13-04-2009, 00:15 | #761 | |
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13-04-2009, 16:14 | #762 |
Smother me in chocolate and eat flapjacks with it!
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: North Somerset
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M o n s t e r s __ v s __ A l i e n s
7.5/10 The immediately recognisable visual forms of a Dreamworks production are as highly polished as one has come to expect from the makers of Shrek, Madegascar & Antz ()... Despite a somewhat unoriginal antagonist in the form of a 'rule-hungry alien from outer space', the sheerly spectacular visual effects and animation of Monsters vs Aliens will provide many, many hours of easy babysitting material. Nonetheless, it's entertainment value alone lacks the buxom heart that will see this title replayed during festive periods to come. The more nerdy viewers (fnar) will find themselves cock-a-hoop at the plentiful sci-fi cliches and references, in addition to some punchy one liners delivered by voice actors Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie and Kiefer Sutherland makes for entertainment you won't mind re-watching with your kids, nieces, nephews and godchildren... just don't expect it to spend too much time out of it's case thereafter! Monsters vs Aliens; rent, watch, laugh, enjoy but don't buy.
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Last edited by Jingo; 13-04-2009 at 16:17. |
13-04-2009, 23:39 | #763 |
Absinthe
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14-04-2009, 16:49 | #764 |
Nice weak cup of Earl Grey
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 45
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Monsters v Aliens (3D)
I was really looking forward to this one, but felt decidedly under whelmed by it.. it seemed one of those films where the best bits were in the trailers. The 3D aspect was good (although I liked Bolt 3D more) but I couldn't really rate it higher than filling in some time with the kids over half term. |
14-04-2009, 23:01 | #765 |
Do you want to hide in my box?
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 14,941
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Milk
Brilliant film. Very interesting and powerful stuff. Sean Penn was incredible in it imo and well deserving of the Oscar. James Franco was also impressive as I haven't seen him play anything other than a stoner before. Josh Brolin was good too.....hell everyone was well cast and acted even better. Really good likenesses as well. 9/10
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17-04-2009, 22:40 | #766 |
Vodka Martini
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Exeter
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Changeling
Rented this tonight - I was a bit dubious as I'm not a great fan of Angelina Jolie and I thought the subject matter might be a bit soppy. Wow. It's actually an incredible film - powerful, dramatic, emotional, and incredibly well-acted (Geoff Pierson as the lawyer Hahn was my favourite, wish he'd been in it more. Jeffrey Donovan as the police captain J J Jones was brilliant as well). I might not have bought some of the plot, but I did a few checks afterward and most of it is completely accurate to the true story. In short, a brilliant cast and a very moving story that at no points becomes mawkish or melodramatic.
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19-04-2009, 11:01 | #767 |
Columbian Coffee
Join Date: Oct 2008
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The Fifth Element
Starring:
Genres:
Where do we start? The cast list over-flows with recognisable names, the cameo list is enormous (link) and everyone seems to be having a great time. Bruce Willis is in his comfort zone as the grizzled action hero, Chris Tucker is at his most amusing without having to resort to cheap, slightly racist jokes (see: Rush Hours 1-3) and even Milla Jonovich pulls her weight (I find models tend to ruin movies in general, strutting around with zero talent, barely arsed to act). Gary Oldman deserves praise for such a fantastic performance as the villan Zorg (that's Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg), hamming it up without being cheesy. The special effects are top-notch, the film sitting firmly in the period where sci-fi still meant models with a dash of CG, so it doesn't look too dated. The 23rd Century New York with super-tall sky scrapers and queues of flying traffic has been done a hundred times before but the rich, vibrant colours of the city mixed with the Arabic 'market-bustle' music differentiates it from what has come before. The aliens of the film are a mix of the obvious and the strangely charming, but aren't overused. Pay special attention to the Mangalores, Zorg's henchmen. Clearly you can tell it's a bloke in a rubber face mask, but they've got it spot on with the fluid lip movements and even the raised eyebrows. The theming of the future fits the style of the movie well, with even the costume design (by Jean-Paul Gaultier, no less) spot on, with mad futuristic costumes and crazy hairdos making sure that the future doesn't look stuck in the era in which it was filmed (see: all 60s and 70s sci-fi). It also earns a few more points from me for the amount of pop-culture and subtle references littered throughout the movie, like the golden arches of McDonalds, the small keystones of information that help define the future the movie sits in, such as the cigarettes with massive filters, cheesy TV adverts and the fog that settles at street level and the number of British people in the cast (well, it was filmed here). The film loses a point for some wonky acting by the less experienced members of the cast, but more importantly for the criminal attention the film has been given for home release. I have the original DVD, and the transfer is terrible and the surround-sound placement is all over the place. The film went to Blu-Ray with a notoriously bad (see this review) release that was a replaced with a better transfer, but still completely missing any form of extras. These are the kind of movies that beg for behind the scenes commentaries, documentaries and photo galleries. The Blu-Ray is also nowhere to be seen on these shores (though it is at least region free). Bad form Sony! Last edited by SiD the Turtle; 19-04-2009 at 11:05. |
19-04-2009, 11:51 | #768 |
The Mouse King of Denmark
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Good review - spot on! The dodgiest acting comes from the various Euro models playing receptionists, flight attendants etc. but it kind of almost works with the theme of the film.
I think its biggest triumph is that it's light-hearted and comedic on the surface but still very violent and dark. Not many directors could pull that off.
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19-04-2009, 14:10 | #769 |
Vodka Martini
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Luc Besson is imo one of the greatest directors there is.
Oh and, the 'better' blu ray transfer is utterly sublime. Top notch picture and the sound is to die for, it's one of my better blu-rays.
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19-04-2009, 15:39 | #770 |
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And isn't Fifth Element the most high profile case of the main reel being lost? So rather than a fresh transfer from original source it has to be tweaked every time?
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