What Are You Watching? Special Deluxe Edition Box Set

[J.M. Vargas]

The DVR was getting filled so I had to empty it by watching an ungodly amount of The Price Is Right (about 2 1/2 weeks worth, or 12 shows) and Stargate Atlantis episodes (the last four).

It's surreal to watch on "Price" back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back (times 12) orgies of people going batshit over luggage and exercise equipment they'll never use, but "Price" remains the quintessential gameshow where lucky contestants go to have fun (which translates into fun for the viewer when a contestant you like becomes your surrogate) and win big. Fun is an element missing from most of today's reality/gameshows, and with Drew doing a surprisingly "aww shucks" good job hosting (he's clearly biting his tongue because a lot of "Price Is Right" is custom-made for ridicule) the show's as good as it was during the Barker years. I miss Bob (and so do the many contestants that call Carey 'Bob' accidentally on-camera) but Drew's A-OK. "Atlantis" continues to see-saw between boring and incoherent depending on the episode/character that's focused on, and I'm not crazy about Teela's pregnancy driving the storyline (too much like "X-Files"). I'm glad that I can watch them in bunches of 3-4 episodes at a time because some episodes are so bad (like the one where three characters are trapped in a mineshaft for the entire hour) only watching a better episode afterwards can keep you from giving up on the show. The episode "Midway" from a few weeks ago was a freaking blast though! Not only did we get to see Stargate command again (last seen when "SG-1" went off the air) and got to see Chris Judge back as Te'lc back in action, but it was clear the SFX budget and humor quotas were above-average. The shot of Te'lc and Ronan standing emotionless while watching a Three Stooges short alone was worth the two or three bad/mediocre episodes that preceded it.

[Bryan Pope]

Rosemary's Baby
Around the World in 80 Days
The Apartment
Finding Nemo
Lots of West Wing

What can I say? I was out sick two days last week.

[B5Erik]

Karate Warriors - Sonny Chiba, modern day Samurai, karate fights, sword fights, topless women, plenty of ass kickery, and a halfway decent plot (something of a reworking of Yojimbo) makes this for one hell of a fun movie! Some of the fight scenes are pretty stylish. In slow motion up until just before impact and then sped back up. Cool stuff. Sonny Chiba is the man! I can see why Quentin Tarantino has an obsession with this guy (first noted in the script for True Romance). Shit, I'm starting to sound like Clarence Worley!

[B5Erik]

Jesse James - Really good Hollywood-ized version of the story for 1939. Tyrone Power was pretty good, and the movie has a pretty amazing cast overall - Henry Fonda, Randolph Scott, Henry Hull, Brian Donlevy, John Carradine, and in an extremely small role was Lon Chaney Jr. The DVD looks really good most of the time (when the 3 color strips match, but there are a few spots where they're off a bit and the picture looks pretty bad). 1939 was a pivotal year for westerns, and this was one of the reasons why.

Blue Thunder - After 25 years I finally watched this one. Good movie - Roy Scheider's on a bit of auto-pilot, but he's still Roy Scheider and that ain't bad! Almost exactly what I expected. A good 80's Hi-Tech Cop movie.

(I've been trying to get as many movies in as I can lately - at one point I had 20-something movies and 6 TV seasons worth of stuff to get caught up on. I had to stay home today so I took advantage of the opportunity and got 3 movies in!)

[Andrew Forbes]

28 Weeks Later. Despite an increase in logical lapses from the original, this was a really strong sequel. The filmmakers took the series in an interesting direction, while staying within the confines of the genre and fan expectations, and delivered a surprisingly tense, brutal, apocalyptic horror flick. The atmosphere was perfect and the world was convincingly realised. Fresnadillo keeps the style of the film very consistent with Boyle's approach to the first (no doubt thanks to Danny standing over his shoulder as executive producer). It maintains the feeling of the original, while expanding the carnage to a much larger scale. So, yeah, surprisingly good, despite its flaws.

[stypee]

Across The Universe - Man did I hate this movie... A pretentiously visual piece of crap!

[azul017]

Was in the mood for something else, so I popped in Howl's Moving Castle and watched it in the Disney-produced dub. It's not perfectly-cast as the English version of Spirited Away, as Emily Mortimer just is too old to be voicing a young girl and every time Howl speaks I keep hearing Patrick Bateman interspersed with a bit of angry Batman. I think the casting directors were aiming for name actors (like Christian Bale and Billy Crystal) than actual voice actors, but I still enjoyed the film.

[molly1216]

found the Departed at the library, damn it is STILL as good as the 1st time. I think it's my favorite Scorsese film. and probably the best thing William Monahan will ever do.

Picked up a used Ice Harvest...Oliver Platt makes me laugh. "do they have pancakes?"

[azul017]

found the Departed at the library, damn it is STILL as good as the 1st time. I think it's my favorite Scorsese film. and probably the best thing William Monahan will ever do.

How come you haven't bought it yet? The BB steelbook edition is kick-ass.

[molly1216]

found the Departed at the library, damn it is STILL as good as the 1st time. I think it's my favorite Scorsese film. and probably the best thing William Monahan will ever do.

How come you haven't bought it yet? The BB steelbook edition is kick-ass.

Cause I don't like the ending. It is not something I would think to watch very often.
Actually I admire and approve of the ending and can see no other one working, but it's just not my kind of film.

[thepegsdave]

30 Days of Night (on Blu-ray) - I know this movie got very mixed reviews (%50 on RT), but I thought "30 Days of Night" was a highly entertaining little vampire flick that isn't a bad way to waste 2 hours (1 hr, 53 min). I've never read the comic books (I don't read comic books), nor did I even hear about them until this movie started getting promoted. I'm sure the movie is much different from the comics, and that fans of the comic books are screaming bloody murder over this movie, but not reading or knowing anything about the comics gave me no bias when watching "30 Days of Night". I've only seen Melissa George in "The Amityville Horror" remake in 2005, and I thought she was decent, nothing memorable, but a solid performance. She did the same in "30 Days of Night". I've never been much of a fan of Josh Hartnett, mainly because he can't pick a decent project to work on, but also because he's just an actor. Nothing really special stands out about him. I'll give him credit, however. He did do an excellent job in this movie. One thing I liked about "30 Days of Night" was that I actually cared for the people running from the vampires. In so many recent (and older) horror films, I just didn't care about the people getting caught by the "bad guy (s)". The ending was probably the weakest part of the movie, but it wasn't bad by any means. It just wasn't anything that made you say, "what an ending!".

I pretty much have the same minor problems as chamucamel had with "30 Days of Night". The editing made it feel like only hours have gone by, but yet days and weeks have gone by between scenes.

[BenShultz]

found the Departed at the library, damn it is STILL as good as the 1st time. I think it's my favorite Scorsese film. and probably the best thing William Monahan will ever do.

How come you haven't bought it yet? The BB steelbook edition is kick-ass.

Cause I don't like the ending. It is not something I would think to watch very often.
Actually I admire and approve of the ending and can see no other one working, but it's just not my kind of film.

With all due respect, your first post seems to convey an attitude toward the film that is somewhat contradicted by your latest post.

[molly1216]

found the Departed at the library, damn it is STILL as good as the 1st time. I think it's my favorite Scorsese film. and probably the best thing William Monahan will ever do.

How come you haven't bought it yet? The BB steelbook edition is kick-ass.

Cause I don't like the ending. It is not something I would think to watch very often.
Actually I admire and approve of the ending and can see no other one working, but it's just not my kind of film.

With all due respect, your first post seems to convey an attitude toward the film that is somewhat contradicted by your latest post.

well it IS a film about dichotomy.
I can't explain it better than that.
i like the film, i don't love it.

[SkeetSkeet]

Been watching a lot this last week...

The Deer Hunter - I'm only about half way through, but it's a pretty powerful movie. It's a little slow to get going (with the wedding and what not) but there is no denying the semi-classic status of it, and the talent in front of and behind the camera. Two of my favorite actors appear, DeNiro and Walken, and that's what drew me to start watching. I wish there were more movies with these guys together.

License to Kill - I must agree with Zappakub, this is an awesome Bond movie (one of my faves actually) and Timothy Dalton is an excellent 007, IMO. The women in this one are really hot too, (as with all Bond flicks) but especially hot to me in License to Kill. Dalton is probably my second favorite Bond after Connery.

Nightbreed - Kinda cool, but really cheesy. The appearance of David Cronenberg was awesome, he's one creepy dude, just like some of his movies. But I have a problem with the "special effects" that many Clive Barker films utilize. Maybe it's because it was the late '80s/early '90s, but this and the Hellraiser movies are EXTRA cheesy, with cheese-wiz on top. A lot of the makeup work is good, but the rest is cheese-o-riffic. Oh well, I attribute that to the low budget-ness of his movies.

Fist of the North Star - The original 1986 anime movie. Kick ass!! Cheesy too, but oh so violent. They should do more anime this violent. Great action!!

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover - Hard to get ahold of, but it's a must see. Just disturbing on all levels, and highly entertaining.

Brazil - My favorite Gilliam movie, right next to 12 Monkeys. This was my first viewing, but I already want to watch again. It's very creative, hilarious, and I love the fact that it questions authority and is anti-totalitarian. Very cool movie.

The Prophesy - Christopher Walken was great, but the story line and the rest of the acting was so-so. But it was excellent in a B movie type of way. Entertaining enough to make me purchase The Prophesy 2 and 3. Good thing they were only $9 a piece though...

[Andrew Forbes]

Payback DC. Awesome tip of the hat to 70s crime drama, and a very strong version of the film. I felt the ending of this cut was a bit abrupt, but it will probably feel more natural on repeat viewings. As usual, Gregg Henry steals every scene he is in. The guy needs serious recognition now. He is easily one of the most charismatic actors of the past 25 years. Anyway, I liked the old cut but this is a fantastic companion piece and probably the stronger film. Thanks for the rec, Steve.

[Boba Fett]

Going through some classic Doctor Who

The Sontaran Experiment: Fun little adventure (only two episodes). Shot entirely on location, much to my surprise. The horribly cheesy scout robot makes me love the episode a lot more than I should. A solid B rating.

The Leisure Hive: Entertaining, if not too long by one episode, four episode story. Nothing special overall, but it does have a nice twist and a hilarious miniature model for the exterior shots. Another solid B rating.

The Keeper of Traken: Four episode story that set up Tom Baker's final adventure. This one had me interested from star to finish; great story, pretty good acting overall, and I would imagine a nice plot twist back in the day. A solid A rating.

Logopolis: For Tom Baker's last story, this one just runs out of steam. The first (of four) episode is really slow, the second two are entertaining and held my interest. For me though it falls apart at the end. Compared to the departure of Christopher Eccleston, the Doctor's death just didn't seem that grand. I have to give this one a B-.

Next up is The Ark in Space, Hand of Fear, Robots of Death, City of Death, Key to Time season, and The E Space Trilogy (found a VHS set last week and transfered them to DVD.)

Aside from Who, I also watched Clerks II and would safely place it in my "movies to cheer me up" category. Nice good pace, characters you care about, great balance of comedy and drama (which is shocking for a Kevin Smith film).

[molly1216]

I nipped out to see Miss pettigrew Lives for a day and enjoyed every minute of it.
It is a sweet funny sexy little film for grownups and it was much nicer than the book, which I read last week.
I think it's awful that such a beloved english novel had 3 American stars, but at least it didn't suck.
Amy Adams was channeling Marilyn's Lorelei Lee. And oddly all of Frances McDormand's lines could have been written on a matchbook
all in all it was lovely. i can't wait to buy it.

[Future Man]

10,000 B.C.
Snaps for impressive on-location shooting as well as some not bad CGI creatures. Unfortunately the dialogue, acting and story leave a lot to be desired (in fact much of it is laughable), as well as an odd decision to insert mysticism. And why is it that female leads in movies of this genre just will not dispense with eyeliner and mascara?

[Steve T Power]

Payback DC. Awesome tip of the hat to 70s crime drama, and a very strong version of the film. I felt the ending of this cut was a bit abrupt, but it will probably feel more natural on repeat viewings. As usual, Gregg Henry steals every scene he is in. The guy needs serious recognition now. He is easily one of the most charismatic actors of the past 25 years. Anyway, I liked the old cut but this is a fantastic companion piece and probably the stronger film. Thanks for the rec, Steve.

No sweat, glad you enjoyed it, I like the darker tone, the general ugliness, and the final act for me feels vastly superior. After seeing the DC i went back to the old version, and while it defintely has it's perks (like the music/look etc of the opening a little better, and Kris Kristofferson rules...) i have to say, the flick shifts way too abrubtly, the whole kidnapping plot seems to come out of nowhere, and feels very atypical of the character, and the final act just generally feels like a completely different film. The DC really keeps the same tone and feel throughout, and doesn't use the "oh so 90's trendy" Silver nitrate/bleach bypass/ whatever color trick. The whole flick looks more earthy. Helgeland did alter it ever so slightly though,

the original cut had Porter die on the sidewalk, and Lynn leaving on her own with the cash. That would have been too bitter a pill to swallow i think.

I like the way it all came together in the new DC. I really think it turned a solid film into a great one.

[Andrew Forbes]

No sweat, glad you enjoyed it, I like the darker tone, the general ugliness, and the final act for me feels vastly superior. After seeing the DC i went back to the old version, and while it defintely has it's perks (like the music/look etc of the opening a little better, and Kris Kristofferson rules...) i have to say, the flick shifts way too abrubtly, the whole kidnapping plot seems to come out of nowhere, and feels very atypical of the character, and the final act just generally feels like a completely different film. The DC really keeps the same tone and feel throughout, and doesn't use the "oh so 90's trendy" Silver nitrate/bleach bypass/ whatever color trick. The whole flick looks more earthy. Helgeland did alter it ever so slightly though

I loved the look of the new cut. I felt like I was watching The French Connection injected with the occasional Edward Hopper painting. There was no visual distinction between scenes in the old print, with everything being desaturated to the same monochrome bleakness. It flattened out the drama (if that makes any sense).

[BenShultz]

In the Heat of the Night: I found the first half more compelling than the second, but it was still a solid, if somewhat dated, murder mystery.

And I'd just like to say that I was almost convinced to check out John Woo's Paycheck based on the back-and-forth between Chamucamel and Steve, until today when I finally paid close attention to the title of the movie being discussed. So yeaahhh, I'm a little slow.

[J.M. Vargas]

Last night the two premium cable channels I subscribe to, Showtime and HBO, aired a bunch of horror movies that I hadn't seen. So, since they were all shown in high-definition, I set the DVR (to catch flicks that would overlap) and watched them all.

The Descent: terrific mix of personal themes (trauma, self-discovery, rebirth, etc.) wrapped around a kick-ass horror setting with the added caveat that it was an all-chick cast. I agree with Joyce that the opening scenes involving Sarah's family felt off and cheapened a bit the all-female appeal of the film, but they were kind-of necessary to trick the audience into thinking that it was all in Sarah's mind (which makes what actually happens to Sarah in the end all the more surprising and powerful). Why didn't Juno just say 'it was an accident' to Sarah toward the end though? That bothered me! Great use of darkness to make a unique locale for a horror flick feel like we're watching a really bad episode of "Planet Earth" gone awry! The version Showtime premiered last night was the 'R' version but it looked plenty gory to me. Was the unrated version of "The Descent" really that much better than the 'R' version? I'm surprised this European import hasn't already been remade into a Hollywood vehicle. I can totally picture Hillary Swank and Michelle Rodriguez playing the roles of Sarah and Juno, respectively.

An American Haunting: boring, watered-down PG-13 horror flick that mistakes loud music and cheap scares with actual freight. If this had been the first PG-13 horror movie ever it might have worked, but by the time it came out in '05 (and I saw it on TV three years later) it was deader than a Tennessee oakwood. I struggled to stay awake whenever Sissy Spacek and Donald Sutherland were not on-screen, which was often.

The Hills Have Eyes: Wes Craven's original movie still rules supreme, but I found this remake to be almost its equal and in certain aspects (particularly the gore, which is off-the-scales nasty for an 'R' flick) better. Shrouding the mutant family in barely-glimpsed secrecy (as opposed to Craven giving them plenty of on-screen time in the original) and umping the tension/violence to "Saw"-like levels of torture porn worked wonders for what was already a strong horror benchmark.

Lake Placid: except for Betty White's foul-mouthed sweet old lady (which earned her steady work in screenwriter David E. Kelley's ABC legal shows) and the neat giant croc effects this so-called funny B-horror flick (with 'A' Hollywood talent and production effects) fell flat for me. "Slither" did the horror creature-parody thing much better a few years later. Kudos to a pre-"L&O:SVU" Mariska Hargitay and Oliver Platt for small but dead-on supporting roles.

[azul017]

101 Dalmatians - A very entertaining film in Disney's lineup, with a very striking animation style and jazzy score. I remember I would just watch the film over and over again on VHS when I was a kid, and going back to it after all these years, it has held up very well. The restoration makes the animation look better than ever, but the new extras are lacking. Still, it's a fine DVD package after the lackluster 1999 DVD release.

[B5Erik]

Gunslinger's Revenge - This isn't a Leone spaghetti western. Hell, it isn't a Corbucci spaghetti western. But it is a new (sort of) spaghetti western. It's not faced paced, it's not action packed, it's very sentimental, and - it's narrated by a kid! But it's still pretty good for what it is. Sure, some of the dialogue sucks, and some of it is a bit predictable, but it's got Harvey Keitel and a strangely effective David Bowie (even if his accent is a bit uneven), and it hit enough of the right notes for me that I enjoyed it quite a bit.

[Jon Mercer]

10,000 BC I just got back, so forgive me if I seem a little over excited. I may be deranged, but this felt like a special film to me. I know critics have been savaging it, but it just took me back to being 13 years old and seeing Stargate in theatres. It took me back to sitting down with Dad to watch Star Wars. I don't know if it will hold up, but I was pretty much captivated from beginning to end.

[Boba Fett]

10,000 BC I just got back, so forgive me if I seem a little over excited. I may be deranged, but this felt like a special film to me. I know critics have been savaging it, but it just took me back to being 13 years old and seeing Stargate in theatres. It took me back to sitting down with Dad to watch Star Wars. I don't know if it will hold up, but I was pretty much captivated from beginning to end.

Seriously though, aside from the vastly underrated Stargate and the historically awful but entertaining The Patriot, most films from Devlin and/or Emmerich are colossal cheese fests. This one reeked of a watered down Apocalypto to me.

[Jon Mercer]

10,000 BC I just got back, so forgive me if I seem a little over excited. I may be deranged, but this felt like a special film to me. I know critics have been savaging it, but it just took me back to being 13 years old and seeing Stargate in theatres. It took me back to sitting down with Dad to watch Star Wars. I don't know if it will hold up, but I was pretty much captivated from beginning to end.

Seriously though, aside from the vastly underrated Stargate and the historically awful but entertaining The Patriot, most films from Devlin and/or Emmerich are colossal cheese fests. This one reeked of a watered down Apocalypto to me.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/J ... er-big.jpg unembedded image. ed.

What's the matter with a colossal cheesefest so long as its fun? Some of the most fun movie experiences are covered in ooey gooey cheese. I didn't say it was Lawrence of Arabia, I said it made me feel like a little boy again.

[Bryan Pope]

Turner Classic was showing Vertigo, The Apartment and How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying last night, so of course I couldn't turn that off.

Also been watching Cape Fear (original), Strangers on a Train, Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Rosemary's Baby and West Wing S7 episodes.

[J.M. Vargas]

Seriously though, aside from the vastly underrated Stargate and the historically awful but entertaining The Patriot, most films from Devlin and/or Emmerich are colossal cheese fests. This one reeked of a watered down Apocalypto to me.

Somehow the magic that Emmerich and Devlin had when working together (which made mega-cheese like "Independence Day" feel like masterpieces) has disappeared since they parted way a few years back. It was palpable in "The Day After Tomorrow" and it reeks of crap just from seeing the trailers/commercials. I'd rather watch my DVD of "The Patriot" again, thank you!

Last night I watched Ghostbusters on HDNet Movies, Stargate on Universal HD and The Hitcher ('07 remake) on HBO HD. Besides needing a new transfer for HD (picture was grainy and not high-def at all) "Ghostbusters" would be the perfect one-time comedy if its lackluster sequel and terrible cartoon series didn't exist, soiling the franchise just a little bit. This movie just doesn't age at all, and its still as whacked a good time in '08 as it was in '84. Sony is rumored to be working on a Blu-ray version in time for the PS3/XBox 360 videogame 'sequel' to the original "Ghostbusters" movie coming out later this year, so we'll see.

I only saw "Stargate" on VHS once back in '95 and forgot about it, so to see it in HD after watching several seasons of the Sci-Fi "Stargate" shows the original came as something of a revelation. It's like not watching "Raiders of the Lost Ark" after seeing the movie sequels and Lucas' TV series many times and calling yourself an Indy fan, then realizing where it all began makes everything that followed look weak by comparison. Michael Shanks should claim James Spader as a dependant for flat-out stealing the latter's character mannerisms, plus Russell's O'Neil is such an improvement over that McGyver guy from the TV show its like not even funny. Except for the 'going through the gate' special effects looking dated compared to the CGI effects on the TV series the "Stargate" movie is the perfect example of the magic that only big-budget Hollywood 'cheese' factory can deliver. No offense Mercer, but from looking at the trailers/TV commercials "10,000 B.C. can't possibly be in the same league as "Stargate" and "ID4." And I'm not about to spend $12.50 and two hours of my life in a movie theater to find out the opposite ("Godzilla" remake anyone?).

As for "The Hitcher," I think the world of Sean Bean (and so does Joyce ) but its sad to see him collecting a paycheck to play a simple role (psycopath) that Rutger Hauer already did effectively once before. Other than Neal McDonough's piercing blue eyes (Hollywood has yet to figure out how to use this guy properly on movies or TV shows) and umped-up gore this is a pretty faithful remake of the '86 original, right down to the flipping police car wreck on the highway (set to rock music in this version! ) and the downbeat, 'why did we bother to redo this?' feeling that accompanies most Michael Bay-produced cheap remakes of classic horror flicks. Of which the 21-year old "The Hitcher" isn't a part of... grrrrrrr!

[Steve T Power]

This ain't the crowd for Emmerich love Jon. You of all people should know that by now.

Now if it were directed by Warner Herzog and featured cavemen running around doing noting for 2.5 hours... that'd be a different story.

But here, Wooly mammoths build the pyramids! Emmerich is f--- insane! And i love him for it.

Meanwhile. I watched:

Predator - This sort of film could never be made in today's political climate. There are pseudo-classic elements in here, mainly in the creature effects department. I still prefer the sequel though.

Air America - First time seeing this since it was a new release. MAN what a fun movie. The soundtrack was pretty awesome too, but man did the score ever suck.

[molly1216]

Elizabeth: Golden Age - hard to say - it wasn't bad in anyway at all..but it was kinda bloodless. everything LOOKED wonderful. and Clive looked especially delicious as a pirate. But alas I don't think I will be rewatching it until perhaps she does a third in 10 years time and we get the trilogy box set.

Flamingo Road 1949 - Crawford doing what crawford does, behaving badly and putting her self in position to get screwed over, then she pulls herself up by her garter belt and behaves badly right back at them. usually ending in jail or suicide - surprisingly this time she has a happy ending, though there was jail time involved. What I am not fond of is that these women were so powerful that no A list guy wanted to share the screen with them. I don't even remember the names of the 2 leads in the film - sidney greenstreet is the only guy in the picture you recognize. I mean if she blows away anyone playing opposite, why give her such lightweights?

The Boss of It All 2006 Danish film from Lars von Trier which I think could actually be improved with an America adaptation, i really do. The subject matter is much more American than Danish. An IT company founder creates a fictitious überboss that he can blame all the tough decisions on, because he really wants his employees to like him. But when it comes time to sell the company out from under his employees who think they have a percentage, he brings in an actor to "play" the boss, but doesn't tell him that he's been interacting with each employee via email as the "boss" telling each one different things. I don't remember the precise ending as it was all in danish and I was bored by then - the film was shot digitally in that Mike Leigh cinéma vérité style with a little too much vérité for me.

Torchwood S1, discs 1 and 2. - then I also got bored and stopped. If it was on TV on free online I'd keep watching, but it's all material I have seen done before and better. Cardiff was nice to see on film. But seriously I really didn't care enough to keep renting them.

[Andrew Forbes]

Ghostbusters...just doesn't age at all

Not that I don't love Ghostbusters, but no.

[hoytereden]

Rewatched Downfall and Pan's Labyrinth. Both are great films. Being a WWII buff, Downfall is so fascinating and realistic that it could almost be a documentary. Ganz, as Hitler; is Hitler, his performance is that good. A nearly 3 hour film that flies by.
Watched Michael Clayton. Really enjoyed it. Clooney is a fine actor-case in point-just watch the closing credits. Nothing more simple than a cab ride with no dialogue right! Nope, I believe nothing is more difficult, for an actor, than playing a scene with nothing more than the camera and how you play to it.

[Gabriel Girard]

Planet Terror - Great fun! loved every minute of it! I perticularly liked how Rodriguez messed up with the film stock accorfing to what was going on in the movie.

Death Proof - It was o.k. Didn't really make an impression on me.

Gone Baby Gone - Very good first feature from Ben Affleck. Really well directed and written wit some nice moral subtIeties. I only wished that Michelle Monaghan's character had been more fleshed out - she doesn't really seem to be doing anything as far as the detective work goes. I enjoyed the movie so much it made me want to read the book in order to know more about these characters.

[thepegsdave]

The Hills Have Eyes: Wes Craven's original movie still rules supreme, but I found this remake to be almost its equal and in certain aspects (particularly the gore, which is off-the-scales nasty for an 'R' flick) better. Shrouding the mutant family in barely-glimpsed secrecy (as opposed to Craven giving them plenty of on-screen time in the original) and umping the tension/violence to "Saw"-like levels of torture porn worked wonders for what was already a strong horror benchmark.

"The Hills Have Eyes" remake is probably one of the few and only horror remakes that impressed me a lot and really made you think if it's better than the original.

I think I'd have to say that the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes" was better than the original. It is very close to being tied, but the mutants were simply more effective in the 2006 version. I think the filming style of 70's horror films will always have that "scarier" factor, but the mutants in Craven's original weren't quite as effective as I thought they should've been. I think what made the remake just as good, if not better is that Craven was still involved. It wasn't passed on to somebody who wasn't familiar with the material.

[J.M. Vargas]

Finally caught up with all the episodes of Lost aired so far this season as well as the season finale of Stargate Atlantis. "Lost" is pretty close to losing me with all the bulls*** plot twists and new characters on the island (the so-called rescue party) but I have to admit the gimmick of flash forwards into the 'Oceanic 6' is the best thing to have happened to the show. There's no way I'd watch this show week to week or I'd break something (the remote probably) out of sheer frustration. If you tape and then watch a few episodes at a time though (or wait for them on DVD) "Lost" is a hell of a guilty pleasure and a heck of a rollercoaster guide. "Atlantis" as always continues to come up with excellent cliffhangers for its season finales and last week's was no exception although I wish Carter had stayed a little longer as Atlantis commander. We were so used to Weir for so long that we were just barely warming up to Lt. Carter as leader of the expedition and starting next season she'll be gone. Good for Amanda Tapping's psyche (she must be sick to death of all these after 11 years) but questionable for the future of the "Stargate" franchise.

[BenShultz]

Gone Baby Gone - Very good first feature from Ben Affleck. Really well directed and written wit some nice moral subtIeties. I only wished that Michelle Monaghan's character had been more fleshed out - she doesn't really seem to be doing anything as far as the detective work goes. I enjoyed the movie so much it made me want to read the book in order to know more about these characters.

Definitely read the book. There's so much more to the characters, and some plot details/complications that I guess Affleck left out in order to keep the movie (relatively) short and simple.

Also, it bugged me that they changed the names of Cheese Olamon (whose whole character was changed, practically) and Samuel Pietro (the second kid who goes missing). It's not like Dennis Lehane disowned the movie like John Irving did with Simon Birch, so what gives?

[HGervais]

Michael Clayton....the greatest compliment I can pay the movie was that there were moments where I thought I was watching All The President's Men. Gilroy goes for a flat, objective style that makes everything seems ominous and really cranks up the tension. Clooney is very good. All in all yet another example of just how good a film year 2007 was.

[Steve T Power]

Outpost - Pretty damn effective little flick. Really nice look to it, gritty and bleak. And the Nazi ghosts looked great. Ray Stevenson kicks ass, and will make one awesome Punisher.

[thepegsdave]

Die Hard (on Blu-ray) - "Yippee Ki-yay, f---!" this was a great action movie. Admittedly, I've never seen "Die Hard" before, and the only movie I've seen in the series before this was "Live Free or Die Hard" at a friend's house on DVD. This is the first BD disc I bought, and the reason I bought it as my first BD was because a) action movies usually shine in HD and b) I was very impressed with "Live Free or Die Hard" and I wanted to see the original. I could've bought the whole Die Hard Collection on Blu-ray, but I didn't have $99. Anyways, this movie blew me away! Entertaining from start to finish, great pacing, good humor slipped in between scenes, great performances (especially from Willis), and the best thing about this movie; Bruce Willis acting bad-ass. I got a kick out of seeing Reginald Veljohnson from "Family Matters" as Al Powell in "Die Hard" and Alan Rickman was superb as Hans. I'll definitely be picking up a copy of "Die Hard 2 - Die Harder" on Blu-ray very soon.

[HGervais]

Margot at the Wedding....another really strong 2007 film and another movie that reminded me of the kind of take-chances cinema we saw so much out of films from the 1970s. The movie is also quite funny in that uncomfortable kind of way. Nicole Kidman plays a great screen monster who still manages to be something close to human. I miss seeing Jennifer Jason Leigh on a regular basis and Jack Black is really quite good. A note to Steve...avoid this movie at all costs.

[Steve T Power]

Margot at the Wedding....another really strong 2007 film and another movie that reminded me of the kind of take-chances cinema we saw so much out of films from the 1970s. The movie is also quite funny in that uncomfortable kind of way. Nicole Kidman plays a great screen monster who still manages to be something close to human. I miss seeing Jennifer Jason Leigh on a regular basis and Jack Black is really quite good. A note to Steve...avoid this movie at all costs.

I've already seen it

[Boba Fett]

The Missing: Better than most of Ron Howard's post Apollo 13 efforts, but still not great. I was really enjoying it until they established the captive women as complete idiots and the 'brujo' put a curse on Cate Blanchett. I think some character development would have helped (and I hear the 'directors' cut added this) but the film was a bit too long already. I was still entertained and Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones both put out great effort. It was also a relief that there were eventually some Native American characters who weren't over-the-top boogeymen.

[futilitarian]

Love and Honor The third samurai movie from director Yoji Yamada based on stories by Shuuhei Fujisawa. If you plan on seeing it at some point you may not want to read my whole synopsis.

This movie is a worthy companion to the other two: Twilight Samurai and The Hidden Blade. Shinnojo is a low ranking samurai who is not happy with his station in life, just like the characters from the first two. He is a food (poison) taster for the clan's lord. He feels it a useless archaic ritual. Then, of course, he collapses after eating a piece of shashimi bound for the lord. A plot against the leader? No, just out of season fish improperly prepared. He's unconscious with a fever for 3 days. When he comes to he is blind.

There is much worrying by wife and extended family how he will make a living. He can be of no use to the castle anymore and he can't stoop so low as to be a masseuse or anything. While out one day his wife meets up with a high ranking samurai who remembers her when she was in school. He offers to help out and put in a good word. (wink wink, nod nod)

Word comes down from on high Shinnojo will get to keep his full stipend. One day his talkative aunt arrives with the gossip that his wife was seen walking with a high ranking man. Shinnojo's suspicions get the best of him and he has his valet follow his wife. Busted, she comes clean with Shinnojo about the official who had saved them financially in exchange for sex. He's a bit upset and kicks her out and divorces her.

He sends some buddies to find out the story of the meeting where his stipend was discussed. Shinnojo finds out the high ranking official never spoke up on his behalf. It was proposed to the lord that he receive a greatly reduced stipend but he himself felt indebted to Shinnojo and said to keep him at his full salary.

Blind or not, the official has to die...

The film is well acted, beautifully photographed with many nice slow camera movements. For instance when his wife is confessing her relationship the camera moves to use the wall that is between them to hide Shinnojo, visually breaking them apart as the marriage itself is breaking, then moving back to put him in frame when his rage is unleashed. It's worth seeing if you get the chance. Or if you haven't seen the first two, check them out.

[Gabriel Girard]

Gone Baby Gone - Very good first feature from Ben Affleck. Really well directed and written wit some nice moral subtIeties. I only wished that Michelle Monaghan's character had been more fleshed out - she doesn't really seem to be doing anything as far as the detective work goes. I enjoyed the movie so much it made me want to read the book in order to know more about these characters.

Definitely read the book. There's so much more to the characters, and some plot details/complications that I guess Affleck left out in order to keep the movie (relatively) short and simple.

Is it necessary to read the other Kenzie-Gennaro novels first ?

Klute - My first Pakula picture and I must say I'm impressed. The man sure knows how to set mood and how to frame shots. Gordon Willis' photography is gorgeous, as always. I liked how the story didn't let you know where it was going - I mean based on the first few minutes I thought it was mostly gonna be about Donald Sutherland's character. Jane Fonda really earned her Oscar with her naturalistic performance that never lets anything that isn't the character slip through. Just be warned : this is more of a character study than a thriller.

[molly1216]

Seraphim Falls - which curiously hadn't heard much about and for the 1st hour and a half I didn't know why.
It was three quarters of a damn fine film...Brosnans character was half jeremiah johnson and half jack bauer.
the story structure was great, it drops you into the middle of a chase and doesnt' let up.
however, about 15 minutes from the end, it stops in its tracks and turns into something else.
it gets surreal then it gets stupid. what a horrible disappointment.
This film needed a great resolution even a nihilistic one, instead it just stops.

[BenShultz]

Gone Baby Gone - Very good first feature from Ben Affleck. Really well directed and written wit some nice moral subtIeties. I only wished that Michelle Monaghan's character had been more fleshed out - she doesn't really seem to be doing anything as far as the detective work goes. I enjoyed the movie so much it made me want to read the book in order to know more about these characters.

Definitely read the book. There's so much more to the characters, and some plot details/complications that I guess Affleck left out in order to keep the movie (relatively) short and simple.

Is it necessary to read the other Kenzie-Gennaro novels first ?

Not at all.

[Andrew Forbes]

Rio Bravo. Far better than I expected. I never thought I would say this, but Wayne delivers a charming, nuanced performance. Hawks impressed me more than he usually does. The dialogue is handled brilliantly and the action scenes are economical but exciting. Dean Martin is fantastic as the recovering alcoholic, playing the role more as a shy kid sheepishly standing up to a bully than as the self-loathing drunk I was expecting. I even liked the singing. My only significant complaint is Walter Brennan, but even he didn't irritate me as much as he usually does (To Have and Have Not, anyone?).

I'm looking forward to watching El Dorado, especially being the Mitchum fan that I am.

[Mark Van Hook]

Rio Bravo. My only significant complaint is Walter Brennan, but even he didn't irritate me as much as he usually does (To Have and Have Not, anyone?).

You take that back.

[Andrew Forbes]

Rio Bravo. My only significant complaint is Walter Brennan, but even he didn't irritate me as much as he usually does (To Have and Have Not, anyone?).

You take that back.

Um... no. He's horrible.