watched a few since I have last posted.

Adventureland- Not the comedy I expected but pretty good story. All of the characters are likeable which is kinda nice. Overall I enjoyed it, but I would have been disapointed if I had seen it in the theaters. 3/5

Special- This was a movie I watched from reviews in the other thread. On Netflix View Instant. Just a very interesting premise wich then warps into a really interesting look at some of the fringe members of society. 3.5/5 (really can't decide on my Netflix rating)

Sex Drive- Horrible teen comedy that I liked. Yes I know that sentence didn't make sense. Just goofy and entertaining. A very poor mans American Pie. I watched it on Netflx View Instant while playing video games and I don't feel I missed anything. Lots of nudity also. 3/5

American Swing- Got through about 10 minutes and knew this wasn't for me. On Netflix View Instant.

Last House On the Left- Oh my God this movie was a mess. Just one "why would that happen?" and "thats not what any resonable person would do" "that does not even make any sense" and "the laws of physics would not allow that" ect moments. I really wanted to like it also because it's a good concept for a horror movie. The last scene in the unrated version makes absolutly no sense. Was that the same day? ugh, I really regret the paper I wasted on the Netflix envelop. 1/5 (zero if Netflix would let me).

Watching Dexter Season 2 on Netflix View Instant which is really good.

Ken

Just saw "the Re-Animator", it got a 7/10 on IMBD so i was expecting this to be a great movie and i definitely wasnt dissapointed. Being a HUGE fan of the horror/zombie movie genre ive seen countless numbers of films and this easily rates up there with all the George A Romero classics.

Blarg, I recently discovered the anime series Samurai Champloo. I was very impressed when I watched the first episode and found myself watching all 26 episodes in three days. I recommend watching it in Japanese with English subs although there are English dubs but that's just me. I believe most episodes are on YouTube.

ReAnimator is great. Try and catch 'From Beyond' from the same team, it's even wackier, and better imo.

The Accidental Tourist

Hadn't seen this for quite a while, and I must say, it holds up nicely.

I won't bother reviewing it, other than to say that William Hurt has at least ten scenes that could probably qualify for the "non-verbal acting" thread. Really top-notch.

Of course, Geena Davis won for Best Supporting Actress. She was very good (but I can't see it as a Streep-like performance by any stretch).

Anyway, definitely worthy of a Netflix, if you've never seen it.

Hell, go ahead and get In The Bedroom and Ordinary People, too. Have a themed film festival. Bonus film in the theme: Jacob's Ladder, which is cheating, but that's OK.

Reanimator is fantastic. Did you know the guy who played the decapitated professor doing the nasty with the scrumptious Barbara was left by his girlfriend on the spot at a screening?

Thanks for the recommendation. It's certainly a low-risk proposition if it's on youtube.

Loved Ordinary People and Jacob's Ladder. Probably saw the former like ... 8 times in the theater when it came out.

Death Race

update of 'Death Race 2000', and not a bad actioner with Jason Statham. Better than the original, if a bit grim. I enjoyed it, though it did have some flaws.


The Stayff is really the Chuck Norris of this decade give this, the Transporter series and the Crank series. But he does it pretty well imo.

Last 3 movies I saw were Oldboy, The Battle of Algiers, and Red.

I liked the first two but didn't care much from Red which was surprising and disappointing, especially after (iirc) Rushmore and Dominic and Redtomatoes led me to believe I'd love it.

Interestingly (sort of) the last highly rated movie I watched and disliked was Unforgiven which similarly to Battle of Algiers, has sort of a moral ambiguity. However, in Unforgiven it seemed to just make me uninterested and not empathize much with any character and in Algiers it really worked for me and made me empathetic to both sides. I particularly liked the French colonel.

Warning: The sequels are total sht, esp the last one.

Swing Vote, 2008

Caught this on cable the other night...damn good movie.

Kevin Costner plays a good 'ol boy in New Mexico who becomes the "Swing vote" for the Presidential election through a voting machine snafu. He has 10 days to recast his vote - and both presidential candidates come to town to woo him.

This was a well-written, nicely acted movie. While it's not anything all that new, it was quite moving while at other times being damn funny.

No one plays a beer-swilling, handsome rogue better than Costner, and he has really grown into his late-middle age...he's balding, with a gut but is still devilishly handsome. He has a pre-teen daughter who is more interested in the election than he is, and their relationship is surprisingly mature and complicated for a movie like this.

Kelsey Grammar and Dennis Hopper play the incumbent President and his challenger, respectively, and both do a fine job.

This is a movie that tackles both political satire and personal drama equally well, and succeeded in giving me a nice lump in my throat at the end.

Costner has to moderate a Presidential debate before he makes his choice, and his introductory speech ranks right up there with other moving political moments in film, like Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It's that good. In a way, he's speaking for most American who coast by, not taking advantage of all that's available to them, but still whining, still not making a difference...and finally, ashamed at our complacency and apathy. Nice moment.

It's not a classic, but it was surprisingly well-done. You should see it.

I cant think of the title of this movie trailer that is stuck in my head.

couple or family in a stationwagon or SUV wearing mask ans ppl are infected with some virus and the duct taped the vehicle and plastic wrapped the inside so they wouldnt get sick from the lil girl in back or something weird like that. Can anyone help? its either out or coming out soon.

carriers is the name

Not sure if this has been mentioned but I watched State of Play last night. It's definitely worth watching if you're into crime/political thrillers.

Finally got around to watching Mulholland Drive.

I know it has a bunch of fans around these parts, so I'm curious for your interpretations of the film.

watched surrogates last night. alright, not awful, pretty solid B type movie imo. nothing special but still mildly entertaining.

a few movies i saw recently:

Death Race - it was pretty "meh" but better than i thought it was gonna be. while the original is more of a cult favorite than a real classic (i guess it can still be considered a classic then?), this one was still pretty decent. the main character is less ambiguous and more clearly defined as the righteous hero (rather than an anti-hero) in this one. i wouldn't say that the characters in Death Race 2000 were multidimensional or that the dialogue was particularly intelligent but the characters in the remake were completely static and the dialogue was simple and pointless (also ridiculous stereotypes all over the place).

the original was more focused on the characters and their interactions with each other, this one was more focused on special effects and the straight forward tale of "fallen hero gains redemption." so basically like every other movie in the last 10 years. i still enjoyed it though. 5/10

Jumper - ugh. Hayden Christensen's voice over was unbearably terrible. his voice sounded terrible and the stuff he said was stupid. this whole movie was just a teenage boy's fantasy (kinda like Transformers). it was just plain bad. and it didn't help that the lead just flat can't act. you would think that after that Star Wars mess, Christensen would have either a) gotten acting lessons, or b) quit acting. clearly, he has done neither. 2/10

Couples retreat is absolutely terrible nobody see it!!!!!!

Anybody see Paranormal Activity yet? Just wondering if it is as scary as they are saying.

i plan on seeing paranormal actiivty next week

Total
ly agree. Predictable and not worth the money!

Up 3D

I just got back from the cinema and wanted to get my thoughts down while they were still fresh.

First what the hell is wrong with people? The incessant whispered comments I could deal with but the guy who took a phone call talking in a normal voice with no thought for anyone else what was he thinking? And thank you to the **** sitting next to me who didn’t have the patience to wait the half hour or so till the end of the movie before checking her txt messages on her amazingly well illuminated phone.

Now I have that off my chest a few comments about the new 3D technology. It works very well but if you go to see a movie you wouldn’t choose to wear dark glasses and if you’re forced to then the image needs to be brighter to compensate.
The glasses themselves were distracting. The frames were in my field of vision and I was constantly aware that every thing in my peripheral vision just out side the frames was much brighter.

UP 3D is not a 3D movie it’s a movie with 3D bits bolted on the trailer for Scrooge showed what a real 3D film would look like.

Despite all those annoyances and distractions I really liked Up Its got hart but it’s not sentimental. Its brave, how many movies can you name where the chief protagonist doesn’t say more then a dozen words in the first ten minuets.
It’s funny some nice sight gags a few moments of slap stick and no wise cracking sidekicks anthropomorphic animals spewing out wise cracks like a room full of competitive comedy script writers.
The action sequences were beautifully shot and didn’t overstay there welcome even if they were a bit familiar and never made you fearful for the hero’s safety.
With out explicitly expressing it, no tearful speeches or show stopping musical numbers it powerfully communicated its message ‘do today what you have been planning to do tomorrow because there is no guarantee you have a tomorrow’.

Just saw The Invention of Lying. I think I had a real laugh like twice out of the whole movie. I was fighting not falling asleep and Im pretty easy to please with movies sooooo ya.

Agnes Varda's fabulous The Beaches of Agnes, a touching, playful, and painful memoir/film essay. Varda, well known for her New Wave films, and her frienships with Chris Marker and Godard (the film even features appearances from Marker's alter ego, the Egyptian cat, Guillaume and a photo of Godard without his trademark sunglasses) was married to filmmaker Jacques Demy. Her film encompasses her love of the ocean, her early and later films, her relationship with Demy, her family, in short, all the things that have made her--and us--who we are. As she does in her documentary The Gleaners and I, Varda assembles and pieces together (the French term "bricoleur" is appropriate) parts of a life.

That life, however, is seen through a glass (not necessarily darkly) but seen through a glass nevertheless--a mirror placed just so reflects the director in the opening shots as she walks into the past, literally, throughout the film. A lovely work of art from a great director.