Rate That Movie!

[numbersix]

Eh, what luck, a movie on a million that comes for first in Italy than in the rest of the World!

Actually it came out in Ireland and the UK 2 weeks before Italy

[donnie]

Eh, what luck, a movie on a million that comes for first in Italy than in the rest of the World!

Actually it came out in Ireland and the UK 2 weeks before Italy

obviously

[BanksIsDaFuture]

While we're still waiting for The Boat That Rocked....

[Buscemi]

It opens on November 13th under the name Pirate Radio (and cut by twenty minutes).

[BanksIsDaFuture]

This Is It - 8/10

Michael looked like he still could out-dance a lot of professional dancers, even in his 50s. You could see he was a bit rusty, esp when he's in a little singing battle with a young woman and he can't match her at all. He blames it on the fact that he's saving his voice, but to her credit, she was a helluva singer. It's also cool to see him get a little mad when the soundman continually messes up. A bit long, but still a great memorium for a great artist.

[Geezer]

The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day: 10/10

Absolutely outstanding sequel. If you loved the first, you will love this as well. It is made exactly the same way, with all the brilliant wit and one liners that the first had. It was hilarious. It was filled with all that violent goodness. There was even a nice little plot twist. I love how much Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus own these characters. The fact that they are pretty much unknown actors, as well as everyone else in the film makes it so easy to just get lost in the movie and stop feeling like you are watching a film and feel like you can connect with the characters as real people. Funny, action packed, everything the first one had. Not quite so good, if only because the first one came out first and this one was a carbon copy in terms of style. Thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed it. Worth the trip to Hartford. Loved it.

[W]

If this one didn't have Dafoe in drag, it should be better, then.

[Geezer]

I can confirm that it did not.

[numbersix]

Paranormal Activity

Not sure how to rate this- it's similar to Blair Witch Project in that it's essentially a gimmick, an endeavour to creep you out as opposed to telling a story. But it's pretty effective at creeping you out. It slowly builds tension through the multiple nighttime encounter that start as curious and end as something dangerous. I liked how it refused to show anything directly, letting our imaginations fill us with fear.

The version I saw was the original version, not the one in US cinemas. The version I saw had some extra stuff, such as the couple watching an exorcism online, but it was really badly made (and was a complete rip off of The Exorcist) so it was the right move to cut it. The ending is completely different, it's less scary (I imagine!) than the cinema version, it's more of a ghost story ending as opposed to a shock ending. Glad I watched it, though, and it'll be interesting to see if next Halloween will see a load of low-budget fake-documentary horrors.

I think overall I'd give it a Creepy out of 10

[Buscemi]

I'm still waiting for MGM to release The Poughkeepsie Tapes. The directors of that movie are already at work on their third movie and their first still hasn't gotten a release.

Anyways...

Michael Jackson's This Is It ***/****

A well-done documentary on the most famous canceled concert tour ever. Even in his 50's, Michael Jackson showed that he still had it and he has several great performances in the film (my favorite was his performance of Earth Song). Though a little slow, it is still worth your time.

Meanwhile, I wonder if they finished Thriller 3-D because I would love to see that attached to a future REAL-D presentation before the movie starts.

And Kenny Ortega looked nothing like I imagined him to look like.

[numbersix]

Drag Me To Hell 5/10

Maybe it's because I watched it after Paranormal Activity, but the film felt completely throwaway. It's not particularly scary, besides a few obvious jolts (which are almost always pre-empted by a sudden and very predictable silence). But I doubt it's going for true scares anyway, as it seems to be going more for humour, such as an early scene in which the old woman attacks protagonist Christine (she loses her teeth but tries to bite her, resulting in her sucking on poor Christine's chin). But there's not enough of these moments to keep the film entertaining. The plot is threadbare, and the twist is very predictable. And even though the mood is similar to Evil Dead 2, we don't get the ironic face of Bruce Campbell, instead we get the rather passive screams of Alison Lohman, whose character isn't particularly interesting. So all we're really left with are a few funny sequences and a completely forgettable film.

[undeadmonkey]

agreed on all points, numbersix. that's exactly how i felt

[NSpan]

maybe us early adopters oversold it--but i view Drag Me to Hell as a sincere thank-you note from Sam and Ivan to their oldest fans... coming off the immensely popular (and mainstream) Spiderman franchise, Raimi could've played it safe and made a run-of-the-mill horror flick (or, God forbid, a Japanese remake), but he CHOSE to make the type of movie that made us all fall in love with his work in the first place.. and, perhaps Alison Lohman is no Bruce Campbell, but I think she does a respectable job of playing (in my words) "Sister Evil Dead"..

the movie, even as a comedy, has some thrilling moments.. but anybody disappointed by the lack of true "horror" elements were going to the wrong movie..

No.6 called it a "throwaway".. i think that's an apt description--but much less pejoratively than he might've meant it.. an intentional throwaway (think Burn After Reading or Moon) isn't a cinematic crime--and, personally, i would take it ANY day over than a bloated self-important faux-masterpiece..


for the record, as of November 1st, Drag Me to Hell remains on my top 10 list of the year... there are a LOT of serious contenders coming up between now and 2010, but i wouldnt be surprised (nor ashamed) if DMtH makes the final cut..


prior to the oscar season, this is what i got for a (VERY) tentative top 10 of '09:

Moon
Inglourious Basterds
Observe & Report
Drag Me To Hell
I Love You, Man
Watchmen
Zombieland
Up
Tetro
Paranormal Activity

[numbersix]

Some very good points, there NSpan, and I agree with a lot of them (although I have to admit bloated faux-masterpieces at least stick in your mind a bit longer than Drag will.. but maybe that's just me).

Perhaps my biggest problem with Drag was that there wasn't enough. From what I remember about Evil Dead 2 it was relentless, the gore and the scares and the jokes were coming at you a hundred miles an hour, and because of that I felt Drag dragged on a bit. When it was good, it was really good, but there just want's enough of those kind of Evil Dead moments.

[NSpan]

Whatever Works - Simply put: Woody lives on a different planet, and I really really gotta stop paying to see his movies. He is so delusional and distanced from the state of the human condition (in an OVERALL sense, not just in the minds of the Hollywood "elite"). Between this and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, I think the last nail in Woody's coffin has been set..