hanshotfirst1138

It's just way, way, way, way too much of a mediocre thing. Like I said, it truly believes that "more is better," and eventually, I just got numbed to endless frenetic action.

That and his other Luc Besson collaboration Kiss of the Dragon are easily his best English-language films. Unleashed/Danny the Dog has tons of holes in its preposterous plot and usual Luc Besson shtick, but Li finally shows that he has surprisingly effective dramatic chops and the fight sequences are killer. Yuen Woo Ping deserves his crown.

It's a shame she and Scott Adkins didn't come along in the 90s. Back in the Jeff Pruit days, she'd have been on the cover of every VHS tape on the DTV action rack. Her blend of sultry sex appeal and genuine physical skills is fairly rare. Lets face it, not many martial arts stars can act all that well. She is particularly wooden, however. Still planning on giving this a rental though.

I never saw the remake, I thought the novelty value of the original wore off quickly and there wasn't much underneath it.

Superman Unbound- Some good writing, but sadly pretty flat direction from DCAU alum James Tucker in this adaptation of a Geoff Johns story arc. Some solid ingredients, but put together in such a workmanlike fashion that there's very little spark.

Justice League: War- I miss Bruce Timm. Aquaman doesn't get any love. Adaptation of the disappointing Johns/Lee arc has most of the same exposition-heavy flaws, signposting things I already know, and the voice cast is OK, but unspectacular. O'Mara is yet another solid take on Batman, but I admit I'm still hung up on Conroy. The story itself feels too thin, like an entry point to something most of us are already familiar with anyway.

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox- Darwyn Cooke will be pissed at the overly adult tone, but it's good more most of us. Nice to see a DC DTV that doesn't revolve around Superman or Batman for a change, excellent animation, and though occasionally gratuitously dark, the storyline is fairly compelling. Particularly brutal action sequences attempt to shake things up a bit, and the twists on the classic characters are fun.

Son of Batman- Could Talia's design possibly be anymore cheesecake? I got serious Despicable Me 2 flashbacks when the antidotes were administer to the Man-Bats. So they're just going to leave them floating in the water? Robin can continue to fight after being crucified? OK placeholder with nice production values, but almost everything feels disappointingly by-the-numbers and none of the drama is compelling at all.

Why So Blu?

Longmire Seasons 1 & 2
300: Rise of an Empire
Non-Stop


It's been a great week for programming!

inri222

I could understand, but IMO I thought the original was really good because of the atmosphere and sense of dread which IMO a lot of horror films lack.

OldBoy

The Grand Budapest Hotel...very entertaining.

inri222

Funny Games (1997) - 5/5

Two young men hold a bourgeois family captive and subject them to various kinds of physical & psychological torment.
An intelligent well directed disturbing thriller that deconstructs the glorification of violence in cinema.

Jory

inri222

Batman Begins - 2.5/5

After the murder of his parents, Bruce Wayne becomes a recluse and disappears for 7 years. He winds up somewhere in Asia amongst criminals and learns how to overcome his fears in order to fight crime. OK action film bogged down by an all star cast filled with one dimensional characters.

Jory

hanshotfirst1138

I've heard that the only coffin in that movie is the one that holds Argento's career.

JimRochester

I liked Haywire but will admit to her lack of acting skills. But look at Chuck Norris. The guy never learned to act yet made himself bazillions. Couldn't act and needed a stunt double for years yet made money on Texas Ranger.

WARNING! Sexist joke ahead. When I first saw the title of that movie I thought it was referring to her menstrual cycle.

JimRochester

X-Men Days Of Future Past I'm not a huge X-Men fan but my daughter is and she wanted to bring me for my father's day present. Obviously enjoyed the hell out of the experience although the movie itself I would have been satisfied to rent it.

Why So Blu?

Alexander: The Ultimate Cut Count me in as one of the few who likes the film in all its various incarnations. This ultimate cut cuts out most of the fat and flows much smoother than it ever has before. A cool intermission is also included right before we get to India. It also has a new audio commentary by Oliver Stone. The final running time on the ultimate cut is 207 minutes. The Blu-ray set is lovely.

OldBoy

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug...entertaining, but the magic from the OT is truly gone.

Giles

was it painful to watch?

Jory

He hasn't been relevant in 30 years, so I don't think another bomb will hurt him too much.

Not remotely. Critics have a tendency to dog-pile on b-movies and go all Comic Book Guy on them, making it sound as if watching the movie for ten seconds will make you bleed from the eyes and give you cancer, and of course the films rarely live up (or down) to that kind of hype.

Just about the only thing deserving of such scorn is the effects, which are just as bad as they've been made out to be. Argento apparently saw Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus and said, "Get me those guys!" The CGI reminded me of the animated cutscenes in early PlayStation games.

Other than that, it's fine. It's cheap fucking schlock and you shouldn't expect anything else, but none of the actors ever embarrass themselves (unlike, say, the cast in the Coppola version) and the script put enough interesting twists on the story to keep my interest. It's less Horror of Dracula and more Scars of Dracula, and by those standards of cheap schlock, it's fine enough.

But then I'm the guy who liked The Mummy 3 and couldn't wait for The Dark Knight to end, so you may want to take my opinions with a grain of salt.

P. S. If you're a straight man or a gay woman, the movie is worth watching simply for the amazing nudity on display. Sometimes it feels less like Argento's Dracula and more like Argento's Titty Circus. It's the only Blu-ray I own with the term "fleshy writhing bosoms" printed on it, and the quote is appropriate.

Jory

Jory

Inhumans99

Edge Of Tomorrow

Giles

I personally didn't mind Mother of Tears

I just got to rent this and see the giant cicada scene.

Giles

tommyp007

National Lampoons European Vacation. Not as bad as I remembered.

Turbo. Really cute. The kid loved it.

Jory

I assume you mean the praying mantis scene, because I don't recall any cicadas. It's really over before it starts. Dracula appears as a praying mantis, kills a guy, and transforms back into a human, all within a matter of maybe ten seconds.

It's a big "what the fuck?" moment to be sure, but you're going to be disappointed if you expect that kind of insanity all throughout the film. Aside from that one scene, and having more tits and gore, it's really no more nuts than a typical Hammer Dracula sequel.

My Other Self

National Lampoon's European Vacation - Still easily the worst of the series. Has some funny parts, but it's a drag to get through.
Edge of Tomorrow - Second favorite film of the year behind X-Men: DoFP
Ouch. I'm curious as to how you'd grade the other Batman films, as (IMO) Batman Begins is easily the second best behind The Dark Knight.

inri222

I am watching all of them and have one more to go

The Dark Knight - 4/5

Batman along with Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent declare war on organized crime. Their tactics give rise to a new breed of criminal called The Joker, who is driven not by greed, but the sadistic pleasure of mischief & chaos. With The Joker, Batman has a dangerous adversary who is just as determined as he is in getting his point across. Good story filled with political allegory and an amazing performance by Heath Ledger make this film a big improvement over the first one.

EddieMoney

Robocop 2