An Idea Part 2 Ratings Bonzana Continued and Back with a stinging vengance

Basically you know what to do you rate movies from Sep-Dec at the end of the quarter i add them up and we rank the major movies of the quarter according to the fantverse. I already have the previous ratings up to Banks's rating of Austraila so keep the new ones coming here!

I might watch Australia today, if i do i'll be sure to leave a rating here. To be totally honest it doesn't look bad at all. Has a very Cold Mountain feel to it, but about Australia, win-win for me.

well tell us what you think, im one of the few who is sorta looking forward to it.

Just finished watching it, it was a very good movie. It had comedy, it had drama, it had romance, hell it even had some very realistic action.

A sweeping epic down to the last detail. I thought the acting was perfect for the roles (with Hugh Jackman being the best of the lot) and the storytelling was typical BL style.

Helps if you know the history, but if you don't they do give you a quick run-down of what you need to know. Also loved how many different ways they used "Somewhere over the rainbow" and "Waltzing Matilda" in the film.

Overall i'd give it 8/10. It lost some points because of a weird(ish) beginning and some cheese towards the end. I highly recommend it to fans of the genre.

Here's my Australia rating from FM:

Australia - 8/10


First off, what the hell is with that first 15 minutes? It played like an old-timey comedy. It was terrible and it took awhile for me to take the rest of the movie seriously.

But thankfully its get waaay better. Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman do great together and Nala is a little too precious to be a boy. (That sounded weird...)

The story is broad and maybe a little over-reaching at times, but I felt they pulled it off. I loved how they set it against the backdrop of the aftermath of Pearl Harbor.

One thing - I know they shot this actually in Australia - then why does it look like everyone is on a soundstage? Might be the lighting or something but it's distracting.

BanksIsDaFuture wrote:Here's my Australia rating from FM:

Australia - 8/10


First off, what the hell is with that first 15 minutes? It played like an old-timey comedy. It was terrible and it took awhile for me to take the rest of the movie seriously.

But thankfully its get waaay better. Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman do great together and Nala is a little too precious to be a boy. (That sounded weird...)

The story is broad and maybe a little over-reaching at times, but I felt they pulled it off. I loved how they set it against the backdrop of the aftermath of Pearl Harbor.

One thing - I know they shot this actually in Australia - then why does it look like everyone is on a soundstage? Might be the lighting or something but it's distracting.

Yeah, that looked kind of weird at one point. You could tell the long-range shots were done normally, but whenever we get a closeup of someone riding a horse it's like the sun is shining right behind their heads.

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas - 3/10


I don't know what they were trying for with this one, but I can guarantee they failed. Unless they were trying to fail, in which this movie is amazing. There is not really a story here, yeah an unorthodox friendship happens but....so what? There is nothing interesting about any of the main characters at all, which spells disaster for anyone trying to empathise with these people.

And the last 20 minutes are so manipulative, it's hurtful. Yes, something extremely bad happens, but dragging it out to squeeze ALL the emotion from the audience is irresponsible (sp) filmmaking. Take the slow motion scene from Crash where the little girl runs out of the door and everyone thinks she's shot.....and stretch that out for 20 minutes. I think they actually ruined any impact the event would've had by forcing everyone in the audience to think "Cooooooome on, already - end this shit so we can go home and forget about it."

Four Christmases - 7/10


If you're looking for something to take in with the g/f or your parents (if your parents are as cool as mine ) this Thanksgiving, here it is. Four Christmases is funny as hell and does a great job of throwing a little emotion in there - just to spice it up a bit.

Vince Vaughn is his usual manic, mile-a-minute, abnormally tall jokester here. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

He actually seems to have some sort of chemistry with Reese Witherspoon, despite all those reports that they clashed on set. And kudos to her to get some real laughs of her own with some physical comedy that nobody would expect from her. Reese's brawl with some kids in the jump-jump is great stuff.

As per usual rom-com recipe, the laughs kinda slow down towards the end so they can get all "let's-get-serious-with-this-relationship" stuff, but it flowed well so I'll allow it.

Their families also get in on the act, but of course it's mostly Jon Favreau as the UFC fighter that gets the most out of his screentime.

MILK 10/10

Now I know why Dustin lance Black has his name plastered all over Milk's trailers and posters. He has written an amazing, welcoming, and harrowing screenplay. The great screenplay is made even better by excellent directing by Van Sant, who seamlessly mends historical footage with live action blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. Then there are the performances. I like Brolin better here then in W. His performance is even more nuanced then in his film released earlier this year. Not only Brolin but the whole supporting cast was great. Franco may have gotten raves for his stoner in Pineapple Express, well, this is a whole new ballgame. And of course Penn doesn't just chew up the scenery, it just paints a different picture entirely, bringing a smile that hasn't been on screen in while. A must see for 2008.

Transporter 3 8/10

Good stuff. Statham does a real good job. Robert Knepper makes a damn good villian. Recomended.

Transporter 3 ***/**** (7.5/10)

Not as good as the last two installments and the first half was a little slow, but it picks up in the second half and becomes a worthy final(?) installment in the Transporter series. Next for Statham: him, Stallone and Jet Li in The Expendables.

Transporter 3

A generous 5/10

I liked it better than the second one and if memory serves then there were only three serious 'WTF' moments. The lead actress is awful and isn't helped by playing an irredeemably moronic character. Hard to like the movie when you don't like the people you're supposed to be rooting for. The best and most pleasant suprise was seeing Jeroen Krabbe. A wonderful actor who is probably best known for 'The Living Daylights.' They've left it open for more -- heaven only knows why -- but the thought of the same girl potentially being in it just makes me want to puke.

I don't think there will be further adventures of The Transporter, considering the disappointing box office of this installment.

If they do one anyway, Valentina probably would have had a Vesper Lynd situation where she gets killed and Frank avenges her death.

Honestly, I wanted to see Transporter 3 be set in London because the end of Transporter 2 seemed to set up a final chapter implying that Frank would be going to the UK rather than France. But the producers probably wanted to save money by shooting in France, Germany, Hungary and Ukraine rather than England (a rather expensive place to shoot, another Besson production Danny The Dog aka Unleashed had Glasgow cover for London). That and so they could bring back the Inspector.

Four Christmases 7.75/10

This movie was a very pleasant surprise. Very very funny and endearing. From the previews I thought it was going to be corny and a little lame, but the comedy was spot on - clever and quick without being over the top. Vaughn and Witherspoon were great together. This is a great date film (romantic without being sappy or overly sexual) and to see with the parents.

Quantum of Solace - 6/10

Where the fuck was the plot? Seriously, did it take a nice long vacation to meet back up with us in the next movie? I didn't know what the hell Bond was fighting for. Fuel! Global Warming! Oil! Opera! I can't advocate for all that, give me one!

Nice little callback to Goldfinger with Fields covered in oil.

The action in Italy kicked butt. The action and that touch screen table were about the only things in the movie I liked.

Happy-Go-Lucky - 3/10

To quote the ever eloquent lily, "where the fuck was the plot"? Nothing really happens, it's more of a day in the life of -type thing, which makes for boring cinema.

And Poppy came off as annoying and childish to me. I get that she's satisfied with her life while so many other people are not, but what the hell. She laughs and giggles at everything like a 15 year old girl, even when very serious things are going on.

Her bike gets stolen -"I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye"

Driving instructor tells her to wear regular shoes to the lesson over and over - "It wouldn't look good"

She gets physically assaulted - "We're disturbing the peace, innit?"

This is not happy-go-lucky, this is either in denial or retardely naive.

(I did like the rant that the driving instructor goes on near the end, I felt for the guy.)

Mike Leigh's films are rarely about plot. He's more about character and social context (Naked, Career Girls, etc). What makes Leigh's films so engaging is the dialogue, which ironically is rarely scripted, but instead workshopped, and thus they have a stronger sense of vitality. Even Poppy comes across as real.

Admittedly, she got on my nerves a bit too, but I have to respect the film exploring someone a character whose optimism in life does seem to put her in a happier situation. It does seem ridiculous to be fine when your bike is robbed, but it is only a thing, after all, and I guess the film was an attempt to have someone act countrary to typical responses, and see how she comes off in life. Compare her to the characters around her, the flamenco teacher, the principal, the driving instructor, her sisters, who are all normal yet evidently less fulfilled. Plus, she does actually benefit those around her, from friends to the bully in her class.

I think it's important to remember that she does break down in one scene, meaning that things do get to her, but she chooses to focus on her sunny disposition. I felt this scene kind of countered my initial reaction that she was being naive.

I think the film was a worthy experiment by Leigh to continue his social-realism style while exploring new territory on a thematic level. It's a little difficult to swallow, but the performances are great (Sally Hawkins, you may want to know, is not actually like Poppy).

I'd give it a decent 6/10

Slumdog Millionaire - 9.5/10 - I'd have to see it again to see if it might qualify for a perfect score. Anyways, from the action, to the music, to the story, it was amazing. Dev Patel kept his own against some quality actors there. For some comparisons, City of God is the easiest one but I fell this story was much more accessible. My promo screening was 100% full so I am not too worried about it's prospects for expansion. And no, it was not full of Indian Americans either, even though there were comparatively more there then at the Juno and Choke screenings I went too. And for those worried about subtitles If you are going to skip the movie because there are a few words on the screen then you are missing one of the greats of 08. I didn't really buy the love story so much and I hid my eyes during some of the scenes. So that's why i am probably going to see it again this weekend.

Australia ***/**** (7.5/10)

This was a fun throwback to the 1950's epic spectacles and I really hope that the Outback Western genre makes a comeback after this one. I really cared for the characters and I was glad to see what happened to the bad guy at the end.

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas ***.5/**** (8.75/10)

The film starts slow (the title character doesn't appear until forty minutes in) but once he does, the film really gets going. And the film has a really powerful downbeat ending that you don't see coming. But I do not understand why the MPAA gave the film a PG-13 rating. Yes it's a WWII drama set in Nazi Germany but it's a better and less offensive family film than say, Bratz or Deck The Halls. Another strike towards the MPAA.

And now that I think about it I never talked about Changeling, which I saw three weeks ago.

Changeling ***.5/**** (8.75/10)

It's taken me a long time to say this but now I can say it: Angelina Jolie is an actress. She was perfectly cast as Christine Collins and Clint Eastwood really did a great job directing her. John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan and Amy Ryan had great support and it's amazing that the creator of Babylon 5 managed to pull off such a good non-genre script for his theatrical screenwriting debut (besides Babylon 5, he mainly was an animation writer for shows such as He-Man and The Masters Of Universe). I can't wait for Angelina Jolie to make more good films and for the writer to continue showing his versatility.

I'm hoping to visit the cinema at some point in the next month.... Man we have got nothing out over here at the moment. I may have to go see Wall-E again. Roll on Benjamin Button.

What about Quantum Of Solace, Ghost Town, Young@Heart, In Bruges, Earth, And When Did You Last See Your Father? or Mongol?

But yes, another trip to see Wall-E is very welcome. I want the three-disc set for Christmas!

How do you know what films are ot over here???

Actually, I've seen In Bruges, And When Did You Last See Your Father, Ghost Town and Mongol, have no interest in QoS, Y@H or Earth. I have been able to see Choke too, but I see most movies OW, so that leaves very little to watch following. Friends are trying to make me budge on QoS, but I'm not a massive fan of Bond and haven't heard good things for the new one. I think Wall-E is a very solid choice. I would like to see Changeling too, and Australia when it comes out. Problem of living in a far off island. I suppose I should go outside and enjoy the summer.... I am very white.

I went on Box Office Mojo and looked up the New Zealand box office.

Body Of Lies is also out.

Yes, I'm vaguely intrigued to see that, but the gf wants nothing to do with it. I may have to invest in some more friends...