bookend's Film Review Thread - The Social Network, True Grit

[holt_bruce81]

[bookend57]

The Descent [2006, Neil Marshall]



One of the scarier horror films i've seen in a while, The Descent is the story of a group of six female friends who are all thrill seekers and go on a caving expedition. The trip goes wrong and the group is trapped, due to a cave-in, in the pitch black depths of the cave deep under the earth, so not only is the set eerie as the women try to figure a way to escape the cave before the cave starts to crumble again, but they discovered cave dwellers who have evolved perfectly to survive down there and are hungry and on the hunt. Now not only are the women trapped in the cave but are fighting for survival from these beasts. The film is sure to give you some scares; Marshall's direction is superb and the cast is very well-acted and all give strong performances. A horror film that doubles as a revenge/survival story as well as the scares and gore. Definitely worth a watch.

The Verdict: B+ - 84%


Reservoir Dogs [1992, Quentin Tarantino]



Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut and the debut of his often imitated style. Reservoir Dogs is about a group of unfamiliar criminals who are assembled to pull off a simple jewelry store heist, but when the cops ambush them and blood is sprayed everywhere it becomes clear that one of the criminals was a police informant and the group quickly tries to figure out who it was. The film is one you would expect from Quentin Tarantino, graphic and violent with innovative cinematography, a style now often mimicked. The soundtrack and pop culture dialogue give the film that added bit of humor. It's a solid film, more than solid, borders on classic, and is definitely a classic in its genre.

The Verdict: A- - 91%
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My Film Review Thread
^packerbacker87^

**NEW**
The Social Network - 1/14
True Grit - 1/7

[SLCDallasFan]

[bookend57]

Thanks man, it really is a great movie, one of the best comedies ever in my book. If you haven't seen it you really need to
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My Film Review Thread
^packerbacker87^

**NEW**
The Social Network - 1/14
True Grit - 1/7

[bookend57]

Dog Soldiers [2002, Neil Marshall]



The second Niel Marshall film I've reviewed today, i like the man's style apparently. Dog Soldiers is about a squad of British soldiers who are air lifted to a forest for a training exercise, but the team soon discovers a Special Ops base that was destroyed by someone, or something. The soldiers are then attacked by a hairy beast, they don't know what has hit them but one of their men is dead and their sergeant seriously injured, guts pouring out his stomach and all. They run for their lives and stumble upon a car driving down a dirt road through the woods, they get a lift to the nearest house (the only one for 50 miles) and seek refuge their, but they are being surrounded by the beast that attacked them, now there are more though, many more. With a small amount of live ammo remaining and hours until daylight, will they be able to hold of the werewolf intruders until sunrise? Marshall's first directorial work is the best werewolf film ever in my opinion and combines a great deal of black humor, scares, and gore. The dialogue between the Brits is often entertaining as the British slang they use will be unfamiliar to most, but upon further understanding, will get laughs.

The Verdict: B - 82%


American Gangster [2007, Ridley Scott]



The story of a black man in 1970s Harlem who rises to power when his boss suddenly dies, rising to power in the drug business that is. Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) quickly rises to power in the city by selling a product that is half the cost and twice the potency of his competitors. Detective Richie Robins (Russell Crowe) is just about the only cop in the New York area who isn't crooked, and is determined to find this new drug kingpin and bring him to justice. Although, not Scott's best work American Gangster is a solid gangster film and provide a nice amount of thrills and doesn't skimp out on the violence (Washington nearly kills a guy with a piano) and accurately portrays the police corruption and crime and drug problems that flooded the streets of New York in the late 60s early 70s.

The Verdict: B+ - 86%
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^packerbacker87^

**NEW**
The Social Network - 1/14
True Grit - 1/7

[bookend57]

28 Days Later [2003, Danny Boyle]



The story of a man who awakens out of a coma and finds himself alone in the hospital. The walks out onto the streets of London only to realize that he is alone, not a soul to be seen in the entire city. However, he soon realizes that there is something wrong and he stumbles upon some people who ytry to, well, eat him. He is rescued by a man and woman who have taken refuge in a candy stand in the local subway station. The film is about survival and the lengths to what one will do to make sure their life continues. The disease spreads fast and once either the blood or saliva of the infected enters your blood stream you have about 10 seconds until you too become a "zombie". My favorite Danny Boyle picture doubles as a top-notch zombie flick and strong political parable and is a great B-movie, with a budget well under $10 million. Much more thoughtful than your run-of-the-mill zombie movie, 28 Days Later is one of the best zombie films you will see, its well worth a watch.

The Verdict: B+ - 86%


The Incredible Hulk [2008, Louis Leterrier]



I think we all know the story behind this picture, Bruce Banner is a scientist on the run from the U.S. Government because he is infected with Gamma radiation and whenever his heart rate exceeds a certain point he transforms into a gigantic green monster, the military wants to study Banner and take whats inside of him and make it a weapon. Banner's long-time love interest, Betty Ross (the daughter of General Thunderbolt Ross, the man bent on capturing Banner) tries to help him along the way. The 2008 version of this film has much more action than its 2003 counterpart directed by Ang Lee and is overall a better film and more crowd pleasing, but, alas, despite being my favorite comic book character, The Incredible Hulk is nothing more than a solid superhero flick, and unmotivated non-fans may not care much for it, but i have interest and enjoyed this film more than most other did.

The Verdict: B- - 76%
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^packerbacker87^

**NEW**
The Social Network - 1/14
True Grit - 1/7

[keysersoze3421]

That seems about right for The Incredible Hulk. It was definitely an improvement on 2003's disaster, and I consider it to be a credible entry into the Marvel canon. Having three good superhero films in one year was a real treat that we may not see until 2011 or '12 (if TDK's sequel comes to fruition).
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This guy wants to tell me we're living in a community? Don't make me laugh. I'm living in America, and in America you're on your own. America's not a country. It's just a business.

[ienjoythesnow]

whenever i think about the movie american gangster the end just always stands out in my head and am reminded of this song. such a lame ending imo.

EDIT: if i were to score the film i'd give it a 78/100. If denzel was such a BA, why did he wear the fur coat and hat in the first place? what cause his woman wanted him to? pshh. a real gangster would stick to his principles and not give a ish what his women thinks. then again, the whole movie relies on him wearing it. i also thought it was one of russell crowe's worst performances.
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RaiderX with the assist^^

[Buckrock101]

I'm not a fan of American Gangster. It was too long, it dragged, and the ending was pretty weak. Not a bad film, but I'd only give it about a B-/C+.
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[keysersoze3421]

To weigh in on American Gangster, it's an A in my book.
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This guy wants to tell me we're living in a community? Don't make me laugh. I'm living in America, and in America you're on your own. America's not a country. It's just a business.

[Thrillhouse]

I thinks it's a 4 star film, but it did have one glaring weakness: Roger Bart's entire time spent on-screen was PAINFUL to watch. Thankfully, it was only 5-10 minutes, but I can't shake the ham from my mind. That guy almost brought the movie to a screeching halt...stick to Broadway, man....
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[bookend57]

The major flaw of American Gangster was indeed the length, it was longer than it needed to be, especially if you have the unrated extended edition like i do, its 20 minutes longer than the original, a clean three hours, i wish they had done something different with the ending rather than just have Washington leave prison and walk the streets with the guy that put him away for 15 years, even though he did become his defense attorney, don't tell me you wouldn't have some pent up anger for that man, the ending is boring and unrealistic in my book, but that doesn't change the fact that the first two hours and 45 minutes of the movie were more than solid, hence the high "B" grade.
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^packerbacker87^

**NEW**
The Social Network - 1/14
True Grit - 1/7

[bookend57]

[bookend57]

Zach and Miri Make a Porno [2008, Kevin Smith]



Two best friends (one male the other female) are roommates and are short on funds to pay the utility bills and rent and resort to the extreme to make the necessary money they need ot keep their apartment. The movie is a solid comedy that will make you laugh out loud on several occasions and has a surprising sensitive side to it, something i wasn't really expecting, however there are parts to the movie that drag on for too long as the plot to the film is pretty simple and basic, and you know from the beginning what is going to happen, i wish Kevin Smith would have made a more original ending, not one someone who hasn't even seen the film could expect.

The Verdict: C+ - 73%
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^packerbacker87^

**NEW**
The Social Network - 1/14
True Grit - 1/7

[Thrillhouse]

That's probably an appropriate grade for Zack and Miri, even though I enjoyed it. I thought the idea the story was based around was a solid one comedically and emotionally, but I don't think Kevin Smith handled it properly. There wasn't enough payoff and instead what we got in the end was a cheesy result to the story.

But there were some great "money shots" (pardon the pun) as far as comedies go. Including a really gross one that I enjoyed.
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