (Heat, Collateral and dare I say Public Enemies? I still have to see Manhunter, but I do plan to), it was shallow and simplistic. Great camera work - the sea sequences are a HOOT to watch and the colors are a great work, but still MUCH inferior and one of Mann's lesser works - still nice to watch.

Edited to add:

I seriously think that Elliot Goldenthal's score is his best to date.

Agree with your comments Pawel, it is one of my faves as well. The unique atmosphere, the brilliant acting, and the intricate use of music are its strong points. Have you heard the audio mix as it was heard in the theatre? It's mindblowing, every gunshot is felt, every detail in the sound is audible, every nuance in the music cues is perfectly balanced with the rest, this is one of the very best audio mixes I've ever heard, and I've heard lots. The airport scene is absolutely deafening, as it would be in real life. Powerful is an understatement.

But do check out The Insider as IMO that's one of Mann's best, even better than Collateral and Public Enemies, I would rate it just below Heat. Again with Pacino in a superb role.

I should see The Insider again. I remember loving some scenes, but I don't remember the movie.

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs (trailer)

Pretty funny. Didn't like all the character designs, but the graphics of the food was brilliant, and I couldn't help but make homemade burgers after watching it.

Rated it 7 out of 10 on imdb.


Cujo (trailer)

That's one mean doggie. Very well made movie. Except for one scene where rabid Cujo was growling at a telephone, and you could see the dog trainer's hand pulling the dog down at the end of the scene. Kinda takes the illusion away.

Rated it 6 out of 10.


Monsters inc. (trailer)

Brilliant and hilarious. The girl "Boo" has got to be the cutest animated girl ever. I couldn't help but saying "awwww" every single scene with her. My favourite Pixar after "Up".

Rated it 9 out of 10.

Peter

The Mad Ghoul with George Zucco is a 1943 Universal thriller/horror. The score by Salter isn't original, all of it came from The Wolfman and Frankenstein. Zucco is an excellent B actor.
Thomas

just wait D, I haven't seen it yet and you know me and my good taste eh?

I'll rent in on Blu-ray in the future, no need to see this in the cinema

why? I love looking at crap
I recently saw this you know

That's Dark Floors, the most expensive Finnish horror movie, and it's by LORDI

the problem is, Lordi fails when you expect to see a decent horror movie. It's basically not a bad movie, but it doesn't explain the plot whatsoever, and seeing creatures like that monster above fails when you realize it's horror and not 80's fantasy

[spoiler]Ps, Lordi's the final boss in the film[/spoiler]

nope, you've suffered way too much horror these past few weeks from me, I'll let this one pass

OMG That looks terrific !! Oscar-worthy acting and totally brilliant CGI effects.

Seriously those birds flapping shots make Avatar look like a stop-motion animation flick.

I want this NOW !!!