Recently watched movies!

[MouthForWar]

[Psycho Soldier]

I watched The Secret of Kells on Netflix earlier tonight. Well, it was good, but at only 75 minutes, I wish it had been a little longer to give the characterization and plotting an extra boost. I also wish the Vikings weren't just depicted as big monsters attracted to shiny things, but I guess we can't have everything we want. The animation style is interesting, even if the movement is more akin to a TV show than a Disney movie. Good music, too; I wish fantasy and historical movies had soundtracks like this more often.

[Green Dragon]

[MekaGojira3k]

Star Trek: Insurrection.
Meh. Reminded me of a TNG episode we've seen a billion times but with a bigger budget. It's not really that bad, but it's not as fun as First Contact was for all of that film's flaws.

[EricDent]

[MouthForWar]

[Dr Kain]

[lhb412]

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe

[EDIT]

I posted a detailed reaction here... but I think it's better suited for the talkback thread in the Gamera forum, don't you?


Black Dynamite

"No! Not the orphans!"

My channel guide gave this movie two and a half stars. I can only assume that those one and a half stars were taken away by The Man!

[MekaGojira3k]

[jellydonut25]

[lhb412]

[MouthForWar]

[king_ghidorah]

[jellydonut25]

[MekaGojira3k]

[MouthForWar]

The Raid: Redemption- I really had fun with this, but I don't think its one of the best action movies ever or anything. I think Americans are used to a steady diet of quick cuts and stunt men in movies like Expendables and forget that good movies with real fighting are still being made the world over and that might be why it was so hyped up here. Still, incredible action scenes and fight choreography. Its like this year's Thirteen Assassins. A great action film, but I just wish the characters and plot gave a little more to chew on. I'd give it a 3/5... but a good 3/5.

Cosmopolis- Everyone knows I'm a Cronenberg uber-fan, but this one was a mixed bag for me. It is by far one of the weirdest (if not THE weirdest) movies he's ever made, but I felt that some of it works and some of it doesn't. I like his last few more mainstream films more, but I think I appreciate this one more because it shows that he's still willing to take risks and do something completely weird and alien. I've honestly never seen anything like it. Still, there was a lot for me to like here. Robert Pattinson and Paul Giamatti were both great and some of the scenes were downright fascinating to me. Also, there is a lot of really dry dark humor in this film that not everyone is gonna pick up on... but I thought it was hilarious a lot of the time. It might be the funniest Cronenberg movie I've seen (but the humor will definitely get lost on a lot of people)... However, if you're not into his more experimental and weird stuff (ie Naked Lunch), I'd say you might wanna skip over this one. Not one of DC's best, but (like the Raid), I give it a solid, positive 3/5, so I can still safely say that I believe he's never made a bad film. I liked it but its definitely NOT a movie for everybody and will split people right down the middle.

Mutant Girls Squad- Sushi Typhoon never cease to amaze me in how f*cking weird they are. I love the zaniness and the crazy Japanese sense of humor, but their films are exhausting to watch sometimes. For as much as I appreciate their twisted, f*cked up take on tokusatsu, I still haven't seen anything from them that's really knocked me out. I think if someone like Miike did a film for them (which he is apparently supposed ot at some point), the stars would all align and it would be just what they need. But I still have fun with Sushi Typhoon's films. They're pretty much the Japanese Troma and that's pretty darn cool.

[Dr Kain]

[MekaGojira3k]

[metal_bryan]

[MekaGojira3k]

[jellydonut25]

[lhb412]

Pack Up Your Troubles

Pretty good early Laurel and Hardy feature, but it brings something that kinda bugs me about these films to the forefront: all the other characters in these L&H films are so cruel it can get depressing! There's lots of great Stan and Ollie moments, but mixed in is child abuse, spousal abuse, a character is killed in WWI - and there's even a moment when a superior officer sends Stan and Ollie into no man's land so they'll die and be out of his hair - I mean, good grief!

[MekaGojira3k]

[EricDent]

[The Real McCoy]

Dororo. I saw this sitting on the shelf at my local bookstore (which has an amazingly good selection of anything for a used book store) and said what the heck and popped it in last night. For the first little bit it was kind of boring; I wasn't really getting into it, but as it went on it got much better. Very cool movie.