Author Topic: Tom's Random Reviews  (Read 924135 times)

Offline Tom

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Re: My random reviews
« Reply #150 on: December 28, 2008, 10:50:16 PM »


Title: My Fair Lady
Year: 1964
Director: George Cukor
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 166 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish

Stars:
Audrey Hepburn
Rex Harrison
Stanley Holloway
Wilfrid Hyde-White
Gladys Cooper

Extras:
Audrey Hepburn Original Singing
Commentary
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:
A musical I have enjoyed since I have first seen this movie. I even did watch this musical in a well-done stage version once.
As it is well-known, Audrey Hepburn's singing voice was replaced by the voice of Marni Nixon. In the special features section there are two songs where we get to hear Hepburn's original singing voice intact. I think they could have at least kept her voice for the first part of the movie, where Eliza is still her old self. I think her voice would have fit perfectly there.

Rating:
« Last Edit: July 13, 2009, 06:47:42 PM by Tom »



Offline Tom

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Re: My random reviews
« Reply #151 on: December 29, 2008, 11:17:23 PM »


Title: War of the Worlds
Year: 2005
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 112 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: DTS 5.1, Turkish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, German, Turkish

Stars:
Tom Cruise
Dakota Fanning
Miranda Otto
Justin Chatwin
Tim Robbins

Extras:
Featurettes
Scene Access

My Thoughts:
I think this is a great update to H.G. Wells' story and particular to the 50s movie adaption. I always enjoyed the fact, that not some miracle weapon or some patriotic hero showdown is the cause of the defeated aliens, but their own underestimation of Earth's environment. Instead the film focuses on the survival of one man and his kids.
I only have one real problem with the movie, and that is the "Spielberg" ending. Throughout the movie we see total destruction of cities, but the one street, where the mother of the kids is staying, is almost undamaged. And then to top it, the son who didn't want to stay with the father but instead joined the army guys to battle the aliens, also appears here again. I would have found it better from a story-telling point of view, when he would have died in the fire caused by the aliens just minutes after he joined the army, as the father originally thought.

Rating:



Najemikon

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Re: My random reviews
« Reply #152 on: December 30, 2008, 01:07:05 AM »
I only have one real problem with the movie, and that is the "Spielberg" ending. Throughout the movie we see total destruction of cities, but the one street, where the mother of the kids is staying, is almost undamaged. And then to top it, the son who didn't want to stay with the father but instead joined the army guys to battle the aliens, also appears here again. I would have found it better from a story-telling point of view, when he would have died in the fire caused by the aliens just minutes after he joined the army, as the father originally thought.

This seems to be an argument that only pops up in Spielberg films! That he ruined his own plot and he should have done it this or that way. But surely such a change undermines the film entirely? Spielberg is no fool with narrative and he's an old fashioned film-maker where all the elements of his screenplays relate to one theme. Here it is simply about a family unit surviving and continuing, regardless of what happens to their environment or what decisions they make; they will always come back together. So having the son die would end the film on a gloomy, "we're all gonna die anyway so what's the point" mood, more suitable to Hostel or Saw.

This is only an extension of the original story, intact here, demonstrated by the human race being entirely ineffectual when all they had to do was wait and accept good old Mother Natures own defence method.

In a film of such tree-hugging optimism, killing the kids is not acceptable! :tease:

My favourite Spielberg debate is of course, A.I., already discussed at great, ponderous length on these very forums. But essentially I feel the same; many think he should have stopped when David is trapped underwater, therefore missing the entire point of the whole film because it would fail to deliver on the elements in the first half.

Offline Tom

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Re: My random reviews
« Reply #153 on: December 30, 2008, 01:35:23 AM »
I see your point about "War of the Worlds". But I think it would have suited the movie better, when the son wouldn't have survived. Almost anytime, when I talk with someone about this movie, they either didn't like it, or they really liked it but thought the ending almost destroyed the movie. It just feels to put-on. One scene we see Cruise and Fanning just bearly surviving the attack. In the next scene everything is (like we like to say in Germany) "Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen" (similar to the English "sunshine and roses" in meaning, but in an ironic/sarcastic way).



Offline Tom

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Re: My random reviews
« Reply #154 on: December 30, 2008, 08:17:51 PM »


Title: Enchanted
Year: 2007
Director: Kevin Lima
Rating: PG
Length: 107 Min.
Video: Widescreen 2.35
Audio: English: Dolby Digital TrueHD, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: DTS HD HR, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: Danish, English, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Amy Adams
Patrick Dempsey
James Marsden
Susan Sarandon
Julie Andrews

Plot:
A fairy tale comes to life in this thoroughly original, new Disney Classic. And the sights and sounds are even more stunning on Disney Blu-ray.

Drawing inspiration from its classic heritage, Disney creates an inspired story unlike any you've experienced before. Filled with excitement, fun and spectacular music from the legendary Alan Menken, Enchanted is the ultimate fish-out-of-water adventure. For princess-to-be Giselle, life is a fairy tale — until she's banished from the animated land of Andalasia and thrust into the very unmagical, live-action world of modern-day Manhattan. When a cynical, no-nonsense divorce lawyer comes to her aid, little does he realize this joyful, wide-eyed innocent is about to enchant him. Enchanted — the musical comedy that casts a more entrancing and dazzling spell in Blu-ray™ High Definition.

Extras:
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Interactive Game
Music Videos
Outtakes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this movie! I enjoy Disney movies like "Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast" and I like romantic comedies. Here we have both :)
Amy Adams really plays the typical Disney princess stranded in the real world very well. I also enjoyed the songs. It was a good choice to let Alan Menken, who has won Oscars for the songs in "Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast" and other Disney movies, write them.
This movie really feels like a live-action version of a classic Disney fairy tale movie.

Rating:



Offline Achim

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Re: My random reviews
« Reply #155 on: December 31, 2008, 05:32:20 AM »
I enjoyed Enchanted for its most part. However, I thought Susan Sarandon's acting was the worst I've ever seen her do and the big climactic fight at the end was really too much for this film and just plain terrible. In overall, I like Ella Enchanted much more, doing a similar thing much more effectively. That's my opnion, of course, your milage may vary.

Offline Tom

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Re: My random reviews
« Reply #156 on: December 31, 2008, 09:38:15 AM »
I enjoyed Enchanted for its most part. However, I thought Susan Sarandon's acting was the worst I've ever seen her do and the big climactic fight at the end was really too much for this film and just plain terrible. In overall, I like Ella Enchanted much more, doing a similar thing much more effectively. That's my opnion, of course, your milage may vary.

Ella Enchanted is one of my guilty pleasures. I have watched it about once a year since I got it on DVD.
I agree, that the fight at the end was disappointing. I expected that the final confrontation will take in the animated fairy tale land, with Patrick Dempsey also getting put into that environment. But they decided to try to make a typical Disney final confrontation taking place in the real world.
But nevertheless the ending did not ruin my overall enjoyment of the film.



Offline Tom

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Re: My random reviews
« Reply #157 on: January 01, 2009, 07:20:25 PM »
Here my summary of movies watched in 2008.
Note: For movies I haven't written a review for, I haven't collected my DVDCollectors-style ratings yet. Therefore I have assigned ratings from memory. They may differ from my marathon lists (I was too lazy to cross-check them  :P )

TitleMonthDayRating
Erik the Viking (1989)11
Star Wars: Clone Wars: Volume Two (2004)12
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Saturday TV Funhouse (2006)13
Walk the Line (2005)13
Blackadder: Back and Forth (1999)14
Timecop (1994)14
Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision (2003)15
Retroactive (1997)15
Time After Time (1979)15
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)15
Kate & Leopold (2001)15
Primer (2004)16
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)16
Toki wo kakeru shôjo (2006)16
The Philadelphia Experiment (1984)16
Somewhere in Time (1980)16
The Final Countdown (1980)16
Groundhog Day (1993)16
Silent Movie (1976)113
Wish Upon A Star (1996)114
Once Bitten (1985)115
Les Visiteurs (1993)115
Just Visiting (2001)116
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1957)118
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1965)119
Ever After (1998)119
Tri orísky pro Popelku (1973)119
The Slipper and the Rose (1976)119
Mädchenjahre einer Königin (1954)120
Coming to America (1988)120
Young Frankenstein (1974)121
Siworae (2000)123
The Meteor Man (1993)125
Happy Accidents (2000)126
The Lake House (2006)126
Saibogujiman kwenchana (2006)131
Clerks. (1994)23
Desu nôto (2006)228
Predator (1987)229
Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)31
For Your Consideration (2006)32
Night at the Museum (2006)33
Desu nôto: The last name (2006)38
Toki wo kakeru shôjo (2006)311
Desu nôto (2006)313
Desu nôto: The last name (2006)314
Blue in the Face (1995)315
Smoke (1995)315
Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale (2007)318
Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2004)319
The Specials (2000)319
Vampire's Kiss (1989)319
Desu nôto (2006)320
Desu nôto: The last name (2006)322
See Jane Date (2003)324
Saturday Night Live in the '80s: Lost and Found (2005)324
Saturday Night Live: The Best of '06 / '07 (2007)324
Shrek the Third (2007)326
The Weather Man (2005)326
Det sjunde inseglet (1957)327
Blades of Glory (2007)328
It Happened One Night (1934)41
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000)43
Three O'Clock High (1987)44
For Love or Money (1993)45
Ikiru (1952)45
Princess Caraboo (1994)46
12 Angry Men (1957)46
Evan Almighty (2007)412
Déjà Vu (2006)414
Roseanne: Season Five (1992)417
Knocked Up (2007)419
The Holiday (2006)424
NANA (2005)426
Run Ronnie Run! (2002)427
G.O.R.A. (2004)427
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2007)51
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007)51
Superman Returns (2006)53
Dead Man on Campus (1998)54
Superman II (1980)54
The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)54
Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic (2005)54
NANA 2 (2006)510
Batoru rowaiaru (2000)510
School for Scoundrels (2006)511
The Fifth Element (1997)512
Men in Black II (2002)517
Men in Black (1997)517
Rain Man (1988)518
Jesus Christ Superstar (2000)518
Demolition Man (1993)520
Transformers (2007)68
Desu nôto (2006)610
Gekijouban Aa! Megamisama! (2000)613
Little Britain: Abroad (2007)614
Staplerfahrer Klaus - Der erste Arbeitstag (2000)617
Desu nôto: The last name (2006)617
The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)622
The Da Vinci Code (2006)628
Siu lam juk kau (2001)712
L: Change the World (2008)712
Karas: The Prophecy (2005)717
Love My Life (2006)725
Catch and Release (2007)815
Flakes (2007)816
Stardust (2007)817
Raw Deal (1986)817
Casino Royale (2006)819
Linda Linda Linda (2005)820
Taxi Driver (1976)822
The Simpsons Movie (2007)823
The Blues Brothers (1980)825
The Departed (2006)825
School for Scoundrels or How to Win Without Actually Cheating (1960)825
You, Me and Dupree (2006)826
Best in Show (2000)828
Shimotsuma monogatari (2004)830
Shimotsuma monogatari (2004)95
Linda Linda Linda (2005)96
Twins (1988)913
Junior (1994)914
Kindergarten Cop (1990)914
Man About Town (2006)914
Highlander: The Source (2007)921
Deuxième vie (2000)927
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)927
Man of the Year (2006)929
Be Kind Rewind (2008)103
Bandits (2001)1011
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (2008)1018
16 Blocks (2006)1018
Underworld (2003)1018
Across the Universe (2007)1019
Quiz Show (1994)1028
Over The Hedge (2006)1029
Bowfinger (1999)1031
Johnny English (2002)112
Antitrust (2001)112
Eulogy (2004)112
Notting Hill (1999)116
Lissi und der wilde Kaiser (2007)118
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006)1110
Titan A.E. (2000)1113
Go (1999)1114
The Chase (1994)1115
Ice Age (2002)1115
Vikaren (2007)1115
The School of Rock (2003)1116
Ritana (2002)1120
Hoodwinked! (2005)1122
Spy Hard (1996)1123
Jurassic Park (1993)1127
Hot Fuzz (2007)1128
Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)1129
Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)1129
Orange County (2002)1130
Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)127
Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)127
Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)127
Gremlins (1984)128
Spaceballs (1987)128
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)1210
Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)1212
Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)1213
Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)1213
Armageddon (1998)1214
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)1215
Jurassic Park III (2001)1218
Godzilla (1998)1219
The Mummy (1999)1222
The Incredible Hulk (2008)1223
The Mummy Returns (2001)1223
Mummy: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)1226
Twelve Monkeys (1995)1227
My Fair Lady (1964)1228
War of the Worlds (2005)1229
Enchanted (2007)1230
« Last Edit: January 01, 2009, 07:22:58 PM by Tom »



Offline Tom

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Re: My random reviews
« Reply #158 on: January 01, 2009, 08:07:23 PM »


Title: The Dark Knight
Year: 2008
Director: Christopher Nolan
Rating: 12
Length: 152 Min.
Video: Widescreen 2.41
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital TrueHD, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital Stereo, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Christian Bale
Heath Ledger
Aaron Eckhart
Michael Caine
Maggie Gyllenhaal

Plot:
The follow-up to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in his continuing war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves effective. But soon the three find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker, who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces Batman closer to crossing the fine line bewtween hero and vigilante.

Extras:
Featurettes
Photo Gallery
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:
I am glad, that The Dark Knight was generally well-received. Chances that a sequel to such a well-regarded revisioning as Batman Begins is a disappointment is pretty high. But thankfully The Dark Knight did not put another end to the franchise as Batman & Robin did. It did the opposite and brought Superhero movies to an even broader audience.
That said, I am still surprised that it actually is that well-received. I did enjoy it a lot, but for some reason I cannot pinpoint, why exactly this movie is so highly regarded. Maybe the death of Heath Ledger has some influence on it after all. I wonder if this movie would have broken so many records, if it weren't for this? Would have Heath Ledger's performance been applauded as much if he was still alive?

Rating:



Najemikon

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Re: My random reviews
« Reply #159 on: January 01, 2009, 08:22:56 PM »
I thought it was the best film of last year and Heath Ledger was magnificent. While I'm sure there are many who decided that even before seeing it because of his death, I'm not one of them. I really can't wait to see it again!

My main reason for liking it as much as I do is that it's the first superhero film that stands alone as a great film in its own right, with a screenplay that would have worked alongside the great comic plots, rather than feeling like a greatest hits.

Offline addicted2dvd

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Re: My random reviews
« Reply #160 on: January 01, 2009, 08:56:27 PM »
OK... I am really looking forward to my copy getting here now.  :P
Pete

Offline Tom

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Re: My random reviews
« Reply #161 on: January 02, 2009, 12:07:01 AM »


Title: WALL•E
Year: 2008
Director: Andrew Stanton, Live Action, Marty Rosenberg
Rating: U
Length: 98 Min.
Video: Widescreen 2.39
Audio: English: DTS HD Master Audio, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital Stereo, French: DTS 5.1, Dutch: DTS 5.1, Dutch: Dolby Digital Surround EX, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: Commentary, Dutch, English, French

Stars:
Ben Burtt
Elissa Knight
Jeff Garlin
Fred Willard
Macintalk

Plot:
The highly acclaimed director of Finding Nemo and the creative storytellers behind Cars and Ratatouille transport you to a galaxy not so far away for a new cosmic comedy adventure about a determined robot named WALL•E. Experience the exciting animated hit film with theatre-quality sound and the most pristine picture available on Disney Blu-ray™ Disc.

After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, the curious and lovable WALL•E discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. Join them and a hilarious cast of characters on a fantastic journey across the universe.

Transport yourself to a fascinating new world with Disney•Pixar's latest adventure - unsurpassed on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def. Loaded with bonus features, including the all-new animated short "BURN•E," this 2-disc set overflows with fun for the entire family.

Extras:
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Photo Gallery
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:
Pixar has yet to disappoint me (except maybe "A Bug's Life", but I will have to revisit it again sometime, before I can make a real call on that). The story is funny and has a great love-story in it. The animation is awesome! This is what Blu-ray and HD is made for :laugh:

Also the two bonus shorts "Presto" and "Burn-E" are great. Especially "Presto".

Rating:



Najemikon

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Re: My random reviews
« Reply #162 on: January 02, 2009, 03:09:28 AM »
Mines on the way from HMV. I've yet to hear a bad word against it and can't wait... :dance:

Offline Dragonfire

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Re: My random reviews
« Reply #163 on: January 02, 2009, 03:20:22 AM »
I love WALL-E...absolutely amazing movie.  And the shorts are so cute too.

Offline Tom

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Re: My random reviews
« Reply #164 on: January 03, 2009, 01:24:07 AM »


Title: Ratatouille
Year: 2007
Director: Brad Bird
Rating: PG
Length: 111 Min.
Video: Widescreen 2.39
Audio: English: PCM 5.1, English: Dolby Digital Surround EX
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Patton Oswalt
Ian Holm
Lou Romano
Brian Dennehy
Peter Sohn

Plot:
From the creators of Cars and The Incredibles comes a breakthrough comedy with something for everyone. With delightful new characters, experienc Paris from an all-new perspective, and savor a fourmet high-definition experience on Blu-ray Disc®.

In one of Paris' finest restaurants, Remy, a determined young rat, dreams of becoming a renowned French chef. Torn between his family's wishes and his true calling, Remy and his pal Linguini set in motion a hilarious chain of events that turns the City of Lights upside down.

Experience Ratatouille for the first time with revolutionary clarity and spectacular audio enhancement. It's a rare treat you'll enjoy again and again.

Extras:
"Your Friend the Rat" & "Lifted" Shorts
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:
Another really great Pixar movie! Highly recommended! A fun story and great animation.
As usual, Pixar make the human characters more cartoony, instead of trying to be ultra-realistic only to fail at it. The backgrounds/sets are really great.

Rating: