• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Movies Seen in 2012

Cowboys & Aliens - DVD
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - DVD
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - free screenin'
Limitless - Netflix Instant
The Next Three Days - Netflix Instant
Man on a Ledge - free screenin'
Red State - Netflix Instant
Mars Needs Moms - Netflix Instant
S.W.A.T.: Firefight - Netflix Instant
Red Tails - free screenin'
Resident Evil: Degeneration - Netflix Instant
The Last Exorcism - Netflix Instant
Frozen - Netflix Instant
The Perfect Host - Netflix Instant
Tucker & Dale vs Evil - Netflix Instant
Brooklyn's Finest - Netflix Instant

The Capcom-animated RE movie followed the basic pattern of the live action movies - big bad horde of zombies wreck havoc 'til a larger monster turns up, and then a cliffhanger to keep things goin'.

It reminded me that I still haven't watched the fourth live action movie...

TLE was creepy enough, once it got goin', but it was so slow to start...probably won't watch it again, but it was better than some of the other "found footage" movies out there.

Frozen was pretty bad, and ironic, since Bobby "Iceman" Drake was one of the college kids stuck on the ski lift.

TPH was good, thanks to David Hyde Pierce. He was awesome. The movie went on a bit too long, but it was still pretty good.

T&DvsE is on now, and, so far, its awesome!

- edit, to add -

Okay, Tucker & Dale vs Evil is officially my favorite movie so far this year!

The last movie of the night is Brooklyn's Finest, via Netflix Instant.
 
Last edited:
Updates in Bold:

Bad Boys (8)
First Squad: The Moment of Truth (8)
Legend of the Millennium Dragon (7)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (5)

First Squad is a rare genre for anime taking place during WWII and from the Rusian perspective, then given a supernatural and espionage twist. However,
it seems like just the first part of something larger though and is kind of inconclusive. I hope they make more of this.
 
1. Holy Rollers (B-)
2. The Kids Are All Right (B)
3. History of the World, Part 1 (C-)
4. Blazing Saddles (A+)
5. Scarface [1932] (B-)
6. The Purple Rose of Cairo (A)
7. Rampart (B+)
8. We Need To Talk About Kevin (A+)
9. Tucker and Dale vs Evil (B+)
10. They Live (B-)
11. Darling Companion (D)
12. A Dangerous Method (B-)

A Dangerous Method: I'm rather fond of David Cronenberg's work, but this film doesn't quite hit the mark. It never quite figures out what its about. Is this a movie about Jung's affair with a patient? Is it about the relationship between Freud and Jung, is origins and is eventual decline? Is it a movie about the formation of psychoanalysis? At times, it appears the movie wants to be one or all of these things, but it never achieves those ambitions. Despite being top-billed, Keira Knightley is the least convincing actor in the movie (she's just about the only one attempting a foreign accent, and it's never very successful), and her relationship with Jung is never as interesting as the relationship between Jung and Freud. Indeed, the movie is at its best when Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender are together on screen, debating with one another about various topics.

It's not an unwatchable film, but it is a missed opportunity, especially when Cronenberg's talents are considered.

Theatres: 4 +1
Home Video: 7 +1
Computer: 1
 
Have not seen any movie this year but will go for Underworld Awakening tomorrow
 
8. Winter's Bone

A good film that's elevated by Lawrence's performance. And after that scene in the boat at night (when you watch the film, you'll know which one - it's a great example of not really showing a lot, but still creating a lot of tension), I need something funny next.
 
Kicking off my 2012 list:

1. Edge of Darkness: A
2. Star Trek: The Motion Picture: B+
3. Repo Men: B-
4. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier: B-
5. Underworld: Awakening: B

Overall I really enjoyed the movie. The movie did a smart thing by doing a 3-4 minute recap of events from the first two UW films. I was pleasantly pleased to see the movie start at a point not long after the "reveal" of vamps and lycans. Thus having Selene and Michael on the run. They did a good job of finding a very good Scott Spedman look-a-like. I mean really was his schedule so busy? No more than he was on screen for that sequence I can't imagine they needed more than a week with him...but I digress.

The first sequence when she awakens 12 years later was really good imo as well.
I didn't have any issues with the young girl they got to play her 11yr old daughter. All things being equal she did, at worst, an adequate job.

My complaints would be that I thought the first werewolves we saw, those emaciated living in the subway tunnels underground, had the least convincing F/X. The others we saw later and especially the Goliath Lycan all had a higher quality F/X it seemed.The other main point of contention for me was that it seemed the Detective was very quick and too eager to help Selene. Besides those two points I overall liked the movie.

Bring on Underworld 5: Whose your Daddy
 
1. My Week With Marilyn (B-)
2. Fantasia 2000 (B+)
3. Blade Runner (B)
4. The Hidden Fortress (A-)

Wow, I'm not getting in nearly as many films this January compared to last, between having a job this time, watching more regular TV shows, and reading more books.

Anyway, another of Kurosawa's samurai stories (though rather light on samurai), famously influential in the crafting of Star Wars. Kurosawa's main storytelling gimmick here feels very modern; namely, telling the story largely from the perspective of the comic relief. This can be grating in places, but mostly it's successful. The centrepiece fight scene is done with spears rather than swords this time, and the choreography is noticeably easier to follow as a result.

Cinema: 1
DVD: 3
Computer: 0
 
Bad Boys (8)
First Squad: The Moment of Truth (8)
Legend of the Millennium Dragon (7)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (5)
Underworld: Awakening (8)
 
20. The Storm Riders
21. Ghost in the shell: Solid State Society
22. New Tale of Zatoichi
23. King Kong Escapes
24. The Fiendish plot of Dr. Fu Manchu
25. King Kong Extended Cut 2005
26. The Flowers of War
 
1. Chasing Amy - C+
2. Where The Wild Things Are - C
3. The Tree of Life - C+
4. Source Code - B
5. Kung Fu Panda - B.
6. Ponyo - B+

7. Shaun of the Dead - A-. Very good horror spoof. Some particularly inspired bits, in particular the bit involving a Queen song near the end of the movie.

8. Thor - B. Really pretty good, even if it looks like a Yes album cover for most of the movie.

9. Win Win - B+. Feel good movie starring Paul Giamatti. Well written.
 
1. Holy Rollers (B-)
2. The Kids Are All Right (B)
3. History of the World, Part 1 (C-)
4. Blazing Saddles (A+)
5. Scarface [1932] (B-)
6. The Purple Rose of Cairo (A)
7. Rampart (B+)
8. We Need To Talk About Kevin (A+)
9. Tucker and Dale vs Evil (B+)
10. They Live (B-)
11. Darling Companion (D)
12. A Dangerous Method (B-)
13. Haywire (C+)

Haywire: A serviceable action movie with a bit of an arthouse sensibility, but as great as Gina Carona is in a fight scene, she's still working out how to act. The action set pieces are good, though, but too few and for the most part too brief. In terms of villains, Michael Fassbender is great as always (but barely in the movie), Ewan McGregor doesn't possess one ounce of menace, and Michael Douglas is pretty good as a bad (?) guy near the top. Overall, the movie is a bit over-invested in its (unnecessarily) convoluted plotting.

Theatres: 5 +1
Home Video: 7 +1
Computer: 1
 
Cowboys & Aliens - DVD
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - DVD
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - free screenin'
Limitless - Netflix Instant
The Next Three Days - Netflix Instant
Man on a Ledge - free screenin'
Red State - Netflix Instant
Mars Needs Moms - Netflix Instant
S.W.A.T.: Firefight - Netflix Instant
Red Tails - free screenin'
Resident Evil: Degeneration - Netflix Instant
The Last Exorcism - Netflix Instant
Frozen - Netflix Instant
The Perfect Host - Netflix Instant
Tucker & Dale vs Evil - Netflix Instant
Brooklyn's Finest - Netflix Instant
Stone - Netflix Instant

With Edward Norton, Robert DeNiro & Milla Jovavich's nipples, how do ya make a bad movie?

Well, ya have it be duller than dirty dishwater, and a plot that goes absolutely nowhere...

At least it was free...wasn't that long ago I was thinkin' of rentin' it from Blockbuster for a couple of bucks.
 
1. Holy Rollers (B-)
2. The Kids Are All Right (B)
3. History of the World, Part 1 (C-)
4. Blazing Saddles (A+)
5. Scarface [1932] (B-)
6. The Purple Rose of Cairo (A)
7. Rampart (B+)
8. We Need To Talk About Kevin (A+)
9. Tucker and Dale vs Evil (B+)
10. They Live (B-)
11. Darling Companion (D)
12. A Dangerous Method (B-)
13. Haywire (C+)
14. Mission: Impossible (B+)

Mission: Impossible: Fans of the original TV series (and the short-lived 1980s follow-up) are notorious for disliking this movie, but I don't have any problems with it. It's an excellent thriller that begins with 30 minutes that are vintage Mission: Impossible and then heads off into its own (worthwhile) territory thereafter. It assembles a great cast with mostly good performances, includes a number of taught and memorable action sequences, and benefits from Brian De Palma's visual style. The Blu-Ray transfer isn't great, but, then again, I purchased all three movies for $20.

Theatres: 5
Home Video: 8 +1
Computer: 1
 
9. Attack the Block

Aliens land in South London and only a street gang noticed it, so now they have to fight them - with fire works, water pistols and a katana.
It's a very fun film that perfectly manages to combine comedy with some gruesome attack scenes.
 
1. My Week With Marilyn (B-)
2. Fantasia 2000 (B+)
3. Blade Runner (B)
4. The Hidden Fortress (A-)
5. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (B+)

The second best young-boy-with-a-key-that-relates-to-his-dead-father movie of the year.

I don't there's been a more divisive film this Oscar season than Stephen Daldry's fourth directorial effort, an adaptation of a popular (though also controversial) novel that I haven't read. People seem to either find this movie extremely manipulative (with an extra dose for people who think it's exploiting 9/11). I don't think it's exploitive; if you don't like sentiment, you might not like this. I thought that the movie's main relationships, between the kid and his mother and grandfather, are both done very well, and the climactic moments feel genuine.

The main challenge of adapting this novel (from what I've read about it, and from flipping through it in the store) is the main character. The novel is told first-person by a kid with an Aspergers-like personality ("the results weren't definitive", as he says in this movie, we shields the author from having to answer for how accurate the kid's depiction is); like a lot of modern fiction, it's heavily internal. The kid's personality has been splitting viewers too. This is a much tougher job for a child actor than most roles, and I think Thomas Horner acquits himself pretty well.

Cinema: 2
DVD: 3
Computer: 0
 
1. War Horse (B-)
2. The Woman in the Window (A-)
3. The Last Exorcism (B)
4. The Guard (A)
5. Groundhog Day (A-)

Theatres: 1
Home Video: 4 (+1)
Computer: 0
 
Just startin' a new job (orientation was this mornin') at a movie theater, and the perks include free movies (after my first payday), so I'll be seein' a lot more movies in the theater in the very near future!

And still signin' up for movie screenin' passes, too, since I don't know what kind of schedule I'll be on yet...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top