muttbunch2 on 22/12/2008 at 09:25
In yet another year full of junk, I'll have to go with the Christian allegory The Dark Knight (although the actor in it named Christian was something less than his usual self). Beyond that, the feminist fantasy Teeth and the psychiatrist's wet dream Quid Pro Quo were both top-notch (the acting in Quid Pro Quo being particularly notable). These last two I've got in reverse order. I'd actually list them: DK, QPQ, and then Teeth.
As for other movies I simply enjoyed, I'd list The Bank Job, Punisher: War Zone, and Kung Fu Panda as the top three, in that order.
Scots Taffer on 22/12/2008 at 09:42
OK
mol on 22/12/2008 at 18:09
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
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.
No arguments there - the first half hour or so was brilliant. It almost felt like a 21st century homage to the silent comedies of Buster Keaton, Charles Chaplin, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Harold Lloyd and their contemporaries.
Ulukai on 22/12/2008 at 22:18
Didn't get to see much this year, but here goes.
Favourites
* WALL-E - "Eeeeeva!". Damn near broke my heart, not bad considering at least half of it is made of stone. Funny, sad, heartwarming. What's not to like?
* The Dark Knight - Went on just a teensy bit too long, but I barely noticed because I was glued to my seat.
Honorable Mentions
* Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Slightly disappointed with the whole aliens theme, but Indy is back, and none the worse for his 65 years.
* Quantum of Solace - Not up to par with Casino Royale, but blows the Brosnan cheese fests out of the water. Still unhappy with what they did to that poor DBS, tho'
* The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - Overall, they laid the message on a bit thick, I think, but interesting perspective with a suitably harrowing, if somewhat predictable, ending.
Things I saw, wished I didn't
* Four Christmases - I've mentioned it earlier in this thread. I pray no-one else does.
vurt on 23/12/2008 at 00:48
Best this year:
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Rambo (GREAT fun, laughed out loud more than to any comedy i can remember, really intense and fun, loved it and i usualy cant stand action movies)
Wall-E
Burn After Reading
Cloverfield (really, really intense, loved the setting and atmosphere)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (what i expected, more or less, just like the new SW movies - great fun if you don't take it too seriously - which most people do!!)
Batman The Dark Knight (overrated, but still good)
Horrible:
Hancock
Get Smart (plain awful, didn't laugh once)
The Incredible Hulk (as lame as ever)
REC (not scary, just a huge "meh".)
gunsmoke on 23/12/2008 at 01:15
Ones we liked:
The Strangers
Wall-E
Four Christmases
Cloverfield
polytourist97 on 23/12/2008 at 01:24
My favorites off the top of my head:
-The Dark Knight
-Religulous
The ones I wish I could erase from memory:
-Indy
-The Golden Compass
Thirith on 23/12/2008 at 11:34
I fully expect these to be ridiculed... but some of you might like them. They're (
http://www.nativevoicefilms.com/nv/?page_id=187) four short films done by Native Voice, a London-based group of filmmakers, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Very well made and worth checking out, as far as I'm concerned. But then I'm a bleeding heart pinko commie bastard, so YMMV.
Kolya on 23/12/2008 at 12:13
Human rights all the way!
I just watched one of these and it's not something I can take in a row I think. Probably because I'm also a bleeding heart pinko commie bastard.
Anyway, ridicule this and you're going to see the part that spells bastard.
Thirith on 23/12/2008 at 12:20
I watched these yesterday, starting with the one on the guy whose sister was killed in an ambush. It's definitely the toughest one and I had to take a breather before I could watch the others; they're not quite as tough, though.
Apart from the topic of human rights, I do think they're extremely well made films, very effective and without a trace of the didactic smugness or hectoring rhetoric that you sometimes get with such issues.
