The Recommended Movies Thread

[sandman67]

just a heads up that over at Viooz there are a few more greats to watch including some Thai stuff like the Bang Rajan flicks

chin chin chaps and chapettes

[GLCQuantum]

Not sure if it's been mentioned but Hangover III is out and about in lovely crisp copies fom yify...

http://yify-torrents.com/movie/The_Hang ... 2013_1080p

Also 'After Earth' (got bad reviews) and 'Only God Forgives' have popped up over the last day or two.

http://yify-torrents.com/movie/After_Earth_2013_1080p

http://yify-torrents.com/movie/Only_God ... 2013_1080p

The storyline is provided on each link. Just hit 'download' and away you go.

Looking forward to some good viewing this evening.

[sandman67]

AFTER EARTH

I know...I have a track record of not being a fan of Will Smith and slag him regularly, but that isnt the whole picture. I think he has made a few good flicks. I love WILD WILD WEST, trip on MIB, and dig HANCOCK, so I dont hate all he does. But then again.... how can one forgive the crime of inflicting his god awful mini-me like unbearable talentless and ADD manic "look at me...me me me me!" brat Jaden on the entertainment world? Y'cant really.....

So Hollydud, doing its usual jump on the bandwagon routine, released a flick starring a prominent Scientologist - Tom Cruise - about a post apocalyptic Earth gone to rack and ruin after some global disaster now occupied by things that want to kill the last human there. And OBLIVION did the right things at the right times, and had some ultra cool low level CGI to make it pretty....and it worked. Not to be outdone another studio took another prominent Scientologist - Will Smith - and let him make a film that is really just a vehicle to try to jumpstart his sad kids teen panty wetter limp wrist career. This had losts more CGI, lots more bad things trying to kill the stranded humans, and a bucket load more Scientology quack fillosify slapped across it like daub on wattle.

Aaaaand it turned out as big a turkey as the notorious all time Scientology heavy turkey of turkeys BATTLEFIELD EARTH.

Really, finding stuff to take a swipe at with AFTER EARTH is like shooting fish in a barrel. The ridiculous and tired flogged to death premise, the crappy script, the wooden as planks nomarks acting by numbers, the shitty CGI modelling that looks sub SyFi Channel, the pointless heavy slathering of Scientologist platitudes and attitudes that make me want to piss. Or just the fact that whenever that little brat is on screen, and its mostly him running away from stuff anyway, I get this strange reflex-like jerking in my right leg as a fantasize stomping his stupid teen mag Beeberboy face into a mush.

Jeez....what a misery I sound. Look, Im sure that some will like this, but I didnt. OBLIVION was much smarter and less sacchrine, and better by far. Bubblegum is good, but not when it leaves a nasty chemical aftertaste in your mouth....and that is the type of bubblegum here.

Three thbttttts and a short journey from hard drive to trashcan

[sandman67]

DEAD IN TOMBSTONE

The grizzle faced Danny Trejo stars in this budget rate fantasy western about a bad guy betrayed by his kin and his gang and given a one way lead lined trip to hell. There the Devil, played by Mickey Rourke, strikes a deal with our dead desperado - collect all six souls of the men who betrayed him in 24 hours, or spend eternity in Hell with the hot pokers and other nasty passtimes.

Its not much of an epic as the budget is obviously not massive, but it does good stuff with what it has, and its well worth a watch if its beef jerky flavored bubblegum for the eyes and brain you are after. Its a damn sight better than other gothic westerns of late, and thats saying something after the slew of arse that has swamped the genre. It aint HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER or PALE RIDER, but its fun if you like your prairie tales grim.

Out and about in DVDRIPs at all the usual suspects. Two cheers and a smiley

[sandman67]

bumper installment today soakies as I had yesterday off with the feet up and a running supply of hot chocolate and hob nobs while parents were away for the day.

So, first up out of the traps its one from a while back I didnt get round to watching at the time, the excellent and strangely moving crime thriller DEAD MAN DOWN.

Colin Farrell stars in this kinetic little number, playing Victor - an enforcer with a hidden past who works for a middle ranking gang boss on the rise. He is having issues though with a hidden nemesis who sends him strange puzzle like letters and messages, sometimes with the dead bodies of his employees. So its down to Victor and the boys to track the enemy down. Meanwhile Victor has issues of his own - he was seen murdering a mark by a neighbor who lives in the flat opposite. She makes a deal with Victor - kill the drunk driver who crashed into her and scarred her once beautiful face, destroying her life, or she will tell teh cops about Victor. As this devils bargain develops the two fractured souls grow closer, but they ride a downbound train set to crash and burn. There is also one other problem - Victor isnt in fact who he says he is, and knows a lot more about the mystery gang member killer than he is letting on.

Colin Farrell is almost always a mark of a good production, and he brings all his usual intensity and tragedy to this role. He is nobly and ably supported by Naoomi Rapace as the scarred and vengeful neighbour, as well as a solid support cast of faces old and new. It trots along nicely, and even though the big reveal is thrown in in the first act, it keeps adding layers to the story all the way through. The action, when it does come, is nicely subdued, leaving the big badda boom right to the end.

Out and about in DVDRIPS all over the shop. A solid three cheers keeper.



Next up the epic summer popcorn blockbuster PACIFIC RIM

Guillermo Del Toro moves out of the weird box and goes for a straight summer blockbuster here - think INDEPENDENCE DAY where the aliens are Godzilla like "Kaiju" monsters, and the world response is to send in the tower block sized mecha warrior robots called "Jaegers". There is a lot of the ID checklist in here - spectacular and scary alien invasion, maverick dont play by the rules type teamed up with cold and cool science geek type, the broken anti hero who drops the hammer on the baddies, the quirky comedy science team, etc etc. But hey, who cares if its as cliched as hell - there are frickin tower block sized monsters and robots duking it out on screen in wonderful ultra detailed CGI!

I dont give a stuff its as dumb as a bag of hammers and as cliche laden as a St Patricks Day parade. We are not here to learn any complex messages or go on a long and enlightening pilgrimage - we are here to see big CGI things kick the crap out of other big CGI things and destroy CGI cities along the way. Feck Yeah!

And its spectacular from scene 1 to the end credits - better eye candy there has not been so far this year, and will not be till the inevitable Xmas season release of Hobbit Pt2.

Spankingly hot stuff, and a solid gold bag of brain dead magic three cheers and an extra grinny keeper. Out and about all over the shop at the usual suspects in hi rez and regular rez WEBRIP formats.



Which sadly can not be said for a flick I have been really looking forward to - OUTPOST 11

In an alternative 1950 where WW1 never ended and rumbles ever on, three troops man an isolated Arctic listening post. There, while listening in on Prussian transmissions via a collection of archaic steam powered gadgets and anachronistic Babbage like computers, they struggle to stave off the effects of isolation, cabin fever, dwindling supplies, and sheer mindless boredom. One is a young draftee, the commander a young career officer grown cynical about the war. Unfortunately the middle ranker is a genetic soldier born and bred in battle, so fractured by his wars that he is in permanent exile away from humanity. His increasingly erratic behavior following a cryptic message from HQ seems to drag the others into the whirlpool of his madness, and as all three slowly sink the captain sets out on one last desperate trek to the next station to seek help.

The problem with this one is its titchy indy budget - less than the average UK price for a house. So, while the setting and scenery is good, and the actors are competent and show flashes of properly inspired acting, the scripting and editing is somewhat haphazard and lets the side down. The ending for example is just bloody awful, and looks like they just ran out of steam (bad pun). Plot elements that needed expanding remain deflated, and these hamper the story telling that supports the main plot.

Its still well worth a watch, but its not a keeper, and thats sad as with a bigger budget and better scriptwriter this would have rocked. The premise is great, and deserved better.

Again out and about in DVDRIP formats at the usual suspects. Two cheers for effort and unusuality.

[sandman67]

WOOP WOOP

just a couple of Sandomatic Early Warning System 2000 alerts about hot releases

Two hot off the piratical press now out in lovely crispy DVDRIPs just like we likes em

LONE RANGER - Johnny Depp dons a dead crow hat and plays Tonto in this wild and weird west epic

YOUNG DETECTIVE DEE: RISE OF THE SEA DRAGON - sequel to the excellent Chinese wuxia wire fu spectacular DETECTIVE DEE AND THE PHANTOM FLAME

Will get round to reviewing both once I clear the desk of these mountains of stats and crap

ELYSIUM is also out in a WEBRIP format (think DVDRIP quality) but its from a SE Asian siurce so there are annoying hard coded Korean subs on it. Wait a week or so till the proper clean unsubbed one comes out

chippy do shipmateys

[Homer]

The Lone Ranger

Best deadpan comedy since I can't remember when. About every 10 minutes is an unexpected, are-you-kidding-me, nonsensical laugh out loud comic bit, played straight faced with a tone that both respects and makes fun of the conventions of Western movies and 'the hero arises' stories. Critics panned Depp's performance as Tonto for being weird and lacking in energy, among other things. But those qualities are the setup for the humor and the 'and now for something completely different' actions of the character.

The critics ripped it for being disjointed, having too many subplots, throwing in too many elements. What they didn't get is this story is a journey with fits and starts as a character suffers loss, learns about himself, matures, and has his fundamental beliefs about justice tested as he develops from man to hero. When Peter Parker went through a similar transformation in the 2002 Tobey Maguire Spiderman movie, they loved it.

If you need your setups and punchlines obvious, don't watch this movie. If you need the director, screenwriter and actors to inform you that 'hey ... we're making fun of Westerns now', don't watch this movie. If you want a conventional 3 act structure, you're outta luck. If you don't know the film conventions of Westerns, pass this one by.

Critic's reaction to this film remind me of how the Zucker brothers struggled to keep the studio from butchering 'Airplane!'. The hardest fight was over two visual bits in succession which lasted about 4 seconds. The Zuckers won that one during test screening when the 4 seconds got one of the biggest laughs in the film. The studio execs didn't get Airplane! Most of the critics didn't get The Lone Ranger.

[Homer]

Quentin Tarantino on The Long Ranger

It's on his top 10 movies (so far) of 2013. But what does he know. After all he's only won the Palme d'Or once (nominated 2 more times), Two Oscars for writing (nominated for Best Director 2 times), Two Golden Globes for writing (nominated Best Director), Two BAFTAs for writing (nominated twice for Best Director) to name a few of his awards and nominations.

http://www.slashfilm.com/quentin-tarant ... es-batman/

[Terry]

The Lone Ranger

Best deadpan comedy since I can't remember when. About every 10 minutes is an unexpected, are-you-kidding-me, nonsensical laugh out loud comic bit, played straight faced with a tone that both respects and makes fun of the conventions of Western movies and 'the hero arises' stories. Critics panned Depp's performance as Tonto for being weird and lacking in energy, among other things. But those qualities are the setup for the humor and the 'and now for something completely different' actions of the character.

The critics ripped it for being disjointed, having too many subplots, throwing in too many elements. What they didn't get is this story is a journey with fits and starts as a character suffers loss, learns about himself, matures, and has his fundamental beliefs about justice tested as he develops from man to hero. When Peter Parker went through a similar transformation in the 2002 Tobey Maguire Spiderman movie, they loved it.

If you need your setups and punchlines obvious, don't watch this movie. If you need the director, screenwriter and actors to inform you that 'hey ... we're making fun of Westerns now', don't watch this movie. If you want a conventional 3 act structure, you're outta luck. If you don't know the film conventions of Westerns, pass this one by.

Critic's reaction to this film remind me of how the Zucker brothers struggled to keep the studio from butchering 'Airplane!'. The hardest fight was over two visual bits in succession which lasted about 4 seconds. The Zuckers won that one during test screening when the 4 seconds got one of the biggest laughs in the film. The studio execs didn't get Airplane! Most of the critics didn't get The Lone Ranger.

Totally agree
OK - so Depp might be accused of transplanting Jack Sparrow into Tonto - but seriously there are some really quirky differences here. I loved it at the Cinema and downloaded it for the weekend.

[Homer]

Gravity

Direction + Cinematography + CGI = A brilliant thrill ride I've never been on before.

Acting: Sandra Bullock delivered. George Clooney and his direction was all wrong for the part.

Music: Horrible, cliched, over the top and unnecessary. Spielberg at his worst wasn't as ham fisted with music as this film. All the big dramatic moments have bombastic music cliches to tell you how to feel. Given the acting and imagery, it was unnecessary unless the producers or director didn't have faith in their work.

Story: Preposterous, postposterous and all the in between posterouses. So far beyond ridiculous it's ricockulous. It's as if the screenwriter based his main character's survival odds by watching Wile E. Coyote in Road Runner cartoons.

Recommendation: Go for the visuals & Sandra, leave after the second ridiculous scene. By then you'll know how it ends.

[richard]

Babel

2006 and an ace performance from Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchette. The supporting staff were excellent too and locations realistic

4 interlocking stories all connected by a single gun all converge at the end and reveal a complex and tragic story of the lives of humanity around the world and how we truly aren't all that different.

Long movie (2.23) and nothing really clicks until the last 20 minutes

My kind of movie

[sandman67]

So, other than my usual fare of classics old and new what have I been watching?

Well....

THE LONE RANGER

As Homer and Terry said above, this is a great big whopping biffs and booms ride through the wild weird west painted big and dramatic by the sketchy recollections of an aged Tonto recalling his adventures to a little kid visiting an exhibition in a fairground.

Its very PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN - lots of large dramatic set action pieces strung together with a back narrative involving backstories for the players, but unlike PIRATES it keeps the strands down to a minimum. And like the PIRATES franchise its a proper long long epic.... but its a full on thrill ride and the use of the "unreliable narrator" is smart. I also like the use of a much underused baddie - the Wendigo spirit that haunts the wastes and pounces on men who fall from the path. So its wild west with weird west, laughs, thrills and spills all the way.

The critics who panned this and jock kegger kids who whined about its length can go suck - I loved it and its a solid gold keeper all the way. Three hearty hurrahs!



Then I reluctantly revisited a film franchise with trepidation and came away smiling

MAN OF STEEL

The problem for me with the Superman franchise has always been its main character. Way too clean and moms apple pie flavored for my palette. I prefer my superheroes like my choccy biscuits - crunchy with a dark coating. The Superman flicks were always campy sacchrine drivel in my humble. So it was with trepidation and some arm twisting by my younger bro that I watched MAN OF STEEL, the umpteenth attempt to reboot this tawdry franchise...and boy what a surprise.

With Zach (300 / Sucker Punch) Snyder directing and Chris (Batman Begins trilogy) Nolan producing and writing Superman has finally come of age. Now we have Superman as a massive epic space opera that actually makes some form of sense, a superhero who is not squeeky clean and has a proper character - someone coming to terms with who and what he is. We have a set of support actors who are there to play proper characters, not just cardboard cutouts and paper thin cameos. And thanks to the wonders of eye popping CGI we have special effects and action sequences that are not embarrassingly cack and third league slapstick fests. This is Superman Begins Sucker Punching the cack out of a proper set of villains, and I love it.

So, get your eyeballs wrapped around a copy as soon as, get the popcorn and cold beers out, feet up, lights out, turn up the noise and dive on in. A solid gold keeper all the way, and a resounding three cheers for finally bringing the father of superheros out of the Vegas rhinestone and pink piano lounge and into the ice and cold where he belongs.



aaaaaaaaaaand finally, a return to a much loved franchise of mine - zombie Nazis from Hell......

OUTPOST 3

The subtitle of the film - THE RISE OF THE SPETSNAZ gives you a clue as to who the next set of unwitting and unwilling visitors to the bunker full of Nazi mad science horrors are....although its a bit misleading as the poor Russian schucks who get drawn in are not Spetsnaz at all. It is in fact the "origin" story behind the OUTPOST films - how the mad science experiments were first discovered and how a survivor carried the details back, the details that eventually see the scientist and his mercenary bodyguard team in film 1 sent to recover the records and equipment.

In the closing phase of WW2 a team of Russian commandos way ahead of the main advance stumble on the bunker deep in the woods where a team of Nazis working with Frankenstein science are trying to create the ultimate terror weapons - undead stormtroopers who are unstoppable. As they try to escape they are taken prisoner, and so have only two choices - escape or become lab rats for the crazy scientists.

Its not had the same budget of the first two, and so is a lot more "straight to DVD" stuff, but for fans of the genre its still entertaining stuff - and Im a fan. Dont watch it expecting much in the way of great special effects and you wont be disappointed. Gets two cheers and a smiley, and its a keeper.



All out and about in lovely crisp DVDRIPS

Also out in DVDRIPs now is a film I loved and the critics panned, and I reviewed above - the MIB meets demons and undead cop buddy buddy romp R.I.P.D., and soon we should be seeing RIDDICK, DESPICABLE ME 2 etc etc.....

watch this space

[sandman67]

And for big kids like me with a taste for CGI fest matinee stylee bubblegum adventure flicks with a goth twist these are the ones Im really looking forward to

47 RONIN (due out at Christmas time)


THE HOBBIT Pt2 (also out at Xmas)


SEVENTH SON


300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (out in 2014)


THE MONK


And the Russian co-op with Hollywood film about the battle to end all battles
STALINGRAD


add that to an interesting slate of Japanese, Chinese and Korean wuxia style wire fu historical fantasy flicks that are due out in 2014 and looks like its a good film watching season ahead for me anyway

[sandman67]

DESPICABLE ME 2, which I reviewed in an earlier post, is now out and about in lovely DVDRIP formats.

Brief revisit:

Groo, our reformed supervillain dad of three pre teen girls, is recruited by the anti-supervillain-league when big bad stuff starts to happen - after all you set a thief to catch a thief eh? Groo has also notices his little yellow Minion chums are going missing. So he and his female partner set off to find out what is going on, on the way running into a retired ex-supervillain whose son falls for Groo's eldest daughter..... let the hilarity commence.

Laughs by the truckload, and loads of little yellow Minion chaos with extra added fun when they turn into the evil version - purple people eater Minions. Great fun for dads and lads alike. Solid gold, sure keeper.

Get at it!

[PeteC]

Here's a good (or at least funny) "old guy" move BB.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0198386/?re ... lmg_act_30