Topic: Never Ending Movie Marathon (short reviews)

[samuelrichardscott]

Monsters, Inc. (2001)

It's probably been 10+ years since I last saw Monsters, Inc and I have no idea why  it took me so long to revisit it. The voice casting is excellent (especially John Goodman), the laughs come at a good pace and the story is a lot of fun, and at times quite ingenious. Got to love the restaurant called Harryhausen's - a very nice little nod from Pixar. The 3D added a lot of depth, was of consistently high quality and really added to the movie IMO. 4.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

For the Birds (2000)

I've seen this Pixar short several times over the years and it remains to be one of my favourite animated shorts with a very funny pay, if obvious, payoff. Included in 3D on the Monsters, Inc 3D release, the conversion has been done with care and looks great. 4.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Partysaurus Rex (2012)

Rex from Toy Story gets a fun little short which shows him becoming a party king thanks to his ability to turn taps on for the bath toys. In 3D on the Monsters, Inc 3D blu-ray, it uses some rather vivid colours and feels like you're actually in rave with bath toys. Unfortunately, even at seven minutes, it felt slightly long though. 3.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Rewatched Shark Night 3D:
http://www.dvdcollectorsonline.com/index.php/topic,6328.msg157806/topicseen.html#msg157806

[samuelrichardscott]

The Penguin King (2012)

A feature length documentary that looks at the life of a penguin, and how he protects his first born chick in the first year of its life. There are some quite funny moments, but as to be expected with anything David Attenborough touches, it is also very serious and in-depth enough to keep nature enthusiasts interested without being overly in-depth for newcomers or those with a passing interest. The 3D was pretty good for the majority, especially the footage of the skewers and other birds attacking the young. There were some scenes that were obviously filmed from a distance as to not disturb the subjects and these scenes do suffer a little from a lack of depth. Overall, recommended. 3.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Get Him to the Greek (2010)

A spin-off from Forgetting Sarah Marshall starring Russell Brand and Jonah Hill, I found Get Him to the Greek to be slightly disappointing. Although there are some funny moments, they could've played some of the situations a lot better and made them funnier than they were. The supporting cast is what kept me interested really, especially Colm Meaney who was the best here by far. Overrated, but worth a rental or a cheap purchase.  3/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Open Season (2006)

I always thought that Open Season was overlooked and kind of got lost in a glut of CGI movies. Sure, it isn't as good as your Pixar or DreamWorks movies, but Sony have done quite a good job here. The animation is sharp, it has quite a few funny moments and it has a fun story. 3D wise, I'm again left surprised my how good conversions can look. Recommended. 3.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run (2006)

In this short (available on the Open Season 3D blu-ray) Boog and Elliot break into a camper van and try to steal some buns to eat without waking up the owner's dog. Nothing much really happens other than that and it doesn't scream out as a great short - just mediocrity to try and advertise Open Season's characters. A generous 2.5/5.

[samuelrichardscott]

Titanic (1997)

I know some hate it, but I'm somebody who has now seen this movie 4-5 times and I think it holds up exceptionally well. The 3 hour+ runtime flies by, the story is well paced with many supporting cast members dealing with the disaster in different and surprising ways, and the special effects wouldn;t look out of place on a $200m budget movie today. This was the first time I watched it in 3D and I have to say the conversion was amazing in every sense of the word. There are no pop-outs here, just exceptional depth that really added to the experience and I would even say worth getting the 3D set-up for. Highly recommended. 5/5

[Piffi]

Thanks for the review of Titanic! I've bought the 3D pack aswell, and been planing to watch it for awhile. But its been hold back, beacuse of the hours' and from what i remember when i first (and only time watched it) when it came out in the theaters. But after what you say, it looks good in 3D. Your first 5/5 movie of the year?
Havent been around here much lately, so i have some catching up to do.

[samuelrichardscott]

I don;t think I've given a 5/5 to a movie that I've not seen previously for quite a while but this is one I thoroughly enjoy. You'll really dig the 3D. The depth really is fantastic and I can't rave about it enough.

[Piffi]

Cool Sam! One quastion only. How was it to watch a 3D movie for 3hrs +, i've watched both Pirates and Harry Potter in 3D, with a long running time. But not as long as Titanic. Did you need any breaks, so you didnt get all loopy? Or was it ok to watch 3hrs + in 3D? 

[samuelrichardscott]

It's spread between two discs and they picked a good spot for an intermission. I took a 20 minute break at that point.

[samuelrichardscott]

Men in Black (1997)

Wow - I can't believe MIB is now more than 15 years old as I can vividly remember seeing this in the cinema when I was 14! The special effects have held up very well indeed, I love the added humour (especially in the dialogue over the physical humour) and I think Tommy Lee Jones, Rip Torn and Will Smith all compliment each other really well. Linda Fiorentino has a nice bit part that she won from Barry Sonnenfeld in a game of poker but unfortunately she doesn't return in the sequels. One of the better popcorn movies of the late nineties. Recommended. 4/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Men in Black 2 (2002)

The sequel is essentially more of the same but doesn't feel as fresh and wasn't quite as well structured. Lara Flynn Boyle does not make the greatest of villains unfortunately although Rosario Dawson cancels that out with a decent performance. Some of the effects are very good, but sometimes the alien that Jonny Knoxville plays doesn't quite reach the same standard as the rest of the effects, especially during the 'heart attack joke in the customs room' segment where Boyle says she wants to learn to become an underwear model. Rent it. 3/5