Wanted's point was to have OTT fun. Whether it succeeded or not is another matter. When I said it added nothing new, I meant it had nothing new to say when it comes to falling in and out of love in reality. What does it say? That relationships start and end, and in the end you will meet another girl? As if everyone didn't already know that. And no, it's not true every time either. I didnt have much problems with it when I was watching, I was entertained by the slight quirks here and there and the occasional flourish of style (expectations v. reality), but it was after the movie that I wondered how come I didn't love this movie. I think it's a good movie, just not that good.

P/S: Maybe it's because I've never actually went through the kind of suffering he went through. It was never this bad.

PP/S: Oh its been 3 days. I'm declaring Paranormal Activity a dud. Really, the only scene worth its salt is its final scene. Now, the ending to [REC], that's what I call scary.

This post has been edited by QuickFire: Dec 27 2009, 08:35 PM

I'm not sure. Apparently there are a few alternate endings. I saw the theatrical and one alternate ending. Most people dont quite like the theatrical ending (or so I read), which involves something flying, but personally I much preferred it to the alternate ending I saw, which involved a knife.

I recommended it to a friend who has been suffering like Tom for close to a year now, probably even worse. I forgot to follow up and ask her how it was, but she probably hasnt seen it yet.

I think its a good movie, just not the definitive movie about romance and break up people are saying it is. Come to think of it, I dont have a definitive romance movie. I can relate to Tom, I've felt the way he felt, just on a smaller scale.

Crimson Tide

Where have all the loud and smart (or at least not dumb) blockbusters like this and Air Force One gone? Thrilling and entertaining as hell.

I decided to watch No Country For Old Men again, to see what the real hoohaa still is, considering it ranks so highly among so many best of the decade lists. First time I watched it two years back, I was unfamiliar with the Coen Bros works and was expecting a straight-up thriller, and when the movie ended the way it did I was basically screaming "you cant end a movie like THAT!".

Now that I've seen a few of their films, and knew what to expect, I was pretty awe-struck. I paid a lot more attention this time, and I think I have a good grasp of what the ending (or non-ending) is about. And even if you do not get the ending, I still think the first 110 minutes constitute a perfectly crafted thriller, one which if you pretended it had a standard ending would have been THE thriller of the decade, probably. Its use of silence, the beautiful photography of Roger Deakins, the variety of different, yet strangely likeable characters, the great dialogue, and some of the most tense, most violent scenes you will see ever, all make it a terrific thriller. It's a very smart thriller as well, with a lot of details that a dumb or inattentive viewer will miss (like why Anton removes the number plates from the vehicle, or why Llewelyn delibrately crashes the pickup truck, or why Anton checks the underneath of his boots after his visit to someone). However, it is Tommy Lee Jones' character and his stories are what elevates this beyond a mere brilliant thriller.

I think I'll give this a 5.

Also saw Das Boot, the 3-hour 20-minute director's cut. I liked the movie, but felt it was too long. Something around 2-2.5 hours would have been better I think, but I;ve read that people prefer this over the theatrical cut. It's still a very tense, claustrophobic submarine drama/thriller of course. Compared to the two submarine movies I've watched recently (The Hunt for Red October and Crimson Tide), this feels more like an authentic movie about life in a submarine in the time of war, rather than simply exploiting the unique setting of a submarine to carve out a thriller.

P/S: I feel like compiling a best of the year list, but I have poor memory and would probably have a few glaring oversights, but I think the best movie I've seen this year is Moon. A truly great film, but not exactly a 5-starrer imo, which probably says that this year hasnt been really good... "thus far" (considering I've yet to see many of them, damn malaysia).

This post has been edited by QuickFire: Jan 2 2010, 11:37 PM

I have my own interpretations of it. It may not be the 'definitive' one (if one actually exists), but I'm okay with that. Still, I think a third viewing will be in place to see if my understanding of it deepens, but not so soon.

I don't know where I'll place it on my best of the decade list (but it wont be that high on my list), because I dont have such a list. To embark on such an undertaking would be too time-consuming. I cant even make my top 10 list for the year! But one contender for best of the decade would be Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. In fact, in response to my own comments a few pages back about my definitive 'love' movie, I think this is it.

I was actually downloading a copy of the original Danish movie, but halfway through all the seeds disappeared. Nevermind la, got many other movies to watch lol.

Is it similar to NCFOM or what?

hey you work in Cineleisure right? Does Cineleisure Damansara use Dolby 3D or Real3D for Avatar? And is the hall big?

Someone said TGV uses it. But I've heard Dolby3D is better.

Ditto. Any little sense of tension is deflated once daylight comes, and when it's nighttime and you expect SOMETHING REALLY CREEPY to happen, well, a door swings, and, uhm, a woman stands still beside the bed for 3 hours, and you watch it in fast-forward mode. That's actually a bit creepy, but also more towards funny. I know what the filmmakers were trying to do. They were trying to slowly jack up the creeps and scares: start off with something insignificant and lets add in more and more bits each night. The problem is, they started off with too little, and added too little as it went on. As I've said, takes away the last 5 or 10 mins and it's simply a glorified version of TV's ghost adventures.

Now take [REC], it starts off slow as well (as is customary in handheld cam movies), but once it raises the tension it doesn't let go. And once the tension is maxed they let you off the hook for a few seconds, in the penthouse. Only for a few seconds, because once the light comes back on in there a whole new terror envelops you. I've heard Quarantine drops the stuff about religion, but that was actually one of the reasons I felt the whole ending to [REC] worked so well.

The last 15 minutes are the scariest I've ever felt in a movie. Nothing even comes close.

P/S: lol someone up there actually thinks Paranormal Activity really happened. Yeah. Reality has alternative endings too.

Shallow Grave - Danny Boyle's debut is one weird movie. And not in a good way. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth with its cast of unsavoury characters. Not enough of good stuff for me to recommend it.

This post has been edited by QuickFire: Jan 9 2010, 12:26 AM

Amadeus - The director's cut. Interesting all the way through, but I did expect something more serious. Still, one cant deny the movie looks ravishing with its lavish sets and clothing, boasts some strong performances and excellent music.

Red Dragon - Third time watching, not as good as I thought it once was but very solid. Its most obvious weakness is its conventionalism. Norton, who is always hit-or-miss for me, is a bit of a miss here. Great score by Danny Elfman... the main credits piece is especially awesome!

The Midnight Meat Train - I liked this. It looks really dark and foreboding, has an atmosphere of dread throughout, can be really creepy at times... but its bogged down first and foremost by its over reliance of CGI gore. I've said it before, serious horror flicks that want to scare should never ever go near CGI, even if you have Avatar-like technology. It never convinces. Good ol ketchup works better every single time. Anyway, the plot gets more absurd by the minute, so much so that you get the feeling its gonna pull out the "dual identity" or "oh no its all a dream" card at the end. That it doesn't is a good thing, but be forewarned the revelation is even more absurd, but I kinda liked it. This could end up a cult classic.

Cloverfield - Its concept is exceedingly well-executed. I would say it's a heck load of fun, but it's more towards chilling in its depiction of a city under siege by something massive. By far, I think, the most authentic telling of a monster attack.

This post has been edited by QuickFire: Jan 11 2010, 09:57 PM

Was [REC] ever shown here? I didnt know that. Quarantine is just a shot-for-shot remake, so I wont bother with it.



I remember this. Laughably bad in places la... very mildly entertaining in a few, but it never made me tense. Mark Wahlberg has some HOLY SHIT! kind of acting here.

Air Force One. Fucking awesome, this movie.

Gran Torino. It has no right to work really, and yet, despite the collective bad acting from the asians (which in a strange way feels rather sincere and charming), it totally works. Much of it is down to Eastwood himself. Every time he spits, the movie gains a point from me.

Casablanca, for the first time. Everything they say about this movie is true. Classic, deservedly.

Hey I've seen people who post it without italics, and it still comes out fine. Someone tell me how to do that. I only use it occasionally when the particular movies is so badass (or bad) that it warrants the use of it

I have Sunset Blvd. and Citizen Kane (finally!) on my next-to-watch list. The latter will either be a masterpiece or a disappointment. lol

So I watched Sunset Blvd.. I liked it quite a lot, but it wasnt until around the 50th minute mark that I realized I was approaching the film the wrong way, and it wasn't until then that I started to really like it. I was expecting a crime film-noir, or at least a movie with a chunky element of crime involved. But that's not it, the movie isnt about the murder, it's REALLY about Hollywood and the people who live in it. When I saw Cecil B. DeMile's name in the credits in the beginning, I thought it was only going to be a small cameo for him. As it turns out, while his role as himself isnt a whole lot, it's far from small and insignificant. I might not know a lot about the classic Hollywood period, but this film feels authentic. I will stop just short of calling this a great film, but time and repeat viewings might change that.

I think I will watch the extended edition of King Kong next.

I watched Sunset Blvd. last night. Just done with King Kong. The added scenes dont add anything to the movie, they are just action scenes involving more dinosaurs and creatures which provide some fun but also extends the already lengthy running time of the movie. All in all I still like the movie but I'm feeling less and less impressed with it. Jackson poured a lot of love into this... too much even, and also including the love of himself. Anyway, Kong's CGI is really good, but apart from that it's not very good. WETA have always sucked in the integration of CGI with live-action. Real characters look like they are running and jumping in front a screen with back projection, and look like they have white marker outlines on them. I lol.

Next week got class already lah... now watch a bit more movies first.

That freeway chase is bloody awesome. What do you mean by the stop-start nature of it? It's non-stop action for 15 minutes (or so)! I have never come to understand the plot of Reloaded and Revolutions though.

Courage Under Fire - Starts off not very interesting and gimmicky but after 40 minutes surprisingly gets pretty layered and complex in its characters and their motivations. The film actually benefits from Matt Damon's buffed-up roles he was to play in later movies, because after watching him in movies like the Bourne trilogy, and then watching him here, you pretty much get a shock. And the movie is all the better and more effective because of how the look of his character shocks you. A very fine movie.

But Meg Ryan sucks. Thankfully her part is minimal.

This post has been edited by QuickFire: Jan 15 2010, 11:32 PM

Haha touche. I'm an unscrupulous fella, guys. When (ok, if) one day I'm making the big bucks I will get all the original dvds/bluray/whatever format its called then.

Until then, good quality downloads. I no longer get dvds from those pasar malam uncles because why should I pay for something they are stealing? Plus pirated dvds usually have worse quality than my downloads. Even those "blu-ray dvds" that have excellent picture, they sometimes have out-of-sync audio.

Oh I saw Cinema Paradiso. Amazing.

This post has been edited by QuickFire: Jan 16 2010, 02:53 PM

I saw the 3-hour cut. I see no real problems with it. I know many prefer the original 2-hour cut, but there are also a number who think the extended cut is better. I can't say for sure as I haven't seen the shorter version, but I think the last hour works very well and validates the necessity of the middle hour. There is movie magic, but there is now also a sense of reality, and the bittersweet nature of the ending seals them together. I would have taken out the bit where they reveal they had sex though. Restricting them to a kiss would have worked better I felt, as far as the forbidden, forlorn, forgone love theme is concerned.

However, I have also read about how the normal version ends, and I can still see it working. But I prefer the one I watched, a least until I manage to get a hold of the shorter cut.

5/10 doesnt sound that bad lol.

L.A. Confidential - One my my favourite movies. Three staggeringly brilliant characters anchored with three equally brillaint performances, an extremely well-written and smart plot, assured direction, a classy period look, superb pacing... this has it all. When the moment comes where two characters meet, one an unstoppable force and the other an immovable object, and instead of going against each other as they have done up till then, they go in tandem, and one of the movie's best line ("... with a wrecking ball!") is said, that moment... it simply makes me want to yell "f*** yes!".

I watched The Wizard of Oz a few weeks back. I can see how it looked vivid and fabulous in its day, and some of the effects still look pretty good today, but... damn! The movie is for the Barney crowd! I sure didnt expect it to be this childish! The 5-year-old boy inside me is still alive, but a 3-year-old girl sure isn't.