moviemistakes.com

[PrincessEss]

[BocaDavie]

I probably would have had a much better time at the movies if I had seen Law Abiding Citizen instead of A Serious Man or Where the Wild Things Are; but would have had to send The Wife off to see something else. She can't do much blood, violence or really sad scenes; she's one of those people who needs to leave the theater when Bambi's mother gets shot.
Death Wish (1974) was about an architect (Charles Bronson, one of my least favorite actors of all time) who goes on a killing spree when his wife and daughter are beaten and raped in a home invasion robbery. Look closely at the bad guys doing the robbery and you'll see a very young Jeff Goldblum in his very first movie role (in the credits he's just listed as "Freak #1"). The police try to hunt down the vigilante killer while he becomes a hero to the public. The movie was so popular that it spawned four sequels, countless imitators, and a 2011 remake is currently in development.

[JohnRosa]

Two terrible actors I love in a single mediocre film with a KICKASS ending:

Charles Bronson
Jan Michael Vincent

THE MECHANIC


"Bang. You're Dead."
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JWR

"Why slap them on the wrist with a feather when you can belt them over the head with a sledgehammer."
Katharine Hepburn

[Ollie]

I still have my "Where The Wild Things Are" book from when I was 5. I also loved and still have this book: "In the Night Kitchen". Will deffo see the fillum.
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Ollie

[JohnRosa]

Saw it Sunday. Looked great but it didn't pull you in to actually care about anyone. The kid is great, the creatures' faces incredibly good...but recognizable voices, especially Gandolfini's, made it unconvincing. The world of the things had moments and some funny lines, but no clear direction or point, really. It deserved a better treatment. The writers didn't cut it in fleshing this short story out.
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JWR

"Why slap them on the wrist with a feather when you can belt them over the head with a sledgehammer."
Katharine Hepburn

[BocaDavie]

Yes, having James Gandolfini from the Sopranos voice the big monster (oddly named "Carol") was a bit disconerting. I kept thinking "No Judith; don't piss him off... he'll have you wacked!" Nice to see Catherine O'Hara (Judith) back up on the big screen... even if it was only a voice-over. I've been a big fan of hers since SCTV in the 70's. Through the years she's become the go-to person when looking for someone to play funny-mom roles (Beetle Juice, Home Alone, Penelope) or great voice-over work (Nightmare Before Christmas, Chicken Little, Monster House, Over the Hedge, etc etc). The Wife was more into Wild Things than I was, maybe because Max's mom was also the mom in one of her favorite films The 40 Year Old Virgin.
We may skip movies this weekend; I have no desire to see Saw VI and only a passing need to see either AstroBoy or Amelia. Besides, I know The Wife is going to drag me to see Michael Jackson's farewell film This is It after we get back from Fantasy Fest. Not too much to see at the movies until November. For some reason they decided to put four big releases with big stars all on November 6th; A Christmas Carol (Jim Carrey), Men Who Stare At Goats (George Clooney/Ewan McGregor), The Box (Cameron Diaz), and The Fourth Kind (Milla Jovovich)

[BocaDavie]

On Saturday The Wife, my brother and I took in a showing of Disney's "A Christmas Carol" in 3D, then The Wife went off to see Michael Jackson's "This is It" while the brother and I saw "Law Abiding Citizen".
Disney's A Christmas Carol 3D:
Jim Carrey is unrecognizable as the Christmas hating main character who's life-altering experience instantly turns him into the most lovable and generous person in the village. But enough about How the Grinch Stole Christmas...
Really, didn't we just have a discussion about using the same actor playing the same kind of character in two separate movies (James Cromwell as the android creator in both I, Robot and Surrogates)? When Carry's Scrooge becomes a jubilant, dancing happy-go-lucky guy at the end of the film it's like déjà-vu to anyone who's seen Grinch. The real problem with Christmas Carol is the whole Ghost of Christmas Past sequence. No time whatsoever is spent showing Scrooge's transition from dancing, merry-making falling-in-love party-goer to kicking out love-of-his-life in favor of making money miser. The back story just isn't there; it was handled better in Scrooged, Grinch or any number of other Christmas Carol adaptations. Which causes a problem at the end when he goes back to being the lovable philanthropist (no spoiler alert there; if you don't know the Christmas Carol story what rock have you been living under?). Apparently this guy changes at the drop of a hat; what's to keep him from going back to being a Scrooge again the next day?
The 3D is once again awesome (did I mention how much I love the new 3D?), but having the "camera" do long tracking shots flying all over 18th century London and nearly smashing into weather vanes can make anyone with the slightest bit of motion sickness a bit queasy. That plus the fact that we've seen a few dozen adaptations of this story over the years (hell, they even did it on The Six Million Dollar Man once) makes me say wait for the rental, and even then only on Christmas Eve.
Law Abiding Citizen did turn out to be just another take on the old Death Wish story, except that when Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) loses his family in a home invasion robbery he doesn't just go after the bad guys but starts serial killing everyone involved in the justice system responsible for allowing one of the killers to get off early with a plea deal. This kind of vigilante movie only works if you have someone to root for, and the only really good people get killed off early on, leaving us with characters that are various degrees of scumbag. Between Clyde's murder spree and Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) - the prosecutor who made the plea deal then tries to match Clyde in a battle of wits - there's no one to root for, so who cares about the outcome? Skip it.
The Wife, no fan of violence, went to see Michael Jackson's "This is It", the documentary about his rehearsals for the big London tour that never was... a.k.a., how do we squeeze some more money out of this? She was dissatisfied that most of the songs focused on his more recent work, apparently in an effort to boost sales of whatever record album would be attached to the stage performance. A few classics did satisfy her enough to recommend "rent it"... which, considering how much they want to wring cash from this - will probably be in a few weeks. Followed by the director's cut, the special edition, the anniversary edition, etc etc...

[Duff]

Today's review is an old film but is my personal favorite by Disney.

The Lion King

Simply put, one of, if not, the best Disney film of all time.

I remember going to the cinema in 1994 to see this and it selling out before we got in. (the family, since i was only 7) And it's clear to see why. A great animated film from start to finish and with good, decent and fun songs during the film which seems to be lacking from Disney films these days.

The plot of the film incase you are unfamiliar is that Mufasa (the king) has got a son called Simba who will become king. However Scar (Mufasa's brother) want's to be king so hatches a plot to kill Mufasa and Simba. Unfortunatly only Mufasa dies and Simba is told to run. Scar then declairs himself king and many years later Simba returns to claim his kingdom.

A few sad moment in the film, like when Mufasa dies, but that could be due to personal circumstances i found it sad. But there are comedy moments, mainly with Zazoo (Voiced by Rowan Atkinson) and the Hyenia's. Timon and Pumba also add some comedy and make it a great film with the song Hakunna Matta and when distracting the Hyenia's at the end of the film.

But a predictable ending, although thats to be expected what with it being a kids film.

Overall i give this film a 9/10 as i find it to be one of the best films by Disney of all time. And a personal favorite of mine. I remember having the video and today i got the dvd in the post from taiwan. It's extremely hard to buy it in the UK for under £20. Even second hand.

P.s. Note the referance to Nazi Germany during the song Be Prepaired
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Hello

[Phixius]

Never realized that was Mr. Bean inside the bird costume.
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We are oft to blame in this - tis too much proved - that with devotion's visage and pious action we do sugar o'er the devil himself.
-Polonius

[PrincessEss]

Saw 2012 on Friday. I liked The Day After Tomorrow. Not a masterpiece, but a great way to spend two mindless hours. I expected more of the same.

But seriously, this is total crap. Do yourself a service and skip it.

S.
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300 is rated R for 'RAAAAAR!'

I think I'm being chased by a psychiatrist.

[JohnRosa]

So Cement Trucks don't carry explosive cargo??

When attempting to escape massive earthquakes that are collapsing skyscrapers and elevated highways.....in an airplane, you want to skim along just above ground level so you can playfully zig-zag between all the falling wreckage, right? It'd be boring to just pull up and observe it all from on high.

Laughed my butt off during the trailer. But with Emmerich's track record, you can't have expected much else. Indepence Day, Godzilla (alternate title: Godawful), The Day after next Thrusday evening a week before...whatever.

Beautiful CGI standing in place of acting, plot & script. He's the big-budget version of Uwe Boll. Put those two and Michael Bay in the same raft and I'll happily fire the shot that sinks it.

Don't get me wrong- it's in my Netflix queue. And I'll be happily 4Xing between all the CGI shots.
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JWR

"Why slap them on the wrist with a feather when you can belt them over the head with a sledgehammer."
Katharine Hepburn

[PrincessEss]

Even the CGI wasn't as impressive as in TDAT. Had it been in IMAX or in 3D... maybe. But as is, it didn't wow me in any way.

Though I enjoyed the creative high speed chases: a limo, an RV, a plane, ...

S.
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300 is rated R for 'RAAAAAR!'

I think I'm being chased by a psychiatrist.

[BocaDavie]

Missed 2012 last weekend, and this weekend we're hopefully off to see New Moon and Planet 51. I was a bit skeptical about going to it (2012) anyway, after seeing The Day After Tomorrow and it's totally incomprehensible plot (yes, these movies do actually need some kind of a plot). In TDAT box-office poison Dennis Quaid takes on a perilous journey to New York (one of the few places he doesn't destroy in 2012) across the frozen arctic wasteland that was once North America to... wait for it... walk his son from the New York Public Library out to the waiting rescue helicopters. Which are just outside the New York Public Library. Waiting for his son. Really. Quaid even gets one of his friends killed on the journey. So that he can walk his son out. To the helicopters. The end. Did the whole purpose of that movie make sence to anyone?

[Tailkinker]

Wasn't it entirely constructed to take the piss out of Dick Cheney?
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I may look like I'm doing nothing, but at the molecular level, I'm really quite active.

[Duff]

so is 2012 a miss it film?
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Hello