Recent viewings

[JaseSF]

Star Trek (2009): Renegade Romulans travel from the future into the past messing up the time continuity so that it forever changes the lives of James T. Kirk, Spock & most of the rest of the original crew aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. The Romulans plot: to destroy every Federation planet in their path - including Vulcan and Earth!

This is basically the newly revamped Star Trek. Obviously they're hoping to relaunch the franchise with all new actors/actresses in the classic Trek roles. As far as these types of things go, this film proved much better than I expected. The casting is pretty solid and I especially liked Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock, Simon Pegg as "Scotty", Karl Urban as "Bones" and Zoe Saldana as Uhura. Chris Pine seems capable enough as Kirk too I suppose although I personally liked him least of the new cast aside from the new Chekov, who just didn't work at all IMO. The plot is fairly interesting and easy to follow, in fact it's a bit too much like "gasp" Star Wars plotwise in a few too many ways, and there's lot of action and excitement on display as well as a lot of the more human emotional drama that was always so key to the core of "Star Trek". That said, this film mostly made me long for those old, more innocent days of the classic TV series and the films that actually did feature the original cast, although I was pleased to see a return of one key original cast member here. In the end, this film is hampered by several things, one of which I already mentioned above, but worst of all is its lackluster lead villain Nero played by Eric Bana. Granted a Romulan lead villain is problematic to pull off well but honestly I found Nero to be sadly an utter bore. I personally think much more emotion was required here given the events that had transpired. Also I did not at all like the changes to Spock in terms of him having a personal relationship with a fellow crewmate. That doesn't seem to fit at all with what we know of the character. Kirk too here seems a lot less human and more like a pumped up thrill seeking adolescent. Also the action first, guns blazing quality that permeates much of the film takes away I feel from the more cerebral feel classic Trek had with Kirk more often than not, with a lot of help from his supporting crew, basically outwitting his foes and the constant techno-babble doesn't make up for this either. Still they remain somewhat true to the original spirit of the series and I could see them possibly pulling off even better films in the future. **1/2 out of *****

[Rev. Powell]

MEMENTO (2000):  A man with a brain disorder that prevents him from remembering anything for longer than a few minutes tracks his wife's killer with the aid of notes he tattoos on his body.  Excellent, disorienting thriller, based one of those once-in-a-decade original ideas. 5/5.

[indianasmith]

OK, I TRIED to watch BAD BIOLOGY.

I'm no prude, but it was just a bit too explicit for me!  Not to mention rather disgusting in a couple of scenes.

I'll take a pass on this one.  Some of you might like it, though.

[Paquita]

I recently watched 4 made for TV movies by Lamberto Bava collectively called "Brivido giallo".  Three of them were the BEST movies I've seen in a long time!  Nothing really remarkably original about them, but they're really just very.. I can't think of a better word than "undisappointing", which I don't really think is a word but I LIKE THEM A LOT!  Except for Until Death.. that one was a little sad, but it still wasn't bad.

Dark tales of Japan~ I bought this awhile ago and just got around to watching it today. I wish I had watched it sooner      Its 5 short stories that I assume are supposed to be scary. Each one is more ridiculous than the last. I laughed my ass off the entire time. Its cheap, cheesy, and just over the top stupid. I loved it.

The acting is sooo bad at times I wondered if it was on purpose. It must be, right?  All of the stories were good(bad) but sacrifice and the spiderwoman are my personal favorites.

I saw that too!!   It was pretty dumb, but very entertaining! I think one of those stories solidified my theory that there seems to be a trend with scary hair and fingernails in Japanese horror movies, although I've seen some Thai movies with scary hair too.

[Jack]

The Devil's Tomb (2009) - some soldiers accompany a scientist to an underground bunker out in the desert.  Once there they discover the people have been possessed by a demon and look really gross.  I don't know where I got the idea that this movie might be good, but it's your typical SyFy Channel type of junk.  It never comes close to establishing any sort of suspension of disbelief    If you're going to make a movie about a military operation, would it be too much to ask that you actually watch a couple hours of The Military Channel so you can get some vague idea of how soldiers actually act?  The characters are just meh, the story is meh, we get a bunch of pointless flashbacks, then people start hallucinating - the usual stuff where nobody finds it the least bit suspicious that they suddenly see their daughter walking around in this bunker in the middle of the desert.  2.5/5.

[Vik]

Burn After Reading

Awesome movie, hilarious acting by Brad Pitt and John Malkovich, I loll'd every time he said " WTF "
Can't go wrong with the Coen Brothers.
5/5

[JaseSF]

Boy A (2007): a young man (Andrew Garfield), having served his time in prison for his part in a childhood murder, is given a second chance at a new life on the outside - new name - Jack, new identity, new job, new friends. Helping along this road is his good natured positive minded counselor Uncle Terry (Peter Mullan). Things seem to be going quite well and the young man even finds love. In the end though, Jack discovers he can never fully escape his past or is it he can't escape who he really is.

This bleak, depressing film explores identity and the question as to whether change is possible. Are some people inherently evil or good? Or is it more of a learned behaviour? What can be expected of someone who grew up in a world largely ignored and unseen until he was finally part of something that demanded attention? It's an intriguing film that will inspire many thoughts and questions in the viewer. Questions of ethics, morality and the human potential for growth and change plus the importance of a good environment and good support systems in terms of family and friends. The performances here are quite realistic and believable with Andrew Garfield doing a really fine job as Jack but also quite good is Peter Mullan as Terry who finds in Jack what he always hope to find from his own son, who's proven something of a disappointment.  The kids, Alfie Owen as young Eric Wilson and Taylor Doherty as Philip Craig, here are surprisingly effective as well. This movie will disturb you, it will raise questions in your head, it'll make you think but in the end, it's the story of a boy struggling to find his way/place in the world...a world unwilling to forgive and accept - and should they? The answers aren't entirely clear cut. It plays out a bit predicatably but it's one of those movies that'll stick with you long after you finish. ***1/2 out of *****

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring (2003): An old monk living on an isolated temple floating on a lake with a small boy witnesses the boy grow into a man and sees how, despite all his teachings, the mistakes of youth and the new experiences of life come to haunt the boy throughout his life as he becomes a man.

Yet again we have a film where a young man cannot seem to escape the mistakes of his past. The cruel abuse and suffering inflicted upon others in his youth come back upon him be they animal or man. In the end, he learns life lessons about love, lust, passion, jealousy, hatred and even rage. Only after experiencing much of life, which leads him down a self-destructive path of obsession and lust after a young sick girl comes to live with him and the old monk and he desires to possess her, does he fully come to understand the wise teachings and wisdom of the old monk who first taught him and to continue the circle of life by using his newfound wisdom to teach another. This film is a visual delight and filled with Buddhist symbolism. If there is any flaw to this film, it's that it all plays out a little too predictably and that the abuse of animals portrayed is rather disturbing. Still it's quite an intriguing film to watch and one that again stays with the viewer long afterwards. **** out of *****

[Jim H]

On The Run - a 1988 Hong Kong thriller, with a bunch of famous martial artists in the cast, including Yuen Biao, Phillip Ko, Yuen Wah and Lo Lieh.  Despite this, it's not a martial arts film.  It's about a cop whose wife is killed by an icy female assassin, and for various reasons ends up being forced to team up with her against corrupt cops out to kill them both.  Very dark and brutal, with many harsh moments. 

It clips along quite well, with some solid performances from the leads.  Not a lot of action, but what's there is good - and Yuen Biao has a stunt where he flings himself off a three story roof on a bamboo pole, and catches a light pole while falling, that's one of the most dangerous stunts I've ever seen performed.

But, about half way through it, the film shifts focus to two side cop characters helping the leads, and at this point the movie falters.  They're not properly introduced, there is some light comedy with them that feels out of place, and the movie never quite picks up momentum again.  Eventually it leads to a revenge showdown, only this doesn't really end the way it should because of poor character choices by the heroes (you know how bad guys never just kill the good guys when they should?  That happens here worse than almost any other movie I've seen, only it's the good guys with the guns).  And then it all ends very abruptly with a still frame and text telling us what happened after - an ending I suspect may have been fueled either by a late decision to change who lives/dies or a lack of funds.

Still, worth a viewing for Biao and HK cinema fans. 

6/10.

[JaseSF]

They Went To the Stars: Science Fiction When TV Was Live! (1980): This documentary takes a colorful and fun look back at the days of live Sci-Fi TV adventure shows from the 1950s. It's actually hosted by two classic space opera style Sci-Fi heroes of the 1950s: Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (Frankie Thomas) and Commander Cory (Ed Kemmer) from Space Patrol. During the hour long special, we get glimpses of Captain Video, Rocky Jones: Space Ranger, Flash Gordon and of course Tom Corbett and Space Patrol are given even more attention given the involvement of their leads here in this production. Also they briefly explore a totally different style of live Sci-Fi TV show from the 1950s - the anthology series Tales of Tomorrow that examined whether we as human beings might even have a tomorrow given the path of seeming self-destruction we were on in the early 1950s and adapting classic and thought-provoking sci-fi stories the likes of which have rarely been adapted so well to TV anywhere else since then. We get a great look at the live nature of these shows and how they often lended themselves, in the case of Space Patrol and Tom Corbett, to involvement with marketing specifically designed to sell toys and other products related to these shows, which was a large factor in their long-time popularity and staying power not to mention they featured heroes that kids could believe in, look up to and admire, heroes who usually set a fine example. We get a great look at how these shows explored all types and styles of sci-fi fantasy adventure, very similar in style to the previous 1940s movie serials. There were rockets, aliens, space battles, ray guns, robots and so much more. Tom Corbett had all that too but also tended to deal with more interpersonal issues and challenges as well as characters clashed with one another yet somehow still maintained friendships and working relationships. It's great fun to see glimpses of all these classic shows and what they were all about but of course it's even better to see the actual series themselves. Still I'd give this nostalgia fueled hour long documentary **** out of ***** stars.

A Beautiful Mind (2001): this explores the life and challenges of a brilliant Mathematician and eventual Nobel Peace Prize winner named John Nash. Is he an expert code-breaker hired by the government to decode the secret whereabouts of a Russian bomb or is it simply all in his head? What's real and what isn't?

Ron Howard directed this surprisingly moving and heart-wrenching story of a man trying to find his place in the world, trying to find a way he will be remembered and wanting to feel important, as someone who made a real difference, in the world. Russell Crowe is terrific as John Nash giving a compelling ands suprisingly sympathetic performance to a character who spends a surprisingly large amount of the film being well...ascocial. The supporting cast is good too and very talented given we have Ed Harris, Paul Bettany, Christopher Plummer and Judd Hirsch in supporting roles. Jennifer Connelly as Nash's love interest Alicia does seem a little too young for Nash but she does quite well in the role, which must have proven quite challenging at times. A good movie that moves at a surprisingly good pace given its lengthy running time. **** out of *****

[indianasmith]

Let's see . . . this week I saw

THE SPY NEXT DOOR with Jackie Chan.  Sat and watched it with my whole family.  It was a good, clean, fun movie that we all enjoyed.  Far-fetched and silly, but great for the kids.  Does he ALWAYS shoot a scene involving what Joe Bob would call "Ladder fu" - or is it just me?

Then I watched MUTANT VAMPIRE ZOMBIES FROM THE HOOD.  Not a bad zombie flick, but with a title like that, it should have been sillier.  Instead, it started silly and then tried to steer itself more into traditional, social commentary, seriously scary zombie territory.  It should have stuck to its opening silliness.  Still, not bad.

[Sleepyskull]

A few nights ago I watched:

Motel Hell (1980)

This is one of those rare films that strikes me as being nearly perfect!

I thought it was going to be strictly horror movie, but it had lots of humor and it worked great!

I definitely want to buy a DVD of this someday!

I watched it on a Netflix DVD. There is one more movie on the disc: Deranged (1974). I will watch that soon.


13 out of 13 stars

[lester1/2jr]

They made me a fugitive (1947) - if you are a fan of british gangster movies this is an obvious must see. It's very good, but a little hard to follow at first because it's kind of talky and with the british accents. I actually stopped it at 40 minutes and watched it again from the begining because I was confused about which one was Narcy and which one was Clem. Clem is the relatively good guy. Narcy is the bad guy you know because his name sounds like nazi and this is just post ww2.  

Narcy sets up Clem to take the fall and clem escapes from the big house and comes after him. the acting and writing are good but there isn't alot in the way of cinematography. Not alot of street scenes or the famous dark shadows of film noir. The girl isn't that pretty. It's not really about anyone making someone a fugitive.  dumb/wrong title. The story is solid if entirely predictable. I especially liked the eldery lady who was somehow a part of Narcy's gang of hoods. She was awesome

4/5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8leqISFyUCM
Avengers '66 tv show- This was sort of like The Outer Limits in that when it was good it was really creative and crazy and when it was bad you just turn it off after like 20 minutes. I saw 4 episodes and really liked 2 though both required substantial suspension of belief due to baffling plot holes. Show is alot of James Bond, a little Batman, and some of the afformentioned sci fi series (or the twilight Zone ) rolled into one. The female star Diana Rigg is charismatic, the male star whoever he is is not. The ones I Liked were one when she gets trapped in this crazy house and one with alot of pretty female secretaries who are part of some crime syndicate run by an evil puppet (literally). Could have used a bigger budget and some tightening of loose ends but generally enjoyable.

3.75/ 5

The Invisible Man (1958) season 1- I had seen season 2 and really liked it. I love the Invisible Man concept, who doesn't? except maybe pretty girls in locker rooms, and while it lacked the acidic comic edge of the movie ( the scientist slowly loses his mind in the movie version but not on the show) it had good crime fighting type plots and made clever use of the invisiblity, kind of like how Medium uses Allisons Psychic ability to avoid cop show cliches.

The first season appears to have had a slightly larger budget. They use more exotic looking locations and feature more of the invisiblity special effects but the episodes actually aren't quite as good as the second season. I only watched a couple of the episodes but it seemed like more of a conventional cop/ adventure type show. They hadn't really found the hook of it quite yet. It was the first disk and again I only watched a couple of episodes so who knows. At any rate I didn't feel compelled to watch all of them like I did the second season so that's something though scientists may attribute that to other factors such as weather or the position of the moon. 3/5

[3mnkids]

Boy A (2007): a young man (Andrew Garfield), having served his time in prison for his part in a childhood murder, is given a second chance at a new life on the outside - new name - Jack, new identity, new job, new friends. Helping along this road is his good natured positive minded counselor Uncle Terry (Peter Mullan). Things seem to be going quite well and the young man even finds love. In the end though, Jack discovers he can never fully escape his past or is it he can't escape who he really is.

This bleak, depressing film explores identity and the question as to whether change is possible. Are some people inherently evil or good? Or is it more of a learned behaviour? What can be expected of someone who grew up in a world largely ignored and unseen until he was finally part of something that demanded attention? It's an intriguing film that will inspire many thoughts and questions in the viewer. Questions of ethics, morality and the human potential for growth and change plus the importance of a good environment and good support systems in terms of family and friends. The performances here are quite realistic and believable with Andrew Garfield doing a really fine job as Jack but also quite good is Peter Mullan as Terry who finds in Jack what he always hope to find from his own son, who's proven something of a disappointment.  The kids, Alfie Owen as young Eric Wilson and Taylor Doherty as Philip Craig, here are surprisingly effective as well. This movie will disturb you, it will raise questions in your head, it'll make you think but in the end, it's the story of a boy struggling to find his way/place in the world...a world unwilling to forgive and accept - and should they? The answers aren't entirely clear cut. It plays out a bit predicatably but it's one of those movies that'll stick with you long after you finish. ***1/2 out of *****

Great review and I agree 100%. I liked this movie and the performances were very, very good. It is depressing for sure. One thing I liked about it is that it wasn't preachy. So many movies like this want to either preach that bad people dont change or that forgiveness is always the answer.. This didn't do that. It doesnt lead you one way or the other. Honestly,  I wasnt sure how I felt about him when it was over.   

[Flick James]

50 Dead Men Walking (2008)-

If you're into the Irish and familiar with the troubles, you'll like this film. If not, it's still pretty watchable, if a bit dark. Based on true events, it's the story of a street hustler who, because of his catholic identity and familiarity with that side of the struggle, is recruited by the British police to infiltrate the IRA and be an informant. Being in trouble for a petty crime, and because he dislikes the IRA, he agrees and is recruited by them. The ever effective Ben Kingsley is his handler for the British police and his primary contact. The British police fully understand he is at significant risk of being discovered and his life endangered, but well worth the risk for them. He proves effective in providing useful information on planned IRA attacks, but falls in love with a local girl in the process. He is inevitably discovered by the IRA, captured, and tortured, but manages to escape.

Not a truly great film, but sufficienty gripping and watchable. I'm biased because I have a familiarity with the subject matter being married to a Belfast girl. 4/5.  

[JaseSF]

Night Watch (2004): On Earth, some people are born with extraordinary abilities and become Others, either a force for good (light) or dark (evil). Many many years ago, the forces of the dark and the light had an epic battle, one that seemed like it would never end until the respective leaders realize they were equals and declared a truce. Night Watch are a group of light soldiers dedicated to policing the Dark others and making sure they do not break the truce while the Day Watch are ordered to do the opposite (dark soldiers dedicated to policing the Light Others). Part of the truce is that every Other will be given the freedom to choose which side they want to join. Legend has it an Other, more powerful than any before him, may soon come along to tip the balance in favor of one side or the other.

The story here begins with one Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabenskiy) seeking the help of an old witch to put a curse on his wife, whom he believes pregnant for another man. Eventually the Night Watch intervenes and Anton discovers, since he can actually see them and experience the Gloom (the mysterious interdimension through which they sometimes travel) he like them is in actuality an Other. Anton eventually choose the side of Light and becomes part of the Night Watch. Soon he is assigned the job of protecting a young boy named Yegor (Dmitriy Martynov) from a pair of Dark Others - vampires but also stumbles across an even bigger potential threat in a cursed virgin, an Other with the potential to unleash an Apocalyptic final battle unless her curse is lifted. Also out to stop and hoping to defeat Anton and the Night Watch is Zavulon (Viktor Verzhbitskiy), leader of the Dark Others. Supporting Anton in his efforts is Gesser (Vladimir Menshov), leader of the Light Others, a sorceress named Olga (Galina Tyunina) - who reminds me a bit too much of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe's Sorceress and his fellow Night Watch soldiers who are driven around in a souped up supercharged emergency style van by Simeon (Aleksey Maklakov) and includes shapeshifters Bear (Aleksandr Samoylenko) and Tiger Cub (Anna Slyusareva).

This was a pretty wild ride. It really is quite unique and original. The closest thing I could probably compare it to would be a Horror-style version of The Matrix mixed with a bit of perhaps Ghostbusters thrown into the mix yet it quite unlike either of those too given its Russian setting and sensibilities. It's fast-paced and action-packed yet there is a surprisingly complex plot being woven here, yet one that's not that hard to follow or figure out. I liked that the film doesn't fully play to expectation and delivered quite a few unexpected twists and turns with some neat surprises I didn't see coming at all. It's not perfect though as there's times it seems a whole lot less serious than at others and I'd even say it flirts a little with dark comedy. Still it's quite good and well worth a watch if you want an Horror action film not quite like anything you've seen before. ***1/2 out of *****