Topic: Never Ending Movie Marathon (short reviews)

[Jimmy]

I didn't technically didn't pay anything specifically for Date Movie and I still think it sucked.  One of the worst movies ever made. 

As much it is bad it was better than Epic Movie and Disaster Movie... When I think I've all those stupid movies because of a marathon on our forum

[samuelrichardscott]

Kill List (2011) Region B United Kingdom

Overview:
KILL LIST - from the acclaimed Director Ben Wheatley (DOWN TERRACE) starring Neil Maskell, Michael Smiley, Myanna Buring, Emma Fryer.
Eight months after a disastrous job in Kiev left him physically and mentally scarred, ex-soldier turned contract killer, Jay, is pressured by his partner, Gal, into taking a new assignment. As they descend into the dark and disturbing world of the contract, Jay begins to unravel once again – his fear and paranoia sending him deep into the heart of darkness.

My Thoughts:
OK, this is going to be very difficult to even write a short piece about without giving anything away so I won't talk about plot points. Kill List is a film that has received huge critical praise but the general public weren't quite so thrilled. For me, I side with the critics for a change. Kill List is one of the most finely acted and chilling thrillers to come out of the UK in quite some time. The main cast of Neil Maskell, Michael Smiley and MyAnna Buring are absolutely fantastic and the film changes atmospherically so quickly several times smoothly, in good timing with the way the plot unfolds. The ending is a complete mess of the mind, done so well that I have to highly recommend this Ben Wheatley feature. 4.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Daylight (1996) R0 USA

Overview:
Brace yourself for non-stop action and suspense! When an explosion seals off a commuter tunnel 100 feet below the Hudson River, the survivors are faced with toxic fumes, fires and the impending collapse of the tunnel. their only hope lies in the hands of former emergency medical services chief Kit Latura (Sylvester Stallone). As the walls cave in and the tunnel fills up with water, Latura risks his own life to save others and pervent the disaster from escalating into even greater catastrophe.
Filled with spectacular special effects and heart-pounding intensity, director Rob Cohen's (XXX, The Fast and the Furious) Daylight will have you holding your breath from start to finish.

My Thoughts:
I'm a fan of popcorn disaster movies and this one, starring the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Viggo Mortensen and Amy Brenneman is rather middle of the road. Unlike your usual disaster movie which takes place around some form of natural disaster, Daylight is about people trapped in an underground tunnel and how they try to get to safety. The special effects are reasonably good, though nothing outstanding and the story itself is very formulaic with an ending that is foreseeable before you even put the disc in. The acting is also average throughout but it's good enough not to be offputting. Overall, this is a mediocre, but fun, disaster movie, worthy of a rental. 3/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Rush Hour (1998) R2 United Kingdom

Overview:
International superstar JACKIE CHAN is teamed up with funny man CHRIS TUCKER in this explosive, thrill-a-minute adventure, jam-packed with Chan's trademark daring martial arts stunts.
Two cops, from very different worlds, must learn to trust each other before they can win a high-stakes battle against a ruthless enemy who threatens to demolish the fragile peace between their countries.

My Thoughts:
Jackie Chan is my favourite actor but his Hollywood movies are nowhere near as good as his Eastern movies in my opinion. Rush Hour is one of his best Hollywood movies though, despite the annoyingly grating voice of Chris Tucker. There are plenty of laughs, the usual cracking fight choreography and stunt work by Jackie Chan and his team and an enjoyable, if formulaic storyline. Outside of leads Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, there are some good performances from some of the supporting cast, in particular Tom Wilkinson, Chris Penn and Elizabeth Peña. If you want a funny, action-filled buddy movie, Rush Hour is certainly recommended. 4/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Mr. Vampire (1985) R0 Hong Kong

Overview:
The geomancy expert chose the plot to bury Mr. Yan's father 20 Years ago. But, a new burial must be made at another site to ensure Mr. Yan to become more riches. So Mr. Yan calls in Chinese voodoo priest Kou to handle to reburial. The corpse rises and a vampire is born. It first kills Mr. Yan and roams about for new victims Manchoi is attacked by the vampire an Tsausan falls in love with a young girl ghost. Priest Kou has a busy time so save Manchoi and Tsausan. The vampire has become the public enemy. The priest, the sheriff and all young people fight back and get the vampire dead for good...

My Thoughts:
Directed by Ricky Lau, Mr. Vampire is sometimes a slightly difficult movie to follow, though that is mainly due to the rather poor subtitles included with this budget Hong Kong release. Still, it was worth sticking with because it features such a great blend of genres including horror, comedy and martial arts. Sometimes, when movies try to mix up the genres, scenes can often feel misplaced, but in Mr. Vampire, each scene is welcome and fits in with the pace and story really well. There isn't a huge amount of fight scenes, but when they occur, they are well justified and nicely choreographed, especially the final fight. The cast, whilst not the greatest ensemble, still do a good enough job and as a whole, the movie is just a lot of bizarre fun. Recommended, especially if you have seen and enjoyed Sammo Hung in Encounters of the Spooky Kind. 4/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Riding in Cars with Boys (2001) R1 USA

Overview:
From celebrated director Penny Marshall comes the story of a girl who did everything wrong but got everything right. Make way for Beverly (Drew Barrymore), a smart, beautiful young woman who can't wait to grow up, much to the frustration of her police sergeant father (James Woods). Her life takes its first detour when she gets pregnant at age sixteen. The baby’s father, her husband (Steve Zahn), turns out to need more mothering than her newborn son. But through all the trouble, Beverly makes a life that's more than she ever imagined and lives a story that's waiting to be told. Join the ride and watch Beverly kick life where it counts.

My Thoughts:
Based upon Beverly D'Onofrio's autobiographical book of the same name, Riding in Cars with Boys is a rather formulaic drama that becomes above average by being well structured and well acted. Starring Drew Barrymore in the title role, along with the likes of Brittany Murphy, Sara Gilbert, Steve Zahn, Adam Garcia, James Woods, Lorraine Bracco, Vincent Pastore and Rosie Perez, it is without doubt that a lot of thought went into casting the right actors and I was taken by surprise by Zahn, an actor who I usually find to be mediocre at best and indifferent towards. There are some nice little touches throughout, especially when it comes to Jason's tooth, despite both scenes involved being less than a couple of minutes of the 130 minute runtime. I'm glad they decided to be quite sporadic with the scenes taken place in current times and avoided removing the viewer from Bev's story unneccessarily. Although nothing particularly new, I recommend this for the strong performances and polished end product, making it above average. 3.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

KatieBird *Certifiable Crazy Person (2005) R1 USA

Overview:
What would happen if someone like Ed Gein or Ted Bundy were to have children and raise them to follow in their bloody footsteps? KatieBird Wilkens, brought to life with unnerving depth and believability by horror veteran Helen Udy (MY BLOODY VALENTINE) explores this very question in a chilling and graphic testimony of family tradition, emotional confusion and complete insanity. Crisp, stylish imagery and a wild original score come together to tell the unforgettable story of a certifiably crazy cast of characters...

My Thoughts:
Young KatieBird is played by Nicole Jarvis (debut), teen KatieBird is played by Taylor M. Dooley (debut) and finally, the adult KatieBird whose scenes are always with the doctor, is played by Helene Udy (Naed in "The Cold Sun", "Asleep at the Wheel on the Road to Nowhere"). Well, as KatieBird tortures Dr. Richardson, we are shown footage of her life as she relives her memories, starting as a young girl, then on to her first kill (Jun Hee Lee - "Ethan Mao", "American Pie: Band Camp") and straight through to the present day. The film is an excellent debut and very well shot with some excellent acting from relatively unknown actors. It provides a nice twist on the serial killer genre and I would recommend this film to anyone with a passing interest in horror, though others may want to rent it first. 3/5

[samuelrichardscott]

The Blair Witch Project (1999) R2 United Kingdom

Overview:
In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary...
A year later their footage was found.

My Thoughts:
Although the lost footage sub-genre has been around for a long time, it never really reached a huge level of popularity until The Blair Witch Project came out to critical acclaim, making a massive profit in the process which of course resulted in a surge of lost footage movies. Whilst it was a big success, many complained about the amateurish editing, lack of actual scares and how sick they felt from the way the footage is recorded, but they forget that this movie is meant to be three students who get lost in the woods and get creeped out whilst filming a student documentary about the Blair Witch myth, and so the style of the movie is perfectly suited to the atmosphere. Sure, there's a lack of scares but it's all about building up the tension and The Blair Witch Project manages to do that brilliantly. At the time of release, this was a breath of fresh air and it holds up surprisingly well. Recommended. 3.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Law Abiding Citizen (2009) Region B United Kingdom

Overview:
The plot focuses on a man who, ten years after his wife and daughter are brutally murdered, returns to extract justice from the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case against their killers. His vengeance threatens not only the man who allowed mercy to supersede justice, but also the system and the city that made it so.

My Thoughts:
I'm not really that much of a fan of Gerard Butler's acting (I like the guy himself, always comes across as sound in interviews), but I found him to be rather good in this movie as was Jamie Foxx and Colm Meaney. Although the story follows what is a familiar route for the most part, the ending caught me by surprise and I also found the movie did well at playing with my feelings towards Butler's character Clyde. I started off obviously feeling sorry for him after his wife and daughter is murdered and even agreed with the character as he takes revenge on the actual killers but as his 'payback' towards the system spirals into darker and darker moments, it is increasingly difficult to root for him and to agree with his methods. One of the better blockbuster thrillers of recent years. Recommended. 4/5

[KinkyCyborg]

Law Abiding Citizen is a great movie but it comes up just short of being EPIC had only Butler's character been allowed to complete his mission. That would have made it memorable for a long time. I agree with you about the mixed emotions towards his character. I eluded to the same thing in my review as well.

[samuelrichardscott]

I think I disagree with you saying that the ending failed to deliver. Sure, they kind of took the easy way out, but I was still satisfied with how it unraveled. Had Butler got his way, I don't think I would've rated it any different, though of course it is hard to say when we don't know how Butler's ending would've been exactly.

[samuelrichardscott]

Mystery Men (1999) R2 United Kingdom

Overview:
The hippest cast in history has united to become the funniest superhero team ever. Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Hank Azaria, William H. Macy, Greg Kinnear, Geoffrey Rush, and Paul Reubens join forces in this wild, funny and thoroughy original misadventure.
When Captain Amazing, Champion City's legendary superhero, falls into the hands of evil madman Casanova Frankenstein and his disco-dancing henchmen, there's suddenly a chance for the aspiring superheros to show what they can do. They're the Mystery Men...a ragtag team of superhero wannabes featuring: Mr Furious, whose power comes from his boundless rage; The Shoveler, a father who shovels 'better than anyone'; The Blue Raja, a fork-flinging mama's boy; The Bowler, who fights crime with the help of her father's skull; The Spleen, whose power is pure flatulence; Invisible Boy, who's only invisible when no one's watching, and The Sphinx, a cliche-spewing philosopher.
With its outrageous adventure, incredible cast and hip alternative humour, Mystery Men is so irresistibly funny and appealing, seeing it just once will never be enough.

My Thoughts:
I was originally drawn to superhero comedy Mystery Men by the cast which includes Ben Stiller, William H. Macy, Hank Azaria, Greg Kinnear, Eddie Izzard and Janeane Garofalo but was left slightly disappointed from what I was hoping would be a very funny take on superpowers and villains. William H Macy is one of my favourite actors of all time and is often underrated but here he seems to just phone his performance in as The Shoveler, and the Likes of Stiller, Kinnear etc put in similar lacklustre performances. The storyline is fun, and there are quite a few funny moments throughout the film, but unfortunately nothing gets more than a mere smirk. The movie also suffers from a few pacing issues and is a good twenty minutes to long. Still, it is worth a low-end rental. 2.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Operation Amsterdam (1959) R1 USA

Overview:
Oscar® winner* Peter Finch (Network), Eva Bartok and Tony Britton lead an all-star cast in this "brisk and exciting" (The Film Daily) WW II thriller that plunges headlong into the dangerous world of espionage!
In a daring life-or-death mission, three British agents are sent into Amsterdam to take as many of the city's industrial diamonds as they can before the impending Nazi invasion. As the bombs drop and the clock ticks, will these brave agents complete their mission and bring the diamonds to Mother England, or will they find themselves trapped in a volatile city full of enemies, with no means of escape?

My Thoughts:
Operation Amsterdam is a rather typical British World War II film which is an enjoyable enough watch but isn't without its problems. The film suffers from what must be a poor decision on which scenes to use for the final cut as the poor editing shows clearly that a couple of scenes that explain certain points have been left on the cutting room floor. For example, it is never properly explained where Willem shows up from (though a line of dialogue does kind of tell us) and the civilians that help our 'heroes' just sort of appear from nowhere with no real explanation as to why they help or how they came to be involved. On the plus side, the story is well paced, the scenes taking place on deserted Amsterdam streets are full of tension and the cast all put in good performances, particularly Peter Finch and Eva Bartok. 3/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Reservoir Dogs (1992) R1 USA

Overview:
Critically acclaimed for its raw power and breathtaking ferocity, it's the brilliant American gangster movie classic from writer-director Quentin Tarantino. They were perfect strangers, assembled to pull off the perfect crime. Then their simple robbery explodes into a bloody ambush, and the ruthless killers realize one of them is a police informer. But which one?

My Thoughts:
Reservoir Dogs is a phenomenal way to start a career as a director, showcasing Tarantino's talent from the off. Here, he assembles a great cast including Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi and Harvey Keitel for a movie about a heist gone wrong because one of the robbers is in fact an undercover cop. It has all your typical Tarantino trademarks, from the well written dialogue (the scene about leaving tips) to the perfect selection of music (Stealers Wheel picked for 'that' scene). If you're a fan of Tarantino's movies, then no doubt you already own this, but if not, it's a must-own. The only thing that annoys me is the fact Tarantino cast himself (albeit in a more minor role), and whilst he is one of the best directors ever, his acting leaves a lot to be desired. 4.5/5

[Najemikon]

I don't mind him casting himself, because it comes from his everybody-mucks-in, just get the film made style, plus he usually picks very small roles and can be effective surrounded by the heavyweights. His verbal attack on Jules in Pulp Fiction is one of my favourite scenes ever! It works brilliantly because Jackson is humbled and Travolta is getting so pissed off and Tarantino as an actor isn't anywhere near either of them.