Last movie watched...

[JamesC]

Dune.

This was the first time I'd seen it all the way through.
I'm not really sure what to make of it. It's sort of brilliant yet utterly awful at the same time.
It's all a bit of a mess really, with some of the worst acting I've ever seen! The effects don't really stand up but some of the design is quite nice.
It's made me curious to read the - might see if it's in the library.

[Colin Zeal]

I'm not surprised The Sweeney was shit. I haven't seen it but what do you expect when both lead roles in a film are west ham fans? They can barely tie their own shoe laces let alone read a script.

[JamesC]

Dune.

This was the first time I'd seen it all the way through.
I'm not really sure what to make of it. It's sort of brilliant yet utterly awful at the same time.
It's all a bit of a mess really, with some of the worst acting I've ever seen! The effects don't really stand up but some of the design is quite nice.
It's made me curious to read the - might see if it's in the library.

Read the book.

Just to clarify! My girlfriend came home and told me all about her day halfway through (took awhile)!

[Mabs]

Wow, that was quick James! Dune is quite a dense read, so you must've read it non-stop without break!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I watched Black Swan last night with the missus; she thought it would be romantic thriller of some sort so imagine her shock when she saw it! As for me, I enjoyed it. Natalie Portman put in the performance of her life and was rightly rewarded with an Oscar. It was interesting to see her transformation from a timid girl to a fully fledged 'Black Swan' by the end, but the film did leave me with a lot of questions. There's no mistaking that Darren Afronsky did a great job direction wise, but the symptons of psychotic breakdown that the main character displays can be questionable. For instance, is she schizophrenic? If so people who have this illness are said to suffer audial hallucinations, not visual. She also showed signs of Bulimia and O.C.D, but rarely will you find someone suffering all three at once. This has also been highlighted by a lot of psychologists that have watched the film. Is she then, a victim of demonic possesion? Are her hallucinations brought on by some unseen malevolent entity? That would probably explain why she kept on seeing her double or doppelgänger. But then it can also be in her mind as her double is shown as being evil or dressed in black; the Black Swan so to speak, and a side of her that she has yet to find. To be honest the film would make more sense if that was the case (that it was supernatural), but it's very vague as to what she is suffering. But that did not detract from the fact that it was quite a scary and uncomfortable watch at times not to mention an intriguing watch,  the scenes of her transformation into the Black Swan were especially terrifying, and the ending although bleak, mirrors the actual story of Swan Lake. As I said, Natalie Portman was terrific in her role, she is of similar age to myself and I've been following her career from the very start, ever since she appeared in Leon. I remember having a crush on her as a kid when I saw her in that film! She is a terrific actor, but Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel were equally great in their respective roles, as was Barbara Hershey as the controlling mother.

I would give the film 4/5. An engaging, psycho-sexual thriller with some deeply unsettling moments and a superb turn from Portman.

[pictsy]

Underworld: Evolution
It's about as good as the first one.  One of the two leads seems like a spare wheel just as in the first film.  To the point where I've never thought of him as a lead but more an incidental character.  In the first film he was very much the damsel in distress - which I loved.  There should be more of it (like that guy who changed Donkey Kong for his daughter so the Princess saves Jump Man).  The second film lacked this so lacked that charm.  [spoiler]Flying bat guy[/spoiler] was pretty cool and I enjoyed the flashbacks.  A good sequel that followed on nicely from the first.  No Michael Sheen, which is a shame - he's a fine actor.

AvP  Yeah, I went for it.  So many things are wrong with this film and I still despise the setting and premise.  Seeing Predators wail on Aliens is pretty cool, but the Aliens aren't cool.  By this point they come across as little more than beasts and a lot of intelligence that was originally imbued in the Alien seems lost.  That is one of the minor gripes I have though.

I'll give some credit where I think it is due.  Sanaa Lathan did an excellent job in this movie and I find her character, Alexa Woods, a good representation of a strong female character.  She is the best thing about the film.  It's a shame that it's not a very good film.

[TordelBack]

Sanaa Lathan did an excellent job in this movie and I find her character, Alexa Woods, a good representation of a strong female character.  She is the best thing about the film.  It's a shame that it's not a very good film.

Agreed.  When I watched it many moons ago, she was about the only thing that gave me hope that the whole production's downward slide was going to bottom out at some point.  It didn't.

[TordelBack]

...she is of similar age to myself and I've been following her career from the very start, ever since she appeared in Leon. I remember having a crush on her as a kid when I saw her in that film!

Yeah, yeah, get your denials in first, you perv.   

I had the same problem with Drew Barrymore - sure she's only a few years younger than me.

[Mabs]

...she is of similar age to myself and I've been following her career from the very start, ever since she appeared in Leon. I remember having a crush on her as a kid when I saw her in that film!

Yeah, yeah, get your denials in first, you perv.   

I had the same problem with Drew Barrymore - sure she's only a few years younger than me.

Ha ha! No really, I was born in '81 (which makes me 32) so around the same age as Miss Portman! 

[Mardroid]

Gravity

I've seen reviews stating it was boring. I can understand why people think that, but I confess I rather enjoyed it.

I doubt I will get the DVD mind, but it was suitably tense in places and the 3D was used excellently.

Sandra Bullock was great in the role as well.

I was wondering how old she was, as she must be getting on a bit, but she still looks pretty young in the film.

One wiki later: 49. Wow.

[CheechFU]

I watched The Wolverine which was surprisingly not as bad as wolverine origins

[pictsy]

Wreck it Ralph

Not a great film.  I was enjoy this a lot more when I was ignoring it (was doing some sketches with it in the background).  When I started paying attention it became annoying.  Well, Sarah Silverman became annoying.  What am I saying?  Sarah Silverman has always been annoying.  I think the Toy Story for video games concept wasn't handled in any original way.  Infact, originality takes a back seat to what (apparently) works.  Except it doesn't really because it's all too predictable and all too cliche.

[Hawkmumbler]

Deranged is a fucked up little Canadian horror movie that depicts probably the most realistic interpretation of the life of Ed Gein. Not for the faint hearted but a riot fir anyone who likes there comedy black as coal. Great effects as well. It's not for the squeamish mind and is certainly very atmospheric with some set pieces being to grimy you can almost feel and smell it. Indeed, i was so impressed with it I'd rate it up with Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Evil Dead as horror classics and it really desserved more attention.

[Proteus4]

Stoker - I really rate Mia wasikowska since seeing her in In Treatment, and here she is in a chan wook park movie!!? Super. A very slow tense little gem that goes places you're not quite expecting. If you're going to watch it don't read anything about it first.

Elysium - finally got round to seeing this today. I loved District 9 but this was too similar and not as much fun. Shalto Copley was awesome though.

Dave

[pictsy]

AvP: Requiem
OK, it's not a good film.  It's bad for different reasons than the first one, however.  The terrible acting being one.  Stupid cliché high school jock bullies are another.  The Aliens seem to multiply like bacteria and the Predalien is somewhat underused.

So whilst I was watching this film I was wondering "why did I prefer this to the previous film?"  The only answer I can think of is AvPR is gruesome.  The horror of the Predalien was actually well conceived, especially the scene [spoiler]in the hospital with the pregnant women.[/spoiler]

Next up to watch... Predators

What is it I'm meant to look out for?  A death row prisoner and something to do with a large ship and weapons?

[TordelBack]

What is it I'm meant to look out for?  A death row prisoner and something to do with a large ship and weapons?

Just let it wash over you and see what lumps stick.