Dead Alive - an early zombie flick from Peter Jackson.

One of the funniest, yet most over-the-top, nasty horror flicks I've ever seen. The grand finale with the rusty lawnmower blades had me almost vomiting over my laughter...

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Originally posted by Metacritic Games Editor:
Dead Alive - an early zombie flick from Peter Jackson.

One of the funniest, yet most over-the-top, nasty horror flicks I've ever seen. The grand finale with the rusty lawnmower blades had me almost vomiting over my laughter...

Good choice! I like to watch that as often as I can, but it's got to be the unrated version. The R-rated one chops out way too much good stuff. The hero really has a problem with Mama!

It depresses me that I have yet to see Sin City. People have been raving about this movie, and apparently you think the same thing. I never read the comics, in fact I never really read comics at all, but I was very interested in this from the first preview I saw.

A few films I've seen in the past few days:

1) Magnolia - This is one of the most amazing movies I've ever seen. I loved all 188 minutes of it. Weird, beautiful, brilliant. 85/100

2) Unbreakable - Just saw this for the second time, and I must say that it has moved ahead of The Sixth Sense and is now my favorite movie by M. Night Shyamalan. It's a little slow, but I think its the most interesting idea, and the movie doesn't rely on the "twist" to be good. 75/100

3) Blood Simple - I caught this debut film of the Coen Brothers on IFC last night, and I really enjoyed it. It had many similarities to Fargo, which is one of my all time favorites. The acting was great, and the movie was short and simple but still an excellent suspenseful murder mystery. 70/100

Batman- B+ I liked this movie alot. It did alot to expalin the whole Bat as a logo thing and Batman's or more appropriately Bruce's inner workings. The thing that aggravated me was the amount of repeated lines. So many times did Batman repeat lines back to someone who had said them earlier in a "loook whos talking now" kind of way. It must have happened 6 times.

Heaven Can Wait (Ernst Lubitsch, 1943, Grade: A-)

This is just as charming, witty and entertaining as any of Lubitsch's sophisticated entertainments, but it carries a certain gravitas which elevates it into the rank of his best film, at least for me. Don Ameche and Gene Tierney make a wonderful couple, Charles Coburn won a Best Supporting Actor the same year for The More The Merrier, but he's even better in this one, and all the supporting performances are perfect. It's also a joy to see a wonderful Technicolor rendering of NYC near the turn of the century, even if it's all filmed on sets. Lubitsch and his frequent screenwriter Samson Raphaelson made a film which just seems to get better with each passing year and repeat viewing.

Laura (Otto Preminger, 1944, Grade: B+)

This is one of the most unique murder mysteries ever filmed and certainly the most witty. The film hurtles by in less than ninety minutes and tells the story of the gorgeous young Laura (Gene Tierney) whose murder causes a police detective to fall in love with a corpse. It's easy to understand why though since a famous radio personality (Clifton Webb) and a penniless playboy (Vincent Price) had already fallen for her earlier. About halfway through the film, the plot twists REALLY get hot and heavy, while the film maintains an ultra-high level of comedy and suspense throughout.

How to Steal a Million (William Wyler, 1966, Grade: B+)

This is the kind of film Hollywood can't seem to make anymore. Put together two charming, BIG stars (Audrey Hepbern and Peter O'Toole) with great chemistry, throw them into the middle of a caper flick with loads of comedy and suspense, add in beautiful Parisian locations and a supporting cast of old pros, such as Hugh Griffith and Eli Wallach, and then just sit back and enjoy the show. Sure, the recent Ocean's Eleven makes a valiant, entertaining attempt to tell a similar story, but it needlessly complicates everything which this film does with seeming ease.

How Green Was My Valley (John Ford, 1941, Grade: B+)

This is a warm, sentimental drama about a family of Welsh coalminers and the women in their lives. It's almost a perfect Father's Day film, with Donald Crisp a tower of strength as the clan's pop. It's all told, many years after the fact, through the eyes of the youngest son, played by Roddy McDowell. Besides being beautifully photographed and scored (the latter by Alfred Newman, with the assistance of a Welsh male choir), the film provides many touching scenes of tragedy as well as humor in a way in which people of all ages and cultures will relate. This is a highly-recommended classic of the studio system.

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Originally posted by kraftdeluxe:

1) Magnolia - This is one of the most amazing movies I've ever seen. I loved all 188 minutes of it. Weird, beautiful, brilliant. 85/100

I watched Robert Altman's 'Short Cuts' last night for the first time and was surprised how similar it was to Magnolia (which is one of my favourite films). Its worth watching to see where Anderson got his inspiration from as well as for the fact that its also a really good film. A great cast with some really interesting plots and characters.

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Originally posted by Berude:

quote:

Originally posted by kraftdeluxe:

1) Magnolia - This is one of the most amazing movies I've ever seen. I loved all 188 minutes of it. Weird, beautiful, brilliant. 85/100

I watched Robert Altman's 'Short Cuts' last night for the first time and was surprised how similar it was to Magnolia (which is one of my favourite films). Its worth watching to see where Anderson got his inspiration from as well as for the fact that its also a really good film. A great cast with some really interesting plots and characters.

Thanks. I'll be sure to check it out!

A couple movies I have seen recently in theaters.

Howls Moving Castle - By Hayao Miyazaki. One of my favorite directors. On one level, as always I found the animation amazingly beautiful. The movie was entertaining, yet I believe contained a deeper meaning as well. The plot was quite shaky though, adding in new characters and twists which have no relation to the rest of it made it sometimes confusing and hard to follow. Worth seeing though, 79/100.

Batman Begins - By Christopher Nolan. This movie is much more serious and dark compared to the originals. It is also much more plausible. The characters were well-acted and unique. It was a very entertaining and "fun" movie. There was nothing brilliant or outstanding about it. Yet, there was nothing particularly wrong with it. Definitely worth seeing. 75/100.

Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen, 1986, Grade: B+)

This is probably Woody's best comedy/drama of the last 20 years with plenty of realistic human foibles combined with some really funny stuff. (I'll take Bullets Over Broadway as the best straight comedy during that same period.) The thing which really puts this film over is that Woody takes a backseat and lets Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey, Dianne Wiest and Michael Caine carry most of the dramatic weight. Allen's ear for dialogue and artistic sensibilities shine through though. I think this is probably his most breathtaking visual film this side of Manhattan. Of course, his character, along with that of the pathetic Caine, gets most of the laughs. Woody's brush with mortality and his attempts to find religious meaning in life are almost as funny as his first date with Dianne Wiest, but ultimately the film's belief in miracles shines through in the final scene.

Diner (Barry Levinson, 1982, Grade: A-)

Make no mistake about it. This film is a wonder to behold. Don't let my use of a "minus" detract anyone from seeing one of the best-acted, -written and -directed films of the last 25 years. Levinson's masterful casting and handling of actors who might not seem to be made for each other is really an achievement. Steve Guttenberg was NEVER better, Mickey Rourke is fantastic, no matter how much help he gets from Ripley's, Daniel Stern and Ellen Barkin's marriage is both sad and all-too-believable, Paul Reiser is that friend of yours whose ass you always wanted to kick, Kevin Bacon's smiles mask a broken child, and Tim Daly plays that immature grown-up guy who needs to stop deluding himself. All told, it's almost on a par with American Graffiti in capturing a specific time and place, the music, the mood, and most of all, the wonderful characters. If you haven't seen it before, do yourself a favor and watch Diner three or six times ASAP. If you already love it, it's time to love it again.

Reversal of Fortune (Barbet Schroeder, 1990, Grade: B)

This wicked black comedy, masquerading as a tragedy, tells the real-life story of Klaus von Bulow (Jeremy Irons), who after being convicted of attempted murder on his wealthy, comatose wife Sunny (Glenn Close), hires crusading defense attorney Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver) to handle his appeal before the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Sunny narrates the film while in her coma, and Silver brings some real fire to Dershowitz, but the film's biggest asset is Jeremy Irons' Oscar-winning performance, playing Klaus von Bulow as a sort of sly Boris Karloff impersonation. That, along with the darkly-humorous script and Schroeder's sympathetic direction, makes this film well-worth watching.

Fargo- B+.

The best dark comedy I have seen. As well as good suspense here and there.

I saw "Batman Begins" about a week ago, it was decent. Certainly refreshing considering the previous films but the plot left much to be desired. Action sequences were well done, Christian Bale was an excellent choice for Mr. Wayne, and the Batmobile was turned into one of the coolest movie vehicles ever. 80/100

I actaully hated the action scenes. The camera was bobbing up and down and in every direction until I couldn't really see what has happening.

I suppose that you are not a fan of the Bourne series either then?

Going to see War of the World tonight...anyone want a report back??

Interested in getting more info about a movie called Hustle and Flow...seen some promos on MTV but that's it...what's the deal?

If you know anything, Thanks!

This was my first impression of the film, posted at the War of the Worlds thread in Sci-Fi.

It's been a pretty slow year for me in terms of seeing movies. I've seen both Sith and Batman Begins. Sith at least provided closure on the prequel trilogy for me. I really enjoyed Batman.

I'm inclined to agree that the fight sequences were filmed dark and tight and therefore a bit hard to follow, though that was generally only the case when Bruce was in costume. Batman is awfully hard to pull off successfully without loading the actor under pounds and pounds of costume unlike Spiderman, for instance, who basically gets to run around in a body stocking. It's hard to execute good fight sequences under such conditions and was something of a weekness for me the Burton films.

Now Playing: The Go-Betweens on NPR's Fresh Air

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Originally posted by Mike:
I suppose that you are not a fan of the Bourne series either then?

I was of the first one, because I could follow what happened, but the second one really bothered me. I like the movies alot, but the bobbly camera bothers me...Still likeed both Batman and Bourne though, just a hassle to sit through that guessing what happened.

I just saw "War of the Worlds" and I liked it. It was a good movie and I liked the plot of it.