That's what I said. I always thought of popcorn movies as Die Hard, Commando, Predator and to a lesser extent Bad Boys, Bad Boys II, Transporter 1, Trasporter 2 :p

I never saw the original but the remake SUCKED (and that's saying something coming from me) I gave it * 1/2

Thanks, bro. I know you well enough to know that's a legit estimation. You saved me a few bucks. I appreciate it, Irish!

No problem Snake. Glad I could be of assistance

That's what I said.[/b][/quote]Are Irishman and Vercetti actually agreeing on something?

This is amazing.

Let me get my camera...

Irish, you asked me for examples of what I considered "classic popcorn." Sunset Blvd, yes, Bad Boys II, no.

To each his own

I'm not arguing your opinions I'm just saying I think you were mistaken in thinking I was including Sunset Blvd in the same list as Bad Boys II, etc. There was a distinction there between classic and regular.

Audience who saw SB didn't see it for the popcorn sense. Popcorn films are generally ones that are strictly for easy entertainment. Flash above depth. Mainstream.

Fair point. I'm not strongly defending any of my examples I was just trying to tell you what I was talking about.

Either way, Hagen is right about one thing: BAD BOYS 2 is ass.

THE ITALIAN JOB (2003) - **1/2

Enjoyable if unremarkable heist-revenge action picture. Remake of the memorable 60's picture with Michael Caine. Reportedly, Edward Norton was forced by studio contract to do this film, and boy does he show that he really wanted nothing to do with this flick, but I don't blame him. Meanwhile, one problem still does bug me.

Jason Statham carried any of the good stuff in those TRANSPORTER pictures of his because he oozes masculinity. You actually believe he would take control of the situation by himself and yes, beat the fuck out of everyone. So seeing him being an underling to Mark Whalberg is like seeing America following the lead of Portugal. Not that Whalberg himself is bad, for FOUR BROTHERS showed that he is capable in such action fare, but Statham is just fucking cooler than Marky Mark can ever hope for.

Speaking of which, the cover rendition of Pink Floyd's "Money" by a strange medley of some Guns & Roses and Stone Temple Pilots.....well, lets just say it made me appreciate the string and vocal work of Gilmour in the first place.

Requiem for a Dream


Creative editing, amazing performances, and chilling music manage to save a film which contains an otherwise uninteresting, and what I believe to be a somewhat overused subject matter. The film seemed to drag on a bit towards the middle, but the final 20 minutes were absolutely astonishing.

Editing and music did not 'save' the supposedly uninteresing movie. It actually made the movie one of the best movies ever. I am going to re-watch it soon.

Raging Bull
1980/Scorsese

A great, great film. Didn't quite excite me as much as usual this time around, but still clearly monumental. My 2nd or 3rd favorite Scorsese, such a distinctly different style from his later work. I love Marty's experimentation with ambience and audio here, with the constant mix of music drifting in from down the street and the quiet growl of the city seemingly ever present.

4.5/5 Stars

"Popcorn" is more a reflection of the audience than the film itself. And if a film has an audience to consciously cater for, it probably fits into some kind of genre.

Generic films are popcorn films. It's often used as a derogatory term. I find it merely reductive.

Well, there is good and bad popcorn movies to me.

The "bad" are those generic-ass movies we have to endure most of the time, since they are purposely made to be either uncreative or as typical as possible to get as many demographics to go see the damn movie.

The "Good" popcorn pictures are those that Hollywood try to rip-off endlessly. I mean, dear lord we still have movies trying to be the next STAR WARS not only popularity, but as well in making a shitload of money. If anything, its rare that after STAR WARS for Hollywood to produce a pure sci-fi picture that isn't simply using the futuristic fantasy element to make for an excuse for mindless action sequences.

Though I hate to use the defense that a movie "entertains" me as simply a reason why its good or whatever. It may be enjoyable on a friday night, beer/pizza binge, but besides that, is it a good film on its own mechanics?

THE ITALIAN JOB remake I enjoyed in a mindless way, but its average as hell. Nothing incredibly lame in it, just nothing worth a special shit in it. Worth watching again? Not really. Would I watch it on say TNT on friday night at 10 PM and I've got a six-pack and some greasy-ass pizza? Ya sure, why not.

There seems to be two special types of people at IMDB.com, much as I see here at BB.Net as well. Those that think film buffs and critics are pretentious arty fruity pricks who hate anything "fun", and those others who are true film lovers, and despise anything that is "popcorn".

I love good popcorn when I eat it, but I hate either stale or rotten or worse, pissed-on popcorn. I think absolutes is almost never a good mindset to have when reviewing films.

There are good and bad popcorn movies.*

Sorry, it was bothering me.

Hmm... Obsessive compulsive...
time to take medications.


Time to go check the dictionary for typographical errors.

Groundhog Day
1993/Ramis

Sometimes it's nice to just suspend your own elitist sensibilities for a while and enjoy a simple comedy. Bill Murray was great here and Harold Ramis makes some nice directional choices. I liked the whole fantasy idea, in the vein of Tom Hanks' Big. Looking at Ramis' filmography, it seems this somewhat of a running theme throughout his films. Overall, probably one of the better mainstream comedies I've seen.

4/5 Stars

And so begins July.

Enough
Michael Apted 2002 US (1st time; DVD)
After the man of her dreams turns into a wife-beating maniac, a woman goes on the run with their child, learns self-defence, and eventually gets her own back.
It sounds silly, and it is.

Capo,

I actually liked that movie! Silly, maybe. Unlikely, yes, but I loved seeing an abuser getting his "just desserts." :p I'd categorize it as a "chick flick" and assume most men wouldn't like it.

Also, I'm not particularly a JoLo fan, but I don't think she is too bad an actress.

TIS

Everything is Illuminated (2005) -
Director - Liev Schreiber

A young Jewish-American man returns to Ukraine in search of a village, and the woman who helped his grandfather escape the Holocaust.
Truly an excellent film. Elijah Wood--although far from a favorite of mine--performs flawlessly. He is funny, high maitnence, attached... very small... His performance is strong and talented, but remains in balance with the rest of the cast; who are also brilliant. The characters he comes in contact with: also very funny. The story is stable, the music is excellent, the characters are original, the comedy is excellent, and the drama is solid. This is exactly what I like in a film; a proportionate balance of humor and emotion. Excellent. My personal favorite film of 2005.

There are good and bad popcorn movies.*

Sorry, it was bothering me.

Hmm... Obsessive compulsive...
time to take medications.


Time to go check the dictionary for typographical errors. [/b][/quote]I am Ronnie's self-loathing for a simple mistake

I am LLC's amusement in your pop culture references. :p

I am Ronnie's lack of Creativity (you can also call me Ron Howard)

I am LLC's urge to dub you Ron Howard.

I am Ronnie's fustration at fucking CINDERELLA MAN (You can also call me "Michael Bay") :p

I am....alright, I quit that shit.

IN THE LINE OF FIRE (1993) - ****

Thrilling suspenseful picture by Wolfgang Peterson, back when he could actually direct, with Clint Eastwood going toe and head against the brilliant John Malkovich in his Oscar-nominated performance as the whacked-out CIA killers-turned-would-be assassin.

Its a tip of hat at Peterson to cut and make a film work its charm, even over such Eastwood genre-garbage like inept asshole bureaucrats, teaching some "rookie" the streets, and other nonsense. Though really, maybe its Malkovich playing almost the Colonel Kurtz of this tale, the guys that once was of the human race before he journeyed down the river, and unexplainably became something else...thing is, is he really a psychopath who thinks the government is out to exterminate him, or was he really fighting the government itself, with this Presidential assassination being his "strike back"? Unknown, though good betting money would be placed on him flunking the psychiatric test, but its worth a thought.

This was Eastwood's solid comeback in Hollywood after several duds(save for his Oscar-winning UNFORGIVEN) and especially with the major bomb in THE ROOKIE.

Anyone remember the infamous teaser trailer that read "1963" then ticked towards 1993, the one that apparently got hostile reactions in many theaters?

I don't get it. Why were there hostile reactions?

As for Peterson, I've always been interested in getting my hands on Das Boot, although I thought Troy was forgettable.

I don't get it either, though maybe some folks felt the trailer was..."exploitative"...of the JFK murder, but who knows.

DAS BOOT is a pretty great war film, and arguably the best damn movie ever set within a friggin submarine. Actually, its sad how Peterson went from being this talented German director of DAS BOOT, IN THE LINE OF FIRE, the hokey as hell but visually rich THE NEVERENDING STORY, and so on....to this hired-gun of a Hollywood blockbuster director of mediocre-ass movies from THE PERFECT STORM to TROY to the recent mega-dud POSEIDON. Really, what went wrong?