Topic: Never Ending Movie Marathon (short reviews)

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

A generous 2.5/5 for the first movie, a 1/5 for the second.

Wow,
I would have avoided these anyhow.
And now I even know why.

Thanks!

[Dragonfire]

I saw both of the movies once they turned up on HBO...  I'm still not sure why I bothered.  But it was fun to rip them apart in reviews for Epinions.

[samuelrichardscott]

Coco Before Chanel (2009)

Audrey Tautou stars as legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel in this biopic which starts with her as an orphan and ends with her at a fashion show. The story is good, but is structured in too much of a formulaic way and the dialogue is standard fare. The strong point of Coco Before Chanel that makes it worth viewing, is the strong performances from the cast. Tautou makes Chanel uptight and distant, but does it so well. Recommended. 3.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Strictly Background (2007)

I caught this documentary on Netflix and it was a surprisingly good look at the life of a forgotten and important part of movie-making - the legion of extras who make up crowds of people in a subway, mourners, zombies and anything else you can think of. The ten followed here have been in plenty of major features, a lot of the time for a brief second, but this looks as their day to day routines. Work is scarce because there are over 50000 extras registered in LA alone, and pay is low ($54 a day for non-SAG, 98% of the work) but most of this odd bunch have no desires to hit it big and just love being an extra and the experience of being on set. Recommended. 3.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Johnny English (2003)

I've seen this movie once before and looking at my notes I gave it a 2.5/5. I must've been in a bad mood that day or not paying enough attention because I enjoyed it much more this time round. There are some great quips like "the only thing the French should be hosting, is an invasion", some fun set pieces and several laugh out loud moments. Natalie Imbruglia, Rowan Atkinson and Ben Miller are great as the good guys and John Malovich makes an amusing French villain. Recommended. 3.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Johnny English Reborn (2011)

Eight years after the first film, a sequel finally hit the big screens. It's essentially more of the same but apart from Rowan Atkinson, hardly any recurring characters. This time, experienced but relatively unknown Daniel Kaluuya impresses as Agent Tucker and Gillian Anderson does a surprisingly good English accent as the new head of MI7, Pamela. We also have Dominic West and Rosamund Pike rounding out the main cast members who also captured the light tone well. If you enjoy spy spoofs, then this sequel will keep you happy. Recommended. 3.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Another Stakeout (1993)

Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez make a good pairing in this buddy cop sequel that adds Rosie O'Donnell to the cast. They are looking for a witness who escaped a safe house that was blown up by staking out the house she is believed to be hiding in. Although this is an enjoyable movie it does suffer a little from pacing issues during the mid-section but it's worth a watch. 3/5

[DSig]

Yeah ... this is a good fun movie.  I like Rosie O'Donnell in this too.  I know she can be a polarizing figure ... but here just good fun.

[samuelrichardscott]

Yeah ... this is a good fun movie.  I like Rosie O'Donnell in this too.  I know she can be a polarizing figure ... but here just good fun.

I don't mind here and thought she suited this movie alright. Not great, but certainly acceptable.

[samuelrichardscott]

Chain Letter (2010)

Oh boy. This horror was based around quite a good idea. Basically teens at a school who don't forward a chain e-mail start getting killed. Unfortunately, the way it has been brought to screen makes little sense and it's as cliched as you could possibly think for a teen horror. Although the cast are passable and include Nikki Reed, Keith David and Brad Dourif, I disliked every single character, whether I was supposed to or not. The gore is okay but there isn't much in the way of horror scenes, though this could be because the UK blu-ray I have is the R-Rated version and not the Unrated version. Saying that, the difference in runtime is only a single minute so I doubt it would've made this any better. Also annoyingly, the transfer was 1080i and not 1080p (though still of highish quality). Skip it. 1.5/5

I added a comparison of this movie to www.dvdcompare.net so if someone is unlucky enough to consider buying it blind like me, at least they will know this release isn't very good.

[samuelrichardscott]

Burke and Hare (2010)

John Landis has managed to get one of the greatest British comedy cast ensembles in quite some time. Everyone from Simon Pegg to Ronnie Corbett is included here, and we even get some great cameos from people like Harry Harryhausen. Despite this, the film is only average really. There are a few laughs but I hoped for more, especially being a fan of dark humour. The accents feel quite far off also, especially Isla Fisher. Still, it is a fun little romp despite its problems and it never outstays the 90 minute runtime. Rent it. 3/5

[samuelrichardscott]

I've been a bit busy lately with work and Rewind so here are some links to a few reviews I have done recently:

The King of Pigs (2011) R2 UK DVD from Terracotta
http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=2807

Girlfriend in a Coma (2012) R2 UK DVD from Springshot
http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=2808

It's Complicated (2009) UK Blu-ray from Universal
http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=2809

The Long Riders (1980) UK Blu-ray from Second Sight
http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=2811

Trevor's World of Sport: The Complete Series (2003) R2 UK DVD from Acorn Media
http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=2812

The Fifth Element (1997) UK Blu-ray from Pathe
http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=2813
This one talks about the different blu-ray transfers out there.

[samuelrichardscott]

The Resident (2011) UK Blu-ray from Icon Home Entertainment
http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=2814

[samuelrichardscott]

Bedtime: The Complete Series (2001-2003) R2 UK from Acorn Media
http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=2815

Lourdes (2009) UK Blu-ray from Artificial Eye
http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=2816

[samuelrichardscott]

The Golden Compass (2007) UK Blu-ray from Entertainment in Video:
http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=2818

Dark Tide (2012) UK Blu-ray from Revolver Entertainment:
http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=2817