Movie Reviews 2.0

Guardians of the Galaxy just keeps climbing higher and higher on my list of must see movies.

tumblr_mrfh59EnLa1s5zf6fo1_400.gif


tumblr_mrff3fGVZM1rvhl57o1_400.gif
 
I agree. I mean, how can you dislike something that stars a character called Rocket Raccoon. Also, isn't that a Matthew Vaughn joint? Can't think of a single movie by that guy which I didn't enjoy a great deal. He just gets comic books.

Edit: not Matthew Vaughn. It's James Gunn.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I also saw Oz and thought it was quite terrible, even if there were some pretty bits at times. I bought it, but expect it will be sold again (still have to see it in 3D before that happens). Rachel wasn't bad but the rest ... mediocre is being generous here. Give me Tim Burton's version anytime, looked better and Johnny Depp carries it quite well. I did at least like the premise though.

Also watched Paperboy - that had pretty decent acting (loved John Cusack in that) but man, that story and world was a far uglier place to dwell in than Hick, with a similar 'doesn't the South suck!' kind of mentality, but uglier still.

I also started 360 and that seemed promising but couldn't finish it and now it is no longer available on demand, so will have to look elsewhere. Also saw a first full episode of Borgen (from a later season), which seemed quite good. Will give that series a try.
 
I also saw Oz and thought it was quite terrible, even if there were some pretty bits at times. I bought it, but expect it will be sold again (still have to see it in 3D before that happens). Rachel wasn't bad but the rest ... mediocre is being generous here. Give me Tim Burton's version anytime, looked better and Johnny Depp carries it quite well. I did at least like the premise though.
Is this a joke about how all Burton movies with Depp blur into one or something?
 
Elysium 8/10. If you like District 9 you'll like this, although I'd say District 9 is the better movie. This has all the inventive gatgets and weapons to make for some good action like District 9. But the story isn't as good. There are a lot of characters with each their own motivations all influencing the plot, but none of it feels like it matters because there's very little actual character development. Even all the obvious social commentary it starts out with goes nowhere in the end.
 
Well I saw The Conjuring. Better than most scary movies from the same scary movie making guys.
And i'm pretty sure the main guy is also the main guy in the Insidious movies?
 
Elysium was pretty disappointing imo, although I might have been expecting too much.

After coming from District 9, I agree.

Too bad, I was really hoping for it to be awesome.

Thor 2, Hunger Games 2, Hobbit 2 and The Worlds End are all I can think of form now until EOY that I care about.
 
The Evil Dead 2013.
I liked it a lot. The premise was certainly better than average. Heck, it was almost clever. A bunch of kids go to a remote cabin in the woods with the intention of helping one of them to make it through a weekend of drug withdrawal. There's a smelly cellar full of dead cats dangling from the cealing, and of course there's also the dreaded book of the dead. The book is all wrapped up in black leather and barb wire and basically screams "do not touch under any circumstances". Since this is a horror movie, the inquisitive teacher-type kid removes the book from its ominous enclosure and reads out an ancient incantation that awakens a dormant demonic entity in the forest. As early symptoms of demonic possession apparently aren't all that dissimilar from the violent fits a person may have during drug withdrawal, no-one seems particularly bothered when things start to get messed-up at first. When they finally do wisen up, it's obviously way too late. What follows is more than an hour of relentless carnage. The Evil Dead is one gloriously gory film. Not a particularly scary one, but the carnage is both inventive and full-on. Scissors, shards of glass, utility knifes, machetes, nail guns, electric knifes, chainsaws ... all put to extremely good use against various parts of the human anatomy. I definitely cringed a bunch of times, which was in on no small parts due to a brand of extraordinarily unpleasant sound-design. The movie also moves at a really nice pace and benefits immensely from some pretty damn good performances. The girl playing the addict/demon really kills it here. Last but not least, this is the first horror film I've seen in a long time that ends on a high note. Its both unexpected, and it's also damn near humorous in its excessiveness. From narrative perspective It's the part where the remake deviates the most from the original, yet it's also the part that's closest to the hyperactive and humorous gross-out tone of the original. I really enjoyed this thing. Practical effects still rule supreme in the genre.
 
Still have a hard time understanding how/why people like this stuff ... :D
 
Still have a hard time understanding how/why people like this stuff ... :D
part of the reason is its less cliched than most genres (though of course theres still lots of cliches as with all genres)
eg old mate mentions it ending on a high note, i.e. even with mainstream horrors like this you still dont know are the 'goodies' gonna win or the 'baddies'
contrast this with mainstream action films where 99.9% of the time you know 'the goodies' are gonna win
 
Yeah, Evil Dead 2013 was a nice surprise !
There were talks about doing two sequels and then a fourth movie with Bruce Campbell. Now maybe it'll be a little too much :)

I have high expectations for "The Conjuring" from James Wan which is out this week here. I don't like Saw, but Insidious was great

It's nice to have more horror movies instead of dumb slashers
 
part of the reason is its less cliched than most genres (though of course theres still lots of cliches as with all genres)
eg old mate mentions it ending on a high note, i.e. even with mainstream horrors like this you still dont know are the 'goodies' gonna win or the 'baddies'
contrast this with mainstream action films where 99.9% of the time you know 'the goodies' are gonna win

Horror less cliched than other genres? - that is a pretty damn bold claim. For every film that takes some unexpected turns or subverts genre tropes, there's like a hundred you can plot out precisely within the first 5 minutes.
I like horror movies for the same reasons I like stuff like roller coasters I guess. It's the excitement and the adrenalin, the tension and the release, the morbid curiosity. It's like playing dare games with myself. It's also a lot cheaper than bungee jumping.

I also wanna see The Conjuring. Any movie that gets an R rating because it's too scary has my attention. I wasn't a big fan of Insidious though. Great first act but the second half was a complete let down. A rather common problem in horror unfortunately. Once you get a good look of what you're up against and the film goes into showdown mode, you might as well stop watching.
 
As there is a huge F1 following here... how does everyone feel about the new Lauda Hunt movie Rush?

Personally I'm pretty excited, great story, the actors look alot like the people, the cars/racing look good....<fingers crossed>
 
The Evil Dead 2013.
I liked it a lot. The premise was certainly better than average. Heck, it was almost clever. A bunch of kids go to a remote cabin in the woods with the intention of helping one of them to make it through a weekend of drug withdrawal. There's a smelly cellar full of dead cats dangling from the cealing, and of course there's also the dreaded book of the dead. The book is all wrapped up in black leather and barb wire and basically screams "do not touch under any circumstances". Since this is a horror movie, the inquisitive teacher-type kid removes the book from its ominous enclosure and reads out an ancient incantation that awakens a dormant demonic entity in the forest. As early symptoms of demonic possession apparently aren't all that dissimilar from the violent fits a person may have during drug withdrawal, no-one seems particularly bothered when things start to get messed-up at first. When they finally do wisen up, it's obviously way too late. What follows is more than an hour of relentless carnage. The Evil Dead is one gloriously gory film. Not a particularly scary one, but the carnage is both inventive and full-on. Scissors, shards of glass, utility knifes, machetes, nail guns, electric knifes, chainsaws ... all put to extremely good use against various parts of the human anatomy. I definitely cringed a bunch of times, which was in on no small parts due to a brand of extraordinarily unpleasant sound-design. The movie also moves at a really nice pace and benefits immensely from some pretty damn good performances. The girl playing the addict/demon really kills it here. Last but not least, this is the first horror film I've seen in a long time that ends on a high note. Its both unexpected, and it's also damn near humorous in its excessiveness. From narrative perspective It's the part where the remake deviates the most from the original, yet it's also the part that's closest to the hyperactive and humorous gross-out tone of the original. I really enjoyed this thing. Practical effects still rule supreme in the genre.

Very good description of Evil Dead 2013. Enjoyed it immensely. The gore was surprisingly full-on and quite shocking in some parts. It's rare that my daughter and I are taken aback by the violence but we were.
 
Horror less cliched than other genres? - that is a pretty damn bold claim.
I said most other genres. Eg just watched kick ass 2 6/10
Not as good as the first.
Anyways just before it there was a trailer for a film where some terrorist blow up the white house anyways. I don't have to watch to film to know the rookie cop is gonna save the day. This is what I mean. With some horrors you don't know if it's gonna end good or bad
 
Iron Man 3 is probably the worst movie I've watched all year, a solid 3/10. In stark (yes yes, a pun) contrast to the first Iron Man, which is very good.

You just can't hide a bad script with millions and millions dollars worth of special effects.
 
The Evil Dead 2013.
I liked it a lot. The premise was certainly better than average. Heck, it was almost clever. A bunch of kids go to a remote cabin in the woods with the intention of helping one of them to make it through a weekend of drug withdrawal. There's a smelly cellar full of dead cats dangling from the cealing, and of course there's also the dreaded book of the dead. The book is all wrapped up in black leather and barb wire and basically screams "do not touch under any circumstances". Since this is a horror movie, the inquisitive teacher-type kid removes the book from its ominous enclosure and reads out an ancient incantation that awakens a dormant demonic entity in the forest. As early symptoms of demonic possession apparently aren't all that dissimilar from the violent fits a person may have during drug withdrawal, no-one seems particularly bothered when things start to get messed-up at first. When they finally do wisen up, it's obviously way too late. What follows is more than an hour of relentless carnage. The Evil Dead is one gloriously gory film. Not a particularly scary one, but the carnage is both inventive and full-on. Scissors, shards of glass, utility knifes, machetes, nail guns, electric knifes, chainsaws ... all put to extremely good use against various parts of the human anatomy. I definitely cringed a bunch of times, which was in on no small parts due to a brand of extraordinarily unpleasant sound-design. The movie also moves at a really nice pace and benefits immensely from some pretty damn good performances. The girl playing the addict/demon really kills it here. Last but not least, this is the first horror film I've seen in a long time that ends on a high note. Its both unexpected, and it's also damn near humorous in its excessiveness. From narrative perspective It's the part where the remake deviates the most from the original, yet it's also the part that's closest to the hyperactive and humorous gross-out tone of the original. I really enjoyed this thing. Practical effects still rule supreme in the genre.

Awesome review, thanks for writing that! Is this out on DVD yet? I didn't catch it in the theater. I like the original Evil Dead movies, 1 and 2 and really good but 2 is basically a re-telling of 1. From what I've heard, the remake lost a lot of the black humor that the original was rife with. In fact, I heard it's not funny at all. Just...bloody. Which is fine. I'm pretty accustom to mainstream horror movies; I can't stop watching the damn things.
 
Back
Top