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Movies I’ve seen recently

by -RoG- on 01/12/2007, 7:07 pm

In the past month I've gone out to some movies and figured I'd give ya my thoughts on 'em. Please note that these little reviews do contain some spoilers, so if you haven't seen one of the movies mentioned, you might want to skip reading the review until you do. Anyway, on with the blabber...

For Your Consideration: I love Christopher Guest movies, but I'm sad to say that this was the least entertaining of them all. Sure, Fred Willard's character is hysterical as can be and the entire cast of the film has a lot of familiar faces, but there just weren't nearly as many laughs as I was expecting. One thing Guest really dropped the ball with was the one-on-one interviews. I always loved how in his other mockumentaries, they would often break away from what was going on and have one of the characters just talk about their lives directly to the camera. While it was no "Waiting for Guffman" or "A Mighty Wind", I'll see a flick like this over "Scary Movie" or "Date Movie" any day, and I'll still keep the volume turned up to 11.

Rocky Balboa: I really liked this movie all the way through until the fight at the end. It felt just like a classic Rocky movie, though obviously a bit more downtrodden than usual at times, but that fight was really weak by Rocky standards. Too much flashy filmwork instead of the straight up rib-crackin' action that we all came to know and love from the previous Rocky films. I wanna feel those punches when Rocky lands 'em, damnit! And nobody got knocked out? You can't go to the judges, somebody has to get knocked out unless there's gonna be a rematch sequel, and that's clearly not gonna happen. In all honesty, I was hoping that in his old age, Rocky would throw one final mega punch which knocks out the current champ, but at the same time, Rocky would have a heart attack and keel over. Now THAT is how you end a movie! All in all though, it was a real good film (a step up from Rocky V) and he's in damned good shape for a guy his age. As many people said already... he ended the series with class.

Notes on a Scandal: Way better than I was expecting it to be. A great mix of drama and dark humor. Judi Dench's character is extremely scathing, lonely and sinister while Blanchett makes for the perfect naive target. Much of the movie is narrated by Dench, and while I don't follow award shows at all, I'd be shocked if she didn't win something for this performance. If it's not playing in any theatres near you, at least rent it whenever it comes out on video.

Black Christmas: Yes! Now this is what I'm talking about! Forget all of the modern horror flicks that have come out in recent times... this movie is what we need more of. Granted I haven't seen the original, but the 2006 remake was a kickass throwback to the old slasher flicks of the 70s and 80s. Well, except that there wasn't any gratuitous nudity, which is surprising since the movie takes place in a sorority house. The kills are satisfyingly creative while the story is both bizarre and hilarious. And no, the cookies Billy Lenz was eating were not made of gingerbread. Horror fans, do not miss this one.

Pan's Labyrinth: I went into this one not knowing much about it other than it was a fairy tale for adults. I'm sure that makes it sound like a porno, but I assure you it's not. Guillermo del Toro has created a hell of a good tale here, though don't expect to come out feeling good at the end like you would with typical stories. The effects are wonderful and some of the sequences will definitely make you wince. For example: I've never seen the bottom of a soda bottle used to bash in the face of somebody before, but there it was on the big screen. Toro didn't cut away until the poor bastard's face was almost caved in. Brutalicious. It's interesting how the three tasks that Ofelia has to complete seem less nightmarish than what's taking place in the real world. I'm not saying that the Pale Man wasn't creepy as hell, he was. I'm just saying war is hell. War is hell and so are angry stepfathers. Hmmm, yep, that's what I'm saying.

That's all the movies for now, though I might check out "Children of Men" soon. So what did you guys think of these films (if you've seen any of 'em already)? Furthermore, what other movies have you seen lately and how were they?

16 comments

Guest

Daniel (Guest) on 01/12/2007 7:35 pm

Pans Labyrinth was great! Though I really didnt expect the story to be that dark, more like Lady in the water but i was pleasantly surprised.
I hope this year will be for movies than last year, I can only think of two really great movies of 2006, A Scanner Darkly and Nacho Libre (see them if you havent already!).



Guest

Trey (Guest) on 01/12/2007 7:48 pm

Yeah, I thought Rocky Balboa was great, too...but about the ending - I thought it was Sly's way of bringing the series full circle - it pretty much mirrors the ending of the first film (in that movie, like in this one, the victory isn't a win; it's just that he followed through and saw it to the end). After all, Rocky didn't actually win the title until Rocky II...

Can't wait to see Pan's Labyrinth! No telling when it'll come to my part of the country, though....



Guest

DrBadfish (Guest) on 01/12/2007 7:59 pm

Psh. Best movie of 2006 and best dvd of 2007? Snakes on a plane.



Guest

Rich (Guest) on 01/12/2007 8:12 pm

I'd have to agree with Trey, Rocky Balboa had to end like that to keep it in line with the first one, although one huge knockout punch would be pretty sweet! ha i dunno about the heart attack though...



Guest

Rich (Guest) on 01/12/2007 8:12 pm

PS- The Ivan Drago game rocked!



Guest

Vincent (Guest) on 01/12/2007 9:54 pm

The original Black Christmas (1974) was way better than the new one. I'm a fan of the old horror movies. I'm talking 1990 back till Nosferatu. I must say that the two didn't even compare.

Pan's Labyrinth was definitely amazing. It is easily the best movie of 2006. I agree, the faun was creepy as hell, but if the movie wasn't shown in Spanish, you've definitely missed out.



Guest

Aks (Guest) on 01/12/2007 9:59 pm

I went to see Eragon. Not as bad as I thought but still kind of sucky because I read the book. It was extremly rushed too.

But a move I really wanna see? The Hitcher. Looks awesome. What say you?



Guest

Kristi (Guest) on 01/12/2007 10:35 pm

Gah! I want to see Pan's Labyrinth so much! I live in Canada, and currently there is one movie theatre in the whole country that is playing it T_T I hope it comes to my city soon...



Guest

Lone Wolf (Guest) on 01/13/2007 12:17 am

The only movie I've seen recently was The Corpse Bride. Well done by Burton again, and especially Johnny Depp, who brought yet another unique light to the decidely nervous Vincent.

Speaking of Tim Burton, just to get this off my chest, I hated how Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was fucking perfect. It was better in the Gene Wilder version when Charlie was the gracious loser after knowing he, in fact, fucked up like everyone else, even if it wasn't as physically bad.

Oh, and if you want a cheesy horror flick, check out Innocent Blood. Entertaining right up until the last few words. Man, that pissed me off. Plot summary from imdb.com: Marie, a female vampire with a conscience, decides to restrict her feeding requirements to the violent Pittsburgh gangsters who are at large in the city. Marie's victims become vampires themselves if she fails to permanently immobilise them, so when this happens, the gangsters become a serious problem which she has to fix.



Guest

Angryhydralisk (Guest) on 01/13/2007 10:08 am

I've seen a ridiculous amount of movies last year, perhaps the most times I've ever been to a theatre in my entire life. But here's my recent three...

Miami Vic- NO!

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - Better than what I would have expected. IT's exactly what'd you expect, a very STUPID redneck movie! But it's a very ENTERTAINING stupid redneck movie. They just needed more Monster Magnet & less Saliva in the race sequences.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning - More satisfying than I thought, and more brutal than most horror in a while. Lee Ermey really helps this film. Plus all four teens bite it, which not only has never happened in any of the films, but was a cool way to end the film. And when I went, there was NINE other people in the theatre.



Guest

Dynamic Dustin (Guest) on 01/13/2007 8:37 pm

Rocky Balboa was really good. I loved how it was more of a story about the fight of life then just another boxing movie.

I saw The Illusionist the other night and I have to say I was impressed for what it was. I was expecting a very weepy drama but ended up getting a mildly complex... Well... Drama.



Guest

Jesse B (Guest) on 01/14/2007 12:06 am

-RoG-, I know what you need.

http://www.rockyfigs.com/inner2.php?id=46&page_id=1



Guest

protoclown (Guest) on 01/14/2007 9:43 am

Dude, I totally want to see Pan's Labyrinth, but it isn't playing here yet. It's up in DC, but I know as soon as I go up there to see it, it will play in Richmond the following week.

Lisa and I saw "Children of Men" yesterday though and it was fucking AWESOME. So many incredible visuals, and there were a lot of really impressive long shots where they didn't cut for like five minutes and the camera just follows Clive Owen around. You'll be amazed at how elaborate some of those setups were when you realize it was all done in one shot.



Guest

protoclown (Guest) on 01/14/2007 9:45 am

Oh, and here's something that pisses me off--apparently the movie theaters here now are considering anything after 3pm to be an evening show. We went to a 4pm show to pay matinee prices, but those fuckers charged us full price! I told them they overcharged, and they said that those were their new rates as of Thanksgiving!



Guest

nuffels (Guest) on 01/14/2007 4:24 pm

those bastards!



Guest

tenno (Guest) on 01/17/2007 3:52 pm

charlie in the original story WAS perfect, the gene wilder version of that film was a hateful tragedy and while i understand i'm in the minority, i hated every hippy fucking minute of it, from the colorful crap 'songs' to the butchering of the original story. i'm not saying burton's version was perfect, but it walked tall compared to that aborted pig of a rendition.

i want to see pan's labryinth bad.



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