Matthew on 19/12/2008 at 11:44
You might want to fix those last three links, squire
pdenton on 21/12/2008 at 04:32
Saw Milk tonight, that's definitely on the list.
Shakey-Lo on 21/12/2008 at 05:28
I don't get to watch many new release films, but my favourite this year was The Black Balloon, the best Australian film in years. Also got to meet the two co-writer/directors and they're both great people.
For US films I'll go with The Dark Knight.
Scots Taffer on 21/12/2008 at 11:55
Wall-E just set all new kinds of highs in my book.
mol on 21/12/2008 at 18:54
Wall-E was good, but I didn't think it was Pixar's best. I thought The Incredibles was better, and Monsters, Inc., Toy Story 2, and Ratatouille, I thought, were more entertaining. But that's not to say that Wall-E isn't head and shoulders above most mainstream cinema these days. I enjoyed it a lot.
The Dark Knight - it was alright, but I'm getting tired of all this doom-and-gloom shtick, be that in movies or games. I think the world's bloody gloomy enough as it is. I didn't think it was as great as many people have made it out to be, but it was a solid, fine movie, with only some problems (few movies are without).
Iron Man - that was more like it. Liked it a lot. Entertaining and funny, succeeded well in what it was trying to do. Robert Downey Jr. was brilliant. Probably the best superhero movie, in my book.
Haven't seen the new Bond, but I fear they've retreated back to wall-to-wall action. Pfft. Boooring! (Final judgement reserved, though, until I've actually seen it.)
Indy 4. Oh dear. Ford was great as Indy, he has aged well. So had Karen Allen. Too bad the script was rubbish, and the whole film lacked energy (sure there was action, but without excitement), and only in places had that old Indy feeling. Well, I welcome Indy 5, now that they've hopefully realised that they can't just all get together like a class reunion, have a bit of fun, and make a movie on the side. This time, make it right, and get a bloody script that makes some goddamn sense.
Aerothorn on 22/12/2008 at 01:46
Quote Posted by Angel Dust
Yeah, but what is great about Herzog documentaries is that he doesn't come in with some agenda that he's trying to prove. He basically goes to some place and observes the land and people, often with fascinating results. The man also captures some fantastic and unique images and I love hearing him talk.
My best friend was actually working at McMurdo when Herzog was filming his movie there. For whatever reason he only talked to Herzog off-camera, but apparently he's a pretty cool guy.
Scots Taffer on 22/12/2008 at 01:59
Quote Posted by mol
Wall-E was good, but I didn't think it was Pixar's best. I thought The Incredibles was better
The Incredibles is still the best superhero story ever and I absolutely adore it for the Googie design vibe, the smooth jazz, the story, everything. It's probably the best film that appeals to adults and children alike, though Wall-E is certainly close - my daughter loves it and is asking for "walleeee and eeevaaah" at the moment.
I really admire Wall-E for being bold and trying new things - a love story between robots set in a consumerist-apocalypse with no words spoken for the first half hour? Brave storytelling.
Thirith on 22/12/2008 at 07:45
The first half or so of Wall-E is the reason why the film's one of my three top Pixar movies (the other two being The Incredibles and Ratatouille). Once the humans come into the story, it loses some of its charm and cleverness, although it's still miles above most if not all of the DreamWorks CGI films.
It's a shame, though, that Wall-E becomes so much more conventional and predictable once they're on the ship and the human characters become more important. In some ways it almost feels as if halfway through the film the author and director decided to quit and they got in people who obviously weren't quite as talented.
Aja on 22/12/2008 at 09:18
mmm I dunno, are you forgetting the part about the Wall-As? And the short film Bern-E that comes with the DVD release is wonderful.
Thirith on 22/12/2008 at 09:23
Of course I can't do full justice to the film in two short paragraphs, but as a general tendency I'd maintain that the film goes from "magnificent" to merely "very good" in the second half. I haven't seen the short film on the DVD; I'm not buying any new Pixar DVDs since I'm thinking of upgrading to Blu-ray within the next year, and two of my first acquisitions will be Ratatouille and Wall-E.
