"Now Showing"

[Snoo]

Spiderman

Better then any of the original series, thats for sure. I was just never a fan of Tobey and Garfield just feels more like a true spiderman.

Plus this movie feels more real, kinda like they did with Batman Begins. Plus it was cool seeing a guy I've known for a long time in a major motion picture.

8.5/10

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

I love the colours in House of 1000 Corpses. Like, the whole film feels like you're on a crappy carnival ghost train, I love it <3

I knowwww, the way they put it together was really cool. I think it's a good mix of tacky and horror, and the tackiness is what Devil's Rejects lacks in my opinion.

 

[Pokemaniac]

Might be a bit late to the discussion here, but Prometheus was quite good. Excellent visuals, good atmosphere, all that jazz. Though, as TVtropes put it, it could best be described as "Dude, don't touch that!: The Movie". Idiot balling is rather noticeable here.

Also, it really bugged me that

Spoiler

the alien fetus removed from the woman's womb grew so fast. Exactly where did it get the nutrition? Even with a 100% food-to-flesh-efficiency (in reality it's somewhere around 30% for most animals), it would still have to eat the equivalent of its own mass in order to get that big. If it was stuck in that machine/room after being removed from its host, how did it get all that nutrition?

All in all, toss it an Oscar for the visuals. I enjoyed it.

 

[Snoo]

It's an Alien.. thats how Poke.

 

[furie]

Yep, silicon based - it chowed down on the sand they let in when they forgot to shut the sandstorm doors.

 

[nadroJ]

I saw Magic Mike last night. Being a big fan of Boogie Nights I thought this looked similar so was excited to go and see it. However, I did see a couple of trailers that made me think this film would be a 'ooh he's a stripper but really all he wants is to be loved, and LOOK, he builds furniture so he has a sensitive side!' I'm not saying there wasn't some of that, but the film really did focus on the strippers themselves and their relationships with each other rather than focusing on any kind of romance.

The stripping scenes (of which there are lots) are really well choreographed, and I found it funny to be watching the male body being sexually displayed to this extent, it's just not something we're used to seeing in the cinema, and was met with a lot of cheering and whooping from the mostly female audience.

Matthew McConoughey is absolutely superb, such a good character with real charisma and an amazing body ;] The film felt more realistic, not your stereotypical Hollywood storyline with a happy ending which I really appreciated as it didn't serve to undermine what the entire film had been about.

All in all I'd say it was really similar to Boogie Nights, the same kind of themes and things with some sexy men to look at too, the only thing I was a bit disappointed in was the fact that for a film about men taking their clothes off there was no 'money-shot' at all, the closest we get is a silhouette as a guy strips behind a curtain and a blurry close up of a penis pump, which I was kind of miffed by because a film about female strippers (such as Showgirls or something) always managed to show full frontal female nudity, so I don't see why this film couldn't?

But yeah, really enjoyable film =] 7/10

 

[peep]

^You don't get a money shot because the US and UK are pansies at showing male nudity on the big screen. They're quite scared of doing it. You tend to get it in comedies now (e.g. Inbetweeners) but it's just done for laughs/shock. I recently watched a South American film at work which isn't scared about showing everything but that's clearly because they are like Mainland Europe and are ok with having it all out on show.


So I went to the cinema yesterday with the plan to see Spiderman in 3D in a D Box seat. When I got there the next screening had sold out of D Box seats (they only have like 30 of them) so I had to wait over 3 hours till the next screening. I clearly had to go see another film inbetween to kill the time. So what film would I choose? How about Katy Perry: part of me in 3D.

You know what, it was a really good film. The 3D on the concert scenes was pretty awesome and I liked how it split her well known tracks between her story. I was surprised at how much of it centered around her relationship with Russell Brand. Still it was interesting to hear how she worked her way into the mainstream and her struggles with the music industry. It was also quite fascinating to find out about her uber religious parents and their odd upbringing.

Rating: 4/5


The Amazing Spiderman in 3D w/ D Box seat.

I really enjoyed this film, there appeared to be a lack of action sequences but it was all set up really nicely and the characters all worked together really well. I love the cast so much, so much better than the cast for the first trilogy (well apart from Dafoe and the guy who played Venom). Stan Lee's scene had the whole cinema erupt with laughter <3 The 3D was pretty nice if a bit redundant in a lot of the film. The D Box, yeah, basically the same, there were so many stagnant shots that most of the time it felt like just a normal seat, but the first person shots of spidey swinging about was epic and made it worth the extra cost. So it was all set up a lot better than the first trilogy but I just wish there was a little more action in there. Now we wait for part 2, better be as good.

Rating: 3/5

 

[nadroJ]

^You don't get a money shot because the US and UK are pansies at showing male nudity on the big screen. They're quite scared of doing it. You tend to get it in comedies now (e.g. Inbetweeners) but it's just done for laughs/shock. I recently watched a South American film at work which isn't scared about showing everything but that's clearly because they are like Mainland Europe and are ok with having it all out on show.

Yeah I know all about that. Always makes me laugh because a lot of foreign films that I have even have nudity on their covers (to which my mother exclaims why are you watching porn?). It's just the mindset, but it made me laugh in Magic Mike because the film is about male strippers, men who get naked for money and yet......there was no full frontal male nakedness, mental!

 

[kimahri]

^You don't get a money shot because the US and UK are pansies at showing male nudity on the big screen. They're quite scared of doing it. You tend to get it in comedies now (e.g. Inbetweeners) but it's just done for laughs/shock. I recently watched a South American film at work which isn't scared about showing everything but that's clearly because they are like Mainland Europe and are ok with having it all out on show.

Yeah I know all about that. Always makes me laugh because a lot of foreign films that I have even have nudity on their covers (to which my mother exclaims why are you watching porn?). It's just the mindset, but it made me laugh in Magic Mike because the film is about male strippers, men who get naked for money and yet......there was no full frontal male nakedness, mental!

Bob Hoskins in Mrs Henderson Presents. Prepare to **** bricks.

 

[Ollie]

Obviously there's been loads of hype surrounding the film. Does it live up to it? Not quite but it's still a damn good film.

The Dark Knight Rises:

NO SPOILERS REVIEW:
Really good film but not as good as The Dark Knight. The ending was a let down.



SPOILERS:
Actually finding it a bit hard to describe how I feel about the film. I think overall I was a little disappointed by it but I can't quite put it all together or work out what. So I'm going to try and divide it into what I liked and what I didn't and wait for people on here to tell me how Im completely wrong and it's amazing because it's Batman.

Lets get the negatives out the way first. For a Batman film there wasn't much Batman in it. He only got about 30 minutes of screen time. Apart from that he just spent most the film in his house or in the pitt.
Bane was a great villain although he just appears and there's no back story or letting the audience know how he became what he is. Also his death was stupid. He spent the whole film not been affected by any of the punches of grenade things Batman threw at him but then he dies by a single gunshot.
The plot is predictable and it's easy to work out what's going to happen. Also it's amazing how quick Bruce can go from being a cripple back to Batman in such a short amount of time. As well as getting back to health super quick after having his spine broken and sustaining loads of injuries. Same happened to Gordon, ill in hospital for ages but as soon as people with guns turn up he can spring out of bed, beats them all up and the proceed to save the city and jump between moving vehicles.

Okay I get that it seems like a lot of negatives but even with all that it's not a bad film. There's still plenty of action and fights in this film and Bane and Catwoman are both great. Liked the references to both Killer Croc and Robin (although I groaned at who it was). The little twists at the end were quite good and the fights between Batman and Bane were great to watch (if a little short).

Not sure what to make of it overall though. It feels completely different in style to first two films and there's something that feels like it's missing. It may be that with Bane he's just brute force and a solid fighter so all he can do is have a few punch ups. Whereas Joker was a more clever villain and making people make choices (like the boat scene and between Rachel and Harvey) and it seemed a lot more psychological and clever.

Why is it so hard to put into words how I feel about it?

 

[ciallkennett]

^ I can sum my review in a paragraph without spoilers:

TDKR makes TDK look an even better film than it is. Don't get me wrong, TDKR was still epic, but it felt as if it was missing something. Some parts seemed to drag, others seemed not long enough, and yet the pacing of the film wasn't as fast as the previous two in the trilogy. It was a fitting end to the trilogy I feel, but I think it's the least-best (I don't like saying 'worst' as they're all brilliant) of the trilogy.

8.5/10

(Gosh, I've not posted in here for aaaages! How unlike me )

 

[Ben]

DKR was amazing.

CBA to reply to them all, but most of your critiques are easily explained (the cannon on the Batpod straight in his face, and you're wondering WHY he died? LOLz).

Summary - Catwoman was amazing. Film was great. Not as good as TDK but as good as TDK without the Joker.

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

Ollie evidently missing the point of SEVERAL MONTHS PASSING between most of the events that happened during the film... Indeed, 5 months is a long time...

Besides, you're complaining about quick recovery of people in a SUPER HERO film... Does it really matter that much?

Spoiler

HEY LOOK SPOILER TAGS! THIS'LL HELP PREVENT PEOPLE SEE STUFF!

The 'twist' will probs get some people who have no idea about the background of the comics, but it's quite good if you're not expecting it (I was for the record)... Some great fight scenes and set pieces really... The ending rounded it out in typical Hollywood fashion, but really, it was a nice little ending which tied it all together...

BUT **** YEAH BANE!

 

[Frank]

Re: "Now Showing"

Batman Begins > The Dark Knight Rises > The Dark Knight

Hathaway is lush. Thought the pacing was much better in TDKR than it was in TDK. Despite being longer than TDK there was no awkward "when will this be over? Oh, there's another villain to take care of yet" moment.

 

[Ollie]

DKR was still a little disappointing though. It was a great yet flawed film. It had gigantic shoes to fill following Dark knight and it stepped up to the challenge but there were just too many little annoyances for it to surpass the previous film

Spoiler

The things I was most worried about (mainly Bane and Catwoman) worked out great. I hate to say it but I think the story was, well.... boring. Part of the problem was The Dark Knight really ratcheted up the tension by making the main cast vulnerable. Gordon was 'killed' early on, Rachel was killed around the halfway point and a lot of other named characters died as well. Here Nolan has ratcheted up the stakes and yet I don't think there was a single moment that I bought into the main characters being in danger. Batman once again feels like a passenger in his own movie.
I was also disappointed by how they killed off Bane as they spent the whole film showing how brutal he is yet Bane was reduced to Talias faithful hound before being dispatched like a punk. The character deserved better.

Can someone also quickly clear up the ending for me? I know people say he survived the blast because the autopilot was fixed but I swear I saw him still in the vehicle with around 5 seconds left to detonation.

 

[Mark]

Oh my oh my oh my.

Just got in from TDKR and I loved it!

I wont give any spoilers but I will say this, as a fan of the comics anyways I knew the character backgrounds and so there was a moment where I was about to have a hissy fit and throw my popcorn at the screen and hunt Nolan down for completely screwing with backstories... Stupid me... I should have seen that coming really shouldn't I!!!! Thankfully Nolan did not let me down and the payoff at the end was all the more sweeter for it. I am pretty sure that anyone who has seen it will know what I am referring to.

Hathaway was sublime and a perfect fit as Selina 'the Cat Burgler' Kyle, particularly in the world that Nolan created. Again, I remember when she was announced and straight away all the doubters thought it was a huge mistake. Having made that mistake with TDK and the casting of Ledger I opted to have faith in Nolans choice. Thankfully I was right. She was simply brilliant.

Tom Hardy. Well, job well done. Again, another incredible casting. He played the calculating and intelligable cool villain as he should be. For all those who couldnt understand him?? I didn't have a single problem understanding his dialogue.

I daresay some will think that the film ambled a bit too slowly in places etc etc etc. But for me, the 2hours and 44 minutes completely flew by (I didn't even get chance to think about wanting a cigarette - which is unusual for me) and I felt that actually the action was very plotted amongst the more dramatic exposition type scenes and because of my interest in those story based elements (rather than just an all out action movie) it gave the film gravitas and plausability.

I think that all the praise that is being heaped on Nolan is well deserved. In the course of the three films and most significantly with TDKR he has taken the 'Superhero' (or comic book hero) genre to a completely different platform. This movie can certainly not be palmed off and away as another mindless weak storied action flick as so many others of the genre are. I am just grateful to Nolan for making the kind of Batman films I have always wanted to see!

Now to go see again on IMAX

 

[Nic]

Just to break up the inevitable "OMFG Dark Knight Rises *fap fap fap*" monotony, here's some stuff I've watched recently.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Something with that many awesome actors in it can't possibly be dreadful. Whilst it wasn't groundbreaking, it was pleasant enough. I enjoyed it, but then I tend to like that kinda thing. Maggie Smith playing the incredibly racist old lady (think Catherine Tate's sweary Nan character) was quite amazing, although it was kinda hard to watch at first. The plot, whilst utterly predictable, had enough going on to keep my interest. Worth a watch, especially if quaint British comedy dramas are your thing.
3.5/5

We Bought a Zoo
I remember watching (bits of) the documentary about the real life family on which this is based. I kinda wish it'd been set in England with a British cast. I also wished they'd concentrated harder on the actual story of their struggle to get the park up and running. A lot of the stuff about only getting the enclosures improved in the nick of time for inspection, and opening day being hampered by fallen trees and stuff actually happened, but it relegated to incidental story lines, and comes across as being added for dramatic effect for the sake of it. Instead, the entire film is more focused on the pointless, predictable and (I think) entirely fabricated love story. If you take it as a girly love story then, yeah, its an alright film. I just feel like they've wasted an opportunity to get the most out of what, in reality, is a very interesting and inspiring story.
2/5

 

[tomahawk]

DKR

I think I rank this as the best in the trilogy, but I'm not sure. One thing for sure that upset me was Bane's voice. It was too clear, to the point where I almost walked out of sheer disappointment at the beginning of the movie. That's not how Nolan had it originally, and I wanted to see his original interpretation of Bane, not the modified WB version. Other than that, I have no major gripes about the movie. Salina Kyle needed more back story, but I fully expect to see Anne get her own movie based off the character that will eliminate any thoughts of that Hallie Berry **** storm.

The pacing was great, it was perfect length, and the ending was left to how the viewer wants to see it. That's not really a spoiler by any means, but yeah. Joseph Gordon-Levitz honestly made this movie as good as it was. I knew the second he was cast it was going to be better because of it. I think he is going to be the "winner" from this.

Spoiler?

Spoiler

JGL will more than likely be the new Batman in the Justice League movies.

 

[davidm]

Batman again.... (no spoilers)

Yes its OK, but not a patch on the second one for impact - although thought it DIDN'T drag like the second one does in places. Thought Bane was awful though, just nothing to him, real shame as I appreciate Tom Hardy's other performances - maybe it was the voice thing which just sounded like a bad dub.

Granted I'm not a big Batman geek, liked TDK a lot though, Inception not so much... "OK/good" sums it up for me, nothing special.

@Ollie

Spoiler

...at the end I thought you only saw his face, not the fact he was in the Bat just before the explosion...

 

[madhjsp]

DKR was good, just not quite as gripping or compelling as TDK. The Joker is just the superior character and Ledger's performance was unparallelled... the way he forced every character to constantly re-evaluate their own standards and actions was easily the best part of that movie.

I'd give it 8/10, where TDK would be pretty much a perfect 10.

A couple quick thoughts on it:
- Whereas I thought the first half dragged, the second half really picked up. TDK's pacing was far better, IMO.
-

Spoiler

Seeing half the Pittsburgh Steelers roster get swallowed into a giant hole and presumably killed was one of the best parts of the film

-

Spoiler

Bane's death was lame, compared to how bad-ass he was for most of the film

-

Spoiler

I was surprised and very pleased with how much this film ties back to Batman Begins. This simultaneously elevates the importance of the first film while effectively completing Bruce Wayne's character arc.

-

Spoiler

That Joseph-Gordon Levitt's character is actually named "Robin" and that he aspires to take up Batman's mantle at the end of the film was not surprising at all. Since we know there will not be any direct sequels to this film, it's basically a way of showing that Gotham's safety will be in good hands even after Bruce Wayne's "retirement."

-

Spoiler

The ending is very satisfying and concludes the series well, but one gripe I had was that they actually showed Bruce's face in the cafe. How much better would it have been if all the audience sees is the shot of Alfred sitting down, noticing some unseen person, and nodding to acknowledge them? Of course the implication would be that he saw Bruce, but just as with the ending of Inception, that hint of doubt and mystery would make the ending so much more powerful. That's what I was expecting as that scene progressed, and I was honestly a little let down when it cut to the shot showing Bruce's face.

-

Spoiler

On the other hand, I AM glad that we see that Bruce has found someone to spend the remainder of his secret life with. It's not that he's replacing Rachel, whom I think he will always love, but it's that he has finally recognized that he can't continue to live so alone in the world, and this recognition is the final step his character must take to find happiness and peace within himself. So, overall, maybe it was a good thing that we see the two together, but I still think that the mystery of NOT knowing for sure would have been even more effective.