Film Threat Back Talk

The Baron · 08-16-2009, 02:17 AM

District 9 ~ 7
I liked this movie... a lot. But I wasn't blown away by it. In fact, I felt a little disappointed. The first 40 minutes drag on forever, setting up the rest of the movie. Do we really need 40 minutes of featherdusting? I think not. However, once the movie finds it's legs, it really takes off. If anyone influential is reading, please, no District 10. That would ruin the work done by this unique feature.

The Baron · 08-31-2009, 11:43 PM

Head of the Family ~ 0
Saw this at a friend's house on Friday night. One question: How the fuck does a piece of shit like this get green lighted?

The Baron · 09-13-2009, 04:52 AM

District B-13 ~ 4
Nice action set pieces, but weak on all other accounts.

Terminator Salvation ~ 3
If you keep telling yourself that this really isn't a Terminator movie, that's it's just killer robots and explosions, it sucks about 1/4 less.

The Baron · 09-27-2009, 05:59 AM

Hell Ride ~ 3
This vanity project by one of Tarantino's buddies tries to be a gritty biker exploitation flick, but due mostly to writer/producer/director/star Larry Bishop, fails miserably. One would think that a movie with Michael Madsen, Dennis Hopper, David Carradine, Vinnie Jones, and abundant female nudity couldn't go wrong. Self-conscious camera work, pedestrian acting, and some of the worst dialogue I've heard in a long time left me wanting 90 minutes of my life back.

The Baron · 10-04-2009, 01:07 AM

Zombieland ~ 8.5

El Duderino Diablo · 10-19-2009, 03:26 AM

Pinprick - 5.5
English language Hungarian/Swiss co production. A fractured family, voyeurism, sex, a twisted teenage girl with a Hungarian hood hiding in her closet.

Castaway on the Moon - 7
Korean comedy/drama about a couple of very isolated misfits. Strangely similar to JG Ballard's "Concrete Island."

Written By - 6.5
Mildly convoluted HK family drama/fantasy/ghost story.

Will Not Stop There - 5
Serbian/Croatian flick that wants to be all things. Off-beat comedy, romance, action. Like W channel tried to make something foreign and edgy.

Island of Dreams - 5
Naive and overly earnest but technically impressive. A student film that is also a skillful recreation of and homage to 60's Nikkatsu noir.

Air Doll - 9
Beautiful and heart breaking tale from Kore-eda Hirokazu of an inflatable sex doll who "finds a heart."

USB - 4
Meh.

Reporter - 7.5
HBO doc. following New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof as he hauls a pair of winners from his "Win a Trip With Nick Kristof Contest" around the Congo. Excellent.

Kamui - 5.5
Silly manga-ninja fluff from Sai Yoichi aka Choi Yang-il (Blood and Bones, Soo) and starring the kid from the "Death Note" movies and "L: Change the World."

Cow - 7.5
Chinese historical comedy about a boy and his cow as they take on invading Japanese forces. Very good.

The Eclipse - 7.5
Irish ghosts & guilt tale. Ciarán Hinds is fantastic.

Mother - 6
Queasy, too close for comfort tale of a mother and son. A shaggy dog civilian-style police procedural from Bong Joon-Ho (Memories of Murder, The Host).

Kimjongilia - 8
Doc. about the horrors of life in North Korea (and everybody's favourite kook-dictator, Kim Jong-il).

Playground - 7
Doc. about North America's status as a destination/hunting ground for children fixated sex tourists.

Ninja Assassin - 7
James McTeigue. The Wachowski brothers. Sho Kosugi. Pretty much what you'd expect: loud, goofy, over blown and fun.

The Baron · 11-03-2009, 03:03 AM

Ong Bak 2 ~ 8
Yes, an 8. Forget plot. Forget character. Forget dialogue. You go to see a Tony Jaa movie for one reason only, and damn! He delivers! Some of the best and most realistic martial arts fighting I've ever seen on film. ANd not just the Muay Thai we expect. I stopped counting the number of different styles and systems on exhibition. Oh, yeah... it's left wide open for "Ong Bak 3".