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

[luckystars]

If I said to you 'watch this film, its' ok to flat' would you want to?

[bradavon]

In all honesty, I do think it takes quite a bit of talent not to be able to understand such a simple rating scale as mine.

Why thank you . Giving any film you "technically" think is wonderful only 1 out of 5 makes no sense. Simple. There have been loads of examples over the years. Maybe you misunderstand, yes I understand how you choose to rate films but I "don't get" how you could rate a film in such a way. Does that make sense?

I don't get why people also keep films they've only given 1 out of 5 too. No offence to Romero but he seems to think he has to own every film he's ever seen (quantity over quality maybe), when you don't.

I think I gave 2001 3.5/5, it was good - I just dont think I "got it".

How many times have you seen it out of interest? I didn't get it on the first watch but on it's second watch it made sense and boy I now think it's a masterpiece. To go from the dawn of man to a new life form in 2.5Hrs is some feet!

[gasteropod]

I loved it on first watch, but yeah I think Grim should give it another go and I hope he enjoys it more next time.

[romerojpg]

No offence to Romero but he seems to think he has to own every film he's ever seen (quantity over quality maybe), when you don't.

No offence taken at all.

Nah as long I like it enought for what I paid, I will keep it and as many cost a few quid at most, I keep most.

If I HATE a film, it gets sold instantly mind you

[RickyTheDragonSteamboat]

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day - 2/5
I don't know how he did it but Troy Duffy has managed to make an even worse movie than the original Saints. While the first film falls into the "so bad it's good" category, All Saints Day is just plain bad. The acting is terrible, the editing was a joke, the dialog was juvenile and the shootouts are poorly staged. Basically there's nothing redeeming about this movie. Ultimately, the first film is an extremely overrated piece of crap but Willem Dafoe's hilarious performance literally saved the film from destroying itself. Too bad he didn't come back to do the same here. But good for him. This movie would've been just another crap stain on his career. A very generous 2/5.

[grim_tales]

In all honesty, I do think it takes quite a bit of talent not to be able to understand such a simple rating scale as mine.

Why thank you . Giving any film you "technically" think is wonderful only 1 out of 5 makes no sense. Simple. There have been loads of examples over the years. Maybe you misunderstand, yes I understand how you choose to rate films but I "don't get" how you could rate a film in such a way. Does that make sense?

I don't get why people also keep films they've only given 1 out of 5 too. No offence to Romero but he seems to think he has to own every film he's ever seen (quantity over quality maybe), when you don't.

I think I gave 2001 3.5/5, it was good - I just dont think I "got it".

How many times have you seen it out of interest? I didn't get it on the first watch but on it's second watch it made sense and boy I now think it's a masterpiece. To go from the dawn of man to a new life form in 2.5Hrs is some feet!

I've just seen it the once, I knew about some famous scenes etc and loved the music and some images but it was very long in places.

[bradavon]

It's a slow film, where not much happens but that adds to it's power IMO.

[grim_tales]

Not sure where to put this as its not a film per se but a sit down comedy gig.

Reginald D Hunter & Steve Hughes: 4.25/5

I enjoyed the gig I'd never seen Steve Hughes before, he was an Australian comic, he seemed to put a philosophical/hatred of Govt. slant on most things and he was swearier than I thought he'd be - but often very funny Reg was much better at a full gig like this than when he'd been on HIGNFY (and he's good there). It was very good as Steve was "support" but his part was a full 45 minutes which would take up a whole episode of Comedy Roadshow - and Reg was almost 2 hours.

[Beat TG]

Newsmakers (2009)

Russian/Swedish remake of Johnnie To's Breaking News. It was good but could've been better. Not that it's a remake but because the movie was inconsistent and variable. That questions whether or not the movie should be taken seriously since the tone is serious and straight to the point unlike To's stylistically surrealistic approach. There's some major changes in all three acts (intro, hostage situation, escape), mainly the famous scenes which are structured differently here. That itself was good but it called for some unnecessity (mainly in acting) that hindered and ruined it for me. The action was pretty good though. Those in the original are precise and postured while these are like a combination of Heat and Swedish action movies. Nicely staged and the sound fit the intensity and mood of the gun scenes perfectly. All in all, it's flawed but nonetheless a good remake. Rating: 3/5

Memento (2000)

The beginning was so confusing but after a while, 20-30 min into the movie, I finally got it. In the end, very complicated but a great concept. No one else was better for this than Nolan. His style is the movie. Atmosphere/mood, cast, music, cinematography, editing. But above all, it's the story/script that makes everything. It was just a refreshment to see a story basically being told backwards with details all the way to the beginning building up a twisted version of the complete picture. This means it's begins from ending to beginning and build ups the story and characters through details of relationships and the main gimmick that develops the basis of them that leads to and develops further from them in the real version of everything. Simply genius. Rating: 5/5

[grim_tales]

Forbidden Planet (1956): 4/5

Exciting and interesting sci-fi film with a good story (taken from Shakespeare's The Tempest), a bizarre electronic score - that sounded familliar as soon as I heard it, I've probably heard noises like that before - and excellent special effects for the time, in fact they were probably ahead of their time.
Anne Francis is beautiful (a few of her dresses are a bit racy for 1950's surely?!), and it was fun seeing a young Leslie Neilsen who I only know from Naked Gun/Police Squad.
The 2 disc DVD transfer is very good.

[grim_tales]

I might get the Blu Ray when it comes out. I'd got the DVD for a fiver yonks ago and hadnt seen it, but it's a very good film

[luckystars]

Forbidden Planet (1956): 4/5

Exciting and interesting sci-fi film with a good story (taken from Shakespeare's The Tempest), a bizarre electronic score - that sounded familliar as soon as I heard it, I've probably heard noises like that before - and excellent special effects for the time, in fact they were probably ahead of their time.
Anne Francis is beautiful (a few of her dresses are a bit racy for 1950's surely?!), and it was fun seeing a young Leslie Neilsen who I only know from Naked Gun/Police Squad.
The 2 disc DVD transfer is very good.

Great film

[grim_tales]

I ordered the blu ray

[saltysam]

The Crazies (2010) 3/5

definitely one of the better recent horror remakes,fast moving with some good set pieces.well worth seeing.

Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix 2.5/5

Found this one hard going,the least of the series for me (so far).

For A Few Dollars More 4.5/5

Simply superb sequel to a great original.Eastwood is simply iconic in the role.

Good,The Bad,The Ugly 5/5

What a movie!An all time classic of cinema with fantastic performances from Eastwood,Wallach & Van Cleef. Full of superbly shot scenes (the one where Wallach & Eastwood stumble into a civil war camp and become friendly with the army captain is a brilliant piece of film making) hurry up and release the rest of the Leone canon on BD please!

[Markgway]

Out of 4 stars:

Dirty Harry ***.5
Classic cop vs psycho thriller. A game of cat and mouse executed with style and gritty brutality. What does a good cop do when political correctness supersedes justice? Memorable score by Lalo Schifrin.

Magnum Force ***
Interesting sequel comes at Harry from a different angle by making him the liberal (against vigilante cops) and whilst not as sharp or dynamic is still highly recommended for fans.

The Enforcer **.5
Formula film is watchable but strips the series of most of its power and politics. The bad guys are a faceless bunch and jibes at bureaucracy get somewhat buried under conventional plotting.

Sudden Impact **.5
Dark and violent entry offers up a feminist rape and revenge scenario but ironically lacks impact. This could have been potent and thought-provoking stuff but it's ultimately half-baked and inconsistant.

The Dead Pool **.5
Lazy and tired final series entry looks like a TV movie and wastes some good ideas... but with Eastwood as Harry it's impossible to dislike or dismiss entirely.

[luckystars]

Hey Mark, what did you mark Dirty Harry down for? Surely it's a 5/5, 4/4, 10/10 kinda film?

[bradavon]

No way. More like 3 out of 5, 6 out of 10.

[romerojpg]

Jesus.

[luckystars]

Mary and Joseph.

[Markgway]

I gave it the rating I felt it deserved.

3.5/4 is a very high mark from me.

Very few films get 4/4.

[HungFist]

I gave it the rating I felt it deserved.

3.5/4 is a very high mark from me.

Very few films get 4/4.

Exactly. I only give 5/5 for about a dozen films in the world, and Dirty Harry, while easily a 4/5 film, doesn't make it to my top 12. Some people use the highest rating so commonly that is has lost all its meaning... you see Grim rate a film 5/5 and all you can tell is that he thought it was above average

[Markgway]

Yeah, but it's OK because it's Grim.

[grim_tales]

A rating like that can mean it's a very well made film, I really enjoy the film and it has lasting appeal

[luckystars]

Agreed but not that Dirty Harry deserves less than full marks on anyones scale.


Also I don't think that 5 star films are so rare that you could only know 5 or 10 of them.

[grim_tales]

American Gangster: 4/5

A very well made film, Washington and Crowe are outstanding in it. Do you think Lucas is made out to be a kind of cult figure though? Maybe it's because of the music, cars etc that he seems so cool even though he's a drug dealer.
Interesting to hear interviews with the real Richie Roberts and Frank Lucas on Disc 2.