The MOVIE REVIEW Thread

[jahypee09]

Apocalypto

 

Didn't think I would enjoy this movie but I actually did. The trailers/ads I saw made me think differently about it. I thought it would be a movie of grand proportions like the disaster/end-of-the-world type movies but I was wrong. The story is quite simple but nice.

 

 

 

 

Ghost Rider

 

Entertaining, fun watch. Fight scenes were abit short and seemed too easy for GR but i guess the emphasis is on his origins.

 

It's so cool when he laughs while in GR form.

[Cmayfrayna]

ghost rider.....

 

 

a bit disappointing for me.......sure the transformation was cool but every thing else is really not that good.....well at least it wasnt as bad as alexander( i was pestering my gf to go home and rather watch the replay of xmen evolution hehehe) and the thin red line(literally put me to sleep)

[Brian®]

GHOST RIDER

 

The effects was sooo cool. Not much battle scenes though. I like the mythology of it. It justs put the Ghost Rider as somewhat invincible. The way he fought off much of the villains like it was a walk in the park, that I didn't like. I read that the DVD version will feature an extended cut, about 30 mins of scenes that they put out for pacing. All in all its not a bad movie. I'll be anticipating a sequel for this.

[Anito]

really... maybe ill wait for ghost rider on dvd.

 

hey, i just found out about this movie yesterday, i thought this was a new movie of Tom Cruise and cameron.

and i just realized after finishing the movie it was made last 2001.

 

http://pics23.webs-tv.net/6/userfile/p/peishian/blog/d0d2fced.jpg

 

id rate this 5/5 with originality, and this movie really had a good message. the ending is kinda lonely, but still a nice movie to watch. and yeah pnelope showed her cute tite. haha

 

 

 

 

anybody here already watched 300?

[cumshot]

the fountain

 

if you're expecting a romantic flick, you'll be disappointed. the latest darren aronofsky is filled with stunning visuals, jaw-dropping sets and rachel weisz is an eye-candy. but the storyline is weak and confusing.

 

the story revolves around three time frames, the past, the present and the future. hugh jackman plays a conquistador who is in search of a mysterious "plant of life" that would make the queen (rachel weisz) immortal after she had been sentenced to die by the Inquisitor.

 

Segue to the present times, hugh jackman is a doctor working on a cure to eradicate brain tumors with the help of the bark of a mysterious plant. he is working to the point that he is already obsessed with the result because his wife pala is dying... and he is racing against time to save her. His wife is a writer who wrote the book entitled "the fountain" and she wants him to write the ending after she dies.

 

There are scenes na sumisingit about hugh jackman in another timeframe. parang he's in another planet with the tree of life...

ayun yung mga scenes dito ang head trip, chongki na lang kulang.

 

after that it was all downhill na. as in di ko na maintindihan yung kwento

kasi naghalo na yung timeframes at naging parang golden buddha pa si hugh jackman. heavy, tol! still, i recommend this movie sa mga tiga movie buffs ang galing ng transition scenes pati ng sets.

 

kung gusto nyo magenjoy don't watch it! if you want to keep pondering what happened to the movie then give it a try. I warned you!

Edited February 19, 2007 by cumshot

[Kurtsky Keigee]

RE: Vanilla SKy

 

I loved it but If you liked that fil you should watch Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) which also stars Penelope Cruz . Great flick its where VS was based.

Sad ending though.

 

RE: The Fountain

I Love time travel movies. And Hugh is in it too. Ill see it.

[juancarlos_enriquez]

Watch Music and Lyrics. Nice flick. Feel good movie. You'll suffer from last song syndrome because of the soundtrack.

[Marshall Bruce]

^ i would have to agree. good movie. not a sleeper. pop! goes my heart (insert dance move here)

 

was able to catch the number 23 two nights ago. jim carrey sold the part pretty well. it was a nice flick, it kept me hooked till the end.

[jopoc]

the last king of scotland.

 

great movie, but you have to be appraised of the historical background of the story. you might have a hard time appreciating it and/or distinguishing facts from fiction.

[Lurker]

Watch Music and Lyrics. Nice flick. Feel good movie. You'll suffer from last song syndrome because of the soundtrack.

 

Nice movie to bring your wife/gf to. Great OST, especially "Way back into Love" and "Don’t Write Me Off".

[clubber_lang]

^ I agree that "Music and Lyrics", while not great, is quite entertaining...

 

The songs are catchy! The PoP music video is a hoot!

[SoulMTC]

Yup Music and Lyrics is a good movie.. I like the Cora character a great pun to pop singers of today hehehehe

[jopoc]

letters from iwo jima..

 

 

great movie... ken watanabe did a good acting job.... and for once, at least a hollywood movie NOT glorifying the americans...

[bakedzitiguy]

did anybody watch "hannibal rising"? I noticed that some watched leters from Iwo Jima. couldnt bring myself to watch that film after seeing some books about japanese abuses in asia, particularly in china (nanking?). and that movie made the japanese army look so heroic as if theyre the aggrieved party. but i guess during that time citizens of japan vowed to folow the emperor no matter what. or maybe its just another attempt by americans to see the war in the other person's perspective to gain some answers as to why a brutal senseless hate filled war began and lasted that long. so.... did anybody watch "hannibal rising"?

[Waterbearer]

"Let's go to Prison" is one hilarious movie....my brother and I were laughing so hard the other night.... :cool:

[Mandrake]

did anybody watch "hannibal rising"? I noticed that some watched leters from Iwo Jima. couldnt bring myself to watch that film after seeing some books about japanese abuses in asia, particularly in china (nanking?). and that movie made the japanese army look so heroic as if theyre the aggrieved party. but i guess during that time citizens of japan vowed to folow the emperor no matter what. or maybe its just another attempt by americans to see the war in the other person's perspective to gain some answers as to why a brutal senseless hate filled war began and lasted that long. so.... did anybody watch "hannibal rising"?

 

i did. screenplay and direction was ok although a bit dragging during the first half of the movie...at least the movie gave u a sense of hows and whys Dr. Hannibal Lectre became a serial monster that he was.

 

for martial arts afficionados, THE PROTECTOR (Honor of the Beast) is now available in DVD. After watching Muay Thai sensation Tony Jaa beat the hell out of his enemies, can't help remembering the late Bruce Lee in his first movie The Big Boss.

My rating :thumbsupsmiley:

Edited March 8, 2007 by Mandrake

[jake_speed]

300

Genre: Action | History | Drama

http://www.canmag.com/images/front/movies2007/300-poster3.jpg

Spartan King Leonidas

 

Casts:

 

Gerard Butler - King Leonidas

Lena Headey - Queen Gorgo

Rodrigo Santoro - Persian Emperor Xerxes 1

 

Synopsis:

 

300 is a film adaptation of the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) --- 300 finest Spartan armies, led by King Leonides versus the massive 1 million armies of the Persian Empire. (1M armies in the ancient world is a historical exaggeration, but half of that number is still overwhelming, considering their advanced weapons & experienced warriors).

 

Xerxes the Great, who considers himself the king of the world and god, sent an emissary to the Spartan king to submit his kingdom and kneel before him - or die. well, since the spartan king annihilated all Xerxes' messengers, they have to prepare for a massive invision of the persian army.

 

The spartan king knew that it takes time to assemble greek armies for an imminent war, he has to delay the advance of persians by blocking and guarding a narrow passage, the only road that leads to his country.. he assembled his finest warriors of 300 men on that pass, against the might of persian empire.

 

...and the rest is history :cry:

 

Comment:

 

I like historical movies, although some of the scenes has the fantasy side, (because of the comic book adaptation) the fighting scenes are fantastic and the way it was presented in different angles, i have never seen that fight scenes before, the director deserve an award

 

i think some scenes are cut, (here in the Phils) because of sexual nature, and gory scenes! i'll definitely watch this again in the uncut version of DVD!

 

i love the Oracle girl! ..and the queen too!

 

http://www.canmag.com/images/front/movies2007/300-poster1.jpg

Kelly Craig - The Oracle Girl

 

8/10 stars! :cool:

[dragonei]

300

 

 

All I can say is this….. watch it! watch it! watch it! Don’t even bother reading the rest of the review, just go and watch the damn movie! Read the rest of the review when your done watching the movie. Don’t wait for it on a pirated DVD stupid! Watch the damn thing in the big screen and have a blast.

 

 

So you’re back already? I was right wasn’t I? Didn’t I tell you, you’d love it?

 

Anyway, about 480 BC Sparta was threatened by annihilation by the Persian army under King Xerxes I (who considers himself both king and God of the modern world), unless their ruler King Leonidas submits to the Persian rule. Refusing to bow down to the Persian rule, the stubborn king kills all of the Persian emissaries and in the process angered a massive fleet out to annihilate all of sparta and Greece. Here’s the problem, it was against Greek traditions to go to war at that time of the year, and to top it off it took time for Greek forces and tribes to unite themselves and prepare for a massive battle that was upon them.

 

Knowing this, King Leonidas, assembled an all-sire(soldiers who had sons to carry on their blood line) unit of 300 men to block the northern entrance of sparta called “ The Hot gates”. This was a tactical location where the massive persian army could be funneled and could not outflank the overwhelmed spartan warriors.

 

Now one would think, how could 300 stand up against thousands of raging persian soldiers? Well obviously, 1.) Each member of the 300 all-sire unit were of the finest walking talking lean mean killing machines of sparta, 2.) They were all so courageous and valored that each of them was ready to fight to the death, 3.) Leonidas was a tactical genius and 4.) Most of the perisan soldiers were slaves not warriors. I remember Leonidas quoting to Xerxes, “Obviously you don’t know our women, had I known what you would put up here I might have just brought them here”.

 

If you are a history buff, you would realize that Frank Miller’s adaptation of the battle of Thermopylae was loyal to the historical accounts (unlike the forgettable Troy). In fact, by the time that the small Spartan force was wiped out, the Persian fleet suffered great losses disproportionate from those of Spartan’s. This heroic stand delayed the Persian army from attacking the vital locations of Greece, thus giving Greek force to organize their army for the battle of Plataea which eventually led to the repullsion of the persian conquerors from Greece.

 

OK enough history lessons, lets talk about the essentials of the movie. The story was loyal to historical accounts, the execution and pacing was done carefully, so that it would neither be too dragging nor to fast for us to appreciate Greek history, and Frank Miller’s vision. Gerard Buttler’s performance as King Leonidas, makes Russel Crowe’s portrayal of Maximus look like a cheap Cabaret act (In my humble opinion at least). He is so watchable that most of the time you could forgive flaws in the acting of the other characters. But this movie is neither about great acting nor great story. It’s about the kickass visuals that mimics the vision of graphic artist Frank Miller. Of course some sceneries and animal movements were CGI generated, that makes them look unrealistic at times, but who cares! It’s still fun to watch at it. The style of visualization, have managed to turn the explicit and gory scenes into fancy pieces of art visuals, making you feel that you are watching moving paintings in an art gallery.

 

And oh yeah kick ass fight and battle scenes that Alexander and troy would drool over. Plus the scoring made with rock and roll music, and the slow mo shots make it a slambanging-asskickin-great action flcik. But I won’t go to the details of that. Just go and watch the movie stupid!

 

All in all, I have to watch it again! 9.5/10

 

Favorite quotable quotes form Leonidas

 

1.) Madness? No this is not madness............. this is Spaaaaartaaaaaa!

2.) Spartans, This is where we fight, and this is where they die!

3.) Children, have a hearty breakfast for tonight we shall dine in hell!

 

P.S.

Now I know why they would brand slippers as "spartan"

[clubber_lang]

300:

 

This movie is for guys of any sexual preference! It rules.

 

For those who want their history with some badassery and imagination, this is it!

 

BEST FILM OF 2007 so far... Like there is any competition.

[Kurtsky Keigee]

Hmm coz some of my friends told me that the guy in the lead role was over acting too much. I guess I have to see it for myself

[clubber_lang]

300 = balls-in-the-wall action!

[Marshall Bruce]

don't even bother watching the hitcher. argh. what a waste of time and money.

 

the story was so predictable. no twists whatsoever. a total bummer.

 

the only upside is you get to see sophia bush.

[rudepnoy4]

im watching 300 tonight give you guys my review later on

 

heres what i think of 300 Dammit i wannna watch it again haha, i love the graphics and the fight scenes they got some lord of the rings characters in there movie was bad ass you guys should watch it . One thing i notice though all the spartans are sporting 6 pack abs and props to the persian ladies they are fine

[Larry]

300

 

 

A more serious review this time and try to deconstruct the movie as best as I can.

 

Short Synopsis:

 

A retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller.

 

Let's separate history and the movie first just to put things into perspective.

 

Yes the Battle of Thermopylae did happen but it wasn't quite in that proportion (300 vs. 1,000,000). A good estimate would be about 300 Spartans and their Helot slaves, plus about 7,000 hoplites from other Greek city states vs. around 300,000 persian soldiers and armies courtesy of the other nations they conquered.

 

No, the Spartans didn't fight in their underwear with capes, they actually used armor on their bodies.

 

Thermopylae has been used as a battle ground for countless times before this particular time, because of it's location (right smack in the middle of Greece) and it's surrounding terrain (it's basically a narrow pass in between the sea and the mountains). It was only logical for Leonidas to wage battle there as he had no other choice. If he had fought it in the plains it would have been a far different story.

 

The Spartans could only spare 300 men, as the battle was happening at the time of the Carnae, the biggest spartan religious festival of the year. It was forbidden to wage war at this time of year. Leonidas couldn't afford to wait until the festival was over as the persians would have crossed thermopylae and there would be no where else to stop their charge. The understanding with the council was that entire greek army was to follow after the festival.

 

Ephialtes wasn't a spartan. He was a malian who lived near the area of Thermopylae and was subsequently bribed by the persians to betray the small pass around the mountains to flank the Spartans. He was bribed with gold and not with the promise of mind-numbing sex.

 

Xerxes was more than likely, not a giant.

 

Ok on to the movie.

 

It was visually perfect. The CGI really did bring a lot in terms of bringing that surreal feel to the film. It made the spartans look all the more heroic and the persians all the more scary and villainous.

 

Production design was great. The costumes were nice, the shields and the spartan insignia on it was beautifully crafted, as were the masks and battle dress of the immortals.

 

One thing that struck me about the film was the color. The grays and blacks were nice and set that terrible mood of doom, while the reds and bronzes made the Spartans look more than human (the were the only ones who had any semblance of color, even the arcadians wore black or gray)

 

Xerxes looked great. Making him 7 feet tall, and giving him an almost darth vadery voice, added to his mystique and furthered the myth of his being a god-king.

 

Cinamatography was great. The shots of the spartans fighting, and the close in shots of their feet and eyes in battle added to the tension. Plus the camerawork during the battles itself was executedly very nicely. You almost feel as if you were in the middle of the melee.

 

Dialogue was a bit weak and corny at some points (Are we having fun yet was lame) but it was a nice touch to adapt some actual quotes from history in there. Best line for me was "Give them nothing. But take from them everything!"

 

Characterization was very minimal. But this is an action flick so no suprises there.

 

Sound was ok. I loved the fact that most of the sounds were loud, especially the ones involving the movement of the 300 spartans.

 

There were some scenes that were unneccary (i.e. butt shots of Leonidas) but most of it was essential.

 

Nice touch of adding the scenes with Gorgo, the council and the rat faced councilman.

 

Overall a very nice entertaining film. It set out to entertain and make you forget your life for 2 hours, and it worked out pretty well. It won't win any oscars anytime soon, but this movie will go down as one of the most entertaining films of the year, if not the most entertaining.

 

I highly recommend it if you like action movies with lots of swordplay and gore.

Edited March 12, 2007 by Larry

[Guest ||princess||]

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/columbia_pictures/the_pursuit_of_happyness/will_smith/thepursuitofhappyness_poster.jpg

Synopsis

 

Will Smith stars in this moving tale inspired by the true story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman struggling to build a future for himself and his 5-year-old son Christopher (Jaden Smith). When his girlfriend Linda (Thandie Newton) walks out, Chris is left to raise Christopher (Jaden Smith) on his own. Chris' determination finally pays off when he lands an unpaid internship in a brutally competitive stockbroker-training program, where only one in twenty interns will make the cut. But without a salary, Chris and his son are evicted from their apartment and are forced to sleep on the streets, in homeless shelters and even behind the locked doors of a metro station bathroom. With self-confidence and the love and trust of his son, Chris Gardner rises above his obstacles to become a Wall Street legend.

 

The movie was great, one of the best stories I've seen. The actors portrayed their characters very well. Kudos to Will Smith's son, Jayden. He was really good for a first-timer. And for Will Smith's fans, this is definitely one of his best movies. Found myself crying during and after the movie, not because the movie was mushy but because it made me realise that if you work hard for something you really, really want and you are able to surpass all the trials that comes on your way, no matter how difficult they are, you will definitely win. Another thing that moved me is that its also about a father doing everything to make both ends meet. His love for his son and his wanting to keep him despite of being homeless, i think, is very admirable.

 

My favorite scene: I actually have 2. First: The day before he was set for an interview with the big guys from the he was painting his apartment out of depression and he was arrested by the police for not paying parking tickets. With paint all over his jeans, he stayed in jail overnight and was released at 9:30am. Since the interview was at 10:15, he ran from the police station to the venue of the interview. At first, the interviewers looked disappointed. One of the main guys asked him (from what i recall ) , "What will you do if a half naked guy comes to my office for an interview and I hire him?" Gardner answered, "He must have a very nice pair of pants."

 

Second: The Last Day of Gardner's internship: He was called by the guys again who conducted his interview. This time he was wearching a shirt, coat and tie. That same guy noticed that he was wearing a shirt inside his coat. Gardner commented, "I am wearing a shirt because this is my last day of internship." The guy replied, "Well you will have to wear that shirt again tomorrow because tomorrow is your first day of work." Out of 20 interns, only 1 person is hired by the company and a homeless man did it.