27 dresses - Wife movie, worst movie ever.

After 4 minutes, i knew what was going to happen.

Wow it was bad.

Charlie Wilson's War - Motivated by the Afghan refugee crisis in 1980, fun-loving Texas congressman Charlie Wilson - with the support of a socialite/activist friend, a CIA agent and his trusty assistant - embarks on a mission to fund and execute a massive covert operation to help the Afghan mujahideen fight the Soviet army. As it turns out, war and weapons prove to be a much easier sell than peace and reconstruction.

The movie was a surprisingly light-hearted look at the politics and ravages of the Cold War in Afghanistan. As such, it was actually quite enjoyable. Solid performances from the entire cast, especially from Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

There Will Be Blood - An aggressive, turn-of-the-century oil prospector's ambitions of developing a rich oil patch in California are hindered by the town's pious young preacher, whom he eventually beats to death with a bowling pin.

A deliberately-paced yet interesting movie with a strong performance by Daniel Day Lewis. Points deducted for a terrible score, a weak final act and a disappointingly stupid ending.

I liked the ending. The movie was great. The Score was horrible yes. I give it a solid 8/10

There will be blood
In the top 3 of worst movies ever to be put to film, from the beginning scene to the absolute horrible ending, it was garbage. Too many characters that meant nothing to the movie, no sense to the direction of where this movie was supposed to go. IMO, there is nothing they could do to this movie to make it any worse, other than make it longer. Save your rental money, catch it on fire & watch it burn, you will enjoy it more. 0/10

Resurricting the champ (sp?)
Nothing great, but not awful, has a nice twist in the latter part which was good, overall below average. 5/10

Charlie Wilson's War. My biggest fear was having Julia Roberts ruin this movie with her over the top performance and phoney voice. Both of these things happened, shocker, but she wasn't in the movie long enough to ruin it.

I also picked up the History Channel's DVD about Charlie Wilson which I haven't viewed yet. Curious to know how much is real and how much was Hollywood.

War Dance - Many of the children in the Patong refugee camp in Northern Uganda have lost their parents and endured unimaginable horrors at the hands of rebel soldiers, but when they play music and dance, the pain of their difficult lives is replaced by joy and radiant smiles, and when they get the chance to travel to the capitol city of Kampala for the National Music Competition, they'll amaze everyone. This is an uplifting, beautifully-filmed documentary about the redemptive power of music and art that will put a smile on your face and a song in your heart.

Get Smart Season 1

I finally received disc one of Get Smart from Rogers Video Direct. This has been on my Zip list since February 2007. (high in demand) First episode "Mr. Big".

The first episode is in black & white and Don Addams plays 86 in a more serious tone.

Well worth the wait.

Crapfield!

My wife, a friend and I watched No Country For Old Men tonight. My wife enjoyed it, my buddy thought it was alright (although he was somewhat disappointed by the ending) and I enjoyed it as much as I did at the cinema in February (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=694616&postcount=9).

Good video transfer, too. The audio levels were a bit low, though: I had to crank the volume to -36dB/-34dB (up from the usual -40dB/-38dB).

The Mist

Hated, hated, hated the ending. That would never happen. They just did that to piss people off.

I loved The Mist including the ending (and yes I do have kids of my own). Nice to see and ending that wasn't the cliche Hollywood type ending. And I disagree with CoasterDon - I certainly do think that could happen.

CGI effects were a little bit weak but overall a great flick. Had more depth in the story than say Cloverfield (which had none but I enjoyed none the less). King was obviously influenced a bit by Lord of the Fly's and Frank Darabont says in the commentary that the ending was inspired by the style of Rod Serling's anthology writings.

I definitely recommend but it's certainly not for everyone's taste. 9/10

I Am Legend - Three years after a virus wipes out most of the world's population, Dr. Robert Neville - the sole uninfected survivor in New York City - continues his struggle to find a cure, driven by his belief that only he can provide salvation. When he is rescued from certain death by Anna, an uninfected survivor on her way to an inland "sanctuary", her faith in God's plan for mankind leads him to understand that, sometimes, the sacrifice of one man is required so that others may live.

A decent-enough post-apocalyptic "zombie" flick. Unfortunately, the ending was limp and the video-game look of the CGI zombies wasn't all that interesting. 28 Days Later, despite having been made on a significantly smaller budget (£5M vs. IAL's $150M) is a better movie.

IMHO I really did not care for "I am Legend". I thought 1964 -"Last Man On Earth" with Vincent Price and 1971- Omega Man with Charlton Heston were a lot better. Guess I am just getting old.



"Better to burn out then to fade away." - Neil Young

Awsome. Amazing video. 5 disc series. I've only watched the first
disc so far. It is amazing what this world has that is untouched. From amzing creatures to the land itself. Very well done. They also added Diaries at the end of each section to show wat it took to film the different areas and animals.

Waiter - As a waiter's humble life becomes more complicated, by his juggled love affairs, the appearance of a mysterious Japanese boarder, and some nasty debt collectors, he starts to take exception with the screenwriter who is apparently concocting his story at his keyboard. This Dutch film plays like a dark, absurdist version of Stranger Than Fiction; it has some funny moments like when the waiter crosses out of his reality to confront the screenwriter, but it occasionally gets bogged down by its own cleverness.

I actually really like this movie. Steve Carell was funny is a real world setting, Juliette Binoche is still super sexy and what I thought was going to be the worst part of the film Dane Cook was actually very subdued.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - Andy convinces his brother Hank to help him execute a simple plan to get the cash they both desperately need: Hold up their parents' jewellery store. It's fool-proof...until the unexpected happens and the brothers find themselves caught in a destructive downward spiral. Can Andy cook up another plan to salvage the situation, or will Fate set things right?

The movie started off strong, faltered about half-way through and became progressively weaker until it finally ground to a dull conclusion. Oh, well. Good performances by Hoffman and Hawke, though. And Marisa Tomei was very yummy... :D

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Fifteen years after being sent away by Judge Turpin, a corrupt official who coveted his wife, Benjamin Barker - under the alias of Sweeney Todd - returns to London to seek his revenge. First, however, he and Mrs. Lovett make some wonderful meat pies together...

This quirky and, at times, violently bloody musical about revenge and cannibalism is quite a curiosity piece. Unfortunately, while it has its moments, it is disappointingly uneven: Some of the numbers are enjoyable; some just seem to drag.

I'm Not There - I'm all for imaginative, risk-taking filmmaking, but this pseudo-biopic about Bob Dylan, in which a number of different actors represent the singer at different stages of his life/influences/consciousness completely confused the bejeesus out of me.

Cloverfield - A farewell party is interrupted when a a Godzilla-like creature starts wreaking havoc in Manhattan. With a video camera running to document the incredible situation unfolding around them, a small group of people from the party start to make their way to safety, but turn back to save a stranded and injured friend. As a vicious battle between the military and the menace rages around them, the group hurries to rescue the friend and evacuate the city before it's too late. Will they make it?!

If the infamous "shaky cam" cinematography doesn't bother you* and you can get past the first fifteen minutes, this is actually a pretty good monster flick, with a simple but decent story, great special effects and some wicked LFE!

(*The camera work only mildly annoyed my wife - who had no interest in the movie but ended up watching the whole thing - and it didn't bother me at all. I actually found the "camera man's" dialogue to be the weakest element of the movie.)