Re: An Idea Part 3: Same $h!t, Different Thread

[Donte77]

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Really fun film and had enough moments to keep the adults entertained. The 3D was excellent and made good use of the technology without relying on it entirely. The Monkey vs Bear scene is one of the funnier moments in an animated film this year. 8.0 / 10 Stars

[BanksIsDaFuture]

Hmmm...could've sworn I'd already posted this:

Whip It! - 6/10

Enjoyable, yet bland at times. A little better than average

(Shryke, I'm sending you my full review of Whip It! and Fame right now. I'll have one for I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell by tomorrow night.)

[Buscemi]

Banks probably would have given it an 8 had it been called Whip It Out! and been rated R for nudity.

[BanksIsDaFuture]

Yes. Yes, I would.

[undeadmonkey]

Couples Retreat 8/10 - definitely nothing new though, but funny nonetheless. If your looking for a romcom thats not too heavy on the romantic part, definitely check it out

[BanksIsDaFuture]

The Invention of Lying - 5/10

Yet another case of a studio selling a movie as something it's not. It is not a comedy, it's more a romantic drama with some funny cameos and one-liners thrown in. There are a couple of pretty funny high profile cameos, but Tina Fey is here for about 3 mintues tops, and Jonah Hill and Louis C.K. are completely wasted.

Ricky Gervais still can't carry a movie...

[BarcaRulz]

Surrogates: 6/10.

While I liked the premise and some of the action (some of the CGI was really REALLY bad), it still was a standard copy-paste thriller with the customary twist ending which you could see from a mile away.

Bruce Willis was great IMO, he shows that he can still carry an action movie by himself. Good supporting actors too. Story was interesting and semi-original (which is the most original an action movie has been in a long time).

Not bad, but much better options out there.

[Buscemi]

Ricky Gervais still can't carry a movie...

Someone didn't see Ghost Town.

[numbersix_99]

Up 8/10

Brilliant movie- one of Pixar's best. Better than Wall E, better than Ratatouille. It's different (when have we last seen a major movie with a decrepit old man for a lead), it's touching (the montage near the start), and hilarious (when the doberman first "speaks", Kevin, and of course Doug).

[BanksIsDaFuture]

Ricky Gervais still can't carry a movie...

Someone didn't see Ghost Town.

I actually loved Ghost Town, this was nowhere as good as that.

I guess what I was saying is why do studios keep giving him a chance to headline movies? Financially, he can't carry a movie.

[Buscemi]

Megan Fox can't financially carry a movie either and yet you think she's hot shit.

[BanksIsDaFuture]

Hot shit, as in she looks hot? Yes, I do.

And I'd say Megan Fox's and Ricky Gervais' acting abilities are about even.

[silversurfer19]

I think both of you are quite correct. Megan Fox has proved she cannot carry a movie, and it will be interesting to see how studios deal with a movie starring her along in the near future. However, I do find that Gervais' talents as a comedian far exceed his actual acting talents. I think he will find far more success as a script writer or director than as an actor.

Anyway, we watched Ponyo a few nights ago. It was good, not as good as the likes of Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle or even the 'cuter' movies such as My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service or The Cat Returns. But as usual the visuals were fantastic, the score beautiful and the story very simple but poetically told. It will certainly not be my favourite (I do prefer the more narrative based Miyazaki movies), but it is a welcome addition to the Ghibli studio. A shame not enough people will see their movies, as even though this was their biggest release to date, and following on the predecessors acclaim, my theatre was quite empty. 7/10

[BanksIsDaFuture]

Zombieland - 7.5/10

Pretty funny, everyone brings their A-game. There's too little actual zombie action, only in the beginning and end do we get to see them having a hardcore battle with the zombies. Woody Harrelson is terrific as usual, and this movie might have the best cameo of all time.

And how cool is it that the main character's name is COLUMBUS, OHIO?!?!?!

[Buscemi]

I figured that it was Columbus, Georgia, especially since the other characters are named after Southern cities (Tallahassee, Little Rock and I forget the other one).

[BanksIsDaFuture]

The other one is Wichita

[W]

The other one is Wichita

Must be Wichita, Alabama then. :)

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the cities were where they were headed.

[Shrykespeare]

Invention of Lying - 3/5 stars

Ahh, just read my review.

http://www.thelatestmoviereviews.com/2009/10/02/theinventionoflying.html

Trailers in front of it:

Fantastic Mr. Fox
Everybody's Fine
Men Who Stare at Goats
The Box
The Tooth Fairy (brand new)


Banks, I hope you'll have a review for Zombieland by Saturday. It's the only film this weekend that we're missing one for.

[BanksIsDaFuture]

Shryke, I will def try. I should have to you sometime today.

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell - 8/10

A lot better than I thought it was going to be, Jesse Bradford got all the good lines though. Tucker is still a douchebag, and the way he talks to people would never work in real life but it's funny to see it happening to unsuspecting people. He definitely gets his in the end, probably the funniest scene in the movie.

[Buscemi]

Capitalism: A Love Story ****/****

Michael Moore is surprisingly fairer than before with this one, as he attacks both parties over how Wall Street took over the White House. Not only are the events shocking but they are also informative. On the side, we get the same events from the view of the average person. This is a great documentary and even the biggest haters of Michael Moore can find some things to like about the film.

Zombieland **/****

Here is a good reason why the best zombie films don't come from the studios. Despite good performances by Woody Harrelson and Bill Murray, the filmmakers spend too much time attempting to cross Superbad and Scream together and not enough time simply killing zombies. Another fault is the terrible performance of Jesse Eisenberg, whose character gets so tedious that you don't want him to survive the zombie apocalypse. Dawn Of The Dead, this isn't.

[numbersix_99]

The Invention of Lying: 5/10

Very disappointing after an amusing trailer. Gervais's character isn't particularly likeable, as if Gervais made an assumption that we should like him but doesn't try to show it, so when we get these slo-mo sequences of him doing good, they come off as self-indulgent.

Plus, for all of the social satire that the film seems to introduce, it ultimately becomes an incredibly dull rom-com.

[BanksIsDaFuture]

EXACTLY! The movie tries to be this big thing about religion, but abandons it so we can see him pouting over not getting with Jennifer Garner. At least Ghost Town was consistent.

[Shrykespeare]

Battle For Terra 9/10

I don't know what I was expecting when I rented this, but what I got was a well-animated story. Hopeful and tragic on many levels, and the animation was mostly brilliant. The way the peace-loving Terrans were given such fluidity of movement was beautiful. The humans, by comparison, were rather stiff, and could probably have done better. But it was a very engaging story, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves animation.

It also had a running time of only 80 minutes (much like 9, which I would also recommend). Proof positive that great animation doesn't always have to come from the biggest studios. What a shame this movie never really had a shot in theaters.

(I read that the plot of Terra is pretty much exactly like that of Avatar, and there may be some merit to that. What do you guys think?)

[Buscemi]

Believe it or not, Terra was actually finished and in the festival circuit by 2007. Avatar had only started pre-production by then.

It makes you wonder though. Did Cameron steal this plot from these first-time filmmakers from Greece or was is simply coincidence?

[BanksIsDaFuture]

Cameron will get his comeuppance when his $300 million dollar version of Delgo flops and all studios refuse to ever give him such leeway ever again.

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