huh? i thought the last half hour or so did pretty good in that department.

Okay, this is a bit of hyperbole here.

Yeah, then ending definitely brought the suspense. The first part was just a bit slower paced than I expected. It probably didn't help that I started the movie at about 1:00am and I was tired at the beginning so by the end I was fighting to keep my eyes open.

Exactly.

The Haunted Cornea

I thought Michael Clayton was great. Really fun movie, enjoyable from start to finish.

Yr right, it definitely wasn't entertainment

just saw this last night and i agree. i am shiva, the god of death!

'The Assassination of Jesse James' was your favourite movie of last year. Were you entertained by it or was it the arty "European" influence that you appreciated?

Not to start another "feud," but if you think that the Assassination of Jesse James is challenging or some kind of homage to European art films then you definitely don't watch enough movies. It was just basic American entertainment with better cinematography -- I thought it was excellent.

Calling American Gangster mindless entertainment is being very kind. I'd say it was more of a ripoff of every gangster film made in the last 15 years, and in a lower-tier of them. To think that it stands with any of the greats is absurd.

I'm not going to the wall over 'American Gangster' but the heaps of scorn being flung upon it is over the top. It's a cop and drug dealer story. When was the last time a story like that was a cinematic masterpiece? And Denzel and Gladiator? Were you expecting Richard Burton and Sidney Poitier? Outside of "Blade Runner" I'm surprised anyone here likes Ridley Scott.

I kind of liked the Assassination of Jesse James, but it was slow moving to a fault, and I'm not someone who requires a movie to end in 90 min. I can bide my time for hours, but that movie seemed excessive.

I have this on the way from Blockbuster....Preview looked cool.

alien is the only other movie of his that i think is great. gladiator and black hawk down fall into the pretty good category.




and dov, that movie looks AWFUL.

I saw The Band's Visit in the theater this week. The story of an Egyptian police orchestra on a trip into Isreal. Pretty innocuous for a movie about Arab-Isralie relations. No guns, no explosions. Very Hollywood light comedy. 7.5/10.0.

Also watched Michael Clayton. I would agree with what most everyone has said. I love Tilda Swinton, but to think that she won the oscar for that performance is kind of weird. I did like the scene where Clooney confronts her though. 8.0/10.0.

I was entertained by it completely. The European influence was just a after the fact observation. Trust me, American films are becoming more and more influenced by Europe and Asia, mostly because their film markets aren't as sloshed up by videogame dramatizations and whatnot.



Serpico? French Connection? Copland, even? Just off the top of my head. All hailed as great and landmark films. Ok, that last one not so much but it was heralded when it came out. Heh. Come on, both you and I know how much praise is heaped upon Crowe and Denzel that it isn't outside the realm to expect a more tour de force acting performance out of both of them.

As for Scott--he produced Assassination of Jesse James.

Once again, I think that was the point though of JJ. Without being the director, I can't say what his motivation was, but in my mind it was meant to show you how his life really wasn't as amazing and awe-inspiring as his persona in the press would lead you to believe. Its a slow-burner, and Danny, I don't know if I ever said the word "art film" in accordance with European. If I did, I certainly didn't mean it as such. But to say that its European in nature, I don't think is too outstanding a concept.

Justice League: The New Frontier

Damn good.
I love how the focus was on Jordan more than anyone else.

I was really disappointed, actually. Too many characters for 70 minutes. Not to mention zero plot. Some great scenes though. I loved the Flash power establishment sequence.

i honestly didnt notice the length of Jesse James because it was so good.

You have a point about the plot. I was just excited that it had a lot to do with Jordan's origin.

'There Will Be Blood' was great, I think I liked it better than 'No Country for Old Men'. Not once did I think about how long it was, compared to some other movies from last year.

oh you...

Agreed. I liked it better than NCFOM as well. It was a close 2nd in my tops for 07.

Saw 'There Will Be Blood' this weekend. I liked it. It did drag a bit, but never lost my interest. And, like 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford', I have no idea what I'd edit out, so I guess I'd leave it alone.

My friends with whom I saw it said they didn't like the third, final act. He stopped being an interesting complex character, and became a caricature, they said. I agree that he became one-dimensional, but without reading the book, I don't know whether that's the fault of the book's or not; I suspect it is. I didn't mind it so much -- I did like the fact that it started out, you didn't know if he was good or bad, but it felt like a resolution at the end. MHO, YMMV, &c., &c.

Also, saw Angel-A -- awesome movie. Really loved it. I was afraid that they were going to hide the fact that it was part homage to 'It's A Wonderful Life', but they really didn't. Didn't like the climax scene so much -- it was kind of low-rent looking.

I rewatched Heat this weekend...that movie kicks so much ass.

everything i've watched in the past week or so

funny games - was pretty interesting, i think flying rabbit has a more detailed review of it on here somewhere but i'd agree with most of what he said. and it kinda made for a cool double bill with...

peeping tom - i really liked this. it was kind of corny at times and it's hard to see how it ruined the director's career but i thought it was a great film.

p2 - decent gore but boring as hell and, not that this has anything to do with the film, but the director dresses like a douche.

cliffhanger - much better than i remembered it but some of the acting was sooooooooooooo cheesy.

diamonds are forever - probably the worst sean connery bond film. he's probably the only saving grace in this.

the living daylights - the total opposite of the above movie. great plot and stunts but timothy dalton is boring as hell.

borderland - probably one of the better offerings from horrorfest but the capture and torture thing is getting kind of played out though this one had a bit more of a plot behind it.

ive seen both of these in the past 2 weeks. i think both were hyped up a bit too much so neither lived up to the expectations really. i like both but i'd go with No Country over There Will Be Blood.