A few little gems I've seen recently:

Slumdog Millionaire - 9/10. Went in ice cold - had no idea what it was about. Good movie. I liked how all his answers came from his life experiences (the scene where he escaped the bathroom to get that dude's autograph was crazy). Man, was the girl who played the older Latika a knockout or what? His brother was a scumbag but I liked how he tried to make it right in the end. My wife commented that it was weird that people would actually buy other people's used shoes (Taj Mahal scenes) - she's right, that's just sick. Weird interrogation tactics the police use in India, if any of that was true. I didn't even think they were cops at first - I just thought they were goons from the show.

The Forgotten - 8/10. Very interesting little sci-fi story with great effects - those scenes where people are just wisked away into the sky really have to be seen to be believed (I still remember being startled the first time I saw this in the theater and I had read about the movie beforehand and knew those scenes were coming). Julianne Moore looks great in this as well. If you like the X-Files, you'll like this.

Hannibal - 9/10. My wife and I saw this on TV the other night. Probably liked the book a little better as certain things didn't make it to the film (subplots concerning Mason Verger's sister & the 'Il Mostro' serial killer case the detective is also working on, different ending in the book, etc...) but Ridley Scott does a great job with this. Love the subplot of the detective trying to catch Lecter for the reward. And you can tell Hopkins is having a blast playing Lecter in this - his character is funnier and much more relaxed and at home as a free man running around Florence, Italy. Scenes with Mason Verger are awesome - Gary Oldman does a fantastic job with this sinister, vengeful character. Julianne Moore's a great Starling and as beautiful as ever. This is a real hoot of a movie - memorable scenes, great acting, excellent music, brillantly photographed with the type of lavish budget where every penny shows up on screen in the finished project. 1st rate Ridley Scott production all the way. This might be my favorite movie in the whole series. Highly recommended.

Valkyrie - 8.5/10. Took my pop to go see this (we're both WWII buffs) and we both loved it. We talked about this for a good half-hour afterward. Very cool and as far as I could verify, it seemed historically accurate. Cruise was fine in this - don't believe the critics saying he was terrible (my wife read somewhere that he was "shockingly distracting" in this. Funny choice of words but after seeing him in this, I disagree). Another major criticism - failure to have the actors speak with German accents - surprisingly wasn't a problem for me or the old man either. Bottom line, if it has anything to do with WWII or Nazis, I'm in. If you feel the same give it a look.

Immortality (aka The Wisdom of Crocodiles) - 8.5/10. I guess you can call this a vampire movie though it's far from what you'd think. No crosses, holy water, garlic or stakes in the heart in this flick. Instead, the story involves a bizarre character (Jude Law) living in London that feeds off a woman's emotions as well as her blood. Seems he has this rare anemic blood disorder but in addition to the victim's blood he somehow also requires their love as well in order to survive. The bodys start to mount and a couple of detectives begin investigating. Very art-house/independent film type feel to this movie that may not be for everyone but if you're looking for something unique and you like the vampire/serial killer/romance/detective procedural genres you'll probably like this. I enjoyed it.


[Edited by - finestrg on 01-15-2009 2:57 PM]

Yeah, I own The Forgotten. Good movie. Of course I'm a UFO buff also, so it was extra interesting.

Just saw 'Flawless' last night. Michael Caine and Demi Moore. Haven't seen her in anything in a long, long time. Pretty good story and interesting introduction about the processing of diamonds. Nothing action about this story. Just two very good actors, in a good story. A period piece (1960) if you like those kinds of movies.

Posted by bitty41:

Slumdog Millionaire: I also saw this movie having absolutely no idea what it was about but I came out being extremely impressed. One of the best movies this year without a doubt. It reminded me a bit of City of God though CoG was on a whole other level imo.

Wanted: A decent action flick I appreciated that they attempted to add a twist at the end. Has some crazy kill and fight scenes.


The Day the Earth Stood Still: This movie is absolutely atrocious I wouldn't even watch it on regular cable. I am still dumbfounded as to why Keanue Reeves continues to get roles.


The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: I have to admit I've been in love with Brad Pitt since puberty and still love him. So of course I was looking forward to this movie. I really enjoyed it loved the settings, supporting characters especially Queenie, and of course the love story between Pitt and Blanchett seriously some of the most romantics scenes in modern cinema.

Tropic of Thunder: This ranks up there with one of my favorite films this year. Hilarious, great acting, and it wasn't your run of the mill predictable comedy which made me enjoy it even more.

Incredible Hulk: This was better then the earlier version of Hulk with Eric Bana. Though the direction and storyline was better I still like Eric Bana as the Hulk.


Finestrg,

It's interesting what you say about Valkyrie because I also am a big WW2 buff but when I heard Tom Cruise's hard American accent playing a German I just couldn't bring myself to be interested in the movie. If you want to see one of the best movies made on the WW2 watch Downfall it was a big budget film out of Germany so obviously it's more authentic but overall the movie is one of the best ever made on the subject of WW2.

Yeah, I saw Downfall. Hitler layed up in his bunker as the Allies begin the assault on Berlin at the end of the war. Astonishing how much they made Bruno Ganz look like Hitler right? Excellent movie. Good call Bit.

Some more WWII flicks that were very good -

Apt Pupil, A Midnight Clear, Conspiracy and The Grey Zone (facinating but very difficult to watch). Spike Lee's Inside Man had a real cool little WWII angle that I found very interesting.

A also loved F. Paul Wilson's novel The Keep. One of my favorite books. Michael Mann made a movie version in the early 80s and although there were a lot of things I liked about the film version it really was a mess of a movie overall. I heard recently that there's a possiblity that it's gonna be remade soon. I'll be there.


[Edited by - finestrg on 01-18-2009 11:52 AM]

saw a decent amount of movies:

saw V- a little more talky than the others and the pace was slower. i would say that this is the weakest entry of the series but still entertaining. the violence ironically is one of the highest of the series. if you are a fan, you won't be disappointed because it explains a lot about how the current killer became who he is.

lakeview terrace- predictable movie like unlawful entry but okay. jackson becomes overtop and it has been awhile since we have seen that. he was entertaining and kerry washington was smoking but if you saw unlawful entry then nothing here would suprise. suprisingly, i felt sympathy for jackson's character which is something that i think wasn't intended.

house on the left- wes craven's first film was very entertaining and i can see why people refer to this when they see movies of the like. this movie was the first of its kind and a lot of elements were borrowed from this, especially the little "frisk" in the woods. classic. though the acting is borderline generic to awful, the dialogue is suprisingly good for this type of movie. craven's signature.

bangkok dangerous- another movie that borrowed from other movies. the training was interesting and some of the action sequences were fine but it brought nothing new to the table.

Posted by TMS:

has anyone seen Notorious yet? i wanted to go see that last nite but i heard it got some bad ratings in the press.

i saw it - dont waste money at the theater....download it from ninjavideo.net and watch that **** from home. entertaining and the girl that plays lil kim got a nice set on her - quality of movie = 6, bukkakke affect on chick who played kim = 9.5.

Posted by jimimou:

Posted by TMS:

has anyone seen Notorious yet? i wanted to go see that last nite but i heard it got some bad ratings in the press.

i saw it - dont waste money at the theater....download it from ninjavideo.net and watch that **** from home. entertaining and the girl that plays lil kim got a nice set on her - quality of movie = 6, bukkakke affect on chick who played kim = 9.5.

i knew i could count on u for the important stuff... thanks bro.

I just saw Slumdog Millionaire and all the hubub is right on. A great movie. Freida Pinto is hot as heck.

watchmen was good, but kinda long. it should have been at least 30 mins shorter. it seem indulgent at times by the director, but it was definitely not for all people. and probably not even for all scifi comic book enthusiasts.

saw a few more movies:

miracle in st. anna's- i am an avid spike lee fan so i know i would like it and it didn't disappoint. however, it is one of his weakest efforts though his weakest effort is still solid. the acting is suspect but i like the fact that the soldiers on both sides question their authority with ethics and show the civilians caught in the middle of the struggle with some dire consequences. it is long, though and lee's worst editing job since his early days but still a solid movie.

pineapple express- funny but not hilarious. i like tropic thunder a lot better. the chemistry between franco and rogen was solid enough to rekindle memories of "freaks and geeks" but wasn't engaging. as a matter of fact the supporting characters were funnier. some quotable lines. decent movie but to me there were other movies that were more hilarious.

death race- this movie gave me what i expected; tons of violence and adrenaline rush. the action was good and the pacing was right on. strathman is definately in his element. not as good as crank which i thought was the best of his starring movies ( and maybe bank job) but still good for the action junkies.

watchmen- this movie was great but not an excellent movie. i enjoyed the literal interpretation of the novel until the end which is uncerstandable since it works for comics, not for movies. the story was great and if it is not broke don't fix it. however, there were some key points that they needed to put in the movie so the movie didn't seem rush like the whole converation in archie after the sex or what happened to the original nite owl who had a key supporting part in the book. also besides rorshach and nite owl, i thought the acting was mediocre and they made the silk spectre look like an easy tramp. however it was well engaging and i did not mind the time though i was very uncomfortable in the imax theater no less.

i've been hearing some real mixed reviews on Watchmen, but most saying it was pretty disappointing... everyone i asked said it ran way too long & the plot was way too confusing to get for the lay viewer who isn't familiar w/the graphic novel... i think i'll wait for a good download to come out to watch this one.

Watchmen. AWESOME , AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME MOVIE, AWESOME, AWESOME.

I downloaded the entire 12 issue comic via torrent. If anyone wants, drop me an e-mail.

[Edited by - orangeblobman on 03-16-2009 8:02 PM]