"Now Showing"
- Thread starter Mark
- Start date
Mysterious Sue
Strata Poster
It's just a cultural difference. Brits find self-congratulatory acts very embarrassing - it's something that has been taught over generations - to always be reserved and never be the hero.
Personally, I don't like the idea of having an army that kills people in my name, but I do respect those that have given their lives because they feel they are protecting their own and doing the right thing. We have special events that raise money/awareness for our armed forces, but it's considered a bit odd to congratulate them in any other forum (especially a theme park).
I remember being very shocked the first time I heard the US national anthem being sung in Texas before the opening of Six Flags. No one EVER sings the UK national anthem unless it's the football world cup or the Last Night of the Proms where people are intentionally patriotic.
Personally, I don't like the idea of having an army that kills people in my name, but I do respect those that have given their lives because they feel they are protecting their own and doing the right thing. We have special events that raise money/awareness for our armed forces, but it's considered a bit odd to congratulate them in any other forum (especially a theme park).
I remember being very shocked the first time I heard the US national anthem being sung in Texas before the opening of Six Flags. No one EVER sings the UK national anthem unless it's the football world cup or the Last Night of the Proms where people are intentionally patriotic.
Snoo
The Legend
I assumed so.
I've never been too extreme with my patriotism but being from here, I've never found things such as that awkward. I have many friends and family who serve in the armed forces and I thank them when I can and they always appreciate it. I may not agree with the things they are doing but they have my respect to the fullest degree. They always seem to comment that which such negativity towards people in the military, they do often appreciate when people show them positivity in any way.
And we sing the national anthem before everything where a large group gathers I've found (minus concerts). In fact, I haven't been to a sporting event where the national anthem hasn't been sung beforehand.
As far as Busch goes, it is an American company (minus the InBev part of course) so doing it there shouldn't really surprise anyone... international park or not.
I've never been too extreme with my patriotism but being from here, I've never found things such as that awkward. I have many friends and family who serve in the armed forces and I thank them when I can and they always appreciate it. I may not agree with the things they are doing but they have my respect to the fullest degree. They always seem to comment that which such negativity towards people in the military, they do often appreciate when people show them positivity in any way.
And we sing the national anthem before everything where a large group gathers I've found (minus concerts). In fact, I haven't been to a sporting event where the national anthem hasn't been sung beforehand.
As far as Busch goes, it is an American company (minus the InBev part of course) so doing it there shouldn't really surprise anyone... international park or not.
Mysterious Sue
Strata Poster
Apparently people used to sing the national anthem over here much more in the 1950s/60s - for example in the cinema before showing a film and certainly at large public gatherings, but it hasn't been prolific for about the last 40 years I'd say
nadroJ
CF Legend
It's probably more the fact that I'm British, and as such have been accustomed to not showing emotion, etc, publicly and all that crap.
But also, I disagree with the whole middle eastern war thing and like, it kind of bothers me that I'm meant to 'respect' something that I don't agree with? Like, I'm a feminist too, and I don't respect sexism or misogyny, even though I'm sure there are people out there who think it is a good, great or correct thing. Just like war and 'fighting for your country' (whatever THAT is supposed to mean), if I don't respect soldiers who went over there then I'm some kind of bad person? I know my view is quite a controversial one but I don't agree or respect any solider that took part in that war. If there were some kind of threat to us as a nation and they were fighting to protect us then yes, I probably would respect them (WW2 style) but this, just seems to be a war against anything that aimed to threaten capitalist Western society, and that, to me, is ****.
So yeah, I found it awkward firstly because I'm British and don't really give a **** but secondly because a whole bunch of people died for something incredibly wrong.
But also, I disagree with the whole middle eastern war thing and like, it kind of bothers me that I'm meant to 'respect' something that I don't agree with? Like, I'm a feminist too, and I don't respect sexism or misogyny, even though I'm sure there are people out there who think it is a good, great or correct thing. Just like war and 'fighting for your country' (whatever THAT is supposed to mean), if I don't respect soldiers who went over there then I'm some kind of bad person? I know my view is quite a controversial one but I don't agree or respect any solider that took part in that war. If there were some kind of threat to us as a nation and they were fighting to protect us then yes, I probably would respect them (WW2 style) but this, just seems to be a war against anything that aimed to threaten capitalist Western society, and that, to me, is ****.
So yeah, I found it awkward firstly because I'm British and don't really give a **** but secondly because a whole bunch of people died for something incredibly wrong.
Saw two films today. First up was This Means War.
I actually enjoyed this, good fun. I feel the trailer gives away too much but apart from that there's nothing wrong with it, just good, simple minded fun.
Rating: 3/5
Project X
Yet another film that uses characters filming everything like Chronicle, Blair Witch etc. I heard that people thought that Chronicle really pushed this style of film to it's limit and was a bit ridiculous towards the end, well I didn't really get that vibe yet for this, well...It goes way too far and there were a few shots towards the end where it was a bit like they were just using normal film techniques and giving up on the whole style of the film. There are definitely some very funny moments in there but overall it didn't really impress. Maybe one to leave to watch with a couple of mates over some alcoholic beverages at home on DVD.
Rating: 2/5
I actually enjoyed this, good fun. I feel the trailer gives away too much but apart from that there's nothing wrong with it, just good, simple minded fun.
Rating: 3/5
Project X
Yet another film that uses characters filming everything like Chronicle, Blair Witch etc. I heard that people thought that Chronicle really pushed this style of film to it's limit and was a bit ridiculous towards the end, well I didn't really get that vibe yet for this, well...It goes way too far and there were a few shots towards the end where it was a bit like they were just using normal film techniques and giving up on the whole style of the film. There are definitely some very funny moments in there but overall it didn't really impress. Maybe one to leave to watch with a couple of mates over some alcoholic beverages at home on DVD.
Rating: 2/5
The Artist
I liked it a lot. I was prepared not to, given all the hype, but I really enjoyed it. It has been over-hyped to an extent; it's not the best film of the last million years or whatever people are claiming it to be.
It does, however, deserve the attention it's getting purely based on the performances I think. It's not as simple as "turn the sound off and call it innovative" either. There's nothing "simple" about a silent film, and for modern actors to perform so well in one, when the skill of silent acting was basically made redundant in the late '20s, is actually really impressive. It feels modern in the "normal" scenes (the camera is doing things that weren't possible in the 1920s for example), and then emulates perfectly the silent movie style in the "movie" scenes.
Maybe it's because I'm just really interested in that whole era of film anyway, when some of the world's most famous actors (Buster Keaton, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Gloria Swanson etc.) basically lost their jobs and a whole new batch of talent was brought in from Broadway. The female lead is clearly based on Joan Crawford in a lot of ways as well, successfully making the transition from a dancing unknown in silent pictures to fully-fledged A lister when the talkies become popular, while more established stars disappear. Joan Crawford <3
Anyway, great film.
The Woman in Black
Big pile of meh. It was very atmospheric I'll admit, or at least it would have been if the cinema wasn't full of screaming 11 year olds when I saw it. Radcliffe is awful though. It's not even as if it's a big "acting" role anyway; he really didn't have to do much, but he was still dire.
It was ok, anyway. It just didn't frighten me in the way I'd hoped it would to be honest. Even the "jumpy" bits could be seen a mile off.
The Killing of Sister George
I've had this for a while, but only just got around to watching it last night. It's got the same screenwriter and director as my favourite film, so I thought I'd give it a go.
Basically, Sister George is a very wholesome character in a soap opera, but the character gets killed off by the writers because the actress playing her is an alcoholic lesbian who sexually assaults two nuns in a taxi. It was really controversial when it came out in the '60s, and got an X rating because of a lesbo sex scene and bad language. By today's standards, it's tame stuff, but I can see why it would have been shocking back then.
I liked it. Beryl Reid is amazing as Sister George and the script is really quite witty.
Ticked Off Trannies With Knives
One of the worst films I've ever seen, and not in a "it's so bad it's good" kind of way. It had one or two decent one-liners, but the rest of the script was utter s**te, with even worse acting.
I liked it a lot. I was prepared not to, given all the hype, but I really enjoyed it. It has been over-hyped to an extent; it's not the best film of the last million years or whatever people are claiming it to be.
It does, however, deserve the attention it's getting purely based on the performances I think. It's not as simple as "turn the sound off and call it innovative" either. There's nothing "simple" about a silent film, and for modern actors to perform so well in one, when the skill of silent acting was basically made redundant in the late '20s, is actually really impressive. It feels modern in the "normal" scenes (the camera is doing things that weren't possible in the 1920s for example), and then emulates perfectly the silent movie style in the "movie" scenes.
Maybe it's because I'm just really interested in that whole era of film anyway, when some of the world's most famous actors (Buster Keaton, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Gloria Swanson etc.) basically lost their jobs and a whole new batch of talent was brought in from Broadway. The female lead is clearly based on Joan Crawford in a lot of ways as well, successfully making the transition from a dancing unknown in silent pictures to fully-fledged A lister when the talkies become popular, while more established stars disappear. Joan Crawford <3
Anyway, great film.
The Woman in Black
Big pile of meh. It was very atmospheric I'll admit, or at least it would have been if the cinema wasn't full of screaming 11 year olds when I saw it. Radcliffe is awful though. It's not even as if it's a big "acting" role anyway; he really didn't have to do much, but he was still dire.
It was ok, anyway. It just didn't frighten me in the way I'd hoped it would to be honest. Even the "jumpy" bits could be seen a mile off.
The Killing of Sister George
I've had this for a while, but only just got around to watching it last night. It's got the same screenwriter and director as my favourite film, so I thought I'd give it a go.
Basically, Sister George is a very wholesome character in a soap opera, but the character gets killed off by the writers because the actress playing her is an alcoholic lesbian who sexually assaults two nuns in a taxi. It was really controversial when it came out in the '60s, and got an X rating because of a lesbo sex scene and bad language. By today's standards, it's tame stuff, but I can see why it would have been shocking back then.
I liked it. Beryl Reid is amazing as Sister George and the script is really quite witty.
Ticked Off Trannies With Knives
One of the worst films I've ever seen, and not in a "it's so bad it's good" kind of way. It had one or two decent one-liners, but the rest of the script was utter s**te, with even worse acting.
nadroJ
CF Legend
Project X
So, after seeing the epic trailer for this I was really excited to see this film. However, after reading a LOT of bad reviews my anticipation was a bit dampened, though not completely, so I saw this last night.
Firstly, all I can say is that I believe a lot of those bad reviews were by people who didn't know what they were in for. It's a really strange kind of film, it's pretty much a house party, but on camera. The hand-held cam is used perfectly for this, gives the film a sense of realism and thus heightens the sense of 'oh holy hell' when **** starts to go down. The party atmosphere is captured perfectly. If you've ever thrown a house party you can totally relate to that feeling of 'oh god, it's 9pm and there's only 4 people here, I suck' and also how the chaos progresses with the night. They also really captured the house party thing where there's something happening in every room: a fight in the kitchen, orgy in bathroom, karaoke in the living room, shots in the back garden, etc. It's totally real and I really enjoyed that feeling.
The chaos is perfectly set out too, you constantly have a feeling something horrendous is going to happen, but little bad things come in drips and drabs and you feel like this isn't so bad and maybe they'll get away with it until the last 20 minutes of the film. The pacing is just perfect and I was so nervous throughout the entire film. Everybody knows that feeling when your parents are going to kill you and there's literally nothing you can do about it.
The casting is brilliant. The kids who throw the party are not caricatures of the high school 'geek' like in films such as Superbad, but rather some normal kids who want to do something awesome. The only beef I have with the casting was the fact that ALL the girls were skinny and sexy, definitely not true of high school I would have preferred some more 'normal' looking chicks, but when you see what the film is about I guess it makes sense. Sort of. But the protagonists were perfectly cast.
The make-up effects are great. How something can look SO real (ie, looking completely wasted) is beyond me. I can't believe that the actors weren't actually sometimes wasted on set because the combination of make-up and acting is SO convincing.
The only other complaint I can possibly make about this film is that I felt sometimes the music should have been louder. There were some shots in the middle of the house party and the sound levels just didn't match up, which was a bit off setting.
I think if you go into this film expecting to laugh until your sides split then you will come out disappointed. It's more of a disaster movie, an enjoyable yet nerve-wracking experience of watching chaos unfold but knowing that it all will inevitably come to an end with dire consequences, and all you can do is just sit there, let it happen, and enjoy it.
I came out of the movie feeling worn out and wanting to go get wasted and have the time of my life.
4/5
So, after seeing the epic trailer for this I was really excited to see this film. However, after reading a LOT of bad reviews my anticipation was a bit dampened, though not completely, so I saw this last night.
Firstly, all I can say is that I believe a lot of those bad reviews were by people who didn't know what they were in for. It's a really strange kind of film, it's pretty much a house party, but on camera. The hand-held cam is used perfectly for this, gives the film a sense of realism and thus heightens the sense of 'oh holy hell' when **** starts to go down. The party atmosphere is captured perfectly. If you've ever thrown a house party you can totally relate to that feeling of 'oh god, it's 9pm and there's only 4 people here, I suck' and also how the chaos progresses with the night. They also really captured the house party thing where there's something happening in every room: a fight in the kitchen, orgy in bathroom, karaoke in the living room, shots in the back garden, etc. It's totally real and I really enjoyed that feeling.
The chaos is perfectly set out too, you constantly have a feeling something horrendous is going to happen, but little bad things come in drips and drabs and you feel like this isn't so bad and maybe they'll get away with it until the last 20 minutes of the film. The pacing is just perfect and I was so nervous throughout the entire film. Everybody knows that feeling when your parents are going to kill you and there's literally nothing you can do about it.
The casting is brilliant. The kids who throw the party are not caricatures of the high school 'geek' like in films such as Superbad, but rather some normal kids who want to do something awesome. The only beef I have with the casting was the fact that ALL the girls were skinny and sexy, definitely not true of high school I would have preferred some more 'normal' looking chicks, but when you see what the film is about I guess it makes sense. Sort of. But the protagonists were perfectly cast.
The make-up effects are great. How something can look SO real (ie, looking completely wasted) is beyond me. I can't believe that the actors weren't actually sometimes wasted on set because the combination of make-up and acting is SO convincing.
The only other complaint I can possibly make about this film is that I felt sometimes the music should have been louder. There were some shots in the middle of the house party and the sound levels just didn't match up, which was a bit off setting.
I think if you go into this film expecting to laugh until your sides split then you will come out disappointed. It's more of a disaster movie, an enjoyable yet nerve-wracking experience of watching chaos unfold but knowing that it all will inevitably come to an end with dire consequences, and all you can do is just sit there, let it happen, and enjoy it.
I came out of the movie feeling worn out and wanting to go get wasted and have the time of my life.
4/5
tomahawKSU said:
It's my least favourite Seuss book. It's over long, over wordy and over preachy. So I'm not looknig forward to it at all.
FInally watched Sucker Punch on Friday night. It was just an overly long music video/computer game introduction video. I never thought I'd get tired of scantily clad girls with guns and swords killing and "blowing **** up", but I did.
It was kind of gorgeous, but just didn't have enough substance to support it. Got to get the soundtrack though, fantastic version of White Rabbit - delish!
BetaKitten
Mega Poster
furie said:
Whats wrong with you?!? :wink:
Is it definately not worth seeing then??
BetaKitten said:
I know, I know... It's just that there is too much of it, and it's ever decreasing returns too. There's also not enough story around it all either.
I think it's a gorgeous film, with a superb soundtrack but it's completely lacking in any substance. It's worth watching just because, well, the bits that are awesome are really awesome
TarinMaria
Mega Poster
The Raven
I literally saw the trailer for this and had to see it, so on the day it was released, I trotted off to the cinema...
Okay, I really, REALLY enjoyed this. I have read a few bits of Edgar Allan Poe's work, and really enjoyed them. The acting was lovely, and the riddles were smart. They settled on one of the rumours of Poe's death for the film, and actually wrote it in perfectly. The special effects though, were slightly disappointing - especially in the 'Pit And The Pendulum' scene, the gore looked incredibly computerized, and it simply lost all the effect it would have had. The identity of the murderer being kept was the best part of this film, it just made me think and I, personally, couldn't have guessed who the killer actually was. But I found it hard to form any sort of bond with the character of Emily, not sure why, just couldn't make myself like her in a similar way to the other main characters.
A good film, worth a cinema trip, and maybe a dvd.
Overall
8.5/10
I literally saw the trailer for this and had to see it, so on the day it was released, I trotted off to the cinema...
Okay, I really, REALLY enjoyed this. I have read a few bits of Edgar Allan Poe's work, and really enjoyed them. The acting was lovely, and the riddles were smart. They settled on one of the rumours of Poe's death for the film, and actually wrote it in perfectly. The special effects though, were slightly disappointing - especially in the 'Pit And The Pendulum' scene, the gore looked incredibly computerized, and it simply lost all the effect it would have had. The identity of the murderer being kept was the best part of this film, it just made me think and I, personally, couldn't have guessed who the killer actually was. But I found it hard to form any sort of bond with the character of Emily, not sure why, just couldn't make myself like her in a similar way to the other main characters.
A good film, worth a cinema trip, and maybe a dvd.
Overall
8.5/10
Saw 21 Jump Street today.
Was very funny if a little too cringey in some places. It may also be a little predictable plot-wise but it's got enough original shocks and funny moments in there to be worth a watch. The cast are all really good too and it has the best cameo since The Muppets
Rating: 3/5
Was very funny if a little too cringey in some places. It may also be a little predictable plot-wise but it's got enough original shocks and funny moments in there to be worth a watch. The cast are all really good too and it has the best cameo since The Muppets
Rating: 3/5
Error
Strata Poster
Been a while, so I'll tell you about The Hunger Games
It was my first time going to a midnight premier. And for as packed as it was, it was very quiet during the whole movie.
I'll give a quick glimpse but not spoil it. If you read the book (like I have) you'll notice some bits and pieces missing. However, it doesn't take anything away from the story. Instead, you get a deeper look into how the games work and are made, as well as the brilliant technology in this dark future. The tones are very well done, as are the effects. Camera was iffy at times, but still flowed well. The pacing can get tiring at first, but once the games begin it gets very quick and brutal. Sadly, it doesn't get AS dark as the books, due to keeping it PG-13. But it's still emotional at times (I almost cried. Once)
Overall, great story, great characters, not a bad adaption, and could have been a lot worse. Go check it out if you want a cool story.
8/10
PS: I know about Battle Royale. Shush.
It was my first time going to a midnight premier. And for as packed as it was, it was very quiet during the whole movie.
I'll give a quick glimpse but not spoil it. If you read the book (like I have) you'll notice some bits and pieces missing. However, it doesn't take anything away from the story. Instead, you get a deeper look into how the games work and are made, as well as the brilliant technology in this dark future. The tones are very well done, as are the effects. Camera was iffy at times, but still flowed well. The pacing can get tiring at first, but once the games begin it gets very quick and brutal. Sadly, it doesn't get AS dark as the books, due to keeping it PG-13. But it's still emotional at times (I almost cried. Once)
Overall, great story, great characters, not a bad adaption, and could have been a lot worse. Go check it out if you want a cool story.
8/10
PS: I know about Battle Royale. Shush.
Watched two films yesterday, first was John Carter of Mars in 3D.
I've been looking forward to this film for a long time and my expectations were high. My expectations were blown out of the water, I just found it really satisfying to watch, if that makes sense? The visuals were stunning, the story was great and interesting and overall it was just entertaining. May have to go see it again.
Rating: 4.5/5
Hunger Games
I was quite looking forward to seeing this film too and the hype machine surrounding it had built my hopes up and then hearing all the good reviews just made me want to see it even more. I've not read the books and I'd compare it to a mix between Battle Royale and Rollerball. Just the concept of the film interested me but I have to say I was really disappointed by this film. It had too much shaky cam which I thought was just eurgh and made me feel ill (I despise Michael Mann films for the same reason) and it really distracted me from the fantastic story and acting. I thought the special effects looked cheap in many scenes too, such a shame on such a massive blockbuster. Overall I enjoyed it but just those little annoyances really ruined it for me. I'll probably go see it again to confirm to myself if I really am justified in slagging it off so much. It does have some fantastic scenes though and tbh it's only really good once they enter the games, most of the faff beforehand is a bit annoying.
Rating: 3/5
I've been looking forward to this film for a long time and my expectations were high. My expectations were blown out of the water, I just found it really satisfying to watch, if that makes sense? The visuals were stunning, the story was great and interesting and overall it was just entertaining. May have to go see it again.
Rating: 4.5/5
Hunger Games
I was quite looking forward to seeing this film too and the hype machine surrounding it had built my hopes up and then hearing all the good reviews just made me want to see it even more. I've not read the books and I'd compare it to a mix between Battle Royale and Rollerball. Just the concept of the film interested me but I have to say I was really disappointed by this film. It had too much shaky cam which I thought was just eurgh and made me feel ill (I despise Michael Mann films for the same reason) and it really distracted me from the fantastic story and acting. I thought the special effects looked cheap in many scenes too, such a shame on such a massive blockbuster. Overall I enjoyed it but just those little annoyances really ruined it for me. I'll probably go see it again to confirm to myself if I really am justified in slagging it off so much. It does have some fantastic scenes though and tbh it's only really good once they enter the games, most of the faff beforehand is a bit annoying.
Rating: 3/5
D1993
Hyper Poster
^ I disagree with you.
I felt like everything was neccessary .... all the scenes before the games are showing the capitol and its society and I think that was really important... the reaping scene was chilling.
I thought special effects were great.
Camera stuff was a bit shaky at first, but its like that in all movies for me ...... when you watch it at home you never notice unless on a huge gigantic cinema screen .... unless its cloverfield or something.
Hunger Games was probably one of my favorite movies.....ever.
Definitely 5/5
I felt like everything was neccessary .... all the scenes before the games are showing the capitol and its society and I think that was really important... the reaping scene was chilling.
I thought special effects were great.
Camera stuff was a bit shaky at first, but its like that in all movies for me ...... when you watch it at home you never notice unless on a huge gigantic cinema screen .... unless its cloverfield or something.
Hunger Games was probably one of my favorite movies.....ever.
Definitely 5/5