DVD movie reviews.

[Technosoul]

Let's hear it from you movie fans. What is good on DVD that others might wish to rent? New ones and old ones okay.

I always liked movies about paranomal subjects and watched two of them of late and gave them my two thumbs up.

Lady In The Water and Stranger Then Fiction.

"Lady in the Water" ( or from the water?) was great because it was about an incident when mythology confronts people in realistic terms, and it had a classic storyline. She came from the oceans to bring a message that will save mankind form our violent ways however the people she contacted to deliver the message also had figure out a mystery to save her form some evil creatures so she could return safely to her home in the water. And as it turned out "destiny" had to bring all the right people together just in time to complete the task. Do not expect much nudity,.

The other DVD movie called Stranger then Fiction was indeed strange.

A IRS agent who is into numbers starts to hear a voice that was coming from the person who was writing a book about his life, it was as if the voice was making comments about everything he did. When the voice commented that he would soon die he was determined to find out the meaning of his paranormal experience. He would not admit that he had gone nuts and as the plot unwinds he tracks down the author of book and attempted to stop her from writing the last chapter where he would die. Meanwhile he was having his first romance with girl.

Trying to get others to think you are not crazy when you are hearing voices is not an easy task. Especally when you get mad and start to yell back at the voice no one can hear but your self.

He finally meets the author of the book that is copycatting his life on a typewriter and after reading it he determines that it is a masterpiece and he tells her to finish it, knowing that the ending of it would result in his own death. But that is not the ending of the movie.

Be sure to leave all your "logic" at the door when watching this movie.

Two thumbs up. ... and great acting by all members of the crew.

[InTheFlesh?]

Despite all the links to the terrible massacre at Virginia Tech, the Korean film Old Boy is very good.

A dude called Oh-dae-su (I think) gets abducted and imprisoned in an apartment for 15 years, only to be released into the world. Clearly he seeks revenge and understanding, but his captor seems intent on torturing Oh-dae-su a little more.

With the usual ultra-violence and destruction of taboo that often accompanies films made outside of L.A, the film is quite not a family film, nor a girlfriend film, nor a squid lovers film, or in fact a film that anyone with a shred of sensitization to shock would enjoy.

However the use of music, clever directing and awesome narrative makes the film compelling and very, very interesting. The twist the plot makes in the end will blow your mind.

But it is unfortunate how Virginia Tech guy has made the film infamous and has tarnished it slightly, as you now watch it completely aware of the violence, and how disturbing it is.

Definitely worth a watch, but give it a few weeks, until the emotion rawness has faded slightly.



Another amazing film, along a different line is Twelve Monkeys. It is just a mega film, with some fantastic acting, out of cast-type, from Brad Pitt, and Bruce Willis, in cast-type (but never mind).

Good twist too.

[Sonart]

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Being an eternal 15 year old, I've always been a big fan of animation. However, methinks the oscar-winning "Happy Feet" transcends most feature animated films. It absolutely wasn't what I expected from watching the trailers. I described it to a friend the other day by saying it was 'March of the Penguins' meets Busby Berkely meets 'West Side Story' meets 'Space Oddesey: 2001'. Breath-taking art direction, terrific sound track and a story full of surprises.

Give it a try.


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[Nono]

Sonart! You're back. Great!

[Sonart]

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In and out, Nono... I'll still be crazy busy most of the time, but I've decided if I don't break myself away from work sooner or later, I'll be primed for a burn out.

But thanks for the sentiment. *GGG*

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[Technosoul]

I think I must put Happy Feet on my list for a must see. I have not watched movies for nearly a year but a few weeks ago I signed up for one of those rent-a-DVD through the mail. Another animated film that perked my interest is about a rat that likes good food and not garbage but must risk a lot to get to where the best food is located. I have not seen it yet.

When in highschool I was a big fan of Disney and I made two animated movies my self with my little 8 milimeter camera. It took a lot of work just to get a short animated movie with those primitive methods.

I thought that 12 Monkeys was above average. I saw one other movie made in England where they had some "raw" footage but forgot the name of it. It was about some guy into drugs and when he was barfing up in an ugly tolet the drugs took him on a trip into the tolet and it's other dimensional world. Among other graphic parts depicting the world of a drug addict. I hated watching it to the max but later on and from a distance in time I am sort of glad I got to witness he movie. Yet, do not believe I will rent and watch the one about the kidnapped boy.

Today I watched "Employee of the month" which is about this person who is "crazy busy" working at a bank and is about to get married and to settle down in his expensive house when he gets fired and has only one more day of work. He hates his boss and some of the others in the bank because of "office politics" except for one girl who he is having an affair with (who is not his intended wife to be). On the same day as he is fired his future wife finds the other girls panities in his pocket and she breaks off their marrage date... forever.

He buys a gun and takes it to work. Now,.. you can guess the rest.. no you cannot because the script writers are not making it that easy for you to predict the twist and turns the movie will take. The theme in the movie is from a Buddhist concept that life is an illusion, or ideas that we have in our mind about our life and our part in it which perceptions might be missinterpretations or deceptions. In this movie life is not the illusion but rather it is the people who are creating the deceptions for each other.
The movie contains greed, romance, sex, nudity, mild amounts of violence, graphic doses of bad words, and is templated with a kind of spiritural philosophy about life in general, one surpise after another. But they might have overdone it by adding too many surprises.

I cannot rate it in the top brackets and you might find some faults in the plot if you do that sort of thing. But I do not rate it all that low on the scale ether. ehhh.. worth watching for active movie fans.

Then I watched "Little Miss Sunshine" and the movie is not what I expected by the title. It is about a family and each member has their own private problems they are dealing with as well each other. The father wants to start a tour to promote his book on how to be a winner and not a looser. His pre-teen daughter who is a little fat wants to be like Miss America and gets to take part in the child's version of that contest called "little miss sunshine" contest. So the whole family sets off on an adventure to reach California so the daughter can compete in the contest (as a dancer). Egged on by the father's "10 point program" on how to be a winner and by the daughters desire to become like Miss America. Problem afrer problem is encountered but they make it to the contest. Now before the adventure started the family was each caught up in personal problems and always busy with their own happenings but the grandfather took time to teach the pre-teen girl how to dance and he designed the whole performance we would later see her do at the end of the movie. The old grandfather was also cranky to everyone else (but not little Miss Sunshine) and he enjoyed his prono mags and his cocaine habit which he did in private, and apparently teaching the kid how to dance was done in private as well. Some critics objected to the use of a pre-teen girl in a movie that hinted at child molestation possiblities.

No sex, no nudity, no bloody violence, and worth watching. But it is a little depressive in the opening parts of the movie. A comedy with some Drama.

Does she win the contest? You will have to watch it to find out.

[Jack]

Being an eternal 15 year old

Absolutely. Which explains why the two movies I liked best of those I've seen this last year were animated, Flushed Away (2006) and The Triplets of Belleville (2003, Les Triplettes de Belleville). I was thoroughly enchanted.

[Sonart]

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LOL!!! Indeed, the 'Triplets of Belleville' was a hoot.

Anyone not seen 'Million Dollar Baby'? A must see. Then there's Pan's Labyrinth, 'Inside Man', 'The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada', 'Brick',

And if you like animation, check out 'Monster House' and 'Chicken Little'. Fantastic characters.

Films I'm looking forward to seeing on DVD... 'The Queen', and 'The Last King of Scotland'.

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[Technosoul]

I thought Million Dollar Baby was exceptional. I was expectng her to recover in some paranomral way because Clint kept going to that church as if he was seeking help from God, and so the way it ended was totally unexpected (for me).

I have already added Queen and King of Scottland because of their Oscar nominations.

I am glad this post was effected because it is difficult to pick out good movies from all the boring ones or the ones that are done so unintelligently. Sometimes I like an aciton movie if it has a good plot and the acting is okay. Was thinking about a movie called "Training Day" but not sure if it is any good or not.

At a garage sale I found a DVD of the old James Dean movie, you all know about it so comments would seem useless. However in the beginning of the movie they attended a viewing at the Observatory and the scientist was talking about how the world would end when sun flairs caused global warming and superstorms, I was surprised by that because I did not remember it from prior viewings of the movie. The one kid hid under the seat in fear. Now the James Dean movie is pretty old and it is odd that now we have Al Gore doing the same thing. So I guess old plots continue on and on. But is Chicken Little right... never mind answering as this is not a political forum. I was just making a segway into saying I should put Chicken Little on my to-be watch list.

[ZNFYRH]

Technosoul...

You sure about Employee of the Month?

Wasn't that the movie with Dane Cook and Jessica Simpson in the Costco-esque store?

[InTheFlesh?]

The movie with the toilet and drugs is called Trainspotting. Its an absolutely amazing film, a little disturbing and raw but a must see film, unless you plan on visiting Scotland anytime soon.

Pan's Labyrinth surprised me. I was expecting an Alice in Wonderland-esque sort of thing, instead it turned out to be like Amelie but really dark, twisted and a little harrowing, not really a children's film.

There are a run of really awesome British gangster film's; Lock, Stock, Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and Layer Cake (with a weirdly prescient James Bond style Daniel Craig). All of them are worth a watch, especially if you liked the films Lucky Number Slevin and Ocean's Eleven, as they follow a similar vein.

Don't waste too much of your life like I have.

[Technosoul]

Quote by: ZNFYRH Technosoul... You sure about Employee of the Month? Wasn't that the movie with Dane Cook and Jessica Simpson in the Costco-esque store?

They have two movies with the same title I guess.

The one I reviewed is in the following link..

Employee of the Month DVD - SHOP.COM

[Technosoul]

Quote by: InTheFlesh? The movie with the toilet and drugs is called Trainspotting. Its an absolutely amazing film, a little disturbing and raw but a must see film, unless you plan on visiting Scotland anytime soon. Pan's Labyrinth surprised me. I was expecting an Alice in Wonderland-esque sort of thing, instead it turned out to be like Amelie but really dark, twisted and a little harrowing, not really a children's film. There are a run of really awesome British gangster film's; Lock, Stock, Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and Layer Cake (with a weirdly prescient James Bond style Daniel Craig). All of them are worth a watch, especially if you liked the films Lucky Number Slevin and Ocean's Eleven, as they follow a similar vein. Don't waste too much of your life like I have.

Yes, "Transpotting" was the title of that movie I spoke about ( was it English or Scotish, not sure?). Saw it a long time ago and so people might no longer be able to find it as that was back in the Video Tape days. It presented such honest looking footage that it was almost a anti-drug film. Not recomended for a "fun time at the movies" but the impact of it makes it worth some sort of nomination as a cult classic.

I have on my list the moive Layer Cake which got a good review on some TV show I saw, as a "sleeper" movie (one not getting a lot of attention) what should be seen anyway because of it's merits. I have to make a list for my rental webpage where they send me three movies at a time and the next three when those are returned. So I add to my list every now and then.

I am thinking about adding the follow titles after researching "review" webpages and I hope they will be good ones.

Deja Vu.
Children of man.
Shaun of the dead.
Wild Hog.
A night at the musem.
Alpha Dog.
The Good Shepherd.
300.
Smokin' Aces.
The Queen.
The last king of Scotland.
The fountain.

A mixture of comedy, science-fi, action drama. (etc).

Later I will add some animated movies.

I hope I picked some good ones as I hate wasting time on movies that just don't make the grade. None of the ones I found seem super-good to me but ... that's Hollywood.

[Technosoul]

In the past I enjoyed the following DVDs and would recomend them to those who watch movies in those catagories.

1- Oh Brother, where art thou?. (soundtrack also good if you like vintage music).

A - a comical movie that sort of pokes fun at religion, politics, interllectual philosophy, mythology, gangsters and the police, marrage, cows, and other such things. As a group of ex-cons set off on a journey
to find wealth and end up meeting up with a number of people from a Bible salesman to the devil. It contains some sort of mythical theme about believing and being a con artist. Five stars on a five star chart.
The move was withdrawn or recalled so it is now a collector's item.

Memoirs of a Geisha. A wonderful story about a little girl who becomes a Geisha.

Lord of War with Nicolas Cage is worth watching. A person who works his way up in the business of international weapons sales, taking steps to avoid capture by the Feds. While also in pursuit of his dream girl. The movie debates the evils of gun trafficing while the plot unfolds.
It contains nudity, drugs, violence, and greed. And hints at a number of governmental conspiracy theories surrounding the business of international gun trafficing.

Moll Flanders staring Morgan Freeman was a touching story involving positution during the old horse and buggy days. Morgan is hired to rescure a little girl and to bring her back from a Nun-run house to a rich person who once had employed her mother, before the the little girl was seperated from her mother by the legal system. She is a little brat and hates everyone so he must educate her so she can live in that new invironment, which he does on the way to the New World .. America. Oh yeah... it has a surprise ending so that you will leave with a warm and fuzzy feeling. (if that is what you like from a movie?).

[Technosoul]

I got two more DVDs in the mail and watched them.

I was surprised that I really liked Flags of our Fathers which was directed by Clint Eastwood.

Now no special effects to write home about and the acting was okay but not Oscar material (as we already know).

It is not so much a movie about the flag photo or the historical facts about the raising of that flag, but more about heroism and what it means to the actural men who are involved in a war.

It deals with how the political establishment uses the idea of heroism to promote a war by gaining public support and related funding. And the movie deals with flashbacks and then what happens in the lives of some of our most known war heros after they are no longer newsworthy. And it shows the flip side of why heroism is so important to those remaining stateside. The script was well thought and very well directed. Based of course, on a true story. I would give it a high rating but some critics believe that the film de-values Old Glory, the flag. As a youngster I can recall how that famous photo of those men raising the flag had influenced me to want to become a photographer. Capturing an important moment in history for all time is a motivating goal for all news photographers.

Deja Vu was well acted and is a kind of Science fiction meets detective movie. Our hero is an investigator for the US government who arrives to find evidence after a terrorist bombing of a passinger boat. One bit in the movie about where the coffee pot is located was funny and yet realistic.

Our investigator soon is invited to watch a special replay of the events leading up to the bombing by D.O.D. scientists who had developed a remote viewing camera and montitor... and basically they can see into the past with that equipment. Needless to say a real scientist would find a number reasons not to believe the plot but that is beyond the point of watching this kind of movie. So our hero wants to find a way to cross into the past to prevent the terrorist bombing but the scientists had a theroy that such is not possible and so he gets mad "don't give me that science gibber, speak in plain English" and of course he gets them to send him over into that para-demensional time zone and it works, and he saves hundreds of people from dieing after some high action footage which is timed to "beat the ticking clock". Oh yeah, meanwhile he falls in love with a girl who he first saw via that remote viewing scope. And the movie ends when he first arrives to investigate the bombing (that never happened - well, not anymore,) and they both seem to know that they had met before but do not recall how, Deja Vu, which reminds me of some people in the hippy drug days who did not remember those drug days.

PS - those who go back can never return.



They tried to end the movie but could not do it in a sensible way and so the ending is all tangled up in a web of riddles that us viewers cannot un-scamble.

But if you just like a good ol' action film then ad it to your list.

I would rate it somewhere in the middle of the "star" scale.

[Mia]

'Queen' was good. Saw III was horrible. Those are two of the latest I've seen.

[kubedawg]

Office Space and The Shawshank Redemption are definitely must sees. Office Space, if you've ever worked in an office environment would make total sense and I can definitely relate to that movie, it's incredibly funny and spot on in ever aspect of it. The Shawshank Redemption is excellent too because of the story, and the constant questions in your mind, it's definitely a buy movie and not a renter.

A good series to watch is OZ, I'm watching it on HBO these days, I know they're reruns, but I never got the chance to watch em when they originally aired, and the storyline and twists and turns it takes is just phenomenal.

And finally, anything made by Quinten Tarrentino such as Kill Bill or Pulp Fiction are always good to have in your movie collection. I can't even count how many times I've seen Pulp Fiction. That man is simple a genius.

[iclaudius]

I've always been a big fan of Scorsese. I recommend Taxi Driver, GoodFellas, and Raging Bull with the highest honors. The Departed is pretty good, too, even if it is Scorsese on autopilot...

[Sonart]

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Ahhh, I see we can go back a ways... lessee, DVDs I thought were good enough to buy.

Cinema Paradiso -- Italian film with sub-titles... probably my favorite movie ever.

Gladiator -- for the soundtrack, if nothing else.

Silence of the Lambs -- Jodie Foster

Ghost Dog -- Forest Whittaker. Small and very odd film, but compelling and a great sound track.

The Italian Job -- Mark Wahlberg, Charleze Theron

Toy Story -- and 2

Searching for Bobby Fischer -- sweet story about a 7 yr old chess prodigy

Fresh -- totally not-so-sweet story about a young chess player. A young black boy, Fresh, uses his wayward father's lessons about chess, including sacrificing pieces, to play out a deadly plot to get himself and his sister out of the ghetto and away from the machinations of competing drug dealers.

Bandits -- Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchet

The Missing -- western, with Cate Blanchet and Tommy Lee Jones

A Very Long Engagement -- French film with sub-titles, Audrey Tautou, with a surprise appearance by Jodie Foster.

Shall we Dance -- Richard Gere and a stunning Jennifer Lopez


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[iclaudius]

Gladiator, the Toy Stories, Silence of the Lambs, Ghost Dog, and especially Cinema Paradiso (I assume we're talking about the remake from the 80's) are all great movies. Let me preface the following selections by saying that not all movies in black and white and/or with subtitles are boring.

You can't have a movie thread without mentioning Seven Samurai. It's in black and white and has subtitles. It's amazing.

City of God. It's a fast-paced little flick about the slums of Brazil. Often described as the Brazilian GoodFellas. Worth renting for the scene where a child is forced to choose another child to shoot. Yes, this movie has subtitles.

Sherlock Jr. Yes, it's a silent movie. But it's funny and fast-paced.

Annie Hall. It's neither silent nor subtitled, but I like to mention it because it's utterly hilarious.

Come and See (Idi I Smotri). One of the most disturbing and powerful war films ever made, dealing with the effect of WWII on non-soldier participants. Namely, children. It'll shake you to your very core. It's got subtitles, too.

FLCL. No, not really a movie, and actually, one of the few times I'd recommend the American voices over the original track. It's great because of the production values alone. Some people love Star Wars, some people love LOTR, I guess for me it'll always just be FLCL.

I guess that does it for now.