The Zone

by **justcheckin** on Mon Mar 19, 2007 11:18 pm

Just saw 300 and Zodiac the week before...

by **Anti-Christ** on Fri Mar 30, 2007 3:51 am

justcheckin wrote:Just saw 300 and Zodiac the week before...

300 was awesome. Sadly, only the second flick I've paid to see in theaters this year. Hannibal Rising was the other and that was only worth my $10 to drool over Gong Li. Please Hollywood, give me a reason to spend my money this year!!!

by **Peven** on Sun Jul 15, 2007 7:17 pm

have seen "Ratatouille", "H@rry Potter", and "Transformers" all in the last week, and i would rank them from best to least best in that order, "Ratatouille" and "H@rry Potter" being very good movies, with "Transformers" coming in a distant third.

by **Maui** on Sun Jul 15, 2007 7:24 pm

Peven wrote:have seen "Ratatouille", "H@rry Potter", and "Transformers" all in the last week, and i would rank them from best to least best in that order, "Ratatouille" and "H@rry Potter" being very good movies, with "Transformers" coming in a distant third.

I would have to agree with the order as well. I've seen all 3 and the rat wins hands down.

by **TheBaxter** on Sat Jul 28, 2007 4:03 pm

i guess this thread doesn't get used much. well, i just spent two night watching three classic movies from the 80s.

first up was Edward Scissorhands

technically, i didn't see this in the cinema, it was a free outside showing at a local museum. this is one of my favourite movies of all time. i always identified with edward, the outsider who never quite fits in, despite his attempts. i was even edward scissorhands one year for halloween. it was awesome seeing this outside on a hill, though it was kinda weird too. the strangest part for me was when edward kills the anthony michael hall character, and lots of people cheered. AMH was a real bastard in the film, but i don't know that he was so much that he deserved to die. but worse than that for me, was what that scene means for edward's character. it's where he finally loses his innocence, finally crosses the line that he can never come back from. he doesn't become evil or anything like that, but once he's taken a life, he can never be a part of that other world. the other world has corrupted him, and now he is doomed to be alone no matter what. so that scene is very sad and tragic to me, and it's weird hearing people cheer during it. of course, not everyone will have my same interpretation of the scene, or have seen the film as many times as i have to look at it on that deeper level, but weird for me nonetheless. but still, seeing the movie outside, for free, was awesome. one of the greatest modern fairy tales, in my opinion.

then last night, it was a double feature at the AFI Silver cinema near DC. i love this cinema, don't get there as often as i should, but they play some incredible old films there. this summer they've been doing a Totally Awesome Films of the 80s series, and last night was the first chance i got to go. it was a musical theme, so the first film up was...

Purple Rain

ok, it's hardly a great film, but it's a lot of fun to watch. prince is such an asshole in this film. it's amazing that he made a movie which, frankly, casts him in a pretty bad light. he's egotistical, self-centered, violent, and misogynistic. i don't know how much of this is accurate of the real prince, but boy, what a risk to present himself like that (though 20-odd years ago, it might not have seemed as bad as it does now). prince is also a really bad actor. he is a musical genius, but the acting... sucks. surprisingly, apollonia as his girlfriend did a pretty good job. i could have seen her having an acting career. not that she's meryl streep or anything, but at least she has some natural ability. same with his band members. well, they didn't have much to do really, but wendy in particular is pretty believable.

it's always odd seeing these films with a modern audience, because people seem to always feel a need to laugh at things to show they're hip to the irony or whatever. that always annoys me. there are definitely things in the film that are dated, or that are unintentionally funny, but you don't have to laugh every time they show someone with a silly 80s new wave haircut.

the real reason to see the film is the great soundtrack. what an amazing collection of songs. i'm not a huge prince fan, but those songs, they just fit together so well and there's hardly a dud among them. it's hard not to just get carried along by the music. at least it was hard for the annoying chick sitting in front of me, who would often wave her hands in the air and go "wooooo" during the songs. but i tried to imagine she was just another audience member on the screen. one guy brought out a lighter and flipped it on during the 'purple rain' sequence, which was perhaps the funniest thing during the whole film.

also, it gave me an excuse to dig out my old purple paisley shirt to wear.

and after that it was...

This Is Spinal Tap

one of my favourite comedies, and by far the best rockumentary/mockumentary ever. there are just so many classic scenes. i can't even describe it, the film is what it is, and everyone knows it by now (or should). but it was cool to see it in a real theater.

anyway, the AFI is great, and they've got some more great films playing there. more 80s films are coming, next week is say anything and repo man, a bit of an odd double feature, but another two movies i love so i'll be back there again. they'll also be showing pretty in pink, the terminator, brazil, and some others. they're showing lawrence of arabia in 70mm every sunday this summer. and they're gonna be showing an al pacino series, including the godfather and heat, and a bunch of others. so i'll probably be there a lot for the rest of the summer.

by **Maui** on Sat Jul 28, 2007 6:32 pm

TheBaxter wrote:This Is Spinal Tap

one of my favourite comedies, and by far the best rockumentary/mockumentary ever. there are just so many classic scenes. i can't even describe it, the film is what it is, and everyone knows it by now (or should). but it was cool to see it in a real theater.

YESsssSSS! Christopher Guest!!!!! I just love this movie, own it, watch it prolly twice a month, just for kicks and giggles!

by **stereosforgeeks** on Sat Jul 28, 2007 6:40 pm

TheBaxter wrote:This Is Spinal Tap

one of my favourite comedies, and by far the best rockumentary/mockumentary ever. there are just so many classic scenes. i can't even describe it, the film is what it is, and everyone knows it by now (or should). but it was cool to see it in a real theater.

Lucky bastard.

by **DDMAN26** on Sat Jul 28, 2007 10:02 pm

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix-Like the books I love how this series has grown into something darker and more mature. It might be my favorite of the series. A-

Side note: Yesterday I saw trailers for The Golden Compass, Stardust and the Dark is Rising. All three look pretty good but honestly they all look like the same movie.

Hairspray-I went into this thinking it's probably going to be awful. Couldn't be further from the truth. Abosolute fun from the very beginning. The film in the first twenty minutes actually dares you not to like it. But resistance is futile, I loved it. A

by **Seppuku** on Tue Aug 14, 2007 10:37 am

There are quite a few hundred cinemas across the country (mostly Cineworld) taking part in a Summer of British Cinema-themed series of special screenings every Tuesday. They've already had Goldfinger and Brief Encounter, but today's one is the movie I'm most interested in, Billy Liar, by director John Schlesinger of Midnight Cowboy fame. Though it'll be pretty amazing finally getting an opportunity to see a young(ish) Christopher Lee on the big screen, as well as the gorgeous Britt Ecklund humping the walls naked in The Wicker Man, not to mention Richard E Grant's greatest role.

Here's the total line-up:

Tuesday 31st July GOLDFINGER
Tuesday 7th Aug BRIEF ENCOUNTER
Tuesday 14th Aug BILLY LIAR
Tuesday 21st Aug HENRY V
Tuesday 28th Aug THE WICKER MAN
Tuesday 4th Sept THE DAM BUSTERS
Tuesday 11th Sept WITHNAIL & I

by **Cpt Kirks 2pay** on Tue Aug 14, 2007 10:55 am

Yeah I got Billy Liar showing at my Cine, Seppu, tonight. Got some others I wanna see there, mostly The Wick wick wickee wickee wickee Wicked Mon! Plus Withnail and I.

Thanks for the reminder. This country owes you a debt, Seppuman!

by **Seppuku** on Tue Aug 14, 2007 11:37 am

No probs, Kirks. Just as long as I expose one person to the joys of seeing Britt Ecklund's naked body 30ft high on the big screen who'd otherwise not have seen it, I feel my job is done. (And don't you dare tell me it was a body double, like some Gentleman did on IMDB!!!)

/and with that, Seppuman swoops off towards the sunset.

by **clownboy** on Tue Aug 14, 2007 1:31 pm

Just say Cashback and Everything is Turning Green, kind of a double feature...both great films btw.

by **The Vicar** on Tue Aug 14, 2007 2:44 pm

stereosforgeeks wrote:
TheBaxter wrote:This Is Spinal Tap

one of my favourite comedies, and by far the best rockumentary/mockumentary ever. there are just so many classic scenes. i can't even describe it, the film is what it is, and everyone knows it by now (or should). but it was cool to see it in a real theater.

Lucky bastard.

Indeed.
Cooler fucking films are hard to find.

by **Dee E. Goppstober** on Mon Aug 20, 2007 4:09 pm

BLACK SHEEP. Just saw it at the opening of the Fantasy Film Fest in Berlin, and had little snacks of sheep's balls in soy sauce afterwards. Very exciting.

It's a kiwi flick about a farm-boy with a deep-seated sheep-o-phobia and accompanying mutant killer sheep. I think everyone who has seen the trailer expects it to be a certain kind of funny, rather than scary- in the Bad Taste tradition -and it is. It's good at not being too obvious - it achieves quite a few unexpected laughs.

With a big wink it deals with both cold-blooded genetic engineering as well as tree-hugging hippie animal activists - and it light-heartedly finds a right balance, with enough blood and gore to make it real fun.

Not that I would know out of my own experience- but I think anyone who knows sheep-farming life will be a little bit extra charmed by this movie. In a country with actually more sheep than humans- this should be a real hit. But for denegerated city-dwellers all over the rest of the world, it's good entertainment too.

by **The Vicar** on Tue Aug 21, 2007 4:32 pm

The Last Legion.
We can certainly pray it WILL be "the last legion", but that comes too late to spare the morons ( myself) who shucked out some dinars to witness this cinematic turd swirl down the johnnie.

Lethargic, unimaginative, dull, derivative, hopelessly purloined, flaccidly paced.....the list of sins against the viewer are endless.

Awful CGI shots of Hadrians Wall....cliched characters....a love story that comes, not from left field, but from fucking Pluto......

I can't go on.

I kept looking at one character thinking " man, they wanted Ben Kingsley for this, didn't they?" and then realised it WAS BK, phoning in for another easy check.

On the surface, this was supposed to be an origins film, about how Excalibur became, well, Excalibur.
The "real" story couldn't have been that horrid of a snore.
Couldn't have been.

In the end, the only thing worth even looking at was Aishwarya Rai, whose beauty kept me from using a straw to gouge out my eyes during the show.

You have been warned.

by **so sorry** on Tue Aug 21, 2007 4:37 pm

I've sworn off all King Arthur Movies for all eternity.

I'll put Excalibur up against any other Arthurian Legends movie...

by **The Vicar** on Tue Aug 21, 2007 5:01 pm

so sorry wrote:I've sworn off all King Arthur Movies for all eternity.

I'll put Excalibur up against any other Arthurian Legends movie...

Excalibur would win - every time.

You are wise to forswear this butt nugget.
I wish I had.

by **Lady Sheridan** on Fri Oct 05, 2007 12:19 am

I caught the 25th anniversary screening of Poltergeist tonight. REALLY good print, the digital remastering didn't make the effects dated--quite the opposite. Now you can see actual outlines of ghosts walking down the stairs.

The "real life" poltergeist thing at the end was totally lame, give me an episode of Ghost Hunters any day.

by **Maui** on Sun Oct 21, 2007 8:01 pm

Lust, Caution - Ang Lee's latest.

Just got back from the theatre! Wow! Can't say how magnificent this picture is. I really can't. Go see it. 2 hours and 40 minutes of superb cinema. A bit of reading too.

Moriarty wrote a nice review:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/34323

9/10

by **Pacino86845** on Mon Oct 22, 2007 6:06 am

Maui wrote:Lust, Caution - Ang Lee's latest.

Just got back from the theatre! Wow! Can't say how magnificent this picture is. I really can't. Go see it. 2 hours and 40 minutes of superb cinema. A bit of reading too.

Moriarty wrote a nice review:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/34323

9/10

Way to ignore the Zone's Lust, Caution thread!!!! *cough*http://zone.aintitcool.com/viewtopic.php?t=69416*cough*

I felt the same way though... definitely one of the year's best.

by **Maui** on Mon Oct 22, 2007 9:48 pm

Pacino86845 wrote:
Maui wrote:Lust, Caution - Ang Lee's latest.

Just got back from the theatre! Wow! Can't say how magnificent this picture is. I really can't. Go see it. 2 hours and 40 minutes of superb cinema. A bit of reading too.

Moriarty wrote a nice review:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/34323

9/10

Way to ignore the Zone's Lust, Caution thread!!!! *cough*http://zone.aintitcool.com/viewtopic.php?t=69416*cough*

I felt the same way though... definitely one of the year's best.

For the life of me, I am very unsuccessful at searching these forums.

by **DaleTremont** on Thu Oct 25, 2007 1:12 am

I dragged a friend to a double feature at the New Beverly of God Told Me To and Bone. Both Larry Cohen flicks from the 70s. If any zoners are in LA, i highly recommend checking out these grindhouse nights at the new bev. It comes pretty close to how I bet actual Grindhouse theatres were back in the day. Half the show for me was watching these two crazy punk kids channel Sid and Nancy. She was chugging straight off a vodka bottle in between climbing on top of him. But I digress. They start it off with a raffle. Some of it was neat- autographs and the like [tom savini, crazy babysitter twins from planet terror]. But mostly the projectionist raffled off his old VHS porn titles. once that's done they did the old vintage trailer routine. the best by far was something called "Bummer" about groupies. Classic line: "You don't have to rape them. Just ask." Finally you get to the actual movie- God Told Me To. Okay. Frankly. I thought it kind of blew. There were some quality moments that made you perk up in your seat, but mostly it was silly, oftentimes boring, schlock. I'd say the best part was seeing a space alien/messiah dude lift up his white robe to reveal a vagina on his stomach. i guess he was trying to get his space alien brother (played by tony lo bianco) to impregnante him. Larry Cohen came out in between movies to do a Q and A. of course there's always a couple film students in the audience who take themselves too seriously and ask stupid smug questions that are more meant to illustrate how very intelligent they are than to get an actual response anyone is interested in, but Cohen was pretty cool. Finally, finally, we got to BONE. Bone is far and away one of the funniest comedies you've never seen. i don't mean in the way that it's funny because it's so bad. cohen wrote it as a comedy and it's bloody brilliant. Bone is a huge black dude who shows up at this rich white couple's Beverly Hills home and holds the wife hostage while the husband clears out his savings for him. Bone tells him he has an hour to bring the money back or he'll rape her and cut her throat. So the oily used car salesman husband runs out to the bank. But when he's there, he changes his mind and basically decides, fuck it, i don't like my wife that much anyway. Instead he has a little dalliance with a young girl who's using him to play out her molestation fantasy. Meanwhile, Bone looks at the clock and sees the hour is up. He tries to rape the wife but he can't do it. they end up having a long conversation about his inability to rape her, ending with her seducing him into consensual sex (a first for Bone.) why is that funny? you'd really have to see it. every single actor is so spot on with their delivery and performance. yaphet kotto and joyce van patten work off each other so well it's insane. cohen plays around with the power politics behind sex and how in this case those politics get twisted around by race. he satirizes black and white stereotypes more effectively than in anything i've ever seen. so yes, there's a lot to "commentate" on, but mostly you'll be laughing your ass off, which is the best reason to go to the movies. i think=)
highly highly highly orgasmatromatically awesome movie. watch it, bitches!
next month i think there's a screening of Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires and Vampire Hookers.

by **Keepcoolbutcare** on Thu Oct 25, 2007 1:34 am

Cohen's had a great career, what with IT'S ALIVE, THE STUFF, and Q.

and I really, really love GOD TOLD ME TO. Notice the brief Andy Kaufman scene?

that movie creeped me up something fierce when I first saw it...

by **DaleTremont** on Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:51 am

Keepcoolbutcare wrote:Cohen's had a great career, what with IT'S ALIVE, THE STUFF, and Q.

and I really, really love GOD TOLD ME TO. Notice the brief Andy Kaufman scene?

that movie creeped me up something fierce when I first saw it...

really? oh man. i thought it was so boring and uneven. but yes, Andy Kaufman cameo was righteous. Larry (I call him Larry now) was saying how they didn't record dialogue for that scene, so it's actually his own voice dubbed over when Andy says "God told me to." But every time he saw Andy Kaufman after that, Andy insisted it was himself talking. "I know my own voice!"

yes....but, like, he told that anecdote better. articulate, charming, and such.

by **junesquad** on Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:29 pm

justcheckin wrote:Just saw 300 and Zodiac the week before...

I really liked Zodiac.

by **Lord Voldemoo** on Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:32 pm

junesquad wrote:
justcheckin wrote:Just saw 300 and Zodiac the week before...

I really liked Zodiac.

I still need to see Zodiac...I can't believe I haven't seen it yet.

Hey June, if you want to do a review we have a Zodiac thread here.

by **junesquad** on Tue Oct 30, 2007 3:08 pm

Sorry...

by **Lord Voldemoo** on Tue Oct 30, 2007 3:12 pm

junesquad wrote:Sorry...

oh no, you misunderstand, it's fine to come in here and say you saw and liked it...I just meant that if you wanted to elaborate/write up a review as to why you liked it then you should check out the Zodiac thread...

by **DaleTremont** on Fri Nov 16, 2007 3:18 pm

Saw Wristcutters last night. I actually bought the ticket for Darjeeling Limited because I was gonna give Wes Anderson another chance but at the last second I changed my mind and ducked into Wristcutters. Glad I changed my mind? You betcha. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this. I'd heard it was about the place people go after they commit suicide, which is just like here only a little bit worse. I wasn't sure how they were gonna convey that, but they did a pretty knockout job, aided first and foremost by the cinematography and set design. The look of the film- it's exactly how I'd think an afterlife built to be shitty would be. As such, it depressed the shit out of me. You have the blue/green overtones, the grain, and the washed out look- the overall effect is like one of those cloudy days where the sky is grey but still really bright with a lot of glare. Maybe it's just me, but that weather makes me want to curl up and sleep until it rains or the sun comes out. Only in that world it stays that way forever.

And the set design? Well, essentially they've made what is clearly a SoCal setting look like a Soviet satellite pissbucket- cracked ceilings, markets with cheap products and almost no choices lumped together, rotting apartment buildings, midget strippers, etc..etc... I was somewhat amused by the fact that in the beginning, the people that seem most at home are a Russian family (mother, father, and two sons all committed suicide) because, hey, not too much difference between earth and the afterlife for them.

I've never been too keen on Patrick Fugit- he didn't exactly win me over in Almost Famous, but he was really great in this. He didn't oversell his misery, but you still felt it in every movement he makes. Oh yes, and Tom Waits is doing his thing here, which is always a treat to watch

by **Peven** on Fri Nov 16, 2007 6:28 pm

you missed out on "Darjeeling Limited" though, which means you missed something beautiful.

by **DaleTremont** on Fri Nov 16, 2007 6:47 pm

Peven wrote:you missed out on "Darjeeling Limited" though, which means you missed something beautiful.

yeah i plan on seeing it when it comes out on dvd, or maybe even if i have another moment to see it in theater (but it's gonna have to come after no country for old men and lars and the real girl.) honestly, i think wes anderson has just never been my cup o' tea. kind of like some people with joss whedon :wink:

by **Peven** on Fri Nov 16, 2007 7:01 pm

DaleTremont wrote:
Peven wrote:you missed out on "Darjeeling Limited" though, which means you missed something beautiful.

yeah i plan on seeing it when it comes out on dvd, or maybe even if i have another moment to see it in theater (but it's gonna have to come after no country for old men and lars and the real girl.) honestly, i think wes anderson has just never been my cup o' tea. kind of like some people with joss whedon

hey, i really like "Firefly" and "Serenity", and even "Angel" on a cartoon-like level.

by **DaleTremont** on Fri Nov 16, 2007 7:09 pm

Peven wrote:
DaleTremont wrote:
Peven wrote:you missed out on "Darjeeling Limited" though, which means you missed something beautiful.

yeah i plan on seeing it when it comes out on dvd, or maybe even if i have another moment to see it in theater (but it's gonna have to come after no country for old men and lars and the real girl.) honestly, i think wes anderson has just never been my cup o' tea. kind of like some people with joss whedon

hey, i really like "Firefly" and "Serenity", and even "Angel" on a cartoon-like level.

Well I do declare. Sorry, Peven, I didn't realize :oops:

by **The Vicar** on Fri Nov 16, 2007 7:33 pm

Pev's a very sensitive soul.
Not unlike Mr. Rogers....

......on crack.

by **Peven** on Fri Nov 16, 2007 7:52 pm

The Vicar wrote:Pev's a very sensitive soul.
Not unlike Mr. Rogers....

......on weed.

edited for correctness.

by **The Vicar** on Fri Nov 16, 2007 7:54 pm

Peven wrote:
The Vicar wrote:Pev's a very sensitive soul.
Not unlike Mr. Rogers....

......on weed.

edited for correctness.

Quite right - my bad.
We should state the things of this world with precision.

by **Peven** on Fri Nov 16, 2007 7:55 pm

would you be MY neighbor????

by **The Vicar** on Fri Nov 16, 2007 8:39 pm

Peven wrote:would you be MY neighbor????

Ummm.......mommy!!!!!

by **junesquad** on Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:35 pm

I came home from watching August Rush and watched:

I Know Who Killed Me

Cast Lineup:
Lindsay Lohan - Aubrey Flemming/Dakota Moss
Julia Ormond - Susan Fleming
Neal McDonough - Daniel Fleming
Brian Geraghty - Jerrod Pointer

Despite all the horrible reviews of "I Know Who Killed Me" that I have heard, my wife and I rented this movie and brought it home. According to critics, "Georgia Rule" and "I Know Who Killed Me" are two movies in the process of Lindsay Lohan separating herself from her Disney image. While there is a truth to that, I don't think her acceptance of these two movies were solely focused on loosing her good-girl image. You can't blame her for wanting to have the adaptability needed to perform in a wide variety of roles.

I loved Georgia Rule and reviewed it in this thread. As for "I Know Who Killed Me," I am not as pleased. For one thing, movie trailers that are deceptively put together piss me off, but I shall not go off on a rant.

The first thing that really impressed me about this movie was the quality of Lohan's acting. She does really well in this movie, even though she does do some things that really taint her Disney channel image, as if that hadn't been done already.

The second thing that I noticed about this movie was I felt the directing didn't quite live up to the acting of Lohan. There were a couple dramatic scenes that were almost laughable because of the way it was shot.

In general, I think the movie was okay, but not among the greats of murder mysteries. The movie focused way too much on the Aubrey Flemming/Dakota Moss plot to adequately address the plot for rest of the movie.

"I Know Who Killed Me" does show Lohan's ability to perform in a variety of roles. I truly hope that she gets her shit worked out and comes back strong and gives us some truly great movies... she has a ton of potential and twice as much talent.

by **Keepcoolbutcare** on Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:11 am

hey JuneS. - could you use this thread instead for random movies that you watch @ home?

I mean, I'm guessing you watched this on DVD, and not in the cinema.

if you're still using VHS, you're fucked, but this thread is kinda intended for movies you watched in the CINEMA.

/picking nits.

by **junesquad** on Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:13 am

Keepcoolbutcare wrote:hey JuneS. - could you use this thread instead for random movies that you watch @ home?

I mean, I'm guessing you watched this on DVD, and not in the cinema.

if you're still using VHS, you're fucked, but this thread is kinda intended for movies you watched in the CINEMA.

/picking nits.

Oops... I thought I was in that thread... my bad.

by **Maui** on Fri Dec 28, 2007 1:50 am

The Savages

I hope this movie gets it's own thread eventually because it certainly deserves it.

Wow! This movie just blew me away. Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman are so incredibly moving in this film.

This is a heartwarming story everyone should see. It's about relationships, siblings, parents growing old - the real world. I loved this movie.

On my top 10 for 2007.

by **TheBaxter** on Mon Dec 31, 2007 5:07 pm

i got to see Monty Python & the Holy Grail at the AFI cinema this past weekend. 'twas awesome.

by **junesquad** on Fri Jan 11, 2008 1:33 am

I just got back from P.S. I Love You. A great movie for married couples to see.

I had no clue what I was walking into when I went to see P.S. I Love You. On Rotten Tomatoes, the average critic gave the movie a 4.4 and the average user ranking was 7.3. I chose a little higher and would make it an 8.5. I think this movie had a lot of positives that will likely go unnoticed.

As far as the story goes, you can click on the link above to find out what the movie is about. There were just a few things I wanted to comment on.

Casting:
The first thing I felt was done really well that I feel will go unnoticed is the casting choices. As this is a very dramatic movie that could easily veer into just another chick flick, I think Hilary Swank was a perfect choice for the role of Holly Kennedy. Swank is not the really associated with chick flicks and brings an "aura," if you will, to the movie that aids the movie from becoming another chick flick you see on the selves of Wal-Mart. However, she was able to pull off the role and sell the story of Holly to the audience.

Kathy Bates was an amazing choice for Holly's mother. Bates has an incredible ability to keep a movie grounded and bring a "soul" to the movie. Again, she scores big points with me in this movie.

The other casting choice that I felt was a really smart move was Lisa Kudrow in the role of her friend. It is obvious that this movie moves quickly into very deep and, even, depressing material. Kudrow's presence helped to add some light-hearted humor that helped the movie move from start to finish without bogging the viewer down. I never really watched the Friend's television series, so I really didn't know what to expect from her and I truly felt she delivered.

Plot/Story:
This movie was beautifully shot and had a truly wonderful message. Through Holly's life, couples are reminded that marriage, though truly trying at times, is a wonderful thing. While marriages do take work to maintain, they are a gift and when two people do fall in love, they are truly blessed. It was refreshing for Hollywood to show two people in love that weren't always giddy and happy, but represented a more realistic view of marriage.

While the story may seem a little unbelievable, I think it is definitely worth a visit. I think, for me, it's a one-time visit as it isn't a movie I would want to sit and watch again and again, but this is solely because of the material the movie deals with.

P.S. - Have a box of tissues on hand.

Website · by **Bayouwolf** on Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:34 pm

Watched "The Bucket List"

Meh. Not bad, not good...
Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson give the best performance they can in a film with a great premise, but with a lackluster script.
Brief Synopsis :: A wealthy hospital mogul falls victim to his own policies and ends up sharing a hospital room with a middle class mechanic that's never had anything for himself. Both men are terminally ill, and end up helping each other through the pain and grief of cancer treatments. When one decides to write a list of all the things he'd wished he could've done in his life, the other makes it possible.

This film has got a few heartfelt moments, a few laughs, but is comprised mostly of Freeman and Nicholson chewing through the scenery.
4 / 10.

by **Maui** on Sat Jan 26, 2008 8:19 pm

The Bucket List

I think the best parts of this movie were the hospital scenes where Freeman and Nicholson are getting used to each other and coming to grips with their terminal conditions. The second half just fell flat for me when they began to accomplish their items on their list. It got cheesy.

Freeman and Nicholson do not disappoint though.

6 out of 10

by **Keepcoolbutcare** on Sat Jan 26, 2008 8:30 pm

we do have a (kick)The Bucket List thread in movie reviews you know...

by **DaleTremont** on Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:43 pm

Saw Maniac last night. Could have been the fact that I was wiped from a long day at work, but as is often the case with these kinds of movies, it was boring with 4 or 5 scenes that just kicked all kinds of ass. Hate to sound like such a gorehound but the real bright spots were the kills. The scalping scenes were damn harrowing and they almost blew the proverbial wad within the first 20 minutes when you have Tom Savini's head getting blown off by a shotgun! Apparently they used live ammo to do it. Wrapped up everything they could in the shoot, did the scene, then got the fuck out of there!

Joe Spinell's performance was damn creepy. But if he'd maintained the level of rage and intensity he had in the very first scene with the hooker in the motel it would have been a whole different story. For some reason things seemed to fall off a bit at the end. Still, an enjoyable slasher! Something I'd like to view again when I'm not so exhausted.

by **RogueScribner** on Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:46 am

Can I ask a stupid question? What's the difference between this thread and the random movie reviews thread?

by **Pacino86845** on Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:06 am

RogueScribner wrote:Can I ask a stupid question? What's the difference between this thread and the random movie reviews thread?

This one goes up to 11 !!!

There's no discernible difference IMO, but at least they're about moofies...

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