The Movie Thread

[Hazen]

Being a UK based forum the subject line should probably read 'Feature Film' - but whatever.

If you've been to the cinema or rented a dvd, share your thoughts/impressions here.
If you want to recommend/slag it off, please say why.

[Hazen]

Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence

I'll start the ball rolling with 'Ghost In The Shell 2'

Most Manga that I've seen are basically kid's cartoons, with any excuse for a spot of (super-fit female) nudity. 'Ghost In The Shell' was the first major departure from the established format which resurrected the old SF writer's favourite subject of consciousness in machines and the subsequent question: Can a creation become greater than it's creator?
(This same theme being recently re-popularised by the Matrix/Animatrix, Terminator films etc.).
I assume that such animation is now CGI, rather than by hand and the advances in visual effects are quite superb. Even watching this film on my ageing laptop, it looks excellent, combined with a storyline which you actually need to pay attention to, to follow (one of Hollywood's major failings, IMHO) and a soundtrack which complements the visual imagery in the same degree of complexity.
My verdict: 9/10 - definite thumbs up



Edit: merged threads

[tkingdoll]

Ahem. Nitpick alert (sorry, sorry).

Manga (with a small 'm' when not at the start of a sentence) is the written form (the cartoon books and comics). The animated form is called 'anime' (sometimes in the US it's called Japanimation which is plain stupid).

However, there is a film company called Manga which produces anime. Their films were the first make it big in the West (Akira, for example) although Studio Ghibli has vastly overtaken them now. This popularity led to many people mistakenly referring to animated movies as manga when in fact they are called anime. The difference is quite huge because there are always manga versions of anime. You can buy the manga of Ghost in the Shell 2 but the pages would serious jam up your DVD player :D

End of nitpick! Sorry to be such a nerd.

PS If you liked GITS2, you might enjoy Black Jack.

[Hazen]

You are quite correct, I bow to your superior knowledge.

[tkingdoll]

It's ok, I only found this out myself when I made the same faux pas a while back when I was just getting into anime. :D

OK, a very quick movie review from me.

Mission Impossible III - A Skeptic's Perspective.

I am, generally, a fan of Tom Cruise movies. Not because I like the actor (I think he's average with occasional flashes of great when paired with the right director), but because more often than not I like the films he chooses. Magnolia is one of my favourite ever flicks, Minority Report is thoroughly exciting, and I found Vanilla Sky to far exceed the original, Open Your Eyes.

Why, then, when watching Mission Impossible III, did I find myself wanting to smash his stupid gurning face into his own gadgets? Simple. Since seeing my last Tom movie, I have become a Skeptic. My knowledge of the practices of Scientology overwhelms my ability to simply switch off and watch the character. Instead, I found myself watching the actor, thinking "but you're brainwashed! You stupid little man!". His power, fame and influence is dangerous - I must assume that he personally is responsible for many thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of new recruits into the seedy cult that uses his name so well.

Mission Impossible III co-stars my all-time favourite actor, Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Sadly, my usual joy at watching him was marred by the nagging thoughts that kept popping up "I wonder if Tom is recruiting him. I wonder if he read the leaflets?" (for Tom insists on a Scientology recruitment tent on every movie set he works on). The female lead bears a passing resemblance to Katie Holmes, and I found myself mentally shouting "don't marry him, he's bonkers!".

Some paranoics are insisting there are veiled references to Scientology in the movie. Frankly, pre-armed with enough knowledge, you could draw comparisons to any religion in any movie. I'm surprised at the skeptics who do this, it's the plot equivalent of pareidolia. I find it highly unlikely that any casual moviegoer would learn anything about Scientology from this film (unless they already knew about it, in which case, what would be the point?). This is not Battlefield Earth, it's standard action movie fare.

The film was superior in special effects and plot than its two predecessors, but once again a heavy reliance on 'the old switcheroo' made the story seem hackneyed. We've seen it all before, give us a plot that doesn't rely heavily on luck and coincidence, please. The emotional aspect, heralded as the movie's trump card, was well played and effective enough, but a mis-delivered "Wait...I love you!" from Tom had the entire cinema laughing at what should have been the emotional climax.

Verdict? I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more sans the Cultster, sorry, Cruisester, so a 4 out of 10 from me.

[vbloke]

Ahem. Nitpick alert (sorry, sorry).

Manga (with a small 'm' when not at the start of a sentence) is the written form (the cartoon books and comics). The animated form is called 'anime' (sometimes in the US it's called Japanimation which is plain stupid).

However, there is a film company called Manga which produces anime. Their films were the first make it big in the West (Akira, for example) although Studio Ghibli has vastly overtaken them now. This popularity led to many people mistakenly referring to animated movies as manga when in fact they are called anime. The difference is quite huge because there are always manga versions of anime. You can buy the manga of Ghost in the Shell 2 but the pages would serious jam up your DVD player :D

End of nitpick! Sorry to be such a nerd.

PS If you liked GITS2, you might enjoy Black Jack.

*cough*
geek!

[vbloke]

I have to say that I am a hardcore 1950's/1960's Sci-Fi B-movie fan.

Everything from "Plan 9" to "Forbidden Planet" are excellent - especially so is "It Came From Outer Space" since it deals with not alien invasion, or aliens coming here to warn us of the impending doom of nuclear war, etc, but it's a good social commentary on humanity being afraid, aggressive and paranoid of things it does not understand.

The aliens crash land on Earth and have to "kidnap" people in order to assume their forms to get equipment to repair their ship.

The hero of the story, an amateur astronomer (must be why I like him), tries to convince the townsfolk the aliens aren't a threat, but they march on the ship, all flaming torches and pitchforks, only to discover that the aliens are here by accident and they only want to leave as soon as possible. They free the "kidnapped" townsfolk unharmed and head off on their merry way, telling the hero that the time for them and us to meet will be far in the future...

Oh, and if anyone knows where I can get a copy of "This Island Earth" on DVD, please let me know, it's been criminally neglected for release.

[Mongrel]

Oh, and if anyone knows where I can get a copy of "This Island Earth" on DVD, please let me know, it's been criminally neglected for release.

Won the lottery recently?

[vbloke]

*cries*

[Nettles]

Okay, what's with dull movies starring Bill Murray? Fair enough, he wants to be a serious actor in his old age, but why do they bill Dead Flowers as a comedy? Why did people like Lost in Translation? The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou had a few moments, but not Bill's.

Now that I think of it, was he ever actually funny?

Ghostbusters, maybe.

Sorry -- what was the topic?

[Admin]

I'm not a movie lover and certainly not a movie goer. If I have to pick a type of film to watch then I too would go for the old black and white 'B' movies.

I prefer a good storyline to a load of techno graphics.

God what an old fart I sound.

[Mojo]

Being a UK based forum the subject line should probably read 'Feature Film' - but whatever.

With John being based in Newcastle, it should read "Fillum".

[Hazen]

Have just seen 'The Da Vinci Code'. I'll write some blurb when I've got some spare time.
Anyone seen X-Men 3?

[tkingdoll]

Have just seen 'The Da Vinci Code'. I'll write some blurb when I've got some spare time.
Anyone seen X-Men 3?

Hell, yes, opening night!

It totally rocked. There's an extra scene after the credits that I missed but a kind soul at JREF filled me in on the details.

We don't have a spoiler tag here so I won't say too much.

[Admin]

We don't have a spoiler tag here

Good point. They work really well on JREF.

I'll see if there's a one available for this system and if not, I'll suggest one.