Summer '07 movie reviews/discussion (SPOILERS)

[El Diablo]

CDS,

Fair enough. I like to give movies a day or two to sink in before I write more than cursory thoughts. Will write up some thoughts on Sunshine soon.

[mikech]

bourne, jason bourne.

saw it last night at a midnight showing, it was fantastic. i loved the first film but was disappointed by the second, in no small part due to the fact that the hand-held camera-work made the fight scenes nearly indecipherable. in this installment, paul greengrass (who also directed the 2nd) pulls the camera back during the action sequences and allows us perspective to view bodies in combat, and it's often exhilarating. i also loved the spy vs. spy, cat-and-mouse stuff in this movie, and matt damon is superb with his quiet intensity.

all in all, an absolutely kick-ass flick.

[john voight]

I watched 3 movies today, Bourne, Simpsons, Rescue Dawn.

Bourne Ultimatum

BU was pretty good as anyone will suspect. There are several action scenes. Too many I would say. I mean part of what makes the series good is the smartness of it. Plot twists, Bourne's journey, and realizations, etc... Here it was kind of bang, bang, bang w/ little in between.

So, if you really like action, this will make the movie even better for you. The movie didnt have the pace of say the Departed (IDK if this is a fair comparison). It leaned way more toward action. The action was very good though.

First major action scene is Bourne coaching a guy through a train station (or something). The two need to evade a bunch of agents, and it is the best action scene in the movie (IMO).

There was a foot/scooter pursuit that was less entertaining. The fight scene here was amungst the best in the whole series. The signature ultra close combat scene.

There was also a second vehicle chase which was okey.

Overall, it was good, but not great (IMO). Bourne is smarter than ever here, consistently toying w/ the guys who are chasing him, they are simply one level behind. Overall a recommended watch.

I could have used 30 more minutes so that the movie was not so saturated w/ action.


Rescue Dawn

Very little action. I could have used more of the action I saw in the beginning (I mean spice the movie up a little). The part in the POW camp is a bit long. I got bored. Christian Bale (I think that shim) is awesome in the movie; the guy shows humanity/emotion, something I have not seen before.

The movie looked a bit cheap. Meaning they could have explored more - added in some beautiful shots of the land, etc... Mostly it focused on the characters.

A good story, just not done in my taste. I would recommend this though, as it is not a crappy movie.

Simpsons

Surprisingly funny. Lots of times, movies like this become slaves to the plot. Here, despite the big plot, everything remains Simpsony, and all the characters get their line in. I honestly cant complain about this movie b/c it needs to have an elaborate plot to full up 90 minutes (opposed to 22 minutes). And it did a great job of staying funny the whole way.

And it looked great on the big screen.

I wanted to watch Hotrod as well, but my friends are lame bastards.

[Gary The Retard]

I agree with above poster about Ultimatum.

Seemed like consistently regurgitated themes and the only that changes is a CIA director who is after his ass. Absolutely minimal character and plot development, just a lot of action with some not so clever dialogue in between.

Identity > Supremacy > Ultimatum

[CharlieDontSurf]

thought there was enough given it is an action movie...
<font color="white"> Jason finds out the original creators of the whole secret agent program and shuts it down. finds out he killed us citizens. finds out he and nikki had a relationship prior and Maria resembled her and that is why he may have been so attracted to Maria in the first place. Jason finds out his real name and some background info on who he really was. Finds out that they used expieremental techniques on him. finds out that he chose to be Jason Bourne and it wasn't forced on him. Finds out where he was born. finds out he no longer has to be Jason Bourne

</font>

[El Diablo]

All,

Saw Bourne this weekend, really liked it.

Trailer for Beowulf, WOW WTF, that looks bad.

Different trailer for Lions for Lambs, still looks boring.

Rendition looks like it might be pretty good. Meryl Streep again, I guess she's taking all roles related to Iraq stuff.

3:10 to Yuma looks awesome.

[Los Feliz Slim]

Quickie review: Rocket Science

This is a small, quirky, independent movie that fails on almost every level. It's almost as if movies like this are becoming as formulaic as big Hollywood blockbusters. The situations are unbelievable, the characters by and large annoying, and the ending unsatisfying. This is the kind of movie that should give independent filmmakers hope that they'll get distribution even if their movie sucks. Needless to say, I do not recommend it.

Best part of the movie was the trailer for "No Country for Old Men", which is going to rule.

[howzit]

2 days in paris if you live in nyc.

hilarious neurotic jew boyfriend role by adam goldberg coupled w/on point editing. sit in for a 96 min flick at the angelika before or after dinner.

[DrSavage]

Just came back from watching Stardust. Best movie of the summer so far, imo.
Whoever was in charge of marketing though should be fired, his body burned and his ashes thrown to the wind. I feel really bad that a movie this awesome is gonna flop for no good reason and no fault of its own.

[Phat Mack]

King of Kong is a semi-documentary about the trials and tribulations of a person who attempts to set the world-record score for Donkey Kong. It delves into his personal life, that of his rival, and the subculture of competitive classic arcade game players.

Sounds weird, I know, but anybody who hangs out at poker, bridge or scrabble tournaments will recognize this cast of characters pursuing their game-geekedness. Fun movie. Lots or audience rooting in the theater where I sweated it. If you like the oddball stuff, check it out.