Topic: Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews

[Achim]

I started watching The Green Hornet in the airplane yesterday. I gave up when the first fight scene arrived and they presented Kato to have this terminator-stylke ability to check all options and variables of the fight first, before engaging. Seemed to totally mismatch the style they were going for. I then rather watched Tangled

[dfmorgan]

I started watching The Green Hornet in the airplane yesterday. I gave up when the first fight scene arrived and they presented Kato to have this terminator-stylke ability to check all options and variables of the fight first, before engaging. Seemed to totally mismatch the style they were going for. I then rather watched Tangled

(click to show/hide)

and towards the end of the film Britt Reid also gained that ability

[Rogmeister]

I was never a big fan of The Green Hornet and I totally passed up the recent movie.  Sounds pretty much like I made the right decision.

[Achim]

After reading Dave's comment I am even more glad, like Roger, that I skipped on continuing watching it...

[dfmorgan]

Time Traveller: the girl who leapt through time

Year: 2010
Director: Masaaki Taniguchi
Cast: Riisa Naka, Narumi Yasuda, Akinobu Nakao
Overview: In 2010 pharmaceutical researcher Kazuko Yoshiyama (Narumi Yasuda) is injured in a car accident. Her daughter Akari (Riisa Naka) uses Kazuko's newly completed time-travel potion to leap back in search of a mystery man from her mother's past... but misjudges the date and arrives two years late in the year 1974. There, she enlists the help of reluctant student filmmaker Ryota (Akiyoshi Nakao), in a race against time to find a man that nobody remembers.

Watched: 7th May 2011
My Thoughts: A sad, sweet romance film. Apart from being based on the same novel this film is unrelated to the anime The Girl Who Leapt Through Time although Riisa Naka, the lead actress here, also provided the lead voice in the anime. I quite enjoyed this film.

My Rating: An enjoyable 3

[Dragonfire]

I started watching The Green Hornet in the airplane yesterday. I gave up when the first fight scene arrived and they presented Kato to have this terminator-stylke ability to check all options and variables of the fight first, before engaging. Seemed to totally mismatch the style they were going for. I then rather watched Tangled

(click to show/hide)

and towards the end of the film Britt Reid also gained that ability

I didn't care for that nonsense in The Green Hornet either.  I also didn't care for Seth Rogen.  I just don't like him.

[dfmorgan]

The Warrior's Way

Year: 2010
Director: Sngmoo Lee
Cast: Jang Dong Gun, Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush
Overview: The world's greatest swordsman abandons his warrior clan to start a new life in America in The Warrior's Way, a fantasy action adventure from the producer of the Lord of the Rings, Barrie M. Osborne.

With stunningly choreographed fight sequences and gravity-defying stunts, The Warrior's Way is a visually dazzling journey into a mythical past which seamlessly marries the cinematic traditions of East and West. Kate Bosworth, Danny Huston, Academy Award® winner Geoffrey Rush, and Jang Dong Gun star in this epic story of revenge and redemption.

Watched: 21st May 2011
My Thoughts: A mildly enjoyable film. On his way to becoming the world's greatest swordsman Yang, Jang Dong Gun, fails to complete his mission and becomes ostracised and wanted dead by his clan. They follow him to America where he has settled into a new life.

My Rating: A mildly enjoyable 3

[dfmorgan]

44 Inch Chest

Year: 2009
Director: Malcolm Venville
Cast: Ray Winstone, Ian McShane, John Hurt
Overview: From the team behind Sexy Best comes this potent exploration of the masculine ego at breaking point, set against the seedy back drop of Londons`s gangster underbelly.

Colin Diamond (Ray Winstone) is in agony. Shattered by the bombshell of his wife’s (Joanne Whalley) infidelity with a young French waiter.

His motley crew of friends - Old Man Peanut (John Hurt), Meredith (Ian McShane), Archie (Tom Wilkinson), and Mal (Stephen Dillane) - kidnap Loverboy, and assemble a kangaroo court so that Colin can restore his manhood with revenge. Loverboy's life is now at stake as Colin wrestles with heartbreak, anger, madness, love and self-pity.

A powerful and explosive drama of retribution Nuts describe as a 'tense knockout'.

Watched: 27th. May 2011
My Thoughts: The trailers I had seen made this look interesting but not interesting enough for me to pre-order and pay full whack for. So I waited and and picked this up recently in a 2 for £15 offer, I should have carried on waiting. A film with a very high count of f word usage and even higher count of c word usage, not that that offends me just seems so unnecessary as the bad language to that extreme gets in the way of telling the story.

My Rating: Should have done better for a  -2 -



ETC watched date

[dfmorgan]

Certified Copy

Year: 2010
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Cast: Juliette Binoche, William Shimell
Overview: From acclaimed director Abbas Kiarostami (Taste of Cherry, The Wind Will Carry Us) comes the story of a couple's apparent chance meeting in beautiful Tuscany.

He (William Shimell) is a British author in town to talk about his new book. She (Juliette Binoche) is a French gallery owner in search of originality. Together they tour the local galleries, cafés and museums and discover that nothing is quite what it seems and truth, like art, is always open to interpretation. Captivating and hugely entertaining, this acclaimed romantic tale playfully and provocatively blurs the lines between reality and imagination.

Watched: 28th May 2010
My Thoughts: hmmmmm a strange film. He (William Shimell) is publicising his book which she (Juliette Binoche) apparently doesn't like but has bought a number of copies to get them autographed. She invites him to her gallery, from there they decide to tour the local area and at a café he is mistaken for her husband whereupon they continue to act as a married couple.

After my viewing of 44 Inch Chest last night maybe I should have watched a less cerebral film as I feel that there is something deeper within this film that has completely washed over me and I will have to watch this one again, hopefully I'll be more receptive.

My Rating: For now a 2



Editted to close italics

[Najemikon]

The trailers I had seen made this look interesting but not interesting enough for me to pre-order and pay full whack for. So I waited and and picked this up recently in a 2 for £15 offer, I should have carried on waiting. A film with a very high count of f word usage and even higher count of c word usage, not that that offends me just seems so unnecessary as the bad language to that extreme gets in the way of telling the story.

My Rating: Should have done better for a  -2 -

Wow, is that a 'minus 2'?  Even if the language/writing was better, the story was still terrible.

[goodguy]

Certified Copy
... maybe I should have watched a less cerebral film as I feel that there is something deeper within this film that has completely washed over me and I will have to watch this one again, hopefully I'll be more receptive.

My Rating: For now a 2

You definitely should give this another try. My first encounter with Kiarostami and one of my favorite films from last year. Intriguingly complex and layered in handling its central theme of copy and original. It's kinda like Inception for grown-ups.  

[dfmorgan]

Wow, is that a 'minus 2'?  Even if the language/writing was better, the story was still terrible.

Yes sure is -2, I was trying to be kind as I thought some it was OK but not really good but not outright bad or boring - but then again it could be bad.

[dfmorgan]

You definitely should give this another try. My first encounter with Kiarostami and one of my favorite films from last year. Intriguingly complex and layered in handling its central theme of copy and original. It's kinda like Inception for grown-ups.  

I will do. I must have not been in a receptive mood for this film at the time I watched it.

[dfmorgan]

Namastey London

Year: 2007
Director: Vipul Amrutlal Shah
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Rishi Kapoor
Overview: What happens when you transplant an English rose to a countryside in Punjab and expect her to thrive in an alien environment? The rose will either die or rebel. That's exactly what Jazz, rather Jasmeet, does when her father brings her to India and marries her to a rough and tough farmer who can barely speak English. But Jazz is determined to marry Charlie Brown, her British boyfriend. Caught in this emotional tug of war between father and daughter, is poor Arjun, who is helplessly and hopelessly in love with his beautiful but unyielding wife.

Namastey London will determine whether love is more about giving or taking, whether Indian values must surrender to western culture and whether Jazz will win or Jasmeet!

Watched: 4th. Jun 2011
My Thoughts: I decided that I wanted something fairly light but entertaining tonight so went for a slice of Bollywood. A quite enjoyable film with no real surprises. As you watch this film you know where it is heading and what the final outcome will be with just a couple of minor diversions along the way.

My Rating: A quite enjoyable 3

[dfmorgan]

Paul

Year: 2011
Director: Greg Mottola
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jason Bateman
Overview: Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) reunite as sci-fi geeks taking a pilgrimage to America's UFO heartland. There they meet a smart-ass alien, Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen), who takes them on an insane road trip. As they struggle to return Paul home, the little green man might just take the outcasts from misfits to intergalactic heroes.

From the director of Superbad, Greg Mottola, with a stellar supporting cast including Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Joe Lo Truglio Sigourney Weaver, PAUL is a must-own comedy adventure not to be missed!

Watched: 10th Jun 2011
My Thoughts: A fun, enjoyable comedy. As to be expected there were loads of references to other sci-fi films, I know I got some but probably missed quite a few as well. The best one for me was the classic line spoken by Lt. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) from Aliens - "Get away from her you bitch!" - used in this film against The Big Guy (Sigourney Weaver).

My Rating: A very enjoyable 4