| Author | Message | ||
     Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.183.204 |
It seems we haven't done the list-thing lately, so how about listing the best/worst (or liked/disliked) movies we've seen so far this year? Some of mine technically came out last year, but I only got around to seeing them this year. Here goes: Best: CONTROL REC. THE ORPHANAGE CLOVERFIELD MICHAEL CLAYTON I AM LEGEND (first half, especially) WIND CHILL HELLBOY 2 RESCUE DAWN DISTURBIA ALONE THE MIST Worst: JUMPER DEATH PROOF THE EYE ONE MISSED CALL 30 DAYS OF NIGHT SMOKIN' ACES CHAOS THE ZOMBIE DIARIES P2 VANTAGE POINT THE SIGNAL 10,000 BC THE BRAVE ONE I'm not sure where to put INDY 4 yet, as I liked it and was disappointed by it at the same time. Same with NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and AMERICAN GANGSTER. I haven't seen EASTERN PROMISES yet. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.242.126 |
Best: THE MIST NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN INLAND EMPIRE THE ORPHANAGE RED HELLBOY 2 (saw this last night and loved it) BLACK WATER I AM LEGEND DIARY OF THE DEAD REC DEATH SENTENCE PLANET TERROR DEATH PROOF Worst: SMOKIN' ACES JOHNNY SUNSHINE | ||
| Lincoln_brown (Lincoln_brown) Username: Lincoln_brown Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 58.165.11.223 |
Good to see 'Michael Clayton' on your 'best' list. Great film. But, I think you misplaced 'The Mist' by a line or two  | ||
| Simon Strantzas (Nomis) Username: Nomis Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 99.225.111.224 |
Does LAST WINTER fall under this year or last? | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.108.9 |
Not seen many films this year and my opinion of them will probably change over time but right now the winners are: Best: THE MIST THE DARK KNIGHT Worst: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Disappointed as I had high hopes for it. Still got the novel on my TBR pile though.) So-so: HELLBOY 2 I AM LEGEND (Started off well but got worse as it went along) 30 DAYS OF NIGHT | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.183.204 |
Lincoln, I'm sure Craig will agree with you about my placing for THE MIST! Simon, I was wondering about adding THE LAST WINTER (which I loved), but I'm fairly certain I saw it more than a year ago. Zed, glad you liked HELLBOY 2. I thought it was a lot better than the first one. I liked the fact that the guy he was up against wasn't simply a one-dimensional villain. The scenes between Abe and Hellboy were great, and of course was the Troll Market. I enjoyed BLACK WATER too. There's another movie out based on the same event (I think), called ROGUE. Have you seen it? I still haven't seen THERE WILL BE BLOOD, THE DARK KNIGHT, SWEENEY TODD, and several others, so I'll probably need to revise my list later... | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.242.126 |
Huw, I saw Rogue last night too. Very disappointing. There are a couple of decent moments in the film, but the ending is very "Hollywood"... | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.3.65.135 |
GF's selection from his viewing this year! Best: Worst: | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.138.242 |
I liked that film too. It had a blank and empty feeling that I could empathise with. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.193.173 |
Excellent choices, Gary! ;-) I don't know how I forgot this one - perhaps I've subconsciously been trying to blot it out of my memory - but perhaps the worst film I saw this year was Argento's MOTHER OF TEARS. Absolute drivel. VACANCY was another good one. Zed, that's a shame about ROGUE. I was hoping it'd be good. | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.4.252.254 |
Of all the films listed here I've seen, here's my one word/term reviews: THE ORPHANAGE - atmospheric MICHAEL CLAYTON - melodramatic DISTURBIA - Hitchcock-lite THE MIST - shite DEATH PROOF - legs-on-the-road 30 DAYS OF NIGHT - better'n-I-thought VANTAGE POINT - shite-y NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN - disappointing AMERICAN GANGSTER - my-mafia-fix EASTERN PROMISES - shite-ish DIARY OF THE DEAD - fun-but-forgettable PLANET TERROR - ha! INLAND EMPIRE - wft?! LAST WINTER - great-expectations (i.e., for this director's next film) SWEENY TODD - fun-but-forgettable-2 VACANCY - short-and-sweet | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.4.252.254 |
Clearly, "wft" must mean "what [a] film this [is]". | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.3.65.135 |
Does 'shite' mean 'superb horror interpretation transcending expectations'? | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.4.252.254 |
No. It means "super horrible, intensely terrible excrement." | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.3.65.135 |
See how its terror's exposed! | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.16.84.241 |
Sadly, however, it's too emphysematic. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.3.65.135 |
Sorry, have I taken exception? | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.5.13.157 |
Sir, here, it's totally excusable. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.3.65.135 |
Shit! Help! I'm totally expended! | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.5.13.0 |
Sunday has its terminal experiences. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.114.136 |
Huw - Wind Chill was good? For me Dark Knight just blew everything away - it's still ringing around inside of me, and perhaps all the more because I really didn't want to see it that much. I also liked Juno very much. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.185.114 |
I liked WIND CHILL. It was a nice little low-key horror film. Haven't seen JUNO yet. Has anyone seen the new Hulk film? Was it better than Ang Lee's movie? | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.114.136 |
Yeah, I've seen it. I sort of preferred Lee's but also felt a bit bored with it, wanted more 'Hulk' stuff. By way of contrast this was boring because there was MORE action! Not bad, though, not as bad as some felt it to be. Hulk should have taken a leaf from Cloverfield, had a bit of awe thrown into the mix. The Hulk has yet to be treated right, I think. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 79.187.206.46 |
Best - The Mist, - No Country For Old Men - There Will Be Blood - Pineapple Express - Death Proof The Worst - Too many to say. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.114.136 |
i've recently come to the conclusion that I just like films generally. They don't need much of a plot, just be nice/appealing to watch. Music and images is nice, and the parade of sad faces and stuff. It's sort of reassuring. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 83.98.9.4 |
Best - The Mist Eastern Promises Dark Knight No Country for Old Men The Orphanage I thought Teeth was fun but forgettable - which with that plot could have been so much more. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 79.187.206.46 |
I be able one of the few people here who really enjoyed 30 Days of Night. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 79.187.206.46 |
Fucking hell...'I be...' frigging Somerset Shakespearian hick or what? | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.0.1 |
Best Dark Knight Eastern Promises Donnie Darko - oops how did that get in there :>) Worst Cloverfield. | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.4.234.27 |
I actually really enjoyed 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, Frank, much more than I thought I would. But I don't know what to think of THE HAPPENING, which I just saw. It was pretty... uneventful. Almost amateurish. Laughable where it shouldn't be. Miscast. Thin as a wafer. And yet, oddly enough... unlike THE VILLAGE, or SIGNS, or others... I wasn't bored to tears. You can't call it horror, really. Or, frankly (you don't mind me adverbizing you, do you, Frank?), very good. | ||
| Alansjf (Alansjf) Username: Alansjf Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 93.97.93.216 |
Best: [.Rec] Worst: Doomsday. Hard to believe that pile of dreck came from the same director of The Descent ... | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 90.208.214.20 |
OK here we go: BEST (= Most Liked) Doomsday The Fall [Rec] The Darjeeling Limited Sweeney Todd Be Kind Rewind The Orphanage The Mist Hellboy 2 WORST (= Least Liked) Mother of Tears The X-Files 2 Indiana Jones & I Can't Be Bothered to Type the Rest There Will Be Blood (Oh yes) The Golden Compass The Wizard of Gore (2008) All the Boys Love Mandy Lane Special Mentions to Films I Had Never Seen Before & Thought Were Bloody Great: Last Year in Marienbad Hangover Square The Lodger The Fountain Cannibal Holocaust Birth Special Mention to a Film I'd Never Seen & Everyone Had Said was Good & I Found A Massive, Massive Disappointment Amelie Old Friends It's Been Good To Revisit: Videodrome The Fly (1986) Hostel The Black Cat (1934) The Raven (1935) Murders in the Rue Morgue (1931) Spider Baby A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Blazing Saddles The Haunted Palace The Skull! Demons of the Mind City of the Living Dead The Good the Bad & the Ugly Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed Number of 70s Paul Naschy Movies Seen : 12 Number of Gialli: 8 Number of John Waters movies: 8 Did I watch Dawn of the Mummy YET AGAIN? : I did The above is not really for debate but more as a form of confession & I must say I feel much better for having typed it all out | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.114.136 |
Yes! Me and Proto hated Amelie. She made me want to puke - she was so nasty. I heard they burned rats alive for a Naschy film, so I don't know if I can watch any now. I LOVED The Fountain. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 79.187.206.46 |
John - I think Tony and I may be the only people in the universe (that's the known universe) who loved 'The Fountain'. For all the criticism, it was daring, audacious and different. Oh, and I wept buckets. Just don't tell Craig. John - You hated 'There Will Be Blood' but liked 'Doomsday'? Doomsday was a deriative piece of nonsense. Yes, it wore its heart on its sleeve, and the first 45 minutes was standard genre hokum, enjoyable hokum if you are twelve, but c'mon man, have you been helping yourself to some of those over-the counter medicines again? | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
JLP and myself also loved The Fountain. And I loved Doomsday because it made me feel twelve again. | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
I was fond of The Fountain too. And count me in the anti-Amelie brigade - Truffautish new wave twenty years too late (though perhaps more bearable than Tony Richardson) and on a needlessly high budget. After I'd suffered through it I watched Tirez Sur Le Pianiste again and felt much better. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 79.187.206.46 |
Zed - as long as you remember that...nothing wrong in wanting to be twelve again, christ knows we'd all love to. I've never seen Amelie. It's one of those annoying films that young Polish men and women claim as their own, like it's some sort of significant triumph in the field. I think they think it's arthouse. Though, I might like it. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 147.252.113.53 |
I think of Amelie as the French Phantom Menace. | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.47 |
I actually watched DOOMSDAY twice about 6 months apart to ensure I wasn't just having a very good day in general when I watched it (this does happen sometimes and you could put almost anything in front of me & I love it. In fact maybe that explains why I can watch DAWN OF THE MUMMY so often). But no - on second viewing I still loved it. I knew I'd get flack for disliking 'There Will Be Blood' & maybe I should watch that again but the scene in the bowling alley near the end is now so indelibly hliarious in my head I'm not sure my opinion would change. THE FOUNTAIN made the romantic bit of JLP shed a few tears - especially that bit where he tattoos his wedding ring on. Glad I'm not the only one to not like AMELIE - we set aside an evening to enjoy it at Probert Towers & wished we'd gone out. Anyone else here seen Tarsem Singh's THE FALL yet? Don't be put off by the fact he made the Jennifer Lopez starrer THE CELL - it's actually a bit of a morally ambiguous visual feast that's worth catching | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.4.244.40 |
I liked THE FOUNTAIN, actually. Daren Aronofsky did the mind-blowing REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, and he will go his whole life trying to top that one, alas; he didn't here, but FOUNTAIN was visually stunning, if nothing else. Imagine Aronofsky doing THE WATCHMEN... wow, now, wouldn't that be something.... | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.152.236.105 |
I thought the bowling alley scene in THERE WILL BE BLOOD was intended to be funny, no? I think much of the film is black comedy. | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 90.199.0.7 |
Maybe I do need to see it again then | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 79.187.206.46 |
Aronofsky's latest, 'The Wrestler' just one Micky Rourke best actor at the Venice film festival. I think it was the Venice film festival. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
This is my most eagerly-awaited film for years. I never lost faith with Mickey: he always was, and always will be, one of the best screen actors Hollywood has ever produced. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 79.187.206.46 |
I don't know about that, mate. Have you seen 'The Pope of Greenwich Village'? There's an interesting bit from Rourke on Wikepedia about Aronofsky's 'pep talk' with Rourke. It went something like this, 'look man, you used to be this great actor and then you flushed your career down the toilet. You can't be out partying the night before a shoot. You got me. I won't stand for it!' Inspiring stuff. I'm sure Aronofsky has something really special lined up for his next movie. Wait a moment. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 79.187.206.46 |
Yeah, I was right. Only a remake of...wait for it...ROBOCOP! There, you Zed, I also gravitate toward vigilante movies of outsanding violence. Well, it's not exactly a vigilante movie but... | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
'The Pope of Greenwich Village'? That's a superb film, and Rourke is great in the role. Aronofsky's speech was redundant; Rourke admitted himself a few years ago that he pissed his career away and was daft to do so. he's very humble these days; accepts the error of his ways. These new young directors all grew up loving him and his films, so he's now got a second chance. I adore Mickey Rourke. If you doubt his acting abilities, see him in these: ANGEL HEART (acts De Niro off the screen; his finest hour) JOHNNY HANDSOME (average film, great performance) HOMEBOY (ditto) DINER (suave and understated; classic popcorn scene)) RUMBLE FISH (iconic) YEAR OF THE DRAGON (breathtaking performance in a bloody good film) 91/2 WEEKS (underrated peformance) WHITE SANDS (subtle and understated) THE RAINMAKER (majestic) BUFFALLO 66 (great cameo in a brilliant little flick) ANIMAL FACTORY (weird and brilliant) THE PLEDGE (dignified; painful) SIN CITY (astonishing) Yeah, he's made some rubbish films and put in some dodgy performances in them, but when he's on song there's nobody better, IMHO. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.114.136 |
'Aronofsky's speech was redundant; Rourke admitted himself a few years ago that he pissed his career away and was daft to do so. he's very humble these days; accepts the error of his ways.' He behaved for sin City but then - I heard - was back to business as usual for his next! Sigh... | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
A leapard can't change its spots, but it can wear a different coloured coat. (eh?) | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 79.187.206.46 |
The Rainmaker...piffle, boring piffle. Next. White Sands...typical film of the period. 91/2 Weeks...erotica is meant for the bedroom and not the screen because it always comes across laughable. Look at 'Last Tango In Paris'. Johnny Handsome...again the brilliant Walter Hill hammers another nail into his and Rourke's career. BUT...I will partially agree with you on the rest. And in defense of you and your pal Mickey, I'm talking more about the movies than his talent. BUT Zed, the Pope of Greenwich Village is truly, truly, truly awful. Even Rourke's performance, not too mention Eric Roberts. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
Fran - I'm talking about Rourke's performances in these films, not the films themselves. But I disagree with your comments about the films, too. I also totally disagree regarding "The Pope..." it's a very decent little zeitgeisty film. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.114.136 |
Love scenes should be filmed like murder scenes if they're to work, said Hitch, and vice versa. I always agreed with that. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 79.187.206.46 |
Zed - Perhaps you've seen it recently, but TPOGV is, as rightly critiques at the time, Rourke playing Pacino in a wannabe Scorcese film. I can't stress how bad that film is. It's cheap looking, absurd and lacks any masculine chemistry between the leading men. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 79.187.206.46 |
...rightly critiqued | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 79.187.206.46 |
Tony - Hitch knew what he was talking about. That's why he is and shall ever remain the Hitchmaster. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
Sorry, Fran, but I still disagree. And I never let critics sway my own judgement; I likes what I likes. Like. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
I didn't name my first born Charlie Ramsey Rourke McMahon for nothin', me auld mucker. :-) | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.3.65.135 |
Where did 'Charlie' come from? (And please don't be rude. Emily might be reading.) | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
:-) Emily's gran insisted that whatever we called him, she was going to call him Charlie...and hence the name stuck. Sounds like a seedy private eye: Charlie McMahon, on the case... :-) | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.3.65.135 |
Sounds like a North Eastern people-smuggler. Only kidding. Charlie's a great lad. And he loves me. :<) | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 79.187.206.46 |
Charlie's a great name. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.216.88 |
I'm with you regarding The Pope of Greenwich Village, Zed (and most of the other Rourke films, too - he's a fine actor at his best). "Bedbug Eddie took my thumb!" | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.242.126 |
As always, Huw, you display astonishing good taste. :-) It's weird, but even when you and I disagree on films, I can see where you're coming from. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.183.174 |
Same here, Zedney. ;-) One of my all-time favourite Rourke movies is Barfly - I thought he was a revelation in that. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen it. Back in the late eighties/early nineties, my friends and I opened a pub called Barfly, named after the film. God, I was drunk practically every night (and sometimes in the day too) back then. The good old days... | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.242.126 |
How could I have forgotten BARFLY? He's amazing in that as Bukowski. I've seen that film countless times...always with a drink in hand. :-) You opened a pub named after the film? Now, that's cool. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.184.52 |
It was really cool. I had so many good times there. It was only a small place but it oozed character, and the company was always good. We got busted once for gambling (playing poker and mah-jang upstairs), and in the end the place burned down. I think someone left a lit cigarette lying around, or something. I've still got some of the CDs I managed to retrieve from it after the blaze - they're all scorched and really smelly. "To all my friendsss!" I love his fights with Eddie, his nemesis. |