Flipside Movie Emporium

[Michael Scrutchin]

[j miller]

12/9 - 12/15

In preferential order:

King Kong

Chronicles of Narnia

Shopgirl
_________________
My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.

--Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

[xAndyx]

I saw Narnia and thought it was amazing. You can see my freveiw in the paper today if you're in the area, or go online and look for it if you'd really like .

But yes, it was one of the few movies I look forward to for a long time and actually lives up to my expectations.
_________________
One day you will look behind you and you will see we three, and on that day, you will repent, and we will send you to whatever god you wish.

-The Boondock Saints

[beltmann]

12/12 ? 12/18/05

Been tough to find time for movies lately. Managed to see only two last week, only one this week:

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Newell, USA/UK, 2005). As someone who didn?t much care for the first two, I?m pleased by how the most recent Potters have shown major improvement. Like its paper version, part four starts off slow and choppy?at first Newell seems to quickly squeeze in plot posts merely for the sake of fidelity?but eventually the narrative grabs hold. This is my favorite Potter movie so far.

Eric
_________________
"When I was in Barcelona they showed pornography on regular television. I'm assuming it's the same way in Mexico since they also speak Spanish." - IMDb user comment

[kaestner]

[beltmann]

[Danny Baldwin]

I agree with Beltmann, although my POV is slanted considering the fact that I've only read the first two books in full.

To me, Columbus' Sorcerer's Stone was a warm and comforting fairy-tale that I will forever embrace. However, Newell's Goblet is the best Potter film to date and, while less faithful to its source-material than its predecessors, concentrates much more of its energy on the emotional arc that Rowling tries to develop in the series, something that the previous three lacked. There may be less happening plot-wise than in the book, but in terms of character-development, it does far more justice to the source-material than any of the other films.
_________________
Danny Baldwin

View My Reviews

[beltmann]

[the night watchman]

Quick rundown:

Aeon Flux - Not as bad as it?s been made out to be, but not really that good either. Get the DVD box set containing the MTV cartoons instead.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - The Harry Potters are getting better and better, and this is the best so far. I was particularly surprised by the movie?s emotional maturity.

King Kong ('33) - Always loads of fun.

King Kong ('05) - I figured this movie would be a blast, but I wasn?t expecting how genuinely good it would be. As much of an accomplishment as was Lord of the Rings, Kong is superior on nearly every level. Heavenly Creatures is still Jackson?s best, though.

Don?t go in the Basement - Besides a surprisingly competent lead performance by an ex-Playboy centerfold, this inmates-running-the-asylum horror/suspenser is mind-numbingly dull when it?s not nails-on-chalkboard shrill. Avoid.

Deranged - A Highly engaging, tightly-written two-person drama/thriller with excellent performances that unfortunately stumbles in the third act. Like David Lynch said, the mystery is often more interesting than the solution. Still, definitely worth seeking out.

Walk the Line - Do all musicians have the exact same story to tell? Whatever the case, I strongly preferred this to Ray and found it absolutely engaging. Pheonix and especially Whitherspoon?s performances are magnificent.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Nicely-made film with an icky story. Isn?t strange how moral absolutes tend to decrease the value of life? This is an authoritarian daydream for children. Bleh.

The Spiral Staircase - Effective and enjoyable mystery/thriller with good performances and wonderful photography.
_________________
"If you're talking about censorship, and what things should be shown and what things shouldn't be shown, I've said that as an artist you have no social responsibility whatsoever."

-David Cronenberg

[beltmann]

And I was just about to post a "Where's NW?" thread, complete with a pool on when he'd return.
_________________
"When I was in Barcelona they showed pornography on regular television. I'm assuming it's the same way in Mexico since they also speak Spanish." - IMDb user comment

[Danny Baldwin]

12/14 - 12/24 - In Preferential Order:

King Kong (Jackson, 2005)

Brokeback Mountain (Lee, 2005)

Syriana (Gaghan, 2005)

Memoirs of a Geisha (Marshall, 2005)

Bad News Bears (Linklater, 2005)

Roll Bounce (Lee, 2005)

Must Love Dogs (Goldberg, 2005)

Kong comes close to being my favorite picture of the year. Not to mention, I've got to go back and see it in the front row; I've watched some of it on one of my breaks there and it's freaking amazing. Of course, it's a masterpiece regardless of whether or not you feel as though forty-foot dinosaurs are about to step on you.

The following two are the only others that are worth a damn, and I've already commented on them in the other thread. Memoirs is about as stiff as critics have said; if it weren't for the cast and crew's prestigous resumes and the subject matter, there'd be nothing to distinguish it from the standard style-over-substance-ridden teenage-boy-targeted action-blockbuster.

And Bad News Bears is just a misstep for Linklater. A terribly dull misstep.
_________________
Danny Baldwin

View My Reviews

[the night watchman]

[the night watchman]

[Danny Baldwin]

I think the plan's March 31st in limited, but I could be wrong.
_________________
Danny Baldwin

View My Reviews

[the night watchman]

I suppose that's not too far down the road.
_________________
"If you're talking about censorship, and what things should be shown and what things shouldn't be shown, I've said that as an artist you have no social responsibility whatsoever."

-David Cronenberg