WE enjoyed- The day after tomorrow- weak story line, special effects are good 3 Stars
Van Helsing - Wife and I both enjoyed this one . Loved the James bond parody,LMAO, CG work is excellent, the disk special Features were OK as well. 4 stars.

 

Van Helsing, Kill Bill2, Mean Girls, The Day After Tomorrow are all good are fairly recent on DVD. Picked up Shrek 2 today.

Any particular genre ?

 

I know it sounds silly but I want to watch a short movie! Whatever happened to 100 to 110 minute films.

I actually haven't seen Kill Bill #1 but I want to watch #2. I recorded the first one in HD last week so I might watch that (1hr & 50 mins) so I can watch #2

 

For sure this weekend, and maybe tonight, Hellboy: Directors Cut (just bought), Shrek 2 (about to go out and buy), and Texas Chainsaw Massacre (MC Tonight). Had just seen Super Size Me, The Girl Next Door, and Gladiator. If I have time, and theres nothing on TV I'll put in Sea 1-4 Simpsons, Family Guy or Futurama.

 

Here's one we watched and enjoyed recently, and it fits the length you're looking for @ 109 min's. 'Fire in the Sky' -- a new dvd release of a 1993 movie. Reportedly based on a "real life story and event" (an alien abduction), it's a good combination of drama and sci-fi. www.currentfilm.com/dvdreviews5/fireintheskydvd.html

 

I picked up the Special Edition Tombstone. Gotta love the westerns!

 

I've had a good run of little movies lately, including Heartlands, and I'm Not Scared.

The former is a heartwarming British film about a schlub who's quite content running his newstand and going to the pub with his wife to play darts, until he finds out she's having an affair. He then embarks on a journey, on his Honda scooter, to win her back. Gentle humor, a little sad, wonderful characters and some great little moments.

The latter is an Italian movie that starts off like it might be a thriller, but it's really about dark secrets and the loss of childhood innocence. Beautifully filmed in the rolling hills of Sicily.

Another one worth checking out is The Return, a dark Russian film about a father/son roadtrip gone horribly wrong.

 

I picked up "Arrested Development" season 1 the other night and will probably be watching the rest of it tonight.

 

I've watched Matilda about 5 times with my kids when they were younger.

It is a great flick for all ages.

A Devito masterpiece.

 

Watched Hellboy last night. Thought it was a great, inventive movie. Comic books may be hard to do, and I think this one was pulled off quite successfully. It doesn't go too comic book on you, so it's a good action movie, with a good story.
Also watched Shrek 2. Very funny movie. I'd say it was as good as the first, not better. I know it's a different story, but I still love the original. This was a good DVD too, but not alot of the sound was used in the surrounds or the LFE. But thats just one dudes opinion.
Caught some of Texas Chainsaw...thought it was boring...I'm not into the horror movies. Like The Ring, I was unimpressed and bored through most of the movie.

 

I picked up "Arrested Development" season 1 the other night and will probably be watching the rest of it tonight.

Arrested Development is the funniest show I have seen in years! I can't wait for the second season to start up here on Sunday.

 

Heartlands

Gonna look that one up.

 

Just a note for those intending to buy Shek 2, Walmart has a unique package of Shrek2 plus a CD with all the songs from the Idol parady. A nice extra at no charge that my son really liked (already made a copy for the car).

Another movie I watched around Halloween was Dawn of the Dead. It was pretty good for a remake of an old B film. Better than the original. Good character development.

 

HMV in downtown Toronto were giving out lamanted Shrek 2 posters (full size) with purchase of DVD.

 

Shrek 2 - Great animation, but it tries to be too clever and ends up falling short of the original.
Farenheit 9/11 - Moore's schtick aside, the movie offers a tremendous amount of interesting and, at times, damning information.
Anatomy - A German horror flick starring Franka Potente. Interesting premise, one or two really cool/gruesome scenes, and then it gets boring and stupid.
The Day After Tomorrow - Great special effects are overwhelmed by far too many Hollywood cinematic clichés. A real disappointment.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Quirky, challenging and very enjoyable (if you like quirky and challenging).
The Hours - A beautiful "character" movie with some great performances by some great actors.
The Human Stain - Another "character" movie but, despite a decent story and solid performances by Hopkins and Kidman, the movie never really picks up steam. Too bad.
Hellboy - Not that great, but it does have some funny moments and, thankfully, it doesn't take itself too seriously.
Hidalgo - A horribly cheesy piece of cliché-laden Americana cr*p.
Owning Mahowny - Very low-key Canadian (I believe) movie with a good but understated performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Not really a great movie, but decent (especially Hoffman's performance).

 

I just picked up the Special Edition of Predator with DTS. I am going to watch that tonight.

 

Owning Mahowny - Very low-key Canadian (I believe) movie with a good but understated performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Not really a great movie, but decent (especially Hoffman's performance).

A Sony Classic production. A true story about a CIBC banker who went to Vegas and Jersey and gambled away millions of dollars of stolen money.

I happen to know people who knew the real guy. A good movie.

 

Cool! Did they have any comments regarding how well (or poorly) Hoffman managed to portray Mahowny?

 

Very close to the original guy. The girlfriend wasn't even close to the original. They were married in jail and still are married. I know somebody who attend the wedding. He's been out of jail for a long time and is doing very well. He wrote a book. Several of his collegues were either fired or demoted and many are still working for the bank. The amount he stole was way higher than most people think.

 

I know it sounds silly but I want to watch a short movie! Whatever happened to 100 to 110 minute films.

I actually haven't seen Kill Bill #1 but I want to watch #2. I recorded the first one in HD last week so I might watch that (1hr & 50 mins) so I can watch #2

Don't waste your time with Vol.2. Very dissappointing. Stick to the original.

 

Don't waste your time with Vol.2. Very dissappointing. Stick to the original.

I kind of agree....I think it will work better as an uncut single volume of work, rather than 2 choppy movies. I want to see it put together and uncut for DVD.

 

Don't waste your time with Vol.2. Very dissappointing. Stick to the original.

Not that volume 2 is a bad movie...it just doesn't have the same characteristics as the first one. If you really liked the first one due to the action...then you will be disappointed in the second one. It is more character driven.

 

I am 3 episodes into the Band of Brothers DVD set. It is nothing short of astounding.

In the first epsiode when they are getting ready for their first drop, the scene is a huge squadron of planes. The DTS sound is thundering!! It really makes you feel like you're there.
And of course the battle scenes are very intense.
I'll be watching episode 4 tonight, and considering Remembrance Day is this week, it is a very appropriate recommendation to anyone.

 

Thin Red Line

This is on sale for $7.99 at HMV downtown Toronto. Great performance by Nick Nolte and others and cameos by Clooney and Travolta. Very cerebral war movie with great action sequences. Beautiful picture. Only problem I had was the portrayal of Japanese soldiers = one dimensional (bad). They didn't even bother putting sub titles so we could see what they were saying. By contrast, Tora Tora Tora gives a much better perspective from both sides.

 

The Band of Brothers DVD is a really good transfer. Those of us who watched the High-Def presentation on HBO/TMN are happy with it. The worse actor (and only bad one) was the guy from "Friends" (David schemmer (sp?).

Hanks and Speilberg are supposed to be working on a "Pacific" version of this series for HBO.