What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

[saltysam]

I Spit On Your Grave (2010) 2.5/5

Well made but grim & brutal remake. cut in the uk apparently.Sarah Butler puts in a great performance as the abused heroine who fights back.while the elaborate revenge kills are well done it stretches credulity that a 7 stone girl last seen jumping half dead into a river would have the strength to do what she doesnot a film you'd show to your mum that's for sure.

Ghostbusters 4/5

Though the effects are now looking very dated this film is still great fun.

[gasteropod]

Ghostbusters 4/5

Though the effects are now looking very dated this film is still great fun.

I've always preferred the sequel, I wish they'd release it on Blu-ray.

[Markgway]

Batman Begins was mostly filmed indoors as well, but they did a great job of recreating a city!

Yes, in Gotham, Burbank!

Looks great though, brilliantly photgraphed.

[Markgway]

I take it you know relatively little about the production.

"The film was shot at Pinewood Studios in england, taking up nearly all of its 99 acre backlot and utilizing 16 Sound Stages. "

I stand massively corrected.

It just LOOKS like one stage... better?

Let's let the man himself have the final word:

'Burton responded, "I like Batman Returns better than the first one."'

[luckystars]

I take it you know relatively little about the production.

"The film was shot at Pinewood Studios in england, taking up nearly all of its 99 acre backlot and utilizing 16 Sound Stages. "

I stand massively corrected.

It just LOOKS like one stage... better?

Let's let the man himself have the final word:

'Burton responded, "I like Batman Returns better than the first one."'

I don't care what Burton thinks

[HungFist]

Highlander (USA, 1986) – 3/5
The many faces of Christopher Lambert. Psycho, paedophile, plain dumb. How the heck did he ever get to be a Hollywood leading actor??? Good for us, though, cool film.

Deuche Bigalow: European Gigolo (USA, 2005) – A LOT / 5
Missed the first 10-15 min so no rating. But obviously this is the best American comedy from the last 5 years or so, aside Bruno. Kinda like a funnier version of Hostel. Man-whores are the best!

“I ain't gay! I was just looking down his pants 'cause i heard his shlong was so big, and juicy! No wait! That didn't sound right!”

[gasteropod]

You must be the only person in the world who likes Rob Schneider

[Markgway]

Where was the paedophilia in Highlander?

Lambert may not be the best actor (ahem) but he has charisma and for action-type movies that's often enough.

[HungFist]

You must be the only person in the world who likes Rob Schneider

Never seen anything else from him, but judging by this film, he's a genius

Where was the paedophilia in Highlander?

The scene where he rescues the little girl from the nazis... " What's you're name? Come with me. I won't hurt you..." That voice... really creepy

[Xenon]

Deuche Bigalow: European Gigolo (USA, 2005) – A LOT / 5
Missed the first 10-15 min so no rating. But obviously this is the best American comedy from the last 5 years or so, aside Bruno. Kinda like a funnier version of Hostel. Man-whores are the best!

My sarcasm sense is tingling.

[brooce-leroy]

You must be the only person in the world who likes Rob Schneider

Never seen anything else from him, but judging by this film, he's a genius

Where was the paedophilia in Highlander?

The scene where he rescues the little girl from the nazis... " What's you're name? Come with me. I won't hurt you..." That voice... really creepy

That's just Lambert's battle with the English language.

[grim_tales]

Sleeping Beauty (1958): 4.5/5

When I was younger this wasnt my favourite as it was a bit twee and I wasnt a fairytale person, but now I can appreciate the paralells with something like "Snow White", how there is an atmosphere of genuine evil when Maleficent appears, the music and how well animated the final battle with the Dragon is.

[gasteropod]

Cube Zero: 3/5

Enjoyable trash, I still need to see Hypercube but it's currently unavailable to rent on Lovefilm.

[Markgway]

Requiem for a Dream

The most vivid 100m anti-drug message ever.

It's a trial to sit thru and beyond the obvious you have to ask yourself what the point is...?

I'll save you the time:

[gasteropod]

Or: Just say no to heroin, and don't take drugs every day like an idiot.

[Markgway]

Or: Just say no to heroin, and don't take drugs every day like an idiot.

I like my message better.

[Yi-Long]

Requiem for a Dream

The most vivid 100m anti-drug message ever.

It's a trial to sit thru and beyond the obvious you have to ask yourself what the point is...?

I'll save you the time:

It's an overrated exaggerated after-school special with the usual PC anti-addiction propaganda, shot and edited to appeal to the MTV-crowd.

It's one of the shittiest movies I've ever sat through. And I sat through Bowfinger!

[luckystars]

Hey I liked Bowfinger!

Last Steve Martin film I could sit though

[Markgway]

It's an overrated exaggerated after-school special

Not sure you'd find that ass-to-ass scene in an after-school special... lol

with the usual PC anti-addiction propaganda

Is that a bad thing given how much illegal drug abuse we have in this world? I think maybe they should show this in schools here (Dundee has one of the worst heroin addiction rates in Europe).

shot and edited to appeal to the MTV-crowd.

It's hyper and bludgeoning but I think that's meant to capture the repitition of addiction.

[Yi-Long]

It's an overrated exaggerated after-school special

Not sure you'd find that ass-to-ass scene in an after-school special... lol

Would be good for the ratings though ...

with the usual PC anti-addiction propaganda

Is that a bad thing given how much illegal drug abuse we have in this world? I think maybe they should show this in schools here (Dundee has one of the worst heroin addiction rates in Europe).

I don't think lying to and scaring your kids (or addicts) into trying to stop them from doing stuff like this, is a good idea.

The truth is bad enough as it is. No need to exaggerate it into ridiculous proportions, cause I feel that would just have the oppositie effect, with kids not trusting the information/knowledge we're giving them.

shot and edited to appeal to the MTV-crowd.

It's hyper and bludgeoning but I think that's meant to capture the repitition of addiction.

Not sure what it is, but it's the equivelant of your headteacher preaching to you about something, while putting it in a rap and doing some amateur breakdancing, just so 'it's cool' and the kids can 'relate'.

It's ridiculous, it's unnecesarry, and it's insulting for anyone with half a working critical brain.

Sometimes I feel the only reason this movie is popular, is because for many it's the first 'serious' movie they've watched instead of the usual Bruce Willis and The Mummy blockbusters, and they somehow feel extremely proud of sitting through that shit and 'understanding it's message' (yeah, that's a real accomplishment(!).

...not to mention the fact they only sat through it so they could watch that infamous ass-to-ass dildo scene...

[Markgway]

I don't think lying to and scaring your kids (or addicts) into trying to stop them from doing stuff like this, is a good idea. The truth is bad enough as it is. No need to exaggerate it into ridiculous proportions, cause I feel that would just have the oppositie effect, with kids not trusting the information/knowledge we're giving them.

I don't know... if I was a curious kid that shit with the infected arm would put me for for life! Sometimes stupid people need to be scared. Not that you can always protect people from themselves. Ask any idiot who takes drugs and you'll get the standard "it doesn't affect me/I can quit anytime" response(s). I'm no expert on heroin but which parts exactly are 'lying' to the viewer? I'd imagine that everything you see on screen has happened (and continues to happen). Heroin is a ghastly drug and I'm sure the filmmakers had no need to 'fake' how bad it is even if they concentrate on worst case scenarios for dramatic effect. You may think it's a bad movie... fair enough. But I don't agree with your reasoning.

[Shingster]

I agree with Yi, it's over-stylised bollocks and about as intelligent and subtle as a sledgehammer. For a far superior depiction of heroin addiction you should watch The Corner (which manages to be grim without the gimmicks, just good old-fashioned character drama).

[brooce-leroy]

trainspotting has got to be the benchmark on the subject.

[Yi-Long]

I don't think lying to and scaring your kids (or addicts) into trying to stop them from doing stuff like this, is a good idea. The truth is bad enough as it is. No need to exaggerate it into ridiculous proportions, cause I feel that would just have the oppositie effect, with kids not trusting the information/knowledge we're giving them.

I don't know... if I was a curious kid that shit with the infected arm would put me for for life! Sometimes stupid people need to be scared. Not that you can always protect people from themselves. Ask any idiot who takes drugs and you'll get the standard "it doesn't affect me/I can quit anytime" response(s). I'm no expert on heroin but which parts exactly are 'lying' to the viewer? I'd imagine that everything you see on screen has happened (and continues to happen). Heroin is a ghastly drug and I'm sure the filmmakers had no need to 'fake' how bad it is even if they concentrate on worst case scenarios for dramatic effect. You may think it's a bad movie... fair enough. But I don't agree with your reasoning.

It's lying' because there's no nuance. It doesnt even HINT at the notion that there is a possibilty of nuance.

It's a collection of worst-case scenarios. It's like making a movie about 4 travelers on 4 different planes, 3 of them crashing and the other one being hijacked and everyone ends up with slit throats. You could even call it an anti-flying movie, and argue that all those events are 'realistic' cause they happened in real life as well! That wouldn't make it any less ridiculous, and any less dishonest about the safety of airtravel.

Dont get me wrong. I'm not comparing addiction to airtravel. I use it as an example to point out how fucked up the movie is in it's depiction of addiction (I'm a poet and I don't even know it!)

And yeah, you see a fucked up arm in a movie and it scares you. Then you go outside into the real world and meet dozens of people who used drugs either on a regular basis or recreationally, and you start thinking for yourself. You might even go online and look at statistics how many 'junkies' actually end up armless,or with a dildo up their ass.

The 'scare' is just for a few moments. The betrayal by the moviemakers is eternal.

Like I said, lying about this kinda stuff isn't needed. The truth is bad and scary enough as it is. The lie clouds the truth.

[Markgway]

I agree with Yi, it's over-stylised bollocks and about as intelligent and subtle as a sledgehammer. For a far superior depiction of heroin addiction you should watch The Corner (which manages to be grim without the gimmicks, just good old-fashioned character drama).

Never heard of The Corner. It's not like I'm seeking out movies about Heroin addiction... lol. It's just that Requiem was on TV and I figured I'd see what the fuss was about. I didn't 'like it' (not sure Requiem is the kind of film anyone could or indeed should 'like') but I can't argue with the intent of its message - even if the sledgehammer approach grinds the viewer down. Perhaps having two seperate addiction stories (there's the mother on the uppers) was overkill. I'd rather that heavy-handedness however than the 'honest' ambiguity of Trainspotting which unfortunately served to glamourise as much as demonise Heroin (when I was 18 we had a college class discussion that was as depressing as it was revealling in the attitudes of young people toward Heroin based on that film). I guess more often than not you take from a film what you bring to it.

And yeah, you see a fucked up arm in a movie and it scares you. Then you go outside into the real world and meet dozens of people who used drugs either on a regular basis or recreationally, and you start thinking for yourself. You might even go online and look at statistics how many 'junkies' actually end up armless,or with a dildo up their ass.

I would argue that it's dangerous for filmmakers to show any positive aspects of drug use because you know that that's what inclined people will take from the experience. An affirmation. "See the characters look cool... they survived... so will I". You can't stop people from taking drugs but you can avoid glamourising it. I've met some 'normal' people who've smoked weed but never a happy, healthy Heroin addict. You see them shuffling around my area all the fucking time with their pasty, sweaty faces, dead eyes, and nervous energy. I hate it.