The Official JD Movie Review Thread

[JediMAC]

OK folks, most of us go out to the movies from time to time, as well as hitting the local Blockbuster for the lastest DVD/VHS rentals.  So how about stopping in here and letting us all know what movie(s) you've seen or rented lately, and what you thought of them!  Anything you'd highly recommend, or any flicks we should definitely avoid wasting our hard earned money on?

Let us know right here, in The Official JediDefender Movie Review Thread...

[JediMAC]

OK, I'll start this bad boy out here...

My wife and I recently made the horrendous mistake of going to see Gods and Generals.  Ouch.  My wife is a college history professor and I'm always down for a good war flick with some intense battle scenes, so we had high hopes for this movie.  As many of you have probably already heard, this movie runs a whopping 3 hours and 45 minutes, and even includes an intermission!  Yes, you heard me right - the movie stops halfway through for a 12 minute intermission.  Unbelievable!

But I've always been a big proponent of longer movie running times, so that wasn't such a big deal to me.  What's not so cool however, is that this is one of the slowest moving films I've ever seen.  We're talking long and drawn out poems, soliloquies, speeches, etc.  Very painful to sit through.  Even the few battle sequences were very slow, monotonous, predictable and stiff.

Furthermore, unless you've still got a confederate flag flying over your house, you'll really wind up questioning what the hell you just watched, and who actually won the Civil War.  This movie is completely presented from the South's point of view (it's a Ted Turner Production), and makes it look like they won the war, and every battle therein.  In all fairness to the movie though, it's represented (at the end) as being part of a Trilogy, the first (prequel) of which was the long ago released Gettysburg, with another concluding installment showing the end of the war, due out in the future (don't recall the title).

It even goes so far as to present the two southern slaves in the movie (the only two black people, along with their families, in the whole flick) as absolutely loving their white masters and wanting to do anything possible to help them in any way.  The movie even suggests that the South wanted to free the slaves.  Huh?  Say what?  Very bizarre.  My wife was rather outraged at the many historical inaccuries throughout this movie, and this is precisely the material that she's teaching at a university.

Finally, the trailers for this film make it look like it's about the characters portrayed by Robert Duvall (Robert E. Lee) and Jeff Daniels (a Union Captain - I think).  Not the case at all.  They're barely even in it.  This movie is essentially a long, and drawn out biography of StoneWall Jackson - another of the South's General's.  90% of the film is solely about him, all the way down to a mind-numbing 20 minute segment of his rather odd friendship with a little girl.  Not at all what I was anticipating or hoping for, to say the least.

My grade for this movie is a resounding D- (my wife gave it an F).  I would highly recommend avoiding this movie at all costs.  Rent it on video if you must, but you'll still waste $4 and be disappointed, I guarantee it!  Just go watch Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers again instead...

--------------------------

As for newly released rentals, if you're into scary and suspenseful movies, I'd highly recommend you rent The Ring if you haven't seen it yet, which was just released this week.  I originally caught it in the theaters, but I'm sure you'll need an extra pair of underwear if you just watch it on your TV at home as well!  

This isn't a horror/slasher flick by any means, but it does have some pretty gnarley sequences that would be way too intense for younger viewers.  Good movie.  Check it out, if you dare...

So what have you all seen lately...

[Red 06]

Hello.  DVD reveiw

"The Day the earth stood still" was released last tuesday.
It's Fantastic. Fully restored picture and THX sound. The quality is amazing. A 70 min. making of documentary, restoration comparison, theatrical trailer and a 1951 Movietone newsreel.

You'll feel like your at a Saturday afternoon matinee in 1951.

Those of you who have never seen it will have to check it out for "the message to the alien robot Gort" near the end.

Later.

 

[Mikey D]

The most recent movie I've seen is Suicide Kings starring Christopher Walken, Dennis Leary, Elliot from ET, Young Indiana Jones, Jay Mohr and Darlene's boyfriend  from Roseanne.

I borrowed it from a co-worker and have never heard about it.  It was pretty good with a few twists and turns.  Basically the premise is Elliots sister gets kidnapped and to get her back, he and his friends (Mohr, YIJ, etc.) kidnap Walken's retired mob boss.  They figured he has the connections to locate the sister.  Even though Walken is tied up, he manages to up stage the kidnappers and keep them second quessing.  I won't spoil the ending, but it's definitely worth a rental.

[Scott]

  Elliott  I do that too when I don't know actors names...too funny

Last movie I saw was Chicago  Its a musical, it was my wife's turn to pick the movie and with all of its Oscar buzz I thought why not.  It was decent, the story was good, the singing was good.  Richard Gere was the perfect actor for the part, but he cannot sing worth a dime.  Zeta Jones and Zellweger were both very good in their roles as was Queen Latifah.  

I don't think this is Best Picture of the Year material at all (I thought last year's Moulin Rouge was 10x better)  If it does win it must have been a really weak year for movies.  TTT was far better, and I think the LOTR is getting the shaft, one 9 hour movie would have won best picture but there is no way one of the three parts ever will.  Too bad really...

So on the OCB scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, 1 the lowest I'll give Chicago a 7.  Worth the money if you like musicals in general, it also is a very good story on fame and the like.

[Mikey D]

Elliott  I do that too when I don't know actors names...too funny

I knew his name but most people really don't know lesser known actors names so its just easier to say Elliot from ET, etc.  That way maybe someone will say "No schitzet, that kid from ET is still doing movies?  Damn, I might want to check that out."  

Now if I said Henry Thomas (Elliot) or Sean Patrick Flanary (young IJ), most people will say "Who?.  That movie must be crap.  I'm not going to watch that."

So from now on, whenever Mikey D gives one of his reviews he's going to name actors by their well know roles.  

 

Scott, I may also have to try "you pick the movie this time and I'll pick the movie next time" way that you and your wife do.  I asked my wife if she wanted to see Daredevil, she had no interest in it, I had no interest in her chick flick that she wanted to see, so we didn't go to the movies that night, she farted around on the computer and I watched some crappy movie on tv.  What a way to spend a Saturday night    Maybe this might alleviate that problem

[Scott]

See there is some limitations there...I wouldn't be caught dead in How to Leave a Guy in 20 Hours or Maid in Manhattan...and she know that...sometimes I'll give and let her pick whatever she wants ala Moulin and I'm pleseantly suprised other times we get to see Billy Crystal and Julia Roberts and I go WTF  

Usually it is something we both want to see though and there might be 4 or 5 shows I want to see so she gets to choose which one...I try and save my movies like "We're going to AOTC, again"  

[Angry Ewok]

Bourne Identity (DVD)
This is basically about a secret agent who forgets his past. He has to find out the hard way who he really is.
I enjoyed this movie, it had something that I feel has been left out of this and last years' movies... I can't really explain what it is that this movie has, but it's good and I wish more movies had it. For one, it's entertaining. The main thing that keeps this movie good is the fact that you don't know who the main charactor is, or what will happen to him.
I rate this one an 8.5/10, I'm taking points off for the romance, which was pretty lame in the circumstances of the movie.

Insomnia (DVD)
This movie's about a cop chasing a kid-killer in Alaska. Basically, it all takes place during the time of no darkness, and all the stress causes this guy to have insomnia (inability to sleep).
Al Paccino is one of my favorite actors, and I really think he shines as usual here. The huge surprise to me, though, was how brilliant the child-killer is... who would have thought that Robin Williams could act in a serious role? He's the perfect actor to portray a child-killer, in my opinion, and for once he proves that he can act. Good storyline, not original, but based off of an older (non-english) film.
I'll rate this a 9.0/10, a point off because I'm not so cool with mystery movies. Other than that, its a good film.

[Scott]

I rather enjoyed Insomnia as well, Robin Williams was great and so was Pacino.  What bugs me about Pacino is the way he looks off into space or at people's stomachs when he is talking, the guy is kind of a freak I think

Old School  Saw this on Friday with one of my High School/College buddies (the Scope drinker )

Pros:  Will Farrell  This man is comic genius, and this character is very much based on a lot of his SNL personas...same tone of voice, same not afraid to get naked make you laugh until you puke

Cons:  Some of the bits were not very funny at all, but what you did see was well worth the price of admission.  Vince Vaughn was so so but not up to his previous work, this character was an aged version of his Swingers character.  Luke Wilson was pretty swell too.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest I'd give Old School a 7.6.

SImilar to Road Trip and almost a comic version of Fight CLub, a good guy movie not a good date movie

[Snively Bandar]

For some reason we haven't gotten out to the movies in a while.  The last thing my girlfriend and I watched was Lord of the Rings TTT for a second time, which was obviously amazing, as I'm sure you all are well aware.

The last couple DVDs we rented though were Drumline and The Ring.  Drumline is basically Top Gun with drums, rather than fighter jets.  Entertaining, the usual storyline, with some great beats and amazing drumming (if you're into that kind of thing).  It's an enjoyable movie, but certainly won't be winning any Academy Awards.  I've just always dug the rhythm and beats of real drumlines that I've seen and heard at college football games, in parades, etc. so I had to check this one out.

The Ring was pretty freaky!  A suspense thriller, but not a gory horror movie like some might think.  Definitely scary though, so if you're into that type of movie, this is a must watch!

We're pondering checking out Identity in the theaters.  Has anyone seen that?  Worth a look?

[dustrho]

The last movie I saw was X-Men 2 (which I saw opening night), and it was awesome.  I won't go into further details because I don't want to give anything away.

[dustrho]

OK folks, most of us go out to the movies from time to time, as well as hitting the local Blockbuster for the lastest DVD/VHS rentals.

VHS rentals??

Who actually rents VHS movies still???  There's a Blockbuster Video by me that hardly has any VHS movies anymore... it's about 95% DVD movies now.  People who have VHS players should just go buy a DVD player... they're about $100 now (which to me is pretty affordable).

[dustrho]

OK, I'll start this bad boy out here...

My wife and I recently made the horrendous mistake of going to see Gods and Generals.  Ouch.  My wife is a college history professor and I'm always down for a good war flick with some intense battle scenes, so we had high hopes for this movie.  As many of you have probably already heard, this movie runs a whopping 3 hours and 45 minutes, and even includes an intermission!  Yes, you heard me right - the movie stops halfway through for a 12 minute intermission.  Unbelievable!

I want to give you my biggest condolences and sympathy for what you had to endure.  Did you not have a clue as to how long the movie was going to be?  There's no way I can sit in a movie theater's chair for more than 2 hours.  Anything longer than that I'm going to have a lot of back pain.

I'd have to say that you're nuts Matt for going to a theater to watch that.  You should have just waited until it comes out on DVD.

[Darth Kenobi]

OK, I'll start this bad boy out here...

My wife and I recently made the horrendous mistake of going to see Gods and Generals.  Ouch.  My wife is a college history professor and I'm always down for a good war flick with some intense battle scenes, so we had high hopes for this movie.  As many of you have probably already heard, this movie runs a whopping 3 hours and 45 minutes, and even includes an intermission!  Yes, you heard me right - the movie stops halfway through for a 12 minute intermission.  Unbelievable!

I want to give you my biggest condolences and sympathy for what you had to endure.  Did you not have a clue as to how long the movie was going to be?  There's no way I can sit in a movie theater's chair for more than 2 hours.  Anything longer than that I'm going to have a lot of back pain.

I'd have to say that you're nuts Matt for going to a theater to watch that.  You should have just waited until it comes out on DVD.

I think I'm even nutter if I had the time I would go and see "Gods and Generals" again in theaters.  But right now I have more important matters to deal with so I will have to wait and buy it on DVD.

[Scott]

I just saw Catch Me If You Can Last night and it is one great movie.  One complaint and one I have about all of Spielberg's recent movies...he has no idea anymore how to end them.  I loved everything about it though except for the dragging ending.  This is a for sure must see...Tom Hanks and Leo DiCaprio at their best

And...I also think the whole uproar over Leo being Anakin is a bunch of hooey.  He is an awesome actor and one that we will be seeing much of for many many years to come