yeah, I know. But I thought with ewan and scarlett, it might have at least been passable. 

The good bit was when Michael Clarke Duncan got dragged away screaming. I swear, that actor could be in the best comedy of the year and I'd still be moved. Other than that, just another shite film.

Best film of the year - Crash. It's just one of those films that I think about for ages after having watched it, trying to decipher exactly how each character changed and why. 10/10

Second best film of the year - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. I wasn't expecting much when I went to see this, but it turned out to be a really amazing black comedy. Laugh-out-loud moments, with a bit of thinky murder mystery and some light action for good measure! 9/10. 

Went to the movies and saw this political conspiracy thriller starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz and directed by the guy who did City of God.

It showed lots of promise but unfortunately came out as above average. The overall story was pretty good but the script iself was a bit of a mess. The acting was strong, both leads were very good, but the direction was distracting and disjointed. 

Robots - blah. Some nice animation but this is far far off from Pixar quality animated films. Very weak script.


Ikiru - I found this to be just above average. Well made and reasonably acted but far too long and heavy handed to be great. But given the status of the film, I'm obviously in the minority. 

Ring Two - This has been panned heavily and not without reason, the script is awful (especially the anticlimax) and downright absurd.

But it's also difficult to not see director Hideo Nakata's skill. Considering the script, this is quite a well directed film. Nakata manages to weave some delightfully twisted stuff into an otherwise messy film. And despite all its faults, the script does have some interesting ideas. Having Naomi Watts, who always makes things watchable, also helps.

A definite failure, but an interesting one. 

By Shambler.

1. The Agreement:

I agree that Robots was shite. Whether other such cartoons had cuteness combined with depth of perception and adult wryness, this had some cuteness combined with pure cheese.

2. The Opinion:

March Of The Penguins - I saw this recently, it was great. Almost the entire film has anything from 1 to about 2000 penguins in shot at any time, and they are very cool and cute. They waddle, shuffle, flap, scoot on their bellies, honk, kiss, stand around pondering the antartic world, and huddle together against 100mph winds. Okay so it's a documentary but since penguins are inherently cool and a lot of the footage is excellent, this was very nice.

3. The questions:

Is King Kong any good?

Is Narnia any good?

...

The End. 

I enjoyed King Kong immensely. One of my fave movies I've seen this year.

Start of the movie seems a bit slow, but serves well to introduce the characters and their various motives. And the characters had great growth throughout the film and only Jack Black's character felt somewhat dull (seemed like he was very one dimensional, which perhaps fitted his character, I just wish there was more to him). The female lead was absolutely awesome, definetely the strongest character. Glad she wasn't just there as just a 'damsel in distress'.

In any case, the movie was well worth seeing, and if given the chance, I'd go again. It was alot of fun. I'm already planning to buy the DVD when it comes out. 

Saw this last Sunday, and I wrote a lengthy review for another site, but I'll just give you the short version here:

Having never read the books, I approached this film not really knowing what to expect, but after all the ridiculous HYPE we've been fed by the media during the build up to this film (they basically marketed this film to be the next Lord of the Rings), I'm sure I can be forgiven for having at least [i]some[/i] expectations when I walked into the theatre.

I couldn't have been more disappointed.

The four child actors, with the possible exception of the one playing Lucy, were so flat and one-dimensional that never for one moment did I believe that they had any sort of emotional investment in the world, let alone the motivation to put their lives on the line for the big climactic battle. (Ok it's a kid's film, suspension of disbelief and all that - but that's still no excuse for shoddy acting). The children's sudden and inexplicable aquisition of awesome combat skills is a bit of a stretch to say the least.

Whilst the film seems slow in places, events often move quickly and jarringly, as if the film suffered a lot in the cutting room in order to squeeze it into 140 minutes. This hurried approach never allowed me a chance to give a shit about any of the supporting characters they introduced, leaving me going "meh" when they kick the bucket a couple of scenes later.

Visual effects-wise, the film is mostly excellent, highlights being the CG creature animation, in particular that of Aslan's. Some CG effects were a bit hit-and-miss, with some of the background compositing being very weak.

The rather predictable big battle at the end is the only entertaining sequence in my opinion, but it is still a fairly obvious and unimaginative attempt to duplicate a LOTR-style clash of armies. Much more build-up than actual battle, the build-up is good even though it does rip off Peter Jackson's imagery practically shot-for-shot. Once the swords clash though, it quickly fizzles out into a fairly directionless melee that's over before you've really had a chance to appreciate it.

I'll try and end on a high note by mentioning what did work. Tilda Swinton as the White Witch was pretty good (hers and Lucy's being the only noteworthy acting performances in the film really). The beavers were well voiced, other creatures not so (Liam Neeson was a poor choice for Aslan, and what's the deal with the American lead wolf?) Other than the battle, the film managed to distance itself visually from LOTR far more than I expected really, which is definately to director Adamson's credit. 

the female lead was naomi watts, who like I said in my ring two blabber is watchable in just about anything. 

the female lead was naomi watts, who like I said in my ring two blabber is watchable in just about anything.


That scene of Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive near the end of the movie. You know the one I'm talking about! 

Naomi Watts was good in that movie. Many others thought so too since she's landed so many good roles after that.

Don't degrade. 

Not Naomi Watts, you. 

big, dumb and silly with a poor climax, but lots of fun. Does exactly what it sets out to do and is very enjoyable in that regard.

And angelina is smoking. 

Yes, was fun and a bit disappointing at the same time. I wish it had taken them longer to work out what was going on and start to outright kill each other. The action sequences were just boring. 

but what about brad? 

was he in the movie :) 

King Kong is a rather long movie, so if you like long movies don't miss this one!

Also: Worms. 

This french psychological melodrama has to have one of the most unsympathetic and unlikable characters to ever grace the screen. I just wanted to smash his head in.

The actor that played this character didnt help either, putting in a very phony and mannered performance. The direction was poor as well, relying on cheap cliches.

The one saving grace was Emanuelle Beart, who seemed to be chanelling Brigitte Bardot. 

Fantastic Four - what a non event of a film. There is nothing worth watching here. Nothing.

Forget the acting, script etc, the actual special effects are some of the most badly integrated in recent years. Everything looks so fake except for The Thing's costume, the one thing that wasnt CG. Even Hulk and Daredevil, bad as they were, had some aspects worth watching.


The Professionals - I'm not usually a big fan of westerns but this is a very good one. Great casting and excellent dialogue. Conrad J Hall's cinematography is also great. 

The Professionals got me in the mood for some more Western action and I tried out Sam Peckinpah's acclaimed film.

This is very very good, one of those few films that can pull you into their world and make you feel as if you're there. There is a rawness to it all, and also a sense of very refined filmmaking.

If anything, the plot's a bit too meandering, but apart from that, this is great. 

A Bittersweet Life - korean gangster flick/noir by the same director who did A Tale of Two Sisters.

And like a Tale of Two Sisters, this is a very stylish film. Some very good cinematography and nice action sequences. It's a very predictable, pulpy film though, going through every crime/noir cliche in existence.

In the end, like A Tale of Two sisters, it turns out to be above average fare. 

And anyone else.

I don't know whether it is socially acceptable to like Minority Report, but I certainly did. Was on Xmas TV the other night and I'm glad I watched it. Smart, pretty stylish, good blend of action and plot, and an entertaining progression that kept me interested. On the downside there were some silly moments, some triteness, and the integration of hi-technology was unconvincing, but overall a cut about most sci-fi thrillers I felt. 

I didnt mind minority report myself, I thought the first half hour was pretty good. I just thought the twist at the end was kind of unnecessary. It may have been better if they stopped it at the point where tom cruise's character was arrested and shown going down the elevator into captivity. 

I haven't sat through a movie in ages, but I just saw 'War of the Worlds' with Tom Cruise.

The special FX were awesome and the movie started out decently enough. The problem is that the tension and suspense that come when the invasion first begins never stops through out the movie!

I kept waiting for a break or some plot development or character development or something -- but none to be had. It was just one tense "escape from the alien" scene after another.

The ending was totally unbelievable and abrupt. I thought Tom Cruise was good, but I would have liked to have seen some more acting besides the little girl screaming and Tom Cruise flipping out.

2 out 5 stars 

was glad that this was all there was :

"It was just one tense "escape from the alien" scene after another."


That is much better than most blockbusters that try to include a b grade story. The film didnt pretend to be anything more than what it was and that is ok in my book.

And I can see people having issues with the ending, but a similar number of people would have complained if it was changed fromt he book's ending.