[pinkgothic]

Pitch Black

Visually stunning movie with an awesome fictional planetary system and some very cool ideas - but incredibly flat acting. The acting is it's only downside, though, so I suggest watching it as a B-Movie that just happens to be visually top notch for full satisfaction.

Spoiler:

Maybe it's just me, but I get a kick out of a planet having three suns and no nighttime, but ends up subject to a kick arse solar eclipse... not only by a solar eclipse, no, but the oddest partial eclipse to lead up to it, ever - light obscured by the rings of the gas giant.

BTW, I was watching this with one eye only - can someone tell me if the planet was a, well, planet, or a moon? Curious because from the eclipsing scene it looked very much like a moon, but I think they kept referring to it as a planet, which would be unfortunately unrealistic (unless I'm mistaken, of course, and have my idea of astronomical scales backwards).

[Ninth]

The Science of Sleep.

It feels like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (it's weirder, though), and is equally nice to watch. Original and fresh.

[Spiwak]

SoS still hasn't come out here.....unfortunately. Not like I have time to go to the movies...unfortunately.

[[toj.cc]Phantom]

Jackass 2

[lumi]

Originally Posted by [toj.cc]Phantom

Jackass 2

I'm tempted to see this, but am worried about there being too many gross out stunts. How much of the movie do those take up?

[RLacey]

The Shining

As a self-confessed 2001 hater, I approached this with a huge dose of skepticism... and was left vaguely impressed. If the words "Here's Johnny!" mean anything to you then the film has already lost most of its horror, but it's still interesting to watch the descent into madness. And the snow-filled maze scene is well handled.

[Spiwak]

Originally Posted by RLacey

The Shining

As a self-confessed 2001 hater, I approached this with a huge dose of skepticism...

I hate you right now.

They're both amazing movies. Anyone that disagrees is just stupid. Yeah.

[RLacey]

I disagree in that I think 2001 is a vapid, soulless film that can't even manage to be a triumph of style over substance (perhaps its only defence is that it has some nice camera work) due to its obsession with being utterly tedious and uninteresting. It's too long, too boring and way too overhyped.

Other than that you're right .

*runs from the 2001 fans*

[LeisureSuitedLooney]

Originally Posted by RLacey

The Shining

As a self-confessed 2001 hater, I approached this with a huge dose of skepticism... and was left vaguely impressed. If the words "Here's Johnny!" mean anything to you then the film has already lost most of its horror, but it's still interesting to watch the descent into madness. And the snow-filled maze scene is well handled.

Both versions of The Shining have their merits and drawbacks. The original is a balls-to-the-wall, scary descent into madness...but it's got more Kubrick than King. The miniseries, on the other hand, was adapted by King himself(screenplay), so it follows the book more closely, giving it more of a dark-fantasy vibe than a flat-out horror film. But it keeps in the topiary animals, so "Yayyyyyyyy!!"

I like 'em both, but I think I lean more towards King's version, even though I think the Danny in the original movie was more convincing.

[Spiwak]

Originally Posted by RLacey

I disagree in that I think 2001 is a vapid, soulless film that can't even manage to be a triumph of style over substance (perhaps its only defence is that it has some nice camera work) due to its obsession with being utterly tedious and uninteresting. It's too long, too boring and way too overhyped.

Other than that you're right .

*runs from the 2001 fans*

You're right in that it's boring and tedious, and even soulless. But that's the point. Kubrick doesn't want you to connect with eith of the men on the Jupiter space station, in fact he wants you to feel more emotionally involved with HAL than the people. The computer shows more emotion than they do (HAL's death scene is curiously tragic, watching him plead for his "life"). The idea is both a warning of when technology becomes *too* human, and also how humans will become less human in the technological age.

[RLacey]

I don't subscribe to the theory that something bad is okay if it's intentionally bad. I don't care that Kubrick didn't want me to connect with those people; he failed to have me connect to HAL (who just came across as creepy to me), and so I felt no connection to any of the characters. Regardless of whether that was his message or not, it left me as a viewer feeling bored rather than thoughtful. It didn't work.

[kuze]

Das Parfum - A very well made adaptation of the book by Susskind, awesome visuals, great acting, overall an amazing movie that retained the spirit of "Run, Lola, Run" (good movie that unfortunately couldn't hide the limited budget it was made with) - excessive use of colours, very vivid characters. Quite surprising for German production.

[samIamsad]

Talking about German movies..... Schtonk! At least, I wish I had seen it recently. That thing's just so funny.

[[toj.cc]Phantom]

Originally Posted by Spider Crusoe

I'm tempted to see this, but am worried about there being too many gross out stunts. How much of the movie do those take up?

Well, there is quite a bit of throwing up, some poop, a 720 LBS. fat lady, someone eats a cow pie, and someone drinks some horse semen. The worst parts for me is the vomiting parts, but I got over those.

[lumi]

Originally Posted by [toj.cc]Phantom

Well, there is quite a bit of throwing up, some poop, a 720 LBS. fat lady, someone eats a cow pie, and someone drinks some horse semen. The worst parts for me is the vomiting parts, but I got over those.

The horse thing I had heard about, but it's good to hear the other parts are less gross. Vomiting I'm used to seeing on Wildboyz, so I don't care about that.

[Melanie68]

Whereas, the v****ing bits would make me stay as far away from it as humanly possible. Even if someone paid me to see it, I never would.

*shudder*

[Spiwak]

Originally Posted by RLacey

I don't subscribe to the theory that something bad is okay if it's intentionally bad. I don't care that Kubrick didn't want me to connect with those people; he failed to have me connect to HAL (who just came across as creepy to me), and so I felt no connection to any of the characters. Regardless of whether that was his message or not, it left me as a viewer feeling bored rather than thoughtful. It didn't work.

I guess that's respectable, just a very mainstream-movie-goer type of opinion, though. A movie has to have a narrative that has a point, character development, some humor, a big acting scene for the Oscar reels, story-based rather than imagery-based ideas, etc etc. That's not meant to be condescending, just how your average joe movie-goer thinks, I believe.

And HAL is supposed to be creepy...but because you realize towards the end that he's more human than the humans. It's a very uncanny kind of creepiness that HAL creates with his almost-humanlike voice and almost-humanlike thoughts. So, he didn't fail in that respect.

[[toj.cc]Phantom]

Originally Posted by Melanie68

Whereas, the v****ing bits would make me stay as far away from it as humanly possible. Even if someone paid me to see it, I never would.

*shudder*

Did you self censor vomiting?

[Melanie68]

Yes.

I can deal with lots of gross things but that. One of my few phobias.

[Giligan]

One recent movie seen: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery