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Meta
Tag Archives: 2014
Ghost Rider 3.5/5
watched this at the cinema when it first came out and rather enjoyed it, but wanted to check it again, at it seems to be kicked around a fair bit. I enjoyed it just as much this time, but to … Continue reading
Hooper 3/5
Easy going, fun, undemanding stuntman comedy with Burt Reynolds, interestingly touching on a man getting to the end of his career, and damaged from it. It has a few laughs and exciting scenes, but my favourite parts are the bar … Continue reading
God Bless America – Odd One Out 050
God Bless America – podcast
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay 3.5/5
More goofy fun with the two guys trying to have fun, with some rather fine visual gags (I laughed really hard at least twice, and laughed pretty much throughout), and some really funny jokes riffing on racist idiots, stereotypes, and … Continue reading
Beowulf 2/5
This pitches up between real-life cinema and more cartoonish styles, and feels like the worse of both. The nearly-human animation feels unreal by its very nearly-ness, giving the whole thing of watching a cast acting through thick botox-poisoning. In contrast, … Continue reading
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle 3/5
This was undemanding fun, watching the two guys going through a hellish night just for burgers, but learning a little about life. Neil Patrick Harris is particularly fun.
Wolf of Wall Street 4/5
The 3 hours just flies by for the most part, and even though it is baggy in places, the scenes that play out remain pretty entertaining. Leo is doing great work here, as is Jonah Hill, and it’s kind of … Continue reading
Star Trek The Original Series Season 2 Episodes 01-10 – Odd One Out 049
Mark talks about Star Trek The Original Series, Season 2, Episodes 1-10
The Heat 3.5/5
If you’re fine with a constant stream of profanities, which I am, then this is the movie for you. I’ve always liked Bullock as a comedienne, and this pairing with McCarthy is pretty fun. It’s not great, but it’s pretty … Continue reading
Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Seven Samurai – 130
In this episode, Mark and Sam discuss The Lego Movie and a few other movies/games, but then move onto 3 Kurosawa movies: Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Seven Samurai.
Posted in Podcasts
Tagged 2014, foreign language, samurai
Comments Off on Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Seven Samurai – 130
The Lego Movie 4/5
Very fun movie with one insanely catchy tune that will lodge in your head like a brainspider. It’s goofy and surreal, with plenty of jokes, some of which are at oldschool Lego expense, which is fine. Without spoiling however, I … Continue reading
World’s Greatest Dad 3/5
As I watched this, I thought I really didn’t like it. It seemed disjointed, and I found virtually all the characters unlikeable or positively annoying. I cannot fault the movie on the acting, sound design or cinematography though, the problem … Continue reading
Seven Samurai 5/5
Here’s the short version: Superb, one of the greatest movies of all time. Here’s the long version: This is a terrific film, and the version I saw at 3 hours, 26 minutes really shouldn’t have a single moment removed, in … Continue reading
Carnival of Souls 3/5
This is a really interesting movie. It falls flat on a lot of the acting and dialogue, but really stands out for several reasons; the weird overuse of weird organ music throughout and indeed the whole sound design, which is … Continue reading
Sanjuro 4/5
Whilst not as thoroughly engaging or immersed in a coherent story as the similar Yojimbo (and there’s debate as to whether this is a sequel, or different character), this is still a lot of fun. With very little dialogue, we … Continue reading
Cabin in the Woods 3.5/5
This is a fun watch. I particularly like the Lovecraftian element that runs through it, and spotting which monsters are actually monsters we all know and love. I particularly enjoyed seeing the modified versions of Pinhead and Pennywise, but wished … Continue reading
Get the Gringo 3/5
Yep, we have Mel Gibson doing what he’s good at, which is excessively violent action genre movies. This one’s quite unusual and not what I expected, as he spends most of the time in a Mexican prison, but it’s fun, … Continue reading
Yojimbo 4.5/5
Wonderful Eastern, with Tishuro Mifune spending the first 3rd of the movie munching rice, meat and other assorted goodies, drinking sake and killing tough-talking bandit types, whilst nonchalantly bringing the town to a boiling tension as he plays one gang … Continue reading
God Bless America 4/5
This is the only liberal revenge fantasy movie I know of. It turns the usual vigilante/justified killer genre movie on its head by changing the target of the anger-fuelled killings from the usual right-wing demons like foreigners, lefties and the … Continue reading
Return of the Jedi 4/5
Fun to watch, and better than I remember it. I guess how much you enjoy this one may hinge on how much the ewoks grate on you. I like them. I find them charming, I like the tribal shennanegins and … Continue reading
Yeux Sans Visage 3.5/5
There is an odd mix of poetic and delicate sensibility and gore in this movie. It has some quite haunting and striking imagery – and this, I think, is the thing that will stay with me above all else – … Continue reading
Julia’s Eyes 3/5
This thriller has a pretty great central performance, and like others have noted, owes more to the legacy of Italian giallo movies like Deep Red that Spanish horror. However, it is very engaging, and really keeps you tense for the … Continue reading
Revenge of the Sith 3.5/5
Rather enjoyable conclusion to the prequel trilogy, with some gaping flaws (Annakin turns to the dark side on some really dodgy-sounding arguments from Palpatine – I think the rationales used are fine, but the dialogue is weak), but some rather … Continue reading
Star Wars: Clone Wars 4/5
This is a review of both parts of the Star:Wars Clone Wars 2-D animated series. This is fun, exciting and fresh, and the best Star Wars since the original trilogy. Originally broadcast in 4 or 5 minute segments, this still … Continue reading
An American Werewolf In London 4.5/5
This movie holds up, and remains one of the great comedy-horror movies, for several reasons. The transformation scene, done entirely using practical effects, still looks pretty great (apart from some of the elongated hands moments, but I stress ‘some’), the … Continue reading
Groundhog Day 5/5
Beautifully constructed film that does three things nearly perfectly: entertains, enthrals, and enlightens. The script is a million miles away from the A->Z scripts so often found in romantic comedies, and the turns taken keep you guessing, and you realise … Continue reading
The Nutty Professor 1963 3/5
Some rather fine comedy scenes, in particular the hangover scene, the first-person perspective of Buddy’s first appearance in public, the first jeckyll-and-hide-like transformation scene, Buddy sharp-talking the dean, and the parental family home flashback. Other bits didn’t work so well, … Continue reading
Star Wars 2: Attack of the Clones 3.5/5
Well, I think whenever Annakin is on screen in dramatic parts, it feels quite poor and drags by his mopey teenager persona, but there were two dramatic scenes I thought were decent. The first, the death-scene of Shmi Skywalker, was … Continue reading
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 4/5
Rather charming, clever and extremely inventive animated movie, that starts well and just gets better and better. I like some of the great ideas in here, like the clever girl having her own protective behaviours such as hiding her own … Continue reading
The Man With The Iron Fists 2.5/5
This movie had some real problems, and I was getting bored in the first act. It looked pretty, the action scenes were decent to very good, and you could tell care was taken over the look and feel. However, it … Continue reading