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

[saltysam]

The Mechanic 2/5 Rather drab early 70's Charles Bronson thriller,flatly directed by Michael Winner.Bronson is a hitman who takes on Jan Michael Vincent as his protege.Defies logic at times Bronson flies a plane a mere hours after collapsing & waking up in hospital,as you do Jill Ireland is shoehorned into the movie for one rather odd scene,clearly on Bronson's say-so.this has been remade with Jason Statham,i imagine that might be a bit more fun.

[Markgway]

Shawshank was average at best, watched it once and forgot about everything in it apart from the twist. If it was not for the twist, it would have been buried on release like the averageness it is.

You couldn't be more wrong. But that's OK. You're entitled to your WRONG opnion.

[Yi-Long]

I think Shawshank is a great movie, but with many people and lists claiming it to be THE best movie ever, I obviously disagree with that.

[Shingster]

Something's got to make the #1 spot on the lists and in people's opinions, I feel less bad about it being Shawshank than Requiem for a Dream at least!

[Markgway]

There's no such thing as a 'best ever' movie... but I'd say that Shawshank Redmption is my personal favourite.

MADE OF HONOR **
Formulaic romcom with Scottish stereotypes.

TRUE COLORS **.5
Absorbing if minor political corruption drama.

WAKE OF DEATH **.5
Very violent revenge flick. Van Damme's best effort of the last decade.

COP OUT *
Abysmal buddy cop-comedy.

[bradavon]

Source Code - 8 out of 10

A strong sci-fi action thriller, with lots to think about and try work out (I reckon I've pretty much worked it out). It's a shame more Hollywood films aren't made realising we're intelligent enough to work things out for ourselves.

I don't think it's as good as Moon and probably won't be buying it but definitely recommend Source Code. I loved the old school 70s sci-fi vibe Moon gave off.

[grim_tales]

I liked it too Brad (Source Code), great film.

[bradavon]

Here's what I worked out:

The Source Code doesn't just put you into the mind of someone who's died but 8 minutes of their consciousness is still alive (so you can observe what they may have seen). It in fact transports you back to the last 8 minutes of their life, giving the transporter (who's also dead) the ability to change the past. Jake Gyllenhaal's managed to not only prevent the bomb going off, he also sent a text back to Vera Farmiga's (Goodwin) character too. Discussing events that no longer happened.

I also reckon the end of the film where Jake Gyllenhaal is in Chicago, is the character's mind and not reality. It lasts a lot longer than 8 minutes for one thing.

Agreed?

p.s - Michelle Monaghan is hot.

[grim_tales]

I agree with the first bit.
IMO,

I thought it would be that when his life support is switched off, he dies for real. So the part when he is seen living his new life (in the teacher's body) with Christina is like his afterlife maybe?
Why didnt he search for the real Sean/another one?
IMO the perfect ending should have been all the characters on the train frozen - end of film.
If we say "multiple universes", he stopped the bomb going off in ONE reality, maybe in another it still went off

[romerojpg]

Sourcecode is shite. The central idea is fucking garbage beyond words.

[saltysam]

Blow Out 4.5/5 Absorbing thriller is pretty much top notch from start to finish.masterful direction,superb cinematography,great Donnagio score and an excellent lead performance from John Travolta. Nancy Allen in the female lead role is decent but not a great actress and is possibly the only slight weak link in this underrated 80's cracker.

[Yi-Long]

The Insider 4.5/5

Standout performances by a great cast, a good soundtrack, decent visuals apart from some annoying camerawork at times, and a gripping story based on real-life occurances. Better than Network. Better than All the President's Men.

[Markgway]

Better than Network. Better than All the President's Men.

Better than Requiem for a Dream?

[Yi-Long]

Better than Network. Better than All the President's Men.

Better than Requiem for a Dream?

Watching 90 minutes of a still-picture of Maggie Thatcher in a bikini scratching the sand out of her ass-crack is better viewing than Requiem for a Dream.

[Markgway]

Legion **.5

Quite entertaining fantasy-action-horror hybrid manages to run a long way before its risible elements get the better of it (even the most indulgent viewer will chuckle at the pompous dialogue spouted between bouts of machine-gunning possessed children). I'm not sure how much intentional humour is in there... but I LOL'd at the bit with the old lady and the frying pan. Having two climaxes too many (films is ten mins too long) doesn't help. Film should've ended once Quaid blew up the diner and the three survivors plus baby drive off.

[romerojpg]

Nahhh Legion was not too long, it just did not have enough action scenes in the bloody thing! 8 times more babbling on than bloody action it was like they cut half the action out for some foolish reason and then were left with loads of speeches!

Hopefully the director isn't doing that with his next film Priest...

[bradavon]

I thought it would be that when his life support is switched off, he dies for real. So the part when he is seen living his new life (in the teacher's body) with Christina is like his afterlife maybe?

I thought the same. He had fallen for her by then.

Why didnt he search for the real Sean/another one?

Why bother?

IMO the perfect ending should have been all the characters on the train frozen - end of film.

That would be good but it worked how it was shot too. The perfect ending of Minority Report for me would be when it pans out seeing Sean Archer in prison.

If we say "multiple universes", he stopped the bomb going off in ONE reality, maybe in another it still went off

Yep.

Sourcecode is shite. The central idea is fucking garbage beyond words.

You know it's all just fantasy right?

The Insider 4.5/5

It's excellent. I hope Mann decides to reframe the eventual BD and not sticking the fucking thing so high up this time. He's never done it before or since, so why stick the image of the 2.35:1 so high and not central?

[grim_tales]

@ Brad, fair enough. I just expected something to be said after the part when when he looks in the mirror, but doesnt see his own reflection, he doesnt seem very "WTF?" about this.
I thought there would be a twist where the body he wound up using was the bomber (Or Christina was). Surprised he didnt mention that as a possibilty to Goodwin, maybe thats too obvious.

[bradavon]

@ Brad, fair enough. I just expected something to be said after the part when when he looks in the mirror, but doesnt see his own reflection, he doesnt seem very "WTF?" about this.

He does. 8 minutes later, he gets an explanation.

I thought there would be a twist where the body he wound up using was the bomber

That's the first thing I thought of. Maybe it's too obvious in a world where we're looking for "the twist".

[gasteropod]

Dogtooth: 3.5/5

[saltysam]

Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest 3/5 Final part of an absorbing trilogy,not perfect,and the Michael Myers-like brother is a bit of a stretch but generally this is just riveting stuff and Rapace is a true star.

[Markgway]

We should rename this the redacted thread.

The Crazies **.5
Haven't seen the original, but this remake wasn't too bad. Damaged by overlength and over-familiarity (seems like this basic plot setup has been used a dozen time in the last decade).

Hot Tub Time Machine **
Crude retro comedy has some laughs but is pretty tough to like and doesn't make the best of a good premise.

Alien ***
Half sci-fi, half horror. I prefer the horror, first half takes ages to build up. Design and tech aspects are first rate.

[brooce-leroy]

The Lookout **.5

Decent drama-cum-heist movie with Joseph Gordon Levitt.

The Hole **.5

Welcome return from Joe Dante. Quite scary (well, creepy) for a 12! If I was a kid watching that, I'd be crapping myself for weeks!

The Resident **

Serviceable psycho stalker horror with the million dollar baby in a "pay the bills" role. At least they got a higher calibre actress than the norm for this sort of movie. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is not quite wierd enough though, and we don't get to know much about the character's past.

p.s. using that American bloke's rating system as favoured by Mark

[Markgway]

p.s. using that American bloke's rating system as favoured by Mark

[Yi-Long]

Is that the rating-system where you only use 4 stars instead of 5?

I don't agree with that. It should be banned and punished. Severely. It goes against ancient scripture.