aGENT Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Watched this a few weeks ago with my 14 year old niece. I have to say I went in with pretty low expectations due to the classic and adored nature of the 1939 film...and was actually pleasantly surprised! Franco did a very convincing job of the flawed, flim flam artist combatting his own weaknesses and personally I thought Kunis (her character on an opposing arc to Oz's) was the stand out, compelling us to sympathize with her despite her own flaws and her losing battle with them. Williams and Weisz did excellent work as well. You could tell Weisz especially had fun with some of the moments egging on her sister. The visual effects are as eye popping (even in the 2D I enjoyed it in) as you'd assume of the land of Oz. They did a good job of capturing the colour/feel of the 1939 film IMO and it's beautiful to behold though I did find myself sucked back to reality a couple times as it was almost TOO "slick" and digital. Most of the time beautiful, occasionally too much so but certainly demo worthy. The sound effects and score were all aces. Elfman does his usual excellent work and the effects were well done and entertaining with plenty of surround work for your system and ears to enjoy. I would be very surprised if the film doesn't earn a few sound/video nominations at this year's Oscars. Good story, good cast (both lead and supporting), good sound and visuals... It's not quite the "classic" of the original but Ill give it a solid and quite enjoyable 4 out of 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hudson bay rules Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Watched this a few weeks ago with my 14 year old niece. I have to say I went in with pretty low expectations due to the classic and adored nature of the 1939 film...and was actually pleasantly surprised! Franco did a very convincing job of the flawed, flim flam artist combatting his own weaknesses and personally I thought Kunis (her character on an opposing arc to Oz's) was the stand out, compelling us to sympathize with her despite her own flaws and her losing battle with them. Williams and Weisz did excellent work as well. You could tell Weisz especially had fun with some of the moments egging on her sister. The visual effects are as eye popping (even in the 2D I enjoyed it in) as you'd assume of the land of Oz. They did a good job of capturing the colour/feel of the 1939 film IMO and it's beautiful to behold though I did find myself sucked back to reality a couple times as it was almost TOO "slick" and digital. Most of the time beautiful, occasionally too much so but certainly demo worthy. The sound effects and score were all aces. Elfman does his usual excellent work and the effects were well done and entertaining with plenty of surround work for your system and ears to enjoy. I would be very surprised if the film doesn't earn a few sound/video nominations at this year's Oscars. Good story, good cast (both lead and supporting), good sound and visuals... It's not quite the "classic" of the original but Ill give it a solid and quite enjoyable 4 out of 5. One of the few 3D movies that I felt did a good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 (edited) One of the few 3D movies that I felt did a good job. I can't stand 3D. Flawed, gimmicky concept IMO. Glad to hear it was enjoyable though. Watched this with the wife and enjoyed it. It does start off... weird, I guess is the best way to put it. The first 1/2 hour or so is almost hard/uncomfortable to watch but Bradley Cooper does a good job of getting you to route for him despite his "issues". De Niro does his usual excellent work as the flawed but caring father and the empathy created by the poor mother (Jacki Weaver) trying to just hold everyone together was palpable. Jennifer Lawrence also did an excellent job adding dimension to her damaged and vulnerable character and the dancing scenes with her certainly gave me a new appreciation of her *ahem* physical attributes as well. That said there was one aspect that bothered and stuck with me. Without hopefully giving too much away, towards the end there's a conspiring scene between a few characters that had me questioning how/why so many seemed to be artificially pushing the romantic leads together. Perhaps I missed something but it seemed like there was a touch of missing back story and/or explanation to me. Otherwise I'd say weird but wonderful 3.5 out of 5. Edited August 26, 2013 by J.R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Life of Pi 9.5/10 It was incredible. While I I enjoyed the movie I thought it was more "merely good" rather than "very good". Fantastic visuals and sound but the actual story itself I found only moderately entertaining. And without giving too much away I got the sense that the "twist" thought it was more clever than it actually was by half. A good rental and certainly worth a viewing but can't say I'd buy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 (edited) The wife and I quite enjoyed this one. Touching story/characters by talented cast in bright, lively surroundings. The acting is exactly what you would expect from this caliber of artists. The story is touching and sentimental without becoming overly cheesy or cliché. The humor is sharp & intelligent, the drama is real and unadorned. The story is one of personal struggle, personal growth, hope & the ability each of us possesses to find purpose and happiness in our life. The sound won't knock your socks off/rattle the walls but dialogue is clear and "atmosphere" is well executed. Good date night movie IMO Edited August 26, 2013 by J.R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7thMan Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Kick-Ass 2 - 6/10 Fruitvale Station - 8/10 The Spectacular Now - 8/10 Prince Avalanche - 5/10 The World's End - 10/10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptionalPants Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Cloud Atlas-10/10, was an excellent but confusing movie, storyline really made me think The Hobbit-9/10, a more comedic Lord of the Rings Parker-6/10, a good movie but very cliche Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apples Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Total Recall - 7.5/10 I just hope Walter White doesn't end up like his character in this movie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Craigslist Joe: 8.5/10 - I forgot to add this to my last post. Really cool documentary. A guy leaves home with a brand new cell phone, his laptop, backpack, tooth brush and the clothes on his back. The point is to try and survive a month just using Cragslist to see if people are still willing to help others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apples Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Pain & Gain - 8/10 Gotta love the Rock cookin up some hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bookie Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Pain & Gain - 6.5/10: Never thought I'd say it, but The Rock made this movie. Stole every scene. I was happy to see that they mostly stuck true to the real story, although it was so bizarre it didn't really need embellishment. Overall a hot mess of a movie though. World's End- 8.5/10: Was pretty hyped for this, and it mostly delivered. Took awhile to really get into, even once the robot plot was introduced I was still semi-bored, but more than made up for it in the final third. The climax was hilarious, as was the bar fight scene where King keeps punching people while trying to catch his flying beer. Comes in in the middle of the trilogy for me, Hot Fuzz is still the best. since people are talking about Michael Cera, has anyone watched that movie where he goes to South America to try the psychedelic plant? If so, is it any good? Sounded like the first time he stepped out of his awkward-nerdboy persona. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Watched this last night. It's both sad and angering to see how many levels of F'd up America is and this film does an excellent and touching job illustrating the very serious food/poverty/subsidy/agriculture/health issues they're facing. How Americans haven't stood up and revolted against their corporate overlords is beyond me. Anyhoo... If you like documentaries, we enjoyed it. Very informative and something Canadians should also watch so that we don't follow our American cousins down the same, sad path (and we're on our way). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monty Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 No rating yet, but going to watch the new Dredd tonight on US Netflix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monty Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 ^^^ Watched the first 45 minutes during my lunch break (instead of taking out the dogs), pretty enjoyable so far. Thought I would throw in another very short review of one of my favourite action films when I was growing up. Demolition Man: 9.5/10 One of those instances where you know that the movie is not nearly as good as you are making it out to be, but you have so much attachment to it that you rate it higher then it deserves. I love virtually everything about this movie. "Enhance your calm John Sparton." My brother and I still tell each other to enhance our calm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avicii Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 (edited) Wolverine was pretty meh 1/2 price today, went in just in hopes of wasting a couple hours, and it did just that. I don't really wanna rate it, but it does the job. That ending though too.. If you watch it, stay during the credits. Edited August 28, 2013 by Avicii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLASSJAW Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Only God Forgives First 15 minutes are pretty silly. Last five minutes are pretty silly, too but the 45 minutes in between are pretty good, and significantly better than some suggest, IMO 7/10 -- don't recommend watching it if you're feeling particularly impatient or bored Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckofSteel Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 (edited) The Pursuit of Happyness- 9/10 This was probably my 5th time watching it and I still really enjoy this movie. Edited August 28, 2013 by Sydney Fife 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marleau_12 Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 (edited) Brokeback Mountain: 8.5/10 When Lureen was telling Ennis that Jack died because of an accident changing a tire, was she telling the truth or was he actually killed by homophobes? Or is it up to interpretation? Edited August 28, 2013 by marleau_12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diesel_3 Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Craigslist Joe: 8.5/10 - I forgot to add this to my last post. Really cool documentary. A guy leaves home with a brand new cell phone, his laptop, backpack, tooth brush and the clothes on his back. The point is to try and survive a month just using Cragslist to see if people are still willing to help others. Love documentaries, that one was really cool! The Frozen Ground - 6.5/10. Nic Cage and John Cusack. Based on true events about Robert Hansen, a respectable member of the Anchorage, AK community in the 70's/80's who had a whole other life as a rapist/serial killer. The acting was ok and the movie was entertaining enough, it was filmed in Alaska where it all took place. Check it out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monty Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Dredd - 7/10 Was very impressed with how good this actually was. Incredibly violent, so I would not recommend for those with a weak stomach, or for those under 18. However, I really enjoyed it. Also, although I did not see this in 3D, I rememeber people commenting on how good the 3D was, which made me wish I had seen it in what it was meant to be seen in. Also, it is one of the only films (aside from The Matrix) that explains in the story why slow motion is being used. Very clever by the filmmakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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