8 1/2 (1963). The opening scene of 8 1/2 reveals two things, that this film is going to be brilliant and difficult. It does not disappoint on either account, but it is a little deceptive at first in its delivery, almost threatening to become a rather drab affair with no reason to stick around. But Fellini's classic goes from being a smug and pretentious innuendo to a movie that threatens, almost challenges the viewer to figure what is real, dream, memory, and fantasy. The import of such a tactic is to help the viewer come face to face with the film's protagonist, a movie director with a litany of problems. In doing so we are transported into the mind of director Guido, a mind offended by reality and prone to any form of escapism, but whose dreams relentlessly reflects his problems and that their owner be he.

At this first viewing I took home much of the message, but 8 1/2 is a movie that will likely take several viewings to understand its many nuances, its profound images and symbolic messages, but such drivel is not going to champion my common sense and instead I will carry forth with this more than imperfect review.

The story is both simple and complex. On the simple side is a director forced to face problems that are of his own creation. But this film is weary of any hint of linear direction, and as such it is never apparent what mythic form of reality is being composed onscreen, and it does this seamlessly and without warning. Confusing for sure, for those with even the slightest capacity to keep up, these building realities show how Guido is forced to come to terms with himself, his situation, and his people. This nonlinear story is also the only way that the audience could ever come to understand Guido the man, a blatantly imperfect individual that enjoys audience affection despite his depravities. Once this becomes apparent, as each and every scene opens up the world as perceived by Guido, more and more are we able to be entertained by his antics, his escapism, and even the final moment when self revelation will either make or break him. If still in doubt, the infamous harem scene is reason enough to take in the whole of this demanding film.

The acting was phenomenal. Mastroianni leads 8 1/2 as a director that has lost his vocational way amongst the throngs of people that all want something from him, warranted or not. There is not a stinker amongst this unruly crew, but a special note must be offered to a buxom Eddra Gale for her stunning personification of a shameless lack of self-consciousness by way of a rumba. She embodies her whole girth with such aplomb that she becomes alluring despite her absence of pulchritude.

Writer/director Federico Fellini accomplishes a masterpiece in this semi-autobiographical work that incongruously takes a personal problem and exploits its artistic potential for all that it's worth. The technicalities are nigh perfect. The photography, lighting, audio, etc., are all memorably used to stuff this movie so full of meaning that repeated viewings is almost part of the audience's unwritten contract.

In the end, the answer that is found is so simplistic that it almost seems unnecessary, but as the rest of us humans cannot accomplish the simple art that our director friend has finally discovered, it obviously needed to be put onto a silver platter for the rest of us knuckleheads to have a chance at its grasp.
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Neds (Non-Educated DelinquentS) (2010)

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>>: B+

Maximum Overdrive (1986)

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>>: C+

"The adjustment bureau" 5-6/10

A very pale love version of The Matrix.

They should've been using the doors a LOT more.

Had a movie binge with a mate yesterday and I saw The Adjustment Bureau and I agree more of the doors would have been welcome it was more of a love story-it had potential but more could have been done with it. I also saw The Resident, Wolvesbane, Hyenas and Primal

Black Swan: Great movie. It's a no-brainer why Natalie Portman won the Oscar. She was amazing on all counts.

I also saw The Mechanic which was a bit of a joke really but I did laugh a lot :)

I watched "Death Watch" and "Wilderness" on Netflix recently. Best horror movies I've seen in years.

I Spit on Your Grave (2010). Excellent movie!

I agree.......she did an excellent job playing a very messed up ballerina!

Mindhunters (2004) Against my better sense, I am giving this movie the time of day out of utter boredom, that and the fact that IMDB has this listed at 6.2 when it should be in the moderate production-value rubbish bin. The actors are off the hook this time, but I do hope that their agents received a not so gentle scrubbing after recommending this to Kilmer, Slater and crew. #failure. Let's begin with the story, a friggin' whodunit that keeps the viewer guessing at why the hell he or she is still sitting there. To help keep the confusion coming, good guys suddenly start acting like cereal killers, retardedly reverting back to heroics to save the day. The action sequences were fabulous muddles of action that could have been better if they were choreographed by my autistic baby nephew. The guy that did the CGI should have first learned how to turn on the computer. And that music, thanklessly prying my agonized brain away from the stupidity of the plot to get a laugh at music that was probably stolen from the local kindergarten art production facility. So there it is, my sales pitch that time would be better spent yelling out racial slurs in East LA, where at least the thrills are certain to be realistic.
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Amityville Horror (2005):

I meant to download the original, but ended up with this. While it's not a terrible movie on it's own, it's a piss-poor remake. Now it's been quite awhile since I've seen the original, but I remember it really being about an evil house. Not ghosts. An evil house. Which in my opinion is way scarier than a haunted house. With ghosts there is the possibility of getting rid of them. But what do you do with a house that's evil to it's core? You listen to the disembodied voice and "Get out." But the remake goes full on with the haunted house angle which killed the whole vibe of the story if you ask me.

Bad Boy Bubby:

Wow. This is a pretty odd one. On one hand it's a movie with some serious flaws. Apparently Australians don't care too much about a mentally deficient killer who randomly grabs women's breasts in their midst. Even with a huge reward for his arrest, people just don't care. They just ignore the bad side of Bubby and welcome him into their lives wholeheartedly. I found that to be a huge plot hole. I also wasn't thrilled about the rather heavy-handed social message towards the end, but it was at least somewhat in context. Somewhat. But then there's the rest of the movie which is great. I found that even with the rather slow pacing, I was always on edge. What was Bubby going to do next? How far would he go? The tension just does not let up throughout the movie. Not a movie for everyone due to the pacing, but very well done and worth watching.

Elvis actually confirmed how accurate this kinda behaviour was of his Oz Neighbours.

I love that film...Everyone I've recommended it to loved (except those whoe never spoke to me again).

Rango

Actually I really liked it, the Man With no Name references, the Hunter S. Thompson stuff... a real riot. The action scenes were very well done, the comedy was goofy, and the characters were likable enough. Actually put me in the mood to watch a "proper" Western, I'll probably pick this one up when it's released.

The Clinic (2010)

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>>: B-

Sex Drive (2008)

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>>: B+

Frankenstein (1994)

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>>: C

The Mist

I really enjoy this film - far more than I thought I would. I just love the examination of a society forming in the times of crisis and what that stress does to people.

THE ROAD - Excellent but extremely bleak. No soft fluffy Holywood feel good factor to this movie. Just the stark reality of the end of civilisation.

THE ORPHANAGE - Typical Guillermo del Toro quality ie. first rate. Thought provoking ghost story that's not just a chiller. A strong 'don't repeat the mistakes of the past' message.

For those of you who have seen both of the above, I think you'll agree, I could hardly have selected a better pair of movies to watch over the weekend.

Burke & Hare - I was a little disappointed with this.The film wasn't in any way bad,it just didn't really excel in any way.The main problem for me was the humour,while Burke & Hare is mildly amusing,the gags and set pieces didn't quite hit the bullseye,not for me at least. 6/10

I've had Burke and Hare recommended to me but I'm a little dubious about it. I don't know if I'll enjoy it-I may watch it eventually but it seems to be one of those movies to watch if you're really bored.

How does it compare to Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz?

I feel pretty much the same as DP McCoy about Burke and Hare...

I feel it was no where near as good as SOTD and though I'm not mad about Hot Fuzz it still wasn't as good.

"Drive Angry" 8/10

Except for the final kill, which blew, i enjoyed this movie quite a lot.


Cage was totally bad-ass. The girl totally hot. And this dude..


http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p...ve-angry-2.jpg


Hilarious.

House of Wax

It (1990)

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It's been a long time since I saw this first time. I can recall how much excited I was to see this movie back then when my bro first told me about IT in his usual but exciting way to tell a good story very briefly but enough to make anyone eager to see/read the film/story in a hurry. That's one good quality which I can hardly see these days on anyone I know here in BD.

>>: B+

Sweet Sixteen (1983)

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>>: C

I agree not nearly as good as SOTD or Hot Fuzz,it just didn't entertain me or make me laugh like those two films did.

Drive Angry - Trashy,eardrum bursting,violent fun. 7/10

I agree about the final kill,it was disappointing.

Also agree about William Fichtner as the Accountant,he completely stole the film.

"Rango"

Very funny

True.

The scenes he was in were the highlights of this flick.

Cold Prey 3 (2010)

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Under the influence of 70's & 80's American Slasher films, Norwegian Cold Prey 1 & 2 were the best slasher outputs that we got in last decade. Both were beautifully filmed & able to made a mark as a fresh franchise among the slasher fans worldwide. I Loved them both. So after the success of first 2 films here comes the 3rd entry which is actually a prequel or evolves around the origin story of the Mountain Man killer. As a great fan of the first 2 films I was expecting a lot from this but surprisingly it turned out pretty lame for me. There wasn't anything significant they able to added in the main "origin part" of the story, moreover they changed the whole premise from snow covered mountain area with that big creepy abandoned hotel and then set the whole events into the woods. The group of victims more or less filled with uninteresting characters and also there weren't enough well shot decent kills this time. Overall, as a slasher it isn't too bad but surely it's a disappointment as a prequel of its original films.

>>: B-

Roshiq I'm looking forward to seeing Sweet 16 is it good?I also want to see Girl School Screamers-have you?

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974): Classic. I haven't seen this one in so long that I honestly had forgotten most of it so it was almost like watching a new movie again.

Rubber: Huh. Not exactly what I was expecting, but good overall. Very quirky and I could see a good many people not liking this one at all. I could even see some people turning it off within 10 minutes if not sooner. It's a very odd duck. It feels almost like a film student's final project. Not to say that's a bad thing, but the movie seems to have an air of "I'm trying really hard to be as un-mainstream as possible" about it which I have come to expect from film students. But it still has an interesting enough plot to keep me watching from start to finish. I have to say that the movie is absolutely beautifully shot. The angles, composition, and lighting are all done so incredibly well. It's almost worth it to watch the movie for that alone.

Black Christmas (2006). Though a total disappoint for hard core fans of the original, this remake takes on a rather formidable job and accomplishes it handsomely. It does this in two ways. First, it adds some more back story to the killer. This works because we already know the killer, and to try to keep it a mystery until would be silly. Second, it is more a comedy with some entertaining kills than a horror whodunit. In my book, to have made such a fun remake in the face of scorn is itself a triumph.

The acting was standard fare for the genre. The impressive achievement here was the use of actresses of a similar caliber and which all seemed to enjoy a similar significance in the eyes of the audience. All of the characters were different enough to get the audience to care about each of them, making it hard to guess which one would pull through to the end. In this sense the movie is not so much a whodunit it but rather a who makes it.

The direction was solid, and that Bob Clark, the director of the original, was on hand as a consultant shows that these movie makers paid their due homage to the original. The one area that was way above average was the photography. While the "groundbreaking" techniques of the original were employed out of respect, the camera's lens was employed in spectacular fashion as if a voyeur or even from big brother's omniscient eye. As well, awkward angles, heck just about every shot known to elicit viewer conviction, was used to full effect without being obtrusive. This alone should have garnered it a better rating at IMDB, but those clones make better lamb chops than reviewers.

In all, this was a marvelously entertaining remake that for the most part does not take itself too seriously, and by "for the most part" I mean the casting, because this is one of the few flicks that might challenge Sick Nurses (2007) in its platter of smoking hot actresses.
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Sweet 16 is very average time waster, the killer is quite predictable. I haven't seen Girl School Screamers...even just heard of it for the first time.

last seen:

TRON (1982)

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>>: B+

TRON: Legacy (2010)

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I liked this idea of a sequel almost 30 years later instead of remaking the original. A very decent & fine follow up for an 80's cult favorite sci-fi feature. But I think the appropriate title would be AFTER TRON: CLU LEGACY or AFTER TRON: A COUP FROM CLU!:D

>>: B+

"Twilight: Eclipse" 3/10

Seriously, is there any men out there who likes this franchise? Who's not gay.


I personally can't stand it. And i want the slutty bitch dead.

tryhdgffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Dogtooth (2009). Going in cold is the best choice for a movie such as Dogtooth. As it began, I could not help but wonder about the acting. Are these horrible actors, or is this some unfathomable aspect of Greek culture that has yet to permeate into Western Civilization, or is this supposed to be a discombobulating factor of this movie whose achievements could not be greater? That said, I was not in the least disappointed. This is not a movie for everyone though. Hate to throw in even a micro-spoiler, but for those squeamish of animals violence then you may wanna stay away. Disturbing subjects and taboos are broached with the innocence of a child armed with a lighter and a captured butterfly, brutality with a cruel innocence (this is not a spoiler). Also, this movie lives in the realm of the askew, where the movie proper really does not make sense for some time, but rather accomplishes its ineffable feat by creating such an intriguing backdrop that its confusion gets relegated into the background of insignificance.

Thankfully, as this highly original flick moves forward, some sense is made of its scrubby nature, and the initial confusion is replaced with a discomfiture as to how we should be feeling. Towards the end, the whole of the story begins to congeal, and even the ridiculous dialog begins to reveal its profundity. For those looking for the greater social significance, this movie should easily provide fodder for further contemplation of the world today.

The acting was astounding once I got used to it. More so, to have behaved otherwise would have been absurd, for such bizarre circumstances must make for rather untoward behavioral incongruities. The rather small cast steps up to the challenge with aplomb, and any addition to this small bounty of disarraying talent would have been too off-putting for most audiences.

Writer/director Giorgos Lanthimos does a spectacular job here in taking a difficult subject and creating high art out of it. Even halfway through, when I had no clue as to what was going on, I was glued to the screen, more intrigued by the screen than is a cat with his prey. The photography was difficult yet important, and in the beginning it worked miracles creating an emotionally distanced attachment to the characters, perfectly manipulative for all the right reasons.

At its conclusion, the initial feelings of cinematic distrust are largely replaced by a sort of pride for having stuck through this one coupled with a wary unease as to how such a perverse story could strangely parallel the world as it is today.
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Battle LA
I liked it...one of the better "invasion" movies of the last few years.
For those who have played "Resistance" it's more or less like a movie version (In fact, they actually had a resistance 3 billboard type thing in there) of that.
Some great effects, and yeah basically the whole film goes from 0-100 within the first 15 minutes...the whole thing is one big shitfight...
Aaron Eckhart, I usually look past him but he plays a great part in this one.
It's tense, it's sad, great atmosphere...and the firefights are just...insane.
I'd 8/10 this one, and will be promptly purchasing the BluRay.

- B

I want whoever responsible for the celluloid treatment of the franchise DEAD! As far the whole thing is progressing I think it'd be more appropriate if they can show later that both the vampire boy & the werewolf boy dumped the girl & get engaged with each other and they stand together to fight against each others clan!

The Italian Job


so much better than the remake

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Both of them dumping the girl would not only be the right thing to do. It would also be hilarious. :D