I know as of late I have watched movies more than I normally do and that's because school just started and I haven't been tied down with a lot of work yet, so I'm taking full advantage now. Since last Thursday I've seen:

-Catwoman
-Friday Night Lights
-Anchorman
-Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
-Elektra
-Garden State
-Troy

So I've decided to make this thread for anyone who's seen any movie as of late and wishes to discuss it, so I guess I'll start first.

I watched Garden State last night and I enjoyed it. It wasn't a great movie but definitely a good movie with some added humor that I enjoyed very much. Not to mention the very GORGEOUS Natalie Portman is in it!

As for Troy, I was kind of disappointed. I had heard bad things about it and I didn't like this movie all that much. It's not as if it was a bad movie because I have seen worse. But I can't describe how I feel about it. I just thought it wasn't great or even good for that matter. But tomorrow I'm hoping that I can get into seeing House of Flying Daggers tomorrow for free with my friend. If not I'll be watching King Arther

nice thread idea , im always up for discussing movies...

I just saw

Napolean Dynamite
Dinner Rush
Swingers
Get Shorty
and The Aviator

Napolean Dynamite was pretty funny but also pretty pointless as I was told it would be. Dinner Rush was excellent, highly underated film, can't understand why it didn't get more press upon it's release. Swingers I was just watching because I had nothing better to do, I've seen it before, always good. Same for Get Shorty, actually the first time I watched it since I got it for Christmas. And the Aviator I recently saw in theaters. Overall pretty good. I get tired of these new, big budget, over dramatic movies Scorsese is making (Gangs of New York, and now this) I really wish he would just go back to the old gangster flick and crank out one more with DeNiro and Pesci before they all up and die on us.

I have seen Dinner Rush a long time ago and didn't like it at all. I thought it'd be more about the mob and it was about a restaurant. Nothing really too great about it except the food looked great!

I LOVED The Aviator and I'm so glad that I FINALLY got to see it in the theaters in New York with my ma while I had the chance. Can't wait for it to come to DVD.

I can see where someone going into that thinking it was going to be a heavy duty Mob story could be dissapointed. I personally thought the few mob characters (Danny Aiello, Mike McGlone) did a great job of spiking the story of the restaurant with mob influence here and there. especially in the ending.

Funny, I was just wondering why the GBB didnt have a Proview thread started, with all the MFA members we have around here.
Watched Taxi Driver last night, havent had much free time in the last few weeks to really watch anything.

Dinner Rush was a great film, a feeling of a mob movie if it was directed by Anderson or Altman. The dialogue was also excellent. It doesn't matter if it wasn't ON about the mob, you can't deny it's great direction, cast, acting, and most of all, dialogue.
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Is this thread like the Movie Boards Proview in posting movies we have just watched, or movies we have seen for the first time.

the godfather series, and gotti.

Laurence of Arabia-
Great epic. Great acting. A masterpiece.

Napoleon Dynamite-
Hillarious. Best comedy I have seen in a long time.

Harold and Kumar-
Some laughs. Better then your average comedy.

Oh well, I'll post my Proviews from the MB from the past week or two. Note I'm on a 4 Star Scale now, not 5
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Taxi Driver - (Scorsese;1976;USA) - ****
A powertrip into the mind of a paranoid and depressed taxi driver trying to live in a constricting society of crime and filth. A masterpiece by Scorsese and definately in DeNiro's top 5 best performances. Scorsese's style is very well used in this, and another gem is the beautiful score by Bernard Herrmann. A strong supporting cast is also a plus. A classic.
#3

Double Indemnity - (Wilder;1944;USA) - ****
I cannot decide if this beats Sunset Blvd. and I don't think I wanna think about that. I like to think of the equally great things, such as the similar and equally outstanding narratives. I think I'm leaning to SB for Wilder's best because of the better acting, but I enjoyed this a little more altogether. A compelling Film-Noir.
#17

Finding Neverland - ***1/2
One of Depp's better performances and probably Winslet's best. This film's comic relief and serious points are placed perfectly, if only for a few unneeded CGI parts (not all the CGI, some). Highmore is also very good for his age, and deserves more credit for his part. The word to describe this film is beautiful.

12 Angry Men - (Lumet;1957;USA) - ****
Beats Serpico, mainly in direction. Fonda's second best performance from what I've seen and Cobb's best (beating "On the Waterfront"). The ending could have been improved on but overall it was an excellent film.

Blow - (Demme;2001;USA) - ***
A stylish film with a superb performance by one of my favorite actors, Johnny Depp. The supporting cast is strong, although I'd love to see more depth with the relationship between father and son. The ending is one of the most moving scenes in a crime movie I've ever seen.
needs to be placed in favorites

Mean Streets - (Scorsese;1973;USA) - ****
One of Scorsese's top works, and a perfect example of Scorsese's style used in many of his films. Not a really a "mob movie" but it doesn't need to be, it's about the feelings of the men involved with the street, whether a "honorable man" or a young punk, mainly focusing on Charlie, portrayed brilliantly by Keitel. Other then the beautiful music and strong cast, is another gem, DeNiro's performance, while not his best, is still great. Expect a review by me soon.
#7

1) Goodfellas
2) Raging Bull
3) Taxi Driver
4) Mean Streets
5) Casino
6) The Aviator
7) Gangs of New York
8) Cape Fear

Dinner Rush - (Giraldi;USA;2000) - ***1/2
"Revenge is a dish best served cold."
Wow, this movie was a surprise. When I got it in the bargin bin at Wal Mart I had no idea of a true deal it was. I thought it was a mediocre cheap movie and was completely wrong. Think of a mob version of Magnolia in an Italian restaurant. It's full of memorable characters each with realistic performances and dialogue. After a friend is whacked, we view one night at the restaurant afterwards where a seemingly normal night with some money problems between characters arise, then two Queens mobsters come and want a part of the restaurant. The film focuses on several different people during the night, from the owner to the cooks, to the patrons that lead to a very interesting and unpredicted end.
#12

Well I just got back from seeing Assault on Precinct 13. A good movie, but not great. A good cast with a good story but I found it to be predictable. Plus add in the fact that I didn't get to see House of Flying Daggers and my movie hook is now GONE! It only cost me $5 to get into the movie tonight but still, it's not free. I'm now planning on seeing House of Flying Daggers Saturday afternoon. And to answer your question Don Vercetti, this thread can be about anything, movies you've seen once or more than once.

I've recently watched "Married to the mob" and must confess it left me disgusted. For long-long time I haven't see such a bad movie.
Also there was "People I know" on TV, but I turned it on in the middle, and it was difficult to catch the intrigue. So it seemed rather boring.
And the day before yesterday, there was "Bobby Deerfield". Why does everyone curse this movie? It's far not that bad, and Al plays quite good!

If you didn't like Troy, I think you really wont like King Arthur. Although I'd probably watch any movie with Keira Knightly in it.

50 First Dates

One of Adam Sandler's better movies (his best is Billy Madison). Sean Astin and Rob Schneider were really good. I like the soundtrack. I just didn't like how it ended. I thought that Lucy should've gotten her memmory back.

I agree with the ending. Drew takes it way to well to wake up in the artic with a kid, husband and on a boat every morning.

gotti was a pretty good movie. armand assante did a pretty good job playing as gotti and i liked how it followed the book gotti: rise and fall. if anyone likes movies based on fact then gotti is one to see.

While checking what was on HBO last night, I came across this movie entitled "The Hamburg Cell." The title gave me no clue as to what this movie was about, as I had never heard of it.

When I check the description, it noted that it was about the pre events of 911 in "painstaking" detail, and that some may find it offensive. Reluctantly I watched it. Apparently everything in the movie is based on documented events.

Hamburg is referring to Hamburg German and a revolutionary cell that began there pre 911. It's very had to judge the movie in the sense that it was our country that was attacked and I can't look at any of these characters with any kind of sympathy or understanding whatsoever.

The part that will probably piss every American off is that they portray the terrorists as shall we say "normal" :rolleyes: human being who happened to get caught up in this. It really was different. I never heard of any of the actors and did finish seeing the movie. Anyone else hear of it before?

TIS
The Hamburg Cell

Yes TIS, I saw it the other night! Chilling isn't it? I too thought it a bit annoying that they portrayed some of the would be murderers as just happening to "fall into" this pre-meditated slaughter! But I'll tell you this, the guy who portrayed that evil whore Atta, he too had that evil look about him just like Atta did before he joined his 72 virgins :rolleyes: .

Don Cardi

Yes, I agree DC. Atta was "evil" looking. The guy with the girlfriend seemed, at first anyway, the most "normal" of the group. It's hard for me to grasp how anyone could get "caught up" in such a thing.

Also, according to the movie, it seems there motivation for the 911 attack, was to put it simply, "people are too materialistic?????


TIS

Rudy

One of the few movies that brings a couple of tears to my eyes.

Well I just saw 3 movies today and 2 of them SUCKED balls & the other 1 was good. The first movie I saw after work was The Grudge with Sarah Michelle Geller. Let's just say it wasn't worth my time staying up til 3:30 in the morning after work to watch this piece. It was a little scary at first but definitely got annoying after a while and was a TERRIBLE movie!

Today I went and finally saw House of Flying Daggers. A very good movie, but I think Hero was better. This movie wasn't hard for me to follow even with subtitles, but I don't think it was as beautiful on screen as Hero was, but still a good movie.

I just got done watching Alien VS Predator with the same friend who saw House of Flying Daggers with me, and this movie sucked as well! Wow, just watching those 2 movies almosts makes me want to kill myself for seeing so much s*it in just 1 day!

PS-TIS or DC, is The Hamburg Cell on DVD or no?

Hi I12. I did a quick search on Hamburg Cell and didn't see it for sale. However, I noticed it was released in 2004 for tv (HBO I assume). It it isn't out on DVD/VHS yet, I assume it will be within the next few months.

Let me know if you get a chance to see it ok?


TIS

Friday Night Lights

A fairly decent film, but I hurt inside the whole time. Some of you may recall my Highschool's mirraculous season which led to the crushing last second loss in the state championships. This movie was just about IDENTICAL to that season...

(Potential Spoilers*****)

Same team name- "Panthers"
Same team colors- Blue and White
Star running back hurt early in season
Sucky but dedicated white QB
Head coach on his last straw with the town and fans
State championship game played in a huge dome
Heart breaking, gut wrenching loss at the last second

This movie brought up a lot of awful memories I thought I put to bed

Do any of you guys that were teens during Vietnam remember a documentary called, "Hearts and Minds?" It was a documentary on the Vietnam War and I caught some of it on one of the Discovery Channels the other night. It was released in 1974 and won multiple Academy Awards. Sinatra slammed it after he went on state after the director of the movie left the stage. Any of this ringing a bell? Is it worth a buy? -Pat

Singin' In The Rain - (Donen/Kelly;USA;1952) - ****
Best musical ever, yes even more then Wizard of Oz. The Technicolor is beautiful in the whole film, especially the imagined dance number on Broadway. Not to mention holding one of the most famous cinematic moments ever, the "Singin' In The Rain" scene. The dance scenes are done great, and Kelly's talent held up, even after the film to his scenes on Dean Martin's show.

Charade - (Donen;1963;USA) - ****
Hepburn's best film, although the same can't be said for Grant. I loved this film, especially with the constant surprises in the plot. The story is very well structured with an excellent supporting cast, especially Coburn and Matthau.
#55

That honor goes to "Breakfast at Tiffany's".

I loved Breakfast at Tiffany's but I think this film is stronger in most of it's areas. I've also seen Wilder's "Sabrina" which I thought was good, but his worst film from what I saw.

Hamburg Cell: I'm sure it was shown on our TV not too long ago, but I'm not certain about that; if it was, I certainly missed out. I'd love to see it, and thanks for the recommendation, TIS! I'll keep my eyes peeled for it. Anything which shows a film from the perpetrators of such an attack's minds is going to cause a bit of unrest; if anything, you have to admire the audacity of the filmmaker (that is, if it's done well!).

At the cinema today, I saw:
Million Dollar Baby *
2004,Eastwood, US
When his best chance at a championship belt signs for another manager, an aging boxing coach takes on a girl for a year and a half.
An obvious attempt at grabbing a gold statue, with Eastwood directing, starring and scoring this well-done, if a little dull, boxing drama; the fight sequences have a gritty feel about them yet never feel authentic enough, while the performances are solid but never remarkable. The sour ending is unnecessary.

Mick

Today before I went to bed I watched another movie (knowing that I had to wake up at 8 today to go to work, but this movie was well worth it). I had been wanting to watch Soul Survivors for a little time because I saw it at Wal-Mart in the $5.50 bin and I was going to pick it up but I don't like buying movies without seeing them first. So last night at a friend of mine's house he had it so I barrowed it and watched it. He said he hated it and would probably never watch it again, but I REALLY enjoyed it. I LOVE Eliza Dushku with all of my heart and I thought she was good in it. It's not a great movie but I thought it was better than my friend made it out to be. Now I've gotta try to find it at Wal-Mart for $5.50 now so that I can own it. This week I've got quiet a few movies to watch. I'm going to barrow King Arther and Napoleon Dynamite from a friend of mine, and I just barrowed The Crow from another friend of mine. And from work I grabbed Quentin Tarantino presents Iron Monkey and Quentin Tarantino presents My Name Is Modesty. I have never heard of the latter but that last movie I saw that Quentin Tarantino presented (Hero), I REALLY enjoyed!

Right now I'm watching "Child's Play". I have to admit, this movie used to really scare me, when was like 8. Now it's just funny. But there is actually a good scene... when the mom checks to see whether Chucky has batteries and his head spins around.