Recently watched movies!

[Dr Kain]

[jellydonut25]

[Destroysall]

[lhb412]

Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End.

In some ways, the movies just get better and better. They certainly get more complicated and flashy, but I also think that they get a bit richer in the genuine emotional stuff each time, too.

Still, I'm not sure which one is better, as each has unique high-points. Even the relative simplicity and rougher edges of Shaun is a value. Like The Dollars trilogy in some respects.

[Dr Kain]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

Werewolf Fever- A cheesy modern low budget werewolf movie made in Canada. It centers on a group of people working at a fast food joint and one of there co-workers on his way back from getting a shipment from the place gets bitten by a werewolf when making a bathroom break on the side of the road and is turned instantly into a werewolf. It was an alright flick but could have been better, the werewolf suit was interesting.

[lhb412]

[jellydonut25]

[lhb412]

[jellydonut25]

[XvGojira]

Rebirth of Mothra 2 & 3 - Each movie seemed to get better and better. They all still have pacing issues but I liked the adventure feel of the second movie and the two thieves were great foils. Dagahra was a tad bulky and awkward looking. The two Ghidorahs in 3 were pretty awesome looking. I knew 3 was going to be kind more awesome when the Elias all of a sudden pulled out freaking swords. If these movies were skewed for an older audience these movies could have been cooler than what they were. Although I will say when Mothra Leo morphs into Aqua or Armored forms they look like giant plastic toys.

Daimajin and Return of Daimajin - Spiritual revenge flicks. I can totally get behind this idea. Very moody and atmospheric flicks. These feel very much like westerns, slow burns leading to an awesome climax. Very good flicks!

[eabaker]

[lhb412]

Well, after reading the first 1400 pages of the manga (thanks Dark Horse!) and getting a severe chanbara craving induced by the Zatoichi Blu-Ray announcement...

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance

Ogami Itto, the Shogun's official executioner is framed by a rival clan! His wife murdered, and vowing revenge, he flees with his infant son, Diagoro, in tow to become the most feared assassins in the land: Lone Wolf and Cub!

Tamisanburo Wakayama certainly doesn't look like the muscular, ruggedly handsome Itto of the comic. He's a bit chubby and looks like he's made of lumps... but playing a badass sword-fighter is more than looks: he really gets the character and is great with the fights (being an actual martial artist helps).

The only problem with this movie is one of pacing. You see, the film has a frame story about Itto and Diagoro on one of their regular assassination missions interspersed with flashbacks detailing how Itto was betrayed and had his first clash with the Yagyu clan. The problem is the flashback material is much stronger and it ends with 25 minutes or so left in the runtime, leaving us with the less interesting of the plots. It would be drastically improved if the flashbacks were placed differently and we got the two big swordfighting showdowns (in the flashback and the present) one after another at the end of the movie.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx

Despite lacking the emotional heft of their tragic origin story, this sequel is actually superior. The two plots (Itto and Daigoro on an assassination mission while Yagyu agents pursue them) weave together better, making for a great, driving sequence of escalating showdowns. The emotional core of the film is supplied by an expanded part for Diagoro. We see much more of the bizarre yet touching father/son relationship, and in a scene where his father is injured Diagoro steps up and is awesome.

Both of these are great adaptations. Close to the comic (which was told in a rather cinematic style anyway), filmed in a style that's alternately poetic and cartoonishly violent. Good stuff.

[Dr Kain]

Is this one any good?

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/9230/body_bags.html

[XvGojira]

[lhb412]

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades

After the utter insanity of movie number two we're back to a more plot-driven samurai actioneer. We're given some interesting views inside the values of Tokugawa era Japan, specifically the treatment of women. Some of it's disturbing (but in a thought provoking, 'get inside the mindset of the time' kinda way), but the film also meets us halfway with a crowd-pleasing sequence where Ogami Itto steps up to defend a young woman who's about to be sold into prostitution.

... but before you think Lone Wolf and Cub was going austere: the movie saves the madness for the finale, where it goes bonkers.

[XvGojira]

Scream 3 - It's really hard to call these movies scary. There are jumps but do they really scare? They're nice Scooby-Doo whodunits. How the kept saying Sidney and her mom's full name when ever they talked about them got old real quick. And the film seems rather tame and bloodless than most slasher movies.

Scream 4 - A better whodunit story that the last and bit more blood letting. If the movie ended with Sidney's cousin being brought the hospital, it would have been amazing.

[klen7]

So i watched 'The Man with the Iron Fists'... its not a great movie, but you could see that there was a vision and that the writer/director/lead actor really loved the genre and wanted to make his own contribution and i respect that. There were a lot of genre cliches, but you could argue that this movie was an homage in a similar fashion to Kill Bill, but remained more true to setting and era and avoiding pop culture references. I think i like it more today than i did when i finished watching it, so it's probably worth revisiting down the road. I did like it more than most of Tsui Hark's recent films, so maybe i would give it a 'B'

[lhb412]

Star Trek Into Darkness

Meh. I liked Simon Pegg. Benedict Cumberbatch is a great actor, but he's really not utilized especially well here.

[MouthForWar]

[Dr Kain]

[klen7]

^ The last 12 hours of posts got lost in the migration.

[jellydonut25]

Watched Dredd with some friends this weekend. I love the movie, but again, that blu-ray has to be the WORST-looking blu ray I've ever seen. The quality of the transfer is deplorable and inexcusable.

[Dr Kain]

I am still lost as the negativity you have with the video. Maybe it is because I didn't see it in theaters, but I give the video a 9/10. In fact, review sites say the same.

[XvGojira]