I mean the entire movie is not as good as the original.
If you thought the story of the first one was bad, this one is a willion times worse.
Hello now we are in a simulation of someones mind in a simulation of the world and we are experiencing time as a simulation of ones soul's craving for a reality without simulation and basset hounds are an integral part of a metaphysical mirror of simulated simula. 

Heh, I liked Ghost in the Shell 2, but I'm a huge fan of the first one (which is still find alot better). But I'm a sucker for "metaphysical etheric phantom japanese spirit nonsense", hehe. I thought the themes where quite different from the first movie, and Avalon (czg's last post looks more like a description of Avalon to me, hehe). But yeah, if you didn't like the first movie, there's little chance you'll like the second.

I saw House of Flying Daggers too recently, I really enjoyed it, but you have to imagine it as some kind of legendary tales (= lots of dramatic exageration), visuals are definatly great anyways, and some nice classix wuxia martial arts ideas.

Also saw Nobody Knows, really nice japanese movie about abandoned kids in Tokyo, if you really want to see what Tokyo looks like without going there, check this out. Quite sad movie tho, the kids did an incredible job acting.

Bleh, bear you bastard you watched Appleseed before me... Have to see it.

/me runs off yay! 

House of Flying Daggers is out in your area already? Have you seen Banlieue 13, and if so is it good? I wanted to see both of those, but I'm not sure if Banlieue is my thing. 

Banlieue 13 looks just plain stupid... =) Stupid french gangstah shit. 

really? i saw a trailer for it, kinda looked neat. oh well, i'll wait til ong bak gets released. 

Spongebob was funny, I thought. I mean, sure -- it was a kid's movie, but for that it was funny. Of course, I'm a big fan of lower-grade humor...

Finally saw Shrek2, which was good but didn't hit the same spot as the original. It was more of a congenial flick, not as wacky as the first.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch -- waiting on my region 1 uncut version of Ichi the Killer and Gozu to arrive (should be in by Monday). Ooh, Miike goodness. 

Avalon did it for me despite the lack of Basset Hounds.

GITS impressed me so much I was inspired to write a paper "Consciousness, AI and the Love that Dare not Speak Its Name." Yes, I was able to work a reference to goatse into a philosophical text. Probably won't see Innocence antil it's part of the 6 for $10 deal at the DVD hire place.

I was bored shitless during all but 12 seconds of Shrek2.

Looking to pick up Invader Zim Volumes 1-3 before the year is out... Doom, D'Doom, Doom! 

...was the worst movie I've seen this year. That is all. 

as overrated as Spirited Away. By no means a bad film, but just an above average one with stunning animation. 

Just one question:

What DO you like in a film?? What really gets you and appeals to you??

I ask this because I view you as Func_Q#TF's resident film critic and you certainly seem to opine on them with knowledge and passion - but sometimes I just think your taste is ass and can't make any sense of it... 

I thought I'd try not to describe it as 'incredible', but that's just what it is. Fucking awesome stuff.
Pixar �wns meh, Brad Bird (The Iron Giant) �wns meh. 

Getting all the reviews off the net and all the tie-in products months before the movies themselves get released. You can opine knowledgably about 'em without ever having to see the movie at all. 

'Overrated' isn't a criticism of a movie, it's a criticism of the people who talk about it.

I liked Spirited Away a lot more than Mononoke mainly becuase the story was more interesting to me. It's an Alice in Wonderland story and they did a good job with the wonderland. I'll agree with you, nitin, that neither are Great Films, but just because a movie has a bunch of slobbering fanboys doesn't make it any worse in my estimation. 

yeah, I generally agree with that statement.

Anyway, what I didnt like about both films (although it's more an issue with Mononoke than Spirited Away) was a very disjointed narrative that meandered along and ended up going on for far too long.

The Alice in Wonderland concept was realised very well in Spirited Away but it went for 2+ hours, running out of steam about a half our before the end. 

I cant really pinpoint what exactly I like in a film but I guess I value a good script over anything else. By good, I dont mean that it necessarily has to be an original concept or quirky or innovative. It does, however, have to a fully realised cohesion of ideas rather than just a half baked concept which sounds cool when you write a summary about it. And good dialogue helps too.

Of course, if this is then joined with some nice visuals and/or acting, then we're getting somewhere.

but sometimes I just think your taste is ass and can't make any sense of it

Well, maybe it is :) I dont really have a particular genre etc that I really focus on, I just try to watch heaps of stuff and comment on what I like/dislike.

If it's any help, go through this list of stuff that I've seen and have, I've rated evrything out of four. I know ratings are not necessarily the best way, but it might help you to get an idea of what I do like.

http://www.dvdaficionado.com/dvds.html?cat=1&sub=All&id=nitin 

I meant good performances rather than good acting in the second paragraph there. To explain that, Indiana Jones was a good performance even though it wouldnt count as good acting. Also, Raiders of the Lost Ark was a good script in my book. 

I Robot - above average sci fi blockbuster with some excellent CGI and action sequences. Alex Proyas's vision of the future is also one of the coolest ever implemented. Too bad it's all ruined completely by Will Smith and his black homeboy act. Oh, and it's nothing like Asimov's short stories so dont go in expecting that.

Infernal Affairs - classy hong kong crime thriller but a bit too overstylized. In the hands of someone who is less infatuated with visual pyrotechnics, this could have been a spectacular suspense film. As it stands, it's a cool, slick, well made genre film. 

I saw that movie a few months ago when it was released against my will and demanded my friend pay for the ticket afterwards. It isn't above average, it's below any form of standards.

The acting while mostly terrible was made even worse when Smith would bring out his inner "BLACK" when it was convienent. Such as the last line he says to the CPU thing... "Oh you gotta die!" with all his black attitude. The rest of the film he's just normal, but during key instances such as that he totally breaks character. ANNOYING.

The damn robot friend of theirs was able to emote more feeling than the entire real cast. PATHETIC.

Also how are we to expect thats what the world will be like in just 30 years or whatever. I mean they fucked so much with the original story why couldn't at least make the date a bit more believable? I don't expect to be seeing the Lake Michigan Landfill anytime soon, do you?

Avoid this movie. 

+ Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Interesting concept but it reminded me alot of Vanilla Sky, although this is more cheeky in tone. I enjoyed Carrey's acting despite the fact that the friend I watched it with told me some parts of Jim's character, remind him of me. Anyway, this movie was hard to follow initially and I think it requires 2 or 3 viewings to completely understand. But it is worth a watch.

+ The Ladykillers
I was anxious to see Hanks in this and his acting was interesting... I just kept thinking of his acting in "Big" and how he's evolved from there. Most of the characters throughout provide the comic relief, but while I expected the movie to be funny enough to watch again, I didn't find that. Yet I'd still suggest to see it at least once. I think it has to grow on you. 

I really liked it. 

Hellboy
Saw Hellboy. It was OK, some decent effects, no real sense of danger and the monster fights weren't very entertaining overall. Story didn't seem urgent or make me care.

Dawn of the Dead remake
Great movie. I thought everything was good. Unrated widescreen version. Good shit. 

One movie where I prefered the remake. Good scary stuff. 

Too bad it's all ruined completely by Will Smith and his black homeboy act.

Looks like we agree on the same point.

Oh, and it's nothing like Asimov's short stories so dont go in expecting that.

I read somewhere that the script was written before they tacked the name I, Robot onto it. I mean all it really has in common with the stories is a chracter called Calvin and the 3 laws. 

Eternal Sunshine is the best movie of 2004 so far, comparing it to Vanilla Sky is a sin. In fact, comparing any movie to Vanilla Sky is a crime. 

But Harlan Ellison once wrote an excellent adaptation of the stories. It sounds like they didn't use that version from the descriptions you guys give. Oh. well.