The MOVIE REVIEW Thread

[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.

[Cmayfrayna]

300

 

 

if yoou havent seen it get your butt of that computer stop reading the post here, run to the nearest cinema and watch this flick...you wont be disappointed and after you watch this movie log back in and tell everybody how great this movie was.... :thumbsupsmiley:

 

 

 

this movie seriously rocks...this is how a comic book movie should be made :thumbsupsmiley:

[Mandrake]

300 -- loads of 6-pack abs oozing with testosterone....moves you to hit the gym right after watching it. :thumbsupsmiley:

[Tajak]

Vanilla Sky. hehehe. The film was critically panned. But hey, it was pretty interesting for my tastes. Definitley not oozing with entertaining value, but if you want a movie that makes you think for awhile, its worth a look.

[Tajak]

Watched Ghost Rider.

 

Let me put it this way. It is not as bad as Fantastic Four or The Punisher. It is not nearly as good as Spider-Man or X2.

 

More of somewhere in between.

 

good points: The effects on the transformation and the Ghost Rider was quite well-executed. Nicolas Cage was also commendable.

 

Bad: The lines. They were cliche-ish and bordering on cheesy and laughably bad i.e. "He may have my soul but he does not have my spirit!"

 

A good way to while the time away but if you can't catch it in the theatre, don't feel really bad either...

 

I totally agree. Great effects, and REALLY riveting transformation sequence. I was getting goosebumps during that scene (loved the accompanying score! Made for a really intense sequence!). I'm glad that a considerable amount of people liked this film as I am a big fan of the comic.

 

I found the pacing of the movie a little off though. There will be build ups that will cut you off short, and make you change positions in your seat. Yeah, bad lines too; "My name is LEEEEEEEEGION, because we are MAAAAAAANY" (HAHA!). But most dissapointing of all were the fight scenes. For a character like GR, action and fights should've been given more emphasis. Would've upped the entertainment value even more.

 

I also think that the "tragic struggle" theme from the comic would've given more depth to the film. The whole idea of GR is a mans' struggle to come to terms with his inner demons (literally), from an irreversible mistake he made years ago, and learn how to deal with it in a better light. What the movie tried to do instead was to focus more on "Ghost Rider's here to kick ass", which ironically, wasn't even that established with such short fight scenes.

 

Over all, its an ok way to spend 100+ minutes of your day. I hope they improve on the sequel though. :cool:

Edited March 16, 2007 by Tajak

[Waterbearer]

Watch Wild Hogs instead....putcha sobrang nakakatawa ang palabas na ito....scene stealer talaga si William Macy.... 4/5 stars :cool:

[kerrmit]

Caught a sneak preview of Rocky Balboa and got a great smile afterwards. Sure, the plot was quite simple and the action scenes were nothing compared to 300. But it brings back a lot of nostalgia to an old Rocky fan like myself. Just listening to that familiarly riveting music all over again.. man, that was all worth it.

 

Of course, it's not for everyone. Stallone really looked old for this one and the opponent had no character whatsoever. the plot strayed on so many lines. and the end felt half baked.

 

but it's a Rocky movie, just telling everyone who cared to listen to always dig deep inside for that gift of determination and passion which we all have. and in the end, it doesn't matter who wins or lose. with a message like that, any movie, even with a slurring, speech challenged actor in the lead, is always a winner in my books. :thumbsupsmiley:

 

 

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/6633/scaledrbmpzu3.jpg

Edited March 21, 2007 by kerrmit

[clubber_lang]

Agree with kerrmit...

 

Rocky Balboa would only be enjoyed by Rocky fans! That stirring score by Bill Conti still rules. A good send-off for the iconic hero...

[Marshall Bruce]

Watched the TMNT movie earlier today. Superb animation pero bitin yung story. The movie lasted only for an hour and 20 mins.

 

A must see for TMNT fans. :thumbsupsmiley:

[quutee]

I caught TMNT as well on opening day.

 

It's very dialogue-driven for an animated action flick; I can recall only a handful of action scenes that went on for longer than 10 seconds -- don't get me wrong, they were cool and all, but there didn't seem to be a ton of work put into making the actual fighting look cool. The choreography of the CG, if you will.

 

I liked that the dialogue felt natural, the characters' relationships were shown and developed, and how the characters felt spot-on: the reluctant by-the-book leader, the good-intentioned rebel, stoner surfer dude...

 

While the voice acting sometimes came off very hammy, it was very good all around -- the characters with accents actually had legitimate accents!

 

Though it is a short movie, it's a fun ride; being a TMNT fan myself I'm looking forward to a possible sequel.

 

I'd give it a 4/5.

[Kurtsky Keigee]

Pangit Rocky Balboa?

Never watched the orig so di ko magugustuhan siguro to

 

Just watched Smokin Aces

I must say panalo, Ryan Reynolds does a good job as well as Andy Garcia

Lots of Violence, blood,gore and gunfights.

Little humour but cool. Lots of action. Not quite good plot though.

jason Bateman,Ray Liotta, What more could you want?

And the guy from Entourage is wicked also.

Edited April 5, 2007 by kUrTsKY