Glad to hear Turi that you dug BATMAN BEGINS as well. I myself do wonder how the sequel will go, especially with who will play the new JOKER.....

Amazingly, Nolan btw actually directed all of BATMAN BEGINS. That includes the 2nd unit shooting, which usually is reserved to action/car chase coordinators. In a way, the film has a raw and different vibe in the fight sequences unlike most Hollywood movies.

P.S. - Cillian Murphy is fucking scarier without the mask, IMO. *yikes!*

Walk the Line
James Mangold 2005 US (1st time; big screen)
The life of Johnny Cash, from his early days to 1968.
You can't help but think this was a cash-in on the success of last year's Ray; the result is a biopic which goes down the path of a star whose troubles stem from one childhood memory he'd rather forget. Phoenix and Witherspoon are both electric, and Mangold has enough sense to keep the narrative driven by the music, like Altman's Nashville, and thankfully, the coda is brief.

The Weather Man ***

I can sum this movie up in 1 word: hilarious. I couldn't believe how much humor was in this movie. I didn't know what to expect as I had no idea what this movie was about. It's good to see Nicholas Cage back with this movie and the recently released Lord of War.

Last Tango in Paris 9/10

Wonderful exploration of a self-destructive relationship prevelant in even today's society. Brando was fantastic. Very underrated movie IMO.

This was one of my favorites from last year, but I actually valued it a little bit more for its dramatic moments. I do agree it worked well on both a dramatic and comedic sense, but I wouldn't go so far as to call the film hilarious. I think Cage's performance and the story itself hold a nice little sense of black or dark humor, kind of like a Coen brothers movie or American Beauty. Hilarious isnt exactly the word i'd label this type of humor with.

You agree?

The Legend of Zorro - (Martin Campbell;2005;USA)
After Zorro's marriage fails, he is soon drawn into another conspiracy.
Whoever wrote this film is horrible. Seriously, the divorce looked at in the film feels like a modern Hollywood divorce. In fact, the 1850's feel like modern times with the lack of technology. The last film managed to be a good, charming film. This is simply ridiculous, filled with child-ish humor. This movie felt like a Disney family movie. The CGI was also overused way too much. The plot is laughable, and Rufus Sewell's overacting was pitiful to the point where I wanted to jump in the movie and pin a mustache on him to twirl. Banderas was ok, but lacked the presence he had in the last film.

This was one of my favorites from last year, but I actually valued it a little bit more for its dramatic moments. I do agree it worked well on both a dramatic and comedic sense, but I wouldn't go so far as to call the film hilarious. I think Cage's performance and the story itself hold a nice little sense of black or dark humor, kind of like a Coen brothers movie or American Beauty. Hilarious isnt exactly the word i'd label this type of humor with.

You agree? [/b][/quote]No I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you. It might not have intended to be hilarious but that's exactly what I thought of it. As a matter of fact that's 1 of the main reasons I'll probably buy it tomorrow when it comes out

I think it's a true story though, Bogey. Yeah, I watched that movie...quite disturbing.....but/hence somehow intriguing...

underrated? It raised a hell of a lot of uproars in early 70s.....(it was widely denounced as obscene and eventually banned at least here in Italy, only to be rehabilitated many years later!...almost impossible to believe it some 30 years later....) It received a bunch of oscar nominations and other movie awards and is generally considered Bertolucci's masterpiece.

I'm not a huge fan of the movie (nor of Bertolucci) but this is definitely a must-see, if only for Brando's outstanding performance. And the music score by Gato Barbieri. All the fuss over the sex scenes is very idiotic IMO. This is not a movie about sex. This is a movie about solitude and desperation. It's a pity that it is mostly remembered for the unconventional use of butter it displays...

Well, I guess that may be the mark of a good film, the fact that different people can like it for different reasons.

Glad you enjoyed it nonetheless.

Well, I guess that may be the mark of a good film, the fact that different people can like it for different reasons.

Glad you enjoyed it nonetheless. [/quote]Me too, I'm glad and surprised I enjoyed it as much. I thought they did a terrible job advertising it. I think I only saw 1 movie poster for it in New York. None here in Texas with no trailers (that I can recall). However, I do see and probably agree that the humor is dark in the movie but as I said I couldn't stop laughing.

I ranked it as the 3rd best from last year. Would it crack your top 10?

Originally posted by Irishman12:

Last night I went to see "When A Stranger Calls."

It may just win "WORST" movie of the year!


Don Cardi

Isn't this a remake of an older movie???? A babysitter who gets phone calls asking if the children are safe???? If so, I liked the original version, but haven't seen this one. If people were walking out, I don't I'll bother.


TIS

Yes TIS, it is a remake, well sort of. The original was much better than this one. I don't know what it is, but I feel that the writing in hollywood is horrendous these days. Seems that hollywood writers cannot come up with anything original, and they leans towards doing remakes.

Now one would think that with todays advancement and technology, when hollywood does a remake of an older movie, it would be somewhat better in it's own way than the original, agreed? But for the most part these remakes usually turn out to be terrible versions of the origianl movies.

And this one just sucked! In plain english.

Rent the original, you'll enjoy it more.


Don Cardi

[/quote]I enjoyed it but no it wouldn't crack my top 10 of last year

For Your Eyes Only ** 1/2

No explanation needed. James Bond saves the world....yet again

Match Point - (Woody Allen;2005;UK/USA/Luxembourg)
An Irish man moves to London where he becomes acquainted with a family. However when he begins a relationship with a woman, he begins another affair with her brother's girlfriend.
I didn't know what to expect from this film but I was pleasantly surprised. It didn't even feel like a Woody Allen film. The story proved to be gripping, while wonderfully supported by it's actors, most notably Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johansson. I feared the ending as I felt that little connection from the beginning was going to aim for a predictable ending, but Allen swerves away from it, saving the film. The opera music used also sets a wonderful melancholy mood.

Date Movie * 1/2

When does a spoof movie go bad? When it's not funny and/or doesn't make sense. This movie just had a bunch of random spoofs slapped together and tried to be funny. At least Scary Movie had a theme and made sense. Very disappointing!

Rashomon ***

Definitely my favorite Akira Kurosawa movie to date. I really enjoyed the camera movement in this film and also how there wasn't much dialogue. Not so much because there was less reading but I just enjoyed watching the actors movements rather than just read words on the screen. Another movie I'll have to add to my collection in the near future

Just Friends ***

Another good recent Ryan Reynolds comedy. Not as good as Waiting... but a good comedy nonetheless. It's great to finally have that unpleasant after taste that Date Movie left me gone

Napoleon Dynamite
Jared Hess 2004 US (1st time)
A geek who lives with his grandma and his older, chatroom-addict brother, begins a campaign to make his new best friend Pedro student president.
Absurd, eccentric, obviously acquired sense of humour here, working much like a Wes Anderson film, in that it takes a little time to establish itself as something you've probably not experienced before, and then, once it gets rolling, proves to be something quite brilliant. Timing, originality and that climactic dance scene rank up there with the best.

Napoleon Dynamite kinda' grows on you the more you see it.

I just saw "Tears of the Sun" on regular T.V. the other day. Actually quite a good movie, and not your typical Bruce-Willis-kills-em-all type flick. Very heart rendering. I'll probably have to get the DVD now.

Vercetti, I don't remember, was Match Point nominated for something?

Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination for Woody Allen, which is his first Academy nomination in more than a decade ago.

Bob le flambeur Bob the Gambler - (Jean-Pierre Melville;1955;France)
A gambler ex-con plans to pull off a big casino heist.
Some have said this was the beginning of French New Wave, before Godard or any of the others. To this day it proves to be a fascinating film. It's not Melville's strongest work but another great example of Independent cinema. Roger Duchesne has a very smooth approach to his character. We don't know what to make of him in the early parts of the film, but soon love him, especially when he helps the young girl early on. Melville's direction isn't as solid as his other films. There was one scene in a car while a man wrote plans down with excellent music that was cut off too abruptly, killing the mood for instance. Otherwise this is a great film that shows Melville's early talent to create a cool atmosphere with simplicity.

Who's That Knocking At My Door ** 1/2

Not a bad way for Mr. Martin Scorsese to start his film career. A beautifully shot movie which introduced the world to Mr. Harvey Keitel. SPOILER The rape scene was my favorite. How intense that was! END OF SPOILER

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore **

Ellen Burstyn did a good job in her role of Alice Hyatt but I didn't think it was Oscar worthy

Date Movie

I don’t even know where to begin, so in a way I’m a lot like the filmmakers in that respect. This “movie” was a fucking atrocity, I’m being serious I mean does anyone have the number of the war crimes tribunal? I’d rather be but in a German work camp than have to sit through this again.

I know what you might be thinking (actually I don’t it is just a way to segue into my next set of heavy-handed metaphoric comments about this movie), how could you not know that this movie was going to be nightmare of Lovecraftian proportions? Well point in fact I did, but another member of this board really wanted to see it, they actually thought that it was going to be funny, so they offered to pay my admittance. Yes this movie is so bad I want it stated up front that I did not pay to watch it.

I suppose I’ll start with the biggest flaw in the movie, I don’t think they had a script. It was more of a hodgepodge of various film scenes that felt like it was put together with a glue stick. There seemed to be no harmony between pieces they chose to “spoof”. Have you ever seen Johnny Mnemonic? That scene where he makes up the access code in the hotel room full of scientists? It is a lot like that (if you haven’t seen Johnny Mnemonic, he captures three random images off of a TV by switching channels). Some of them do thread together but after seeing the whole of the movie you realize that was just some form of happy accident and not some master plan. It’s films like this that I really wish I could have been in the editing room, just to see what was left on the floor. I mean WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE DEEMED NOT WORTHY TO BE IN THIS FILM, what dark secrets of the arcane are on those strips of celluloid that they can’t be released on the general population, well at least not until the “Uncut and Unrated” DVD comes out.

The acting…I don’t think I can actually say anything about the acting of this “movie”. They had nothing to work with. The characters are hollow with no sustenance to them, no weight. The actors are just kinda blank, the only actors in the movie that I can name really only play slight variations of characters that they’ve played in other movies, only in lesser forms. I really don’t want to fault the actors here but they should suffer some of the burden, they did take the check for making this piece of trash. There is not one lead actor in the bunch, this movie is comprised entirely of supporting actors merely acting like leads – the only problem is without help from the script there is no way that they can pull it off.

This movie has all the quality that you would expect from a local car dealership commercial. It has no merit nor entertainment value, this is the type of movie that would make Uwe Boll wince if he had to watch it. I give you Date Movie a F-…---, 0, 0x*, two thumbs Down, et al

After Hours **

Kinda boring and slow. It started off kinda good but then just keep going and going with the "I just want to go homes." Sounded almost like Dante from Clerks, "I'm not even suppose to be here today"

I'd rank After Hours as one of Scorsese's fastest films, after, perhaps, Cape Fear.