GRcade

Alright chaps, let's get this going again.



Recurring topics include:

Poncho wrote:- Everyone ranking the Pixar films from best to worst
- Who is Keyser Söze?
- chalkitdown being wrong about something
- Sea beams or sea breams?
- Whether or not Batman Begins is superior to The Dark Knight

RLLMUK'S top films: http://www.grcade.com/viewtopic.php?p=2385680#p2385680

Excellent!

The Killing Fields (Roland Joffé, 1984) - Beginning in 1973 the film is set in Cambodia at the time of the US withdrawal from neighbouring Vietnam. The result of the US military's decision to escalate its campaign into neutral Cambodia, was the outbreak of a civil war between the Cambodian national army and the Communist Khmer Rouge. This conflict forms the backdrop to the events depicted in the film, which we see through the eyes of Sydney Schanberg and Dith Pran, two journalists from the USA and Cambodia respectively.

However, the film is more than just a basic re-telling of historical events. The deterioration of the situation within Cambodia during the 1970s is a major focus, and the film leaves the audience with no doubt as to the nature of the atrocities committed under Pol Pot's regime. That said, at the heart of the film is the friendship between the two previously mentioned journalists. Sam Waterston and Haing S. Ngor are both excellent in these two main roles, and are well supported by a cast which also includes John Malkovich. Crucially this humanist approach does not detract attention away from the suffering of the Cambodian people, which the film emphasises in a manner which is moving, and not at all preachy.

Where the film succeeds best though is in its brilliant cinematography. The film was shot on location in Thailand, and Chris Menges' photography ensures that everything from the landscapes, to the scenes of human suffering are well presented. The overall result is a powerful piece of cinema, which easily ranks alongside the wealth of excellent films, which similarly critique the role of the US military in neighbouring Vietnam.

Seed of Chucky 6/10

Works rather well as a comedy/horror movie but damn, the direction changed a hell of a lot since the original Child's Play.

300.

Good popcorn action film. Nothing too deep. Nice style.

7/10

First page of a BIG thread

Anyway

The Science of Sleep - 9/10

Right up my alley, wonderful and quirky. I loved the dream sequences and Stephanie really grew on me as the film went on, great performance from Gael Garcia Bernal as usual.

Dodgeball - 5/10

Only marginally entertaining and really not very funny at all. Stiller is also unusually cringe worthy at some points as well.

The Kind of Comedy - very different to Scorcese's usual output, and most of my friends absolutely hated it. I thought it was one of his best films; wonderfully dark. [*****]

'Finding Neverland' - charming and quite blubbery....

And more to the point - the new site is excellent - well done to all ! - lets hope it goes from strength to strength.


And besides - you can do clever things !

Armageddon

Saw this on TV again last night. My god, I'd forgotten how awful it is. It's just plain embarrassing. Just about every shot is backframed with the Stars & Stripes and the dialogue is so cheesy it's off the scale. Just awful, in every possible way. Everyone involved in making it should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. Having said all that, the FX weren't too bad, at all.

First post on GRcade. Yeah!

The Big Lebowski - 8/10 - I loved every single character in this film. Brilliantly funny.

Wall-E - 8/10 - A fantastic achievement. Loved it.

Cal wrote:Armageddon

Saw this on TV again last night. My god, I'd forgotten how awful it is. It's just plain embarrassing. Just about every shot is backframed with the Stars & Stripes and the dialogue is so cheesy it's off the scale. Just awful, in every possible way. Everyone involved in making it should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. Having said all that, the FX weren't too bad, at all.

And how many cameos were in that? My god.

Fargo 9/10

Classic Cohen brothers

Poncho wrote:The Kind of Comedy - very different to Scorcese's usual output, and most of my friends absolutely hated it. I thought it was one of his best films; wonderfully dark. [*****]

I love this film. I also think it helps demonstrate why De Niro is a better actor than Pacino.

[REC] -- 7/10

Fantastic new entry in the currently dying zombie/infected genre.

It's not very long (less than 90mins) but in that it manages to be one of the most atmospheric & sometimes chilling movies I have seen for quite some time.

I highly recommend everyone watch it at least once.

I saw A History of Violence last night. Quite liked it, although some bits were a tad hard to believe.

7/10

Akira.

It's just superb.

Hellboy 2. I've not read any other reviews of it but i thought it was pretty darn good, 8/10 actually.

In Bruges - 9/10 - Funny, but also suprisingly deep. (No Jokes)

Harold And Maude.

*****/*****

Loved it!

Minty14 wrote:In Bruges - 9/10 - Funny, but also suprisingly deep. (No Jokes)

Yup! Good film. I'm tempted to hunt down the rest of the guys work (he was a playwright I think).

Anyway, Cronos.

It was good but I didn't like it nowhere near as much as Devils Backbone and his subsequent work.

7/10

Minty14 wrote:In Bruges - 9/10 - Funny, but also suprisingly deep. (No Jokes)

Just bought this, going to watch it tonight. Expectations are high.

American Splendor

A remarkable story that was surprising moving. The scene at the end at his retirement party of his file clerk job was wonderful, you really wish this guy all the best for his life. His talented, has a clear vision of his art and a desire to make it happen. Paul Giamatti is brillant as the guy (his name decieves me) but it's the scenes with the real guy for me that were special, the tv shows, the interviews and the documentry footage (which the retirement party bit come from). The film also has a great style and is hilarious. A must see.