Last movie watched...

[House of Usher]

What I can't understand is why they went for Tangled as the title instead of Rapunzel.

Yes, it's stupid. On Radio 4 they said it was because Disney didn't want to restrict the film's appeal to an all-girl market by giving the film a girls' name for a title. It won't work, because even little kids aren't stupid. By opting to jettison the more obvious title, Disney may have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

[Roger Godpleton]

I enjoyed Tangled. The songs weren't that great but the animation was wel worth looking at and none of the characters were annoying.

[Ignatzmonster]

What I can't understand is why they went for Tangled as the title instead of Rapunzel.

Yes, it's stupid. On Radio 4 they said it was because Disney didn't want to restrict the film's appeal to an all-girl market by giving the film a girls' name for a title. It won't work, because even little kids aren't stupid. By opting to jettison the more obvious title, Disney may have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

I can see why. Cinderella, Snow White, The Little Mermaid etc all box office poison.

[Mardroid]

District 9
I know I'm late, but I get there in the end.

Great film, and a very original take. Alien Nation had a somewhat similar concept but those spotty heads were more integrated. As an extension of the apartheid premise, this was different.

I'm not clear why a bit of fluid from a ship fuel cell (or maybe it was just some kind of ignition fluid) would alter a human's DNA thought. I think they should have thought that through a bit more. I.e. It could have been something specifically made to do that, i.e an alien plot to make humans like themselves. Alternatively it might have been a defence mechanism but why do that? Wouldn't an electric shock or squirted acid make more sense?

It didn't spoil the main plot though. I'll admit, I wasn't too sure how it would be when faced with the extensive documentary style, but it ended up working well.

[Keef Monkey]

Last night pulled a double bill of Dead Snow and Alien.

Dead Snow is quite good, although it takes a while to start working. During the set-up it's not really that clear what it's going to be, it seems like a fairly straight-faced horror movie (and not a very good one), then about an hour in it settles on being a Braindead-style splatter comedy and pulls that off quite nicely. Some good deaths and a few laughs, not enough for a place in cult classic valhalla, but a fun and forgettable way to spend an evening.

And then to Alien. First time in HD for me, and it looks and sounds better than ever. The main thing that struck me this time round was that I must have seen this movie at least a dozen times (probably more like twice that) and even with that familiarity and in knowing exactly what's going to happen, I was still completely lost in it and on the edge of my seat. The tension is incredible, and it's amazing that even with it's age and that familiarity that it all (thoe Nostromo corridors, Tom Skerrits scene in the ducts, Ripley's incredible pants etc) still has the same effect on me, and while I'm not quite eagle eyed enough to spot what's been removed from this cut it does seem to roll along a lot better than the theatrical version. An astonishing movie.

[Strontium Claw]

I watched Inception for the first time the other day and found it to be pretty disappointing. It's very well directed and has some amazing sequences, but it's let down by the screenplay which has two significant weaknesses:

1. It has no story. None whatsoever. The plot is very straight forward and nowhere near as intelligent as it purports to be.

2. The characters were poorly developed so I didn't care what happened to them, a  particular problem given the dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream scenario which  means there's no sense of threat or danger.

I disagree with those points and ther relevance to the value of the film but I do not like the Bondesque snow scene which is just a silly indulgence much like the game theory boat rubbish at the end of Dark Night.

The points I made are entirely relevant to my enjoyment of the film. As ever, your mileage my vary. 

The snow sequence was silly, however it's one of the few moments where the film allowed itself to have some fun, I half-expected Roger Moore to show up and raise a quizzical eyebrow at the proceedings.

[chris_askham]

I watched The Road last night, and really enjoyed it in a gloomy depressing kind of way. One of the few films in recent times that has lived up to my expectations.

[radiator]

Is it just me that gets a bid fed up of people saying Inception "isn't as clever as it thinks it is"?

It's a big summer blockbuster effects movie, and comparing it to the likes of Transformers, yeah, it is pretty clever.

It's hardly purporting to be a deeply cerebral work of high art - it's a sci-fi action movie that gives you a little to think about.

[Hoagy]

I watched a vampire flick on beeb1 last night. Perfect Creature? Something creature...it started off visually, better than most recent vampire flicks. The Australian address and the steampunk setting were ultra-cool to begin with. The story dips a little bit with dismissal of the brotherhood material in its artillery, focussing more on the mad brother. Some unusual ideas though. And it wasn't that disappointing with its prophetic ending.

[Rog69]

I finally got around to watching Predators last night and although it was better than the recent AVP movies, it was still a bit meh. Very formulaic stuff.

[Jared Katooie]

Yeah, Predators was a real let-down. I don't know why I keep going to see Robert Rodriguez movies. On paper they sound like exactly the sort of films I want to see, but when I see the finished product...

I did sort of enjoy Machete, but it could have been a lot better.

[chris_askham]

Yeah, Predators was a real let-down. I don't know why I keep going to see Robert Rodriguez movies. On paper they sound like exactly the sort of films I want to see, but when I see the finished product...

I did sort of enjoy Machete, but it could have been a lot better.

I thought Planet Terror was a work of genius.

[COMMANDO FORCES]

I watched Salt followed by The Green Hornet in the wee hours this morning, mainly due to boredom.
Salt was an enjoyable action flick with some excellent action sequences, even if it was just a wee bit far fetched. On the other hand I found that The Green Bee Hornet was very of it's kind and the only thing that saved it was the Kato fight sequences.

[mogzilla]

well the last one was zatoichi but i "taped" carriers the other night which i shall watch with a brew later.

Which Zatoichi? There's a bunch of those guys.

the one with the tap dancing routine at the end.

we just got back from "tangled" brilliant stuff. fave character had to be te old man in the snuggly duckling

[Tiplodocus]

Just back from TANGLED myself.  A well above average effort with some great songs (Mother Knows Best and I Have A Dream), a believably spunky heroine, lovely use of light and colour (OK, the hero is actually orange and teal), a brilliantly evil witch who isn't an evil witch at all (and more than a little foxy) and great animal sidekicks.

They should have kept one of the three standout sequences (Flynn's first encounter with Maximus, the birthday dancing and the sky lanterns) till the end though.

And Tiny Tips points out that the hero, like Aladdin, starts off as a thief. So all of you gangster movie naysayers will hate it.