Originally Posted By starventure (10 JAN 2006 3:33am)
Ugh, I hated Ocean's Twelve. Was there a plot? I'm still not sure.

Originally Posted By Lucien21 (10 JAN 2006 12:39am)
Downfall

Film about the final days of the Reich and Hitlers downfall in and final days in his bunker.

Originally Posted By SirDave (10 JAN 2006 3:46am)
I have it on good evidence that there was a subliminal message (telling the victim watching that it was a great movie) planted in the movie Serenity that affected several people in this thread. I can only assume that the subliminal message didn't make it thru my thick skull and so I wasn't affected by it. Or perhaps, the subliminal message started after the first 15 minutes of the film, by which time, I had already ejected the DVD from my player!  :

Originally Posted By Wimli (10 JAN 2006 10:33am)
Great list Lucien!

Of the ones I've seen, I totally agree with you (though maybe in a slightly different order

)! Not really sad then that I didn't see a single one of the top 5 of stinkers you posted.  

There are a lot of movies on there that I missed out on, but plan to catch up on on dvd (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, A History of Violence, Der Untergang). Seems like you spend a lot of time at the theaters.

Lord of War and Good Night and Good Luck are still on release, so I hope to catch at least one of them in the following weeks. Thumbsucker sounds great too! Hope it'll a get a release real soon here. Also added Vera Drake and The Assassination of Richard Nixon from Snowtime's list. I missed out on the first one, the second didn't even get a release over here. Hotel Rwanda looks great as well.

I simply loved Me and You and Everyone We Know! It's weird and original, yet tells very real stories. And there's all this art within art elements (some very poetic scenes, the drawings with the ;

? thingies, the art exhibit at the end of the film, the video art, the drawing of the bird hanging in a tree, and so on). It's hard to pick only one favourite scene. Some of mine were: the fish on the car, the shoes with faces drawn on, scene where the father tries to get his sons talking to him and the scene where the younger kid finally meets his mystery internet chatfriend. A film like this would be a stunning realisation for an established director, as a feature-length debut, it's simply brilliant!

Seems like you spend a lot of time at the theaters.

Originally Posted By Richard_Head (6 JAN 2006 4:08am)
Based on people's relative raves (above) over Serenity, I rented it. Shut it off after, oh, 15 minutes, right about the time we are expected to believe that what appear to be idiots with junk strewn all over the place are supposed to be flying a high-tech, advanced space vessel. Somehow that worked for Harrison Ford in Starwars because that was, well, Starwars, but there was no Harrison Ford aboard the Serenity and it wasn't Starwars. ARg--g-g-g-g

Originally Posted By Wimli (19 JAN 2006 7:05pm)
Hey Dom, great top 10! I was wondering when you'd post your fav movies of the year.

 

I've been hearing a lot of good things about The Descent! Unfortunately it's yet to be picked up by a distributor over here. I really enjoyed Marshall's previous movie, Dog Soldiers!

I see you haven't listed Corpse Bride anywhere. Did you see it? If so, not as good as you expected from a Burton movie? I was slightly disappointed, it was no match for Nightmare Before Christmas, but still thought is was pretty good.

Originally Posted By Not A Speck Of Cereal (20 JAN 2006 6:06am)
I just recently re-watched Alien Resurrection, which was originally helmed by Josh Weaton (of Serenity fame)--and he's still credited for the screenplay for technical and/or legal reasons--but it's largely regarded as a film that was re-written and produced by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, Amelie).

Originally Posted By dombrewer (20 JAN 2006 8:22pm)

Originally Posted By Wimli (19 JAN 2006 7:05pm)
Hey Dom, great top 10! I was wondering when you'd post your fav movies of the year.

Always count on me for a good cinematic discussion Wim.  

 

I've been hearing a lot of good things about The Descent! Unfortunately it's yet to be picked up by a distributor over here. I really enjoyed Marshall's previous movie, Dog Soldiers!

It's not perfect by any means, but it is damned scary in parts. I thought Dog Soldiers was a good idea, done as well as could be expected on a minimal budget; I just had problems with the constantly changing tone. But I can't think of a recent horror film that stayed with me for days the same way The Descent did. Really disturbed me in parts.

I see you haven't listed Corpse Bride anywhere. Did you see it? If so, not as good as you expected from a Burton movie? I was slightly disappointed, it was no match for Nightmare Before Christmas, but still thought is was pretty good.

Yes, I saw it, and I liked it well enough, but no where near as much as Nightmare Before Christmas. It all seemed a bit thin plot wise, and some of the characters were pretty forgettable, and they really should have cut the songs. Songs for the sake of having songs doesn't really work - they weren't good enough. One thing I will say - it is probably Tim Burton's most complete gothic vision yet on screen. He has used gothic elements in most of his films for years, but this one really nailed it.

Originally Posted By dombrewer (20 JAN 2006 8:27pm)

Originally Posted By Not A Speck Of Cereal (20 JAN 2006 6:06am)
I just recently re-watched Alien Resurrection, which was originally helmed by Josh Weaton (of Serenity fame)--and he's still credited for the screenplay for technical and/or legal reasons--but it's largely regarded as a film that was re-written and produced by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, Amelie).

I don't think Joss Whedon was ever meant to direct the film Speck, but he did write the screenplay (and a lot of redrafts) in it's entirity, so you're right about the similiarities with the dodgy space crew. According to IMDB Danny Boyle was first approached (of Shallow Grave/Trainspotting fame) and later David Cronenberg... now that would have been interesting. I rate Jean-Pierre Jeunet very highly, but this was a film and a genre that he should have steered clear of. It's a blip in an otherwise excellent directing career.

Originally Posted By Wimli (21 JAN 2006 1:01pm)

I thought Dog Soldiers was a movie that handled the mixing of genres rather nicely, changing gears between comedy, horror and thriller effectively. In that regard it seems to be in the same vein as An American Werewolf in London. Plus, both movies knew that their effects were not good enough to go scary horror all the way. I like it when a movie is aware of its own flaws and tries to creatively overcome those. I think the comedy parts was used to exactly overcome the limited budget. Oh , and they were both of course wildly entertaining and fun.

Seems like Marshall has taken The Descent more towards the horror side of things. And from what I've read, and what you say seems like he has succeeded into making this one really scary and unsettling, something that he never could have achieved with Dog Soldiers with its changing tone.

Next one I'll probably go see is Good Night and Good Luck, if it manages to stay in theaters long enough for me to catch it after the exams. Then, it's Brokeback Mountain time (22 Feb)! I probably say this every year, but 2006 is looking like a better year than 2005 turned out to be. Still, 1999 will probably still be the year to beat of recent times.

Originally Posted By Wimli (21 JAN 2006 1:18pm)
Oh, and for the record, Alien 3 is the best Alien film (nope, not joking here

).

Originally Posted By dombrewer (22 JAN 2006 11:23pm)

Originally Posted By Wimli (21 JAN 2006 1:01pm)

I thought Dog Soldiers was a movie that handled the mixing of genres rather nicely, changing gears between comedy, horror and thriller effectively. In that regard it seems to be in the same vein as An American Werewolf in London. Plus, both movies knew that their effects were not good enough to go scary horror all the way. I like it when a movie is aware of its own flaws and tries to creatively overcome those. I think the comedy parts was used to exactly overcome the limited budget. Oh , and they were both of course wildly entertaining and fun.

Interesting comparison, other than American Werewolf was genuinely frightening, which Dog Soldiers never managed in my book. The Nazi Mutant dream and the initial moor attack are still really fine pieces of horror, and the London underground sequence is still the best thing shot in that setting to date. Now I come to think of it the special effects are actually awesome in AWiL, so I'd have to disagree about them not being good enough to scare. Bear in mind Rick Baker was set the challenge of a full body werewolf transformation in full light with no cut-aways by John Landis - rose to the challenge and won an Oscar for it!

Seems like Marshall has taken The Descent more towards the horror side of things. And from what I've read, and what you say seems like he has succeeded into making this one really scary and unsettling, something that he never could have achieved with Dog Soldiers with its changing tone.

No laughs at all in The Descent - it is unremittingly bleak from the first scene, which some people would have an issue with. For me it was a pleasant surprise to find a film that willing to put it's audience through the wringer. Apparently "Wolf Creek" is similar - although I didn't see that one - because it was accused of going too far and really dwelling on the suffering of the characters to the point of sadism.

Next one I'll probably go see is Good Night and Good Luck, if it manages to stay in theaters long enough for me to catch it after the exams. Then, it's Brokeback Mountain time (22 Feb)! I probably say this every year, but 2006 is looking like a better year than 2005 turned out to be. Still, 1999 will probably still be the year to beat of recent times.

Yes, I'm looking forward to GN&GL too. I really rated Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, so I want to see if Clooney is just a one off in the director's chair. From the Oscar buzz I'm guessing not. Also David Strathairn is a great actor, finally being recognised as such.

I'm also going to see Munich when it comes out. Next week I think. Interested in the whole Israel/Palestine conflict and how Spielberg is going to portray it - there's controversy already.

Interesting that you rate 1999 - what made that such a good one for you?

Originally Posted By Wimli (21 JAN 2006 1:18pm)
Oh, and for the record, Alien 3 is the best Alien film (nope, not joking here

).

What??? Better than "Aliens"? Better than "Aliens" No, no, no.

Originally Posted By Eva (23 JAN 2006 12:16pm)
Okay, I haven't seen 10 great films this year but here's the best 8 for me (in no specific order):

Dear Wendy
King Kong
The Corpse Bride
Der Untergang (Downfall)
Closer (probably from 2004 though)
Sin City
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Drabet (Danish)

Originally Posted By dombrewer (20 JAN 2006 8:27pm)

Originally Posted By Not A Speck Of Cereal (20 JAN 2006 6:06am)
I just recently re-watched Alien Resurrection, which was originally helmed by Josh Weaton (of Serenity fame)--and he's still credited for the screenplay for technical and/or legal reasons--but it's largely regarded as a film that was re-written and produced by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, Amelie).

I don't think Joss Whedon was ever meant to direct the film Speck, but he did write the screenplay (and a lot of redrafts) in it's entirity, so you're right about the similiarities with the dodgy space crew. According to IMDB Danny Boyle was first approached (of Shallow Grave/Trainspotting fame) and later David Cronenberg... now that would have been interesting. I rate Jean-Pierre Jeunet very highly, but this was a film and a genre that he should have steered clear of. It's a blip in an otherwise excellent directing career.

Originally Posted By SirDave (7 JAN 2006 10:54pm)

Originally Posted By Caroline (7 JAN 2006 1:54pm)
SirDave
Jodie Foster always struck me as having a few more smarts than Jennifer.....

Maybe so, but Jennifer is far cuter and, this is very important, prefers men.

Originally Posted By Not A Speck Of Cereal (24 JAN 2006 4:53am)

Originally Posted By SirDave (7 JAN 2006 10:54pm)

Originally Posted By Caroline (7 JAN 2006 1:54pm)
SirDave
Jodie Foster always struck me as having a few more smarts than Jennifer.....

Maybe so, but Jennifer is far cuter and, this is very important, prefers men.

Bah. I've never understood the attraction to Jenn. She's just not that hot. Jodie, however, has always been hot for me, regardless of her inclinations. I mean, it's not like I ever have to consumate my fantasies!