|
Post by Deadpool is Insane on Sept 9, 2009 15:45:16 GMT -5
Running Up That Hill by Placebo
|
|
|
Post by rorschach on Sept 9, 2009 16:47:22 GMT -5
Cool, thanks DP!
*Goes to itunes to search for it*
|
|
Thomas Rigby
Junior Woodchuck
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star.png)
TR + Kayako = Tag Team of the Century
Posts: 105
|
Post by Thomas Rigby on Sept 11, 2009 21:28:42 GMT -5
Well, I just caught Whiteout today, and this movie was a major disappointment. The impression that I got from the ads was that this was going to be at least a decent retread of Carpenter's Thing with Beckinsale as a much, much, much sexier version of R.J. MacReady; instead, what I got was an incredibly bland, vanilla, by-the-numbers Hollywood thriller that hits all of the usual red herring notes on cue. Even the movie's big Antarctic storm takes a backseat to the banal mystery plot in this flick. After not sleeping for 24 hours, staying awake in the theater for this one was a real chore. Kate did a pretty decent acting job in the flick, but that's pretty much the only bright spot. I was going to post one of my usual drawn-out reviews, but frankly, I just really don't have the energy and there isn't much else to say about this film. * 1/2 out of ****.
|
|
|
Post by Shovelman on Sept 11, 2009 21:34:53 GMT -5
Well, I just caught Whiteout today, and this movie was a major disappointment. The impression that I got from the ads was that this was going to be at least a decent retread of Carpenter's Thing with Beckinsale as a much, much, much sexier version of R.J. MacReady; instead, what I got was an incredibly bland, vanilla, by-the-numbers Hollywood thriller that hits all of the usual red herring notes on cue. Even the movie's big Antarctic storm takes a backseat to the banal mystery plot in this flick. After not sleeping for 24 hours, staying awake in the theater for this one was a real chore. Kate did a pretty decent acting job in the flick, but that's pretty much the only bright spot. I was going to post one of my usual drawn-out reviews, but frankly, I just really don't have the energy and there isn't much else to say about this film. * 1/2 out of ****. Is Kate naked? I was promised nudity and I'll be pissed if it's some dude....especially if it's that guy who played The Spirit.
|
|
Thomas Rigby
Junior Woodchuck
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star.png)
TR + Kayako = Tag Team of the Century
Posts: 105
|
Post by Thomas Rigby on Sept 11, 2009 21:48:39 GMT -5
Is Kate naked? I was promised nudity and I'll be pissed if it's some dude....especially if it's that guy who played The Spirit. There's a very nice lingering underwear scene within the first five minutes of the film and some extremely obscured through-the-pane shower shots...but zero actual nudity.
|
|
|
Post by Deadpool is Insane on Sept 11, 2009 23:23:37 GMT -5
Kate has to be the only thing worth looking at in this movie.
|
|
|
Post by rorschach on Sept 12, 2009 0:56:02 GMT -5
I'm going to chime in here with a mini review of SURVEILLANCE, Jennifer Lynch's new film. Ostensibly a "whodunit" starring Bill Pullman, the way this tense thriller unravels and shows you the bits and pieces of the event in question WOULD have been f'n cool.......
IF IT WEREN'T BLEEDINGLY, GLARINGLY, SPIT-IN-YOUR-FACE obvious who the film's villains were from the first ten minutes into this thing. I mean, if you're not drunk, stoned, or brain dead, the minute you see them, you'll know who the bad people are, and after that clicks, it becomes a chore to sit there, miles ahead of the characters on screen, waiting for them to catch up to where you're already at.
Also, this films commits the sin of giving French Stewart (the squinty little bastard from 3rd Rock From the Sun on NBC) a major role, and forcing us to watch his alleged acting. Cheri Oteri also pops up, and...look I know this is a Lynch film (Jennifer this time, as I mentioned, not her famous father) but when Oteri turned up, it started to feel a bit like stunt casting. And her half-ass comic role felt REALLY out of place in the f***ed up world this movie takes place in.
Pullman? FANTASTIC. Everyone else? Not quite so much. Check it out if you've seen everything else out there. Otherwise, skip it. You're not missing much, and it really is a chore for me to not sit here and pull a Bischoff and just give away and spoil this movie's BIG TWEEEEST (TM and C M. Night Shyamalan) ending.
Bottom line, the movie gets ** 1/2 stars for Pullman's out there acting job.
|
|
Thomas Rigby
Junior Woodchuck
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star.png)
TR + Kayako = Tag Team of the Century
Posts: 105
|
Post by Thomas Rigby on Sept 12, 2009 11:35:43 GMT -5
A couple months back Fangoria did a big fluff-piece on Surveillance. Like, seriously, they gushed about this upcoming movie so much that they made it sound like the second coming of Citizen Kane. Possible Part 3 of the Hatchet/Repo: The Genetic Opera horror website/magazine overhype machine?
By the way, I read that article, and for whatever reason the flick just didn't seem that interesting to me. It appears I was right.
|
|
|
Post by rorschach on Sept 12, 2009 16:20:58 GMT -5
A couple months back Fangoria did a big fluff-piece on Surveillance. Like, seriously, they gushed about this upcoming movie so much that they made it sound like the second coming of Citizen Kane. Possible Part 3 of the Hatchet/ Repo: The Genetic Opera horror website/magazine overhype machine? By the way, I read that article, and for whatever reason the flick just didn't seem that interesting to me. It appears I was right. Heh...seeing how my typing of M.Night Shyamalan's name came out up there makes me wish someone with some skills would do a CM Night Shyamalan photoshop: "Tweeesty Endings means I'm better than you!" ;D But yeah, if you look at SURVEILLANCE'S back cover, you'll see them hyping up the twist ending like crazy, and how the movie will throw you such a huge curveball you'll be knocked off your chair. MAYBE that might have been true had this not come out a decade or more after THE USUAL SUSPECTS, or even the Travolta/Sam Jackson bomb BASIC. The twist here REALLY isn't a surprise at all, and like I said, the bad guys are SOOOO "eeeevil" that the minute you see them, you know who they are. Honestly, I kept sitting there WAITING for one of the other characters to put it together, or maybe waiting for one last third act twist that would prove me wrong (though even THAT happening wouldn't have made a lick of sense, it would have at least made me happy that the film DIDN'T go the obvious route...sadly no such luck) but instead it stayed the course and as the credits rolled, I was left with perhaps one of the WORST feelings a moviegoer can have: "That's IT?" You know the feeling, and you know how angry, cheated, and upset having a "That's IT?" moment can make you. I think it's preferable to have a "That SUCKED!" reaction than a "That's IT?" reaction, because at least if the whole damn thing sucked, you don't feel QUITE so let down. But with the other reaction, you had something that got you excited, and tickled your mind with the possibilities it contained....and then went the blandest, most predictable route possible.
|
|
Thomas Rigby
Junior Woodchuck
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star.png)
TR + Kayako = Tag Team of the Century
Posts: 105
|
Post by Thomas Rigby on Sept 12, 2009 16:39:01 GMT -5
The biggest "That's It?" moment I've ever had in a movie theater was the Robert DeNiro/Dakota Fanning film Hide and Seek. Seriously, the mystery killer in this movie is SO obvious that I figured that it couldn't POSSIBLY be what I was expecting - and then here comes the end of the movie and, yes, it was EXACTLY what I had predicted from the beginning. It's literally like a Scooby Doo plot put to film, where there's only ONE other character in the episode besides Scooby and the gang.
|
|
|
Post by rorschach on Sept 12, 2009 16:58:08 GMT -5
The biggest "That's It?" moment I've ever had in a movie theater was the Robert DeNiro/Dakota Fanning film Hide and Seek. Seriously, the mystery killer in this movie is SO obvious that I figured that it couldn't POSSIBLY be what I was expecting - and then here comes the end of the movie and, yes, it was EXACTLY what I had predicted from the beginning. It's literally like a Scooby Doo plot put to film, where there's only ONE other character in the episode besides Scooby and the gang. That was another bad one....and from what I've been reading, the just-released to theaters SORORITY ROW commits the same crime. If your film is going to have a "mystery killer" it helps to at LEAST have more than ONE plausible candidate for that role, so the audience doesn't feel like they're waiting for the dumbass characters on screen to catch up with them and figure out the obvious. "Oh, it COULDN'T have been Amanda, because she was only right at the scene of the crime, is holding a bloody knife, and has one of the victim's testicles in her right hip pocket. Let's eliminate her as a suspect and concentrate on cranky old Mr. Jenkins, who is confined to a wheelchair and never leaves his rest home! It HAS to be him, that mean old meany!" 88 minutes later..... "Amanda! It was YOU?!?! But how? How COULD it have ever been you? I don't understand!" And we as the audience are now FIRMLY rooting for Amanda to kill each and every last one of her too-stupid-to live friends, if nor no other reason than to keep them from reproducing and spawning MORE imbecilic, shallow, but totally good looking people. NOTE: This is not necessarily the plot of SORORITY ROW, but was something I was using as an example. I've also heard pretty damning things about JENNIFER'S BODY too...namely that it's not one bit scary, nor is it very entertaining beyond having Megan Fox to look at, and Amanda Seyfried to listen to. Personally, I am getting tired of seeing Megan Fox. She's the epitome of the term "It girl" and I cannot wait for her to go away and fade her non talented ass into the dustbin of history.
|
|
Thomas Rigby
Junior Woodchuck
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star.png)
TR + Kayako = Tag Team of the Century
Posts: 105
|
Post by Thomas Rigby on Sept 12, 2009 17:04:57 GMT -5
I actually wanted to see Sorority Row yesterday, but no theaters near me had it. While the majority of reviews haven't been good, it does have a 36% on rottentomatoes, compared to the (as of this writing) big, whopping 7% that Whiteout has.
Also, allow me to play devil's advocate to you about Megan Fox for just a little bit, as I've been trying to debate people on this over at WC too: while I'm definitely not a huge fan of Fox, and I too am a little sick of hearing about her, really, she hasn't been asked to do much in her movie roles OTHER than look hot and say cheesy lines. She's had the two Transformers flicks, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, and two guest spots on TV shows that I'm aware of. If nothing else, this is a VERY different type of role for her, and I personally think she'll fit the role of mega-evil uberbitch well. Let's see what else she can do, and if she sucks in it, I''ll be more than willing to say so.
|
|
|
Post by rorschach on Sept 12, 2009 17:18:02 GMT -5
Evil sexpot....vulnerable sexpot....pouty sexpot....sexy, but hurt sexpot....all her roles call for the same thing. When I see her stretch herself like Angelina Jolie has and take on roles of a war correspondant's widow, or a grieving mother searching in vain for her lost son....then I might change my tune. All Fox is doing now is cashing in on her hotness, and not using one ounce of talent to do so. She's a star because she's hot. Period. There is not any more depth to her than that, apparently. Though to be 100% fair, Jolie had roles like that early in her career too, and there's nothing to say that Fox might not mature into a wonderful actress.
People also like to compare Fox to Marilyn Monroe, which I think is fitting in some ways, yet far, far off in others. Fox has none of Monroe's depth, comedic timing, or dramatic abilities. Monroe, who was never confused with a brain surgeon herself, held her own on screen next to some of the biggest legends Hollywood ever produced. Marilyn is an icon who will never be forgotten, and it's far too early to say if Fox could ever claim that status.
However, the way they are similar is that they both used their sexuality, and their power over men, to their advantage in securing their careers. They built their names off of their attractiveness...they got to where they were on looks alone. Difference being, Marilyn was able to transition from that to doing comedies and dramas. What has Fox yet done? Like you said, JENNIFER'S BODY has been her first role outside the safety net of the TRANSFORMERS franchise. She's still playing sexy and using her looks here though, and that's why I don't really count it as a departure.
When she does a comedy or drama where she's forced to use her talent instead of her looks (maybe in a fat suit, or impossible though this seems, having her gain thirty pounds like other actresses have in the past) we'll see what she's made of.
|
|
Thomas Rigby
Junior Woodchuck
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star.png)
TR + Kayako = Tag Team of the Century
Posts: 105
|
Post by Thomas Rigby on Sept 12, 2009 21:04:11 GMT -5
Yeah, there's not anything there that's untrue, 'Schach, it's just that for some reason I'm still more than willing to give Fox a few chances to see what she can do besides the incredibly one-note Transformers role. I hate Jessica Alba just as much as you do, but Alba has been given MANY chances to prove herself in different types of roles (Sin City, Good Luck Chuck, and The Eye come to mind, three different genres that she's failed at in epic fashion) while Fox's career is still VERY young. And, just like you said, all her roles call for the same thing. I'm not saying she's a great, or even a good actress, at this point, but how would I know? She hasn't been asked to do anything else.
As for the movie itself, I'd also like to add that I think there are FAR worse movies coming out in the near future that deserve the "this movie molested my mother" response that Jennifer's Body is getting. Case in point - The Stepfather remake. Holding these movies side by side, I'd rather see an original piece that at least tries instead of yet another banal remake of an '80s horror film (and this one wasn't even that good to begin with).
|
|
|
Post by rorschach on Sept 12, 2009 22:49:11 GMT -5
Yeah, there's not anything there that's untrue, 'Schach, it's just that for some reason I'm still more than willing to give Fox a few chances to see what she can do besides the incredibly one-note Transformers role. I hate Jessica Alba just as much as you do, but Alba has been given MANY chances to prove herself in different types of roles ( Sin City, Good Luck Chuck, and The Eye come to mind, three different genres that she's failed at in epic fashion) while Fox's career is still VERY young. And, just like you said, all her roles call for the same thing. I'm not saying she's a great, or even a good actress, at this point, but how would I know? She hasn't been asked to do anything else. As for the movie itself, I'd also like to add that I think there are FAR worse movies coming out in the near future that deserve the "this movie molested my mother" response that Jennifer's Body is getting. Case in point - The Stepfather remake. Holding these movies side by side, I'd rather see an original piece that at least tries instead of yet another banal remake of an '80s horror film (and this one wasn't even that good to begin with). Once again we are in 100% agreement. Oh and here's this, from JENNIFER'S BODY (I think...) ![](http://media.omfgif.com/gif/195218Megan2.gif) which actually kind of makes me want to go see it, just to see that scene in context.
|
|
Thomas Rigby
Junior Woodchuck
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star.png)
TR + Kayako = Tag Team of the Century
Posts: 105
|
Post by Thomas Rigby on Sept 18, 2009 21:58:31 GMT -5
Well, who would have expected? A former stripper as a writer teams up with the star whom many dub as merely a stripper to produce what is, in my humble opinion, the pleasant surprise thus far of the 2009 Halloween horror release season. Jennifer's Body is far from a masterpiece, but you can definitely do a lot worse for the price of admission, and I'll say this - it kept me awake. Either I need to get a new movie watching day or I need to start taking naps on Friday, but man - the occasion when I can actually sit through an entire movie in a theater anymore is a rare day indeed. And this movie is definitely raucously entertaining enough to do just that, so who knows what it would do for a fully functional human being? ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) More than anything else, this movie is a testament to the writing ability of Diablo Cody. While I wasn't a huge fan of Juno, I did admire the pretty weird, and sometimes brilliant, dialogue. While neither of the films I've seen that she has scripted can be classified as realistic by any means, the high school setting of this film is much more authentic than the alternate reality seen in Juno; the dialogue is fresh, snappy and funny even in the scenes that are meant to be scary, and the movie actually managed to surprise me on a few occasions with the way the story unfolded. As a horror fan, I thought I had this movie pegged from the get-go just by seeing the trailers and TV ads; I'll gladly admit that I was completely wrong on pretty much all of my predictions. In Jennifer's Body, Needy Lesnicky (Amanda Seyfried of Mamma Mia!) and Jennifer (Megan Fox) of Devil's Kettel, Minnesota (yes!) have been best friends since childhood. Cody's script pays a lot of attention to the strange love-hate relationship between the two, on more than one occasion even hinting at some fascinating romantic tension. Of course, one of these occasions is extremely unsubtle, but I'll save that little surprise for anyone else who decides to see this movie. The dynamic between the two characters also seems to be one of dominance, as Needy is eternally in agreement with Jennifer, much to the chagrin of Needy's boyfriend Chip (Johnny Simmons). The event that sets Jennifer's Body in motion occurs roughly a quarter of the way into the film, as the two central characters pay a visit to to the small, backwoods bar that serves as a hangout for the local teens. As they watch a band begin their set, a fire unexpectedly erupts, killing several people inside. Jennifer and Needy, along with the members of the band, manage to escape, at which point the lead singer of the band (whom Jennifer had her eyes on) offers her a ride home. What follows is actually some pretty nerve-wracking stuff, as Jennifer shows up at Needy's doorstep later that night, blood dripping from her face and legs, and somehow strangely inhuman. The first scene when we meet "demon Jennifer" is actually a pretty frightening little scene, and admittedly made good ol' TR jump in his seat a little bit. As for the rest of the movie's plot, I'll let you watch it unfold for yourself (and I highly recommend you do), because while it's really nothing that you haven't seen before, I once again have to freely admit that I didn't see the flick's plot unraveling quite the way that it actually wound up doing. As for the performances, firstly, Megan Fox. Believe it or not, she actually shows some promise in a role that requires a little something more than just looking hot and running away from explosions. Granted, the role doesn't require MUCH more than that - she still isn't given much in the way of emotionally overwrought stuff to work with, but she didn't outright bore me the way she did in the Transformers flicks. So if you're turned off of this movie just by Fox, she's not a reason to avoid it. The movie's real discovery is Seyfried. I haven't seen Mamma Mia!, and in scanning through imdb.com, her only other movie that I've seen is Mean Girls...and that a long time ago. I honestly can't remember seeing her in anything else, but both her performance and character in Jennifer's Body are pretty electric stuff. While it's true that Cody doesn't make her an out-and-out saint in the mold of countless slasher film heroines, Seyfried is tough, vulnerable, and strangely relatable in the role of hanger-oner, and aptly named, Needy. As I stated in the opening paragraph, though, this is far from a perfect movie. Cody gets a little carried away with her clever dialogue, sometimes inserting it in jarring fashion in the middle of some of the more suspenseful scenes, and while I praised Fox ever-so-slightly in this movie, there are a few scenes yet that are downright groan-worthy. Don't get me wrong; she's got a LONG way to go. Still, for the amount of pre-release hatred that this movie got on this here message board, to this observer, this was a movie that didn't deserve the bile. *** out of ****.
|
|
|
Post by Deadpool is Insane on Sept 19, 2009 1:15:18 GMT -5
I just got back from Jennifer's Body and I just have this to say, it was a hell of a lot better than I thought it was going to be. It was nothing like what I expected and I mean that for the better. Infact, I felt it had the potential to be even more than it was but the last 1/4 of it kind of slipped off the track that the rest of the movie set up IMO.
The one thing I didn't like about it is they had a TON of build up for Jennifer and Needy's relationship, that really didn't pay off at the end at all. All the build up to the complicated nature of their friendship/possibly more just pretty much crumbled apart at the end and really didn't play a factor in it.
|
|
|
Post by rorschach on Sept 19, 2009 1:21:10 GMT -5
Three out of four? Now I almost HAVE to go and see it just to see if I agree with that. A damn near perfect score for a Megan Fox movie?
EDIT: Beat me to it, Pool!
Will have to go and check this out for myself, it seems.
|
|
|
Post by Deadpool is Insane on Sept 19, 2009 1:32:09 GMT -5
Yeah I saw that you had posted about wanting to read my thoughts, after I had posted my thoughts. I figured out what was going on, but I still got a kick out of that.
|
|
Thomas Rigby
Junior Woodchuck
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star.png)
TR + Kayako = Tag Team of the Century
Posts: 105
|
Post by Thomas Rigby on Sept 19, 2009 16:47:51 GMT -5
Yeah, 'Schach, I'll echo Pool's sentiments as well and once again say that the movie does lose some steam in its final quarter. I said it in the WC thread, but the movie had actually been excellent up until a certain point in the film. Having said that, it also doesn't completely fly off the rails in its closing chapters like The Reaping or District 9, although nobody agrees with me on the latter.
Also, I don't quite consider three stars a near-perfect score. I kind of utilize the Roger Ebert scale - ***+ = thumbs up, anything lower is thumbs down. So Jennifer's Body gets a positive review, although it isn't spectacular.
|
|