What ELSE (other than KUNG FU) has everyone been watching?

[Lionclaw]

Mozart and The Whale: A watch a lot of Josh Hartnett films and I found his performance as a person with autism to be very engaging and different from his usual roles. Its a very different kind of love story.

Resurrecting The Champ: Amazing drama about honestly and ethics in this movie about a writer who finds his big break writing about a homeless former boxer. Samuel L. Jackson gives an amazing performance and Josh Hartnett rarely disappoints.

The Brotherhood of War: I never heard of this korean movie before but I blind bought it because of Won Bin(loved his performance in The Man From Nowhere). This was a very gritty war movie with lots of blood, guts, and war violence. Some people might complain the many fist fights are out of place in a war setting but I didn't mind. Koreans always know how to mix great performances with gritty and grounded action scenes.

Definitely, Maybe: A pretty good love story featuring Ryan Reynolds telling his daughter a story about three of his past loves and having her guess which one is her mom who he is about to get a divorce with. Puts an interesting spin on the usual comedy drama.

Nowhere To Run: One of the most grounded Jean Claude Van Damme movies I've ever seen. Good acting all around and lots of fight scenes that very pretty cool despite the fact that Van Damme barely kicks in this one. Very entertaining action flick.

Total Recall (2012): The original was better and more complex but this flick had many very cool action scenes. Kate Beckinsale stole the show as a sexy villain and handled all the action way better than I expected.

The Viral Factor: Probably one of the biggest, expensive, and most hollywood looking chinese films I've ever seen. Almost non-stop action, exposions, gun battles, hand to hand combat, car chases, helicopter chases, and very good performances by Nicholas Tse and Jay Chou. I really enjoyed this movie. It just felt big.

[DiP]

Predator (1987) - In a time of crisis when it comes to practical special effects and old-fashioned action film-making, it's makes classic filmmaking essential to watch to relive the good memories and realize why and how movie-making has changed for the worse. This is one movie that will always stick with you for years to come. It was such a milestone back then in terms of not just CGI but also the way action sequences were shot, pyrotechnics in full effect, originality in character creation working wonders, and perfectly casted actors. Just gets better and better with each recent viewing. Rating: 10/10

Predator 2 (1990) - Pretty good sequel despite the major naysayers. The city concept wasn't bad at all and actually provided for different levels of thrills, graphic violence and investigations surrounding the Predator character. And it goes very well for the first two thirds throughout the story until the final act. The thrills goes away and leaves the Predator exposed too much, which should've been left exclusively for the final confrontation in the alien ship. The overall make-up and design of the Predator was also a tad bad (the movie starts to look like a low-budget sci-fi movie) compared to the one in the original. And there wasn't need to replace the awesome shot sound of the plazma cannon with a new one. It's a shame McTiernan and Arnie couldn't return but props to Hopkins and Glover for at least coming close with their attempt to top its' predecessor. Rating: 7/10

Predators (2010) - The movie had big potential to actually start something effective. For the first act, the movie does well introducing the characters and setting up the thrills and mystery behind the predators and the planet the story takes place. But from there, it's just bad CGI showcase of creatures and Predators hunting down the principal cast members, an unnecessary subplot of an unneeded character, more underwhelming human hunting by the Predators, and a final act pitting the human survivors and a low-ranked Predator against the top Predator. Unless Arnie and Ridley Scott (closest to capture McTiernan's original Predator feel imo) team up for another sequel, no thanks to one. Rating: 4/10

[Secret Executioner]

Watched some Christmas stuff:

Beavis And Butt-Head Do Christmas

Batman: The Brave And The Bold - Invasion Of The Secret Santas

Great Christmas episodes of 2 great TV shows.

[DarthKato]

Watched Resident Evil: Retribution(2012, Milla Jovovich) the other day and it was pretty good. I am looking forward to the next one that is sure to be made.

I also watched Whiteout(2009, Kate Beckinsale)I love Kate Beckinsale, but this movie sucked. It was overly gorey in some parts and it was really boring to me. Also, the opening shower scene with Kate Beckinsale(while I'm all for it:bigsmile:), felt forced and was just comical that they tried to get that scene in as fast as they could. Still the best part of the film though.

[Secret Executioner]

Fear And Desire, the first movie by Stanley Kubrick at a local theater.

It's not that great (though enjoyable and definitely interesting to see if you like Kubrick's work and/or war movies) but you can already spot several patterns you'd see in other Kubrick movies such as change in character, madness, violence and a quite pessimistic look on mankind.

[DiP]

Saw (2004) - I don't believe I've seen horror/serial killer movies in the past 15 years as original and disturbingly compelling as this one. It's simple in concept but the overall setup and the resolutions were genius. Also the script is well-written script, with not much clichéd lines and anything unnecessary that continues to circle around Hollywood movies these days. Rating: 10/10

The Hills Have Eyes (2006) - I knew nothing about it before giving it a try apart that it was a remake of a cult classic from the 70s. I really enjoyed it and I think how everything was put together was surprisingly effective which you don't see in today's horror movies. But the clichés are still there; teeny acting, rock music during the most intense moments, the horror factor etc. But at the same time what this succeeds in that many recent horror movies fails in is enhancing the horror mood and keeping the momentum intact. Rating: 7/10

[KUNG FU BOB]

We just watched PREMIUM RUSH, a film starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, about a bike messenger that gets into trouble. Though it's certainly not a classic or anything, it was a great popcorn movie. Totally entertaining from start to finish, and featuring some really exciting chase scenes and bike stunts. 7.5/10

Though I'd seen it before, after my mother and father raved about SAFE, I watched it again with my wife. It's one of Jason Statham's best. He plays a guy that's stuck between the Russian mafia, the Triads, and a bunch of corrupt cops while trying to protect a little girl with an extraordinary knack for remembering numbers. Good story with unique and imaginative cinematography, and impressive action. It was filmed on the cheap, but blows away big budget garbage like WAR. There was only one disappointing moment (for fight fans) towards the end, but not enough to spoil the otherwise superb movie.8/10

Watched WATCHMEN- THE ULTIMATE CUT which is the Director's Cut of the film with all of the animated TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER (a comic book that a character is reading) footage integrated into the film. The BLACK FREIGHTER footage was certainly an interesting addition. I saw the film in the theater, then watched the Director's Cut on DVD and the BD about five times, and now this. I love this film. There are so many things about it that are just perfect for me. My wife woke up as it was ending. I restarted it and watched it again! For those that haven't seen it... It's based on a phenomenal graphic novel from 1985 that tells a gritty story about two generations of masked heroes. It's epic. Action, mystery, sex, romance, comedy, and a killer soundtrack. Check it out. 10/10

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES- Watched this with my wife who didn't see it in the theaters with my son and I. The third in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. Some moments were epic and moving, some were confusing, cold, and shallow. A mixed bag, with great performances, but poorly filmed fight scenes. Plus, Batman uses the hands clasped together over his head hammer blow. This is one of the stupidest Captain-Kirk-bullshit-break-your-own-fingers moves ever, and I hate it. 7.5/10

In the last month we watched all of the superhero films my wife had missed or forgotten so she could enjoy THE AVENGERS properly.

IRON MAN 8.5/10

IRON MAN 2 9/10

THE INCREDIBLE HULK 7.5/10

THOR 8/10

CAPTAIN AMERICA 7.5/10

THE AVENGERS 9.5/10

[odioustrident]

Plus, Batman uses the hands clasped together over his head hammer blow. This is one of the stupidest Captain-Kirk-bullshit-break-your-own-fingers moves ever, and I hate it.

My friend calls that move "the Harrison Ford."

[massa_yoda]

SAFE, I watched it again with my wife. It's one of Jason Statham's best. He plays a guy that's stuck between the Russian mafia, the Triads, and a bunch of corrupt cops while trying to protect a little girl with an extraordinary knack for remembering numbers. Good story with unique and imaginative cinematography, and impressive action. It was filmed on the cheap, but blows away big budget garbage like WAR. There was only one disappointing moment (for fight fans) towards the end, but not enough to spoil the otherwise superb movie.8/10

I agree with this. I like how basically the entire city was after him by the second half! I mean is anyone NOT corrupt? Is this Gotham? Too bad they didn't give us a more satisfying finale, action-wise. Though I did think it was kind of funny what they did.

[Secret Executioner]

Watchmen is indeed a great graphic novel (possibly my favorite with Frank Miller's Dark Knight) and the movie is really good.

Regarding TDKR, several things bug me about it (I won't get over it again) but Batman's fighting is indeed quite poor, especially in the first fight against Bane - though Bats punching Bane's mask like crazy in the climax is quite ridiculous. I quite like the film however, the nods to Frank Miller's Dark Knight and to the Knightfall arc are nice touches.

[AlbertV]

SHANK - This is a British flick about gangs who takeover London in the year 2015 due to a government fallout, resulting in people starving. A non-violent gang called the Paper Chaserz decide to find the ones responsible for their leader's death. The one who takes charge is the 14-year old brother of the deceased leader. Was not too bad but it had some weird anime sequences that just didn't mesh but there was a lil parkour that looked decent.

THE VIRAL FACTOR - I actually liked this Dante Lam flick about a mutated smallpox virus that has become a superweapon thanks to Andy On/Tien's traitor. Jay Chou and Nicholas Tse did well as brothers on the opposite sides of the law and there was a real international flavor to the film, with the film shot in both English and Chinese. Chin Kar-Lok and Dante Lam's stunt choreography and design was well handled for the most part. Wish I saw more of a better knife fight between On and Chou in their brief hand to hand combat encounter. Nonetheless, a good action film to relax to on a Saturday night

[Secret Executioner]

Batman: Year One (DC Animated movie, based on Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same name)

[fatcat]

Lots of 70s tv. All In the Family, Goodtimes, Sanford & Son, Whats Happening!! That and kung fu is about all I watch.

[DiP]

Gangster Squad (2013) - Once again, this is a revisit to 1940s or 1950s Los Angeles. But unlike its' predecessors (Chinatown, LA Confidential) the movie goes for straightforward character development and violent confrontations as well as using good old-fashioned themes - such as old school antagonists, law-breaking, masochism - as selling points. The final result is predictable but also very pleasant. But those who are in just for the sake of going back to the pinnacle of these kinds of movies, there's plenty that gives you that premise. There's also lots of impressive gun action set-pieces so action movie fans won't be disappointed. Rating: 7.5/10

Eraser (1996) - The movie deserves more praise than it gets. The rail gun thing may seem silly and the CGI - which at least is not the blurry and cheap one we got in today's era of action movies - could've been polished but I actually came to liked it very much. Aside this, I think there haven't been too many other action movies after T1, T2, Predator and True Lies that put so much effort and emphasis in layering all details of a story/character development so precise and intense as in here. Arnie also doesn't fool around with too much laughable one-liners - that he's synonymous with - and instead opts for a serious performance. The finale is simply the price of admission though and contains the ingredients that makes a classic Arnie movie. Rating: 9/10

[HyperDrive]

A couple of Bollywood films. Both star Dharmendra.

Dharam Veer: A nice fantasy movie with some jousting and swashbuckling action.

Ali baba & 40 Chor: An Indian/Uzbek coproduction. It gets trippy at points especially when a disco floor appears in a cave.

[DiP]

The Terminator (1984) - A movie that keeps getting ageless and better with time (special effects aside). And its' success lies in the gritty and pessimistic style of the story - rather than turning everything into complete sci-fi-esqued or 80s style futuristic content - and in Arnie playing the iconic title character. Linda Hamilton and Michael B also give believable performances as the main protagonists building up the dramatic moments as well as the memorable action scenes. Rating: 10/10

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - Few cases of a sequel surpassing its' predecessor (only a bit I'd say) and being done rightfully. Original and new are completely contrasting each other in terms of style and feel for the same reason one thing is the total opposite of another. Dark and light. The premise is basically the same, except they switch from human to machine as a protector, a new Terminator model as antagonist in form of liquid metal (good example of a new idea being created) and greatly improved special effects. And the action scenes are more explosive as well as amped up. Rating: 10/10

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) - I think a third movie set in the late 1990s would've made a better movie by another prominent action movie director would've made a better movie. But if there's no James Cameron there won't be a great Terminator movie, period. What's in here is nothing but total mishmash of talent as well as production quality (where cheap-looking/blurry CGI was brought to the map and ruined the authenticity of most action movies made at the time) that is way too low to even belong in the Terminator franchise. There were a few good things but it can't stand against the rest of the mediocrity. Rating: 2/10

Twins (1988) - I might as well say it. Arnold has got talent in comedies whether it be his thick accent or his unintentionally hilarious one-liners. This shows it and so does Kindergarten Cop. The story is a bit far-fetched but that is easily forgiven thanks to the odd but great chemistry between Arnold and De Vito as well as other characters that come along the ride. Classic Arnold comedy. Rating: 9/10

Kindergarten Cop (1990) - Arnold goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher in a school to find and protect a kid and his singer mother from a separated father who happens to be a criminal on the run. Once again, the material here is light and provides Arnold all sorts of fun as well as dramatic moments to great effect. The chemistry between him and the kids was wonderfully displayed and entertaining. Another classic Arnold comedy. Rating: 10/10

[Coliseum1972]

IMO :

Kindergarten Cop 5/6

T2 5/6 (not quite as gritty as T1)

Rocky IV 4/6 (bit OTT)

Twins 5/6

T3 4.5/6 (has some silly moments but underrated imo)

Blade Spares Noen/Invincible Eight/Magnificent Trio , all 4/6 or 4.5/6-ish

Amsterdam Connection 4.5/6 (genuinly underrated , nice locations fea the old yellow trams in Ams)

Bruce Le's Deadly Fingers 4/6 (book plot isn't that exciting but the fights are good and Miao is def a plus)

Challenge of Tiger 3/6 (kinda like the bull fight even though hokey......I still find NSB much more fun)

Hellraiser 4/6 (kinda underwhelmed by it , still good though)

PotC I and II , 4/6 (mondo overrated , not that exciting and overlong)

Out of Africa 4/6 (artsy kind of movie , didn't see the end but twas all right)

Psycho 5/6 (f-in awesome)

some Spencer/Hill movie set in Africa , surprisngly OK......4/6

Rare exports 4/6 , Finnish movie about Santa who's evil

Icarus 3/6 , typical Dolph fare......decent time killer but not much more imo

Nell 4/6 , about a woman who can't talk and isolated from society

Snakes on Plane 4/6 , silly fun

Daredevil 4/6 , OK

[Sheng]

LIFE OF PI (2012)

1) Ang Lee’s much lauded “man & tiger on a lifeboat” screen adaptation is definitely worth a look for its groundbreaking CG effects and one of the few films where I felt the appliance of 3 D technology wasn’t a complete waste of funds.

2) Production design and cinematography are meticulously wrought and simply a treat, as they are in every Ang Lee film (and I’ve followed the man since his first feature, the wonderful Chinese/American culture clash chamber-play PUSHING HANDS, which I saw premiered at Berlin’s film fest in 1993).

OK, that’s that. But then...

... the problem with LIFE OF PI, or rather my problem with it is that on one hand its makers went for the realest CGI ever, making the animated animals, their body language and every nuance of their physical reactions practically undistinguishable from flesh & blood creatures... on the other though they opt to make the evolving stand-off between beast and man on the lifeboat almost laughably unreal by eschewing any visceral images, anything that would amount to even a half-way realistic portrayal of Pi’s and the tiger’s excruciating ordeal.

Not only does the camera pull away from the actual killings of the zebra and the orang utang (that also made it on the lifeboat), but you’ve never ever get to see even a glimpse of the mauled corpses afterwards, of the ripped-out guts, the marrow, the cracked, gnawed-off bones, the whole bloody mess that must have piled up on board. Nor do you get to see the mounds of faeces the tiger must have produced after his sumptuous meals, for that matter.

I mean, there’s a full-grown zebra (that alone would weight approximately 300 to 350 kilos!), a hyena and a huge orang utang slaughtered on a white nutshell of a lifeboat and... nada! The planks are still looking squeaky-clean. And they stay that way even after weeks of floating on the ocean... and the sole human being is unable to clean up because most of the time he’s squatting outside the boat on a makeshift platform for fear of being munched by ‘Richard Parker’ (the tiger’s name). Did Rich pull all his all prey under the half of the boat covered by a tarpaulin ? Did he then wipe up the other half of the boat with his tongue?

Apparently a non-issue for Ang Lee who doesn’t seem to be so much interested in the accuracy or plausibility of what he shows here. The sole focus is on the psychological shadow-boxing, the reflexes, behaviour patterns and marking-of-territory rituals of animal and man.

By way of explanation one might offer that LIFE OF PI is clearly designed as a “family movie”, Hollywood sank a hundred million bucks into it, so it can safely be assumed that the filmmakers just had to circumvent any graphic or “disturbing” images, blood, guts, “animal cruelty”, or whatever else might make Mum & Pops think twice about parting with their greenbacks.

Personally I found the phoniness of the visuals jarring and at odds with this deadly serious survival tale. And the longer I watched the more the film seemed to transform into an aseptic, almost Disney-ish fairytale and I realized that despite the promising set-up and the beautifully composed images that encapsulated the sense of being lost, of dread and desolation pitch-perfectly, emotionally I got disconnected from the proceedings.

By the time the shipwrecked duo reached the carnivorous island all the allegory was lost on me (or call it the aura of ‘magical realism’ that others found so beguiling), guess at this point I was simply beyond caring. And in the end nothing but a feeling of beautifully lensed tedium prevailed.

Watchable for the above mentioned reasons, but to me it was the most irrelevant and compromised Ang Lee film I remember seeing.

[sifu iron perm]

Pusher (2012)- remake of the danish crime thriller..

absolutely trash poop! The soundtrack and the reprise of "milo" is the only two things that grabbed my attention.

I watched Satanic rites of dracula last night..last time is aw this hammer yarn was in 88 or so? What an underrated film from the dracula series by Hammer studios. Enjoyable to say the least with iconic shots of 70's London!

[Secret Executioner]

Blancanieves

A Spanish black and white silent movie, but it's a very recent production. The story is basically Snow White but set in the 1920s in the south of Spain, which leads to many changes. However, (nearly) all the classic elements are there and the movie is great nonetheless. I dare say it's much better than the last 2 Snow White movies we got - you know, the one that has Julia Roberts as the Queen (are you serious...) and the one with the girl from the Twilight franchise as Snow White (geez, that may be even worse though the Queen here was just awesome).

2010

1984 movie and the sequel of Kubrick's 1968 masterpiece called 2001: A Space Odyssey.

It is quite good and explains a lot on what happened on the Discovery 9 years before in 2001. However, as one can expect, it suffers if one tries to compare it to a masterpiece like the first movie.

Gangs Of Wasseypur Part 2

The second and final part of an Indian saga dealing with crime in an area (not sure if it's only a village or a wider area) in India. The 2 films together make up a nearly 6 hours long film and the whole story takes place between the 1940s and 2009. I couldn't see the first part when it came out but this second part is a really good gangster movie, the action can get quite violent and bloody but you get some funny parts as well. The character development was really well done and since it's made in India (mind you it is NOT a typical Bollywood film), it also has songs which are quite enjoyable.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

LIFE OF PI (2012)

[...Apparently a non-issue for Ang Lee who doesn’t seem to be so much interested in the accuracy or plausibility of what he shows here. The sole focus is on the psychological shadow-boxing, the reflexes, behaviour patterns and marking-of-territory rituals of animal and man.

By way of explanation one might offer that LIFE OF PI is clearly designed as a “family movie”, Hollywood sank a hundred million bucks into it, so it can safely be assumed that the filmmakers just had to circumvent any graphic or “disturbing” images, blood, guts, “animal cruelty”, or whatever else might make Mum & Pops think twice about parting with their greenbacks.....

Warning ending spoiler (do not read if you have not seen Life of Pi)...

It did not have to be realistic because the narrative flashback tale was not realistic. He had created a story that more palaple to him than what actually happened (his mom being killed, him killing the French cook). It was all allegory starting at the point of when the zebra fell in and the film even states that at the end (which in my opinion was overdone, since it is hammering it in instead of being more ambilvent about the point). Whether Pi choses not in include feces in the story is completely irrelevant because the only feces would have been his own in the realistic sense.

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

bored today, and some movie called Treasure Raiders came on Showtime... sure, why not....

hands down, bar non, no doubt THE WORST FUCKING MOVIE I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!! The worst, and i've seen a lot of shit!

Starring russian Arnie wannabe Alexander Nevsky, Steven Brand (bad guy from Scorpion King), Sherilyn Fenn and David Carradine... directed by Brent Huff.

Oh my word... The Da Vinci Code with bad action, bad dialogue, bad cinematography, bad FX, bad direction, bad locations, bad production and reeeeaaally bad acting!

I beg of someone to watch this, so im not alone.....

Why do they make movies like this... why?

Normally I would just switch channels, but this was like a carwreck, just awful... but can't help but look.

[Sheng]

It did not have to be realistic because the narrative flashback tale was not realistic. He had created a story that more palaple to him than what actually happened (his mom being killed, him killing the French cook). It was all allegory starting at the point of when the zebra fell in and the film even states that at the end (which in my opinion was overdone, since it is hammering it in instead of being more ambilvent about the point). Whether Pi choses not in include feces in the story is completely irrelevant because the only feces would have been his own in the realistic sense.

Not sure if all of it was supposed to be allegory from the moment the zebra crashed on the lifeboat. The way I saw it the allegorical component of the story was imperceptibly getting heavier, reality slowly receded the longer the lifeboat journey lasted, the weaker the two got, the more Pi was hallucinating. But from whatever point on the allegory or, like you have it, the non-realistic narrative flashback fully kicked in, the film began to take on an over-aestheticised, fairytale-like, friggin’ Disney-ish look that I was just not comfortable with. I felt this dragged it down. I also happen to think that a deliberate decision was made to avoid showing more drastic, “disruptive” or “reality-grounded” images (that would match the hyper-realistic looking aggressive reflexes and assaults of the tiger and also the hyena). And this decision, I believe, was not just an artistic one. This is why I’d call LIFE OF PI Ang Lee’s most compromised movie.

BTW, I also feel that one of the weakest parts of the film was the somewhat laborious, heavy-handed expository talk at Pi’s bedside with the two journalists that indeed took some of the ambivalence and mystery out of it.

[massa_yoda]

Parker (2013)

This was...okay. I was expecting more fisticuffs from what I saw in the trailers. Not my favorite Statham flick, but not my least favorite either. The plot was interesting at least.

[Sheng]

BLOOD AND BONES (2004)

A chilling, slow grinding, cathartic portrait of a sadistic brute with Takeshi Kitano as the epitome of la bête humaine. Mercilessly bleak and almost documentary in style with the only constant being the unflinching abuse and animalistic brutality Kitano’s character metes out on his family and clan and pretty much the entire Korean immigrant neighbourhood in Osaka that surrounds him, the film can be read as a study of how violence begets violence, oppression breeds oppression and, in a sense, also how “bad blood” can contaminate your offspring (with Masao, his son, developing similarly revolting behaviour patterns as his father).

No “movie relief” antics here, no way-out scenario, no divine intervention, no atonement, no righteous revenge, no crime & punishment, no resolution to redeem the viewer after watching a stupefyingly violent, raping, rioting and screaming monster of a man for a whopping two hours and 20 minutes. The scumbag isn’t killed in the end, he just expires on his death bed after having “repatriated” to (North) Korea and donating all his riches to its government.

Still, Kitano at his most demonic is never less than compelling and BLOOD AND BONES boils down to nothing but a totally magnetic one-man show.

The presentation of the film on the HK Panorama double-disc I have is an excellent one.