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Saw a few movies recently

Puss N Boots, pretty good for a kid movie, I prefered it to the last Shrek installment (possibly 2)

In Time -- Interesting movie with an interesting premise.  I liked Vincent Karthheiser (sp?) as the bad guy. 

Immortals -- not that great, pretty poor acting, but some decent special effects. 

Read an artcle about this movie
http://www.juanofthedeadmovie.com/lang/en/

Want to see this, not often (if ever) Cuba has allowed an even semi-anti-Castro/Socialism movie be released.
 
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Never read it, had no interest in the Swedish film and had less interest in this remake. Friend of mine got tickets to the press screening which was great for two reasons: 1. Everyone had to leave their mobile phones outside. 2. No dullards talking during the movie.

As for the movie. A lot of bleak shots, a lot of smoking, a fair bit of rape, general violence and a decent "whodunnit" murder mystery. Fincher's movies are always worth looking at but this suffers from a very uneven script that didn't need all the sub plots (maybe they pay off in the sequels?). Compared Fincher's Zodiac which is perfection as far as I'm concerned this just screams of "NOTICE ME, I'M DISTURBING" Great performances though: 3/5.
 
snake plissken said:
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo...  this just screams of "NOTICE ME, I'M DISTURBING"
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The Swedish one is no different. I found the original very cliched and as you mention... desperate to be disturbing. I have no interest in watching this one even if I do like David Fincher.

I saw The Descendants with George Clooney. I loved this movie. It is a HEAVY drama with little comic relief. Clooney's character is left to make sense of his life while his wife is in a coma after a boating accident. I don't know if to feel happy or concerned that I was able to identify with the emotional rollercoaster of a 50 something family man. The sadness, loss, betrayal, regret, anger and ultimately forgiveness... wow. Good movie.
 
Onhell said:
The Swedish one is no different.
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That surprises me. Mostly a remake is worse than an original. Actually I am not bothered to see the remake this soon. It's always going to be worse, that is: if you like the original. And I certainly did. Exciting and suspenseful film. I only didn't like the end that much.

Forostar said:
Also the thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy should be really cool.
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Great espionage film. Lots of intrigue and witty characters, portrayed by a giant cast. Set in London in the early 1970s, the story follows the hunt for a Soviet double agent at the top of the British secret service. This is everything a James Bond film is not. It's not that fast and it has not much action, and it´s more about the `inside world´of (and the struggles of individual workers in) the British Secret Intelligence instead of all kinds of unrealistic adventures outside of it. Recommended!
 
Saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie, enjoyable. I liked the first one a bit more, but this was still good. Being in the Sherlock mood, I watched the first 2 episodes of British series Sherlock, very entertaining. Too bad there are only 3 of them made so far, I hope there will be more.
 
Great to see some new ones are coming, the first two that I watched were excellent.

Perhaps a bit off topic, but why are British TV seasons so short? Shows like Doc Martin and Misfits last 8 episodes per season, Sherlock seems to be doing 3 (though they are 90 mins). Most US scripted shows go 23 to 30 episodes on network and cable series from 13 to 20.
 
I think it's a cultural thing. British people seem to tire of series easily and want them to end before they get dragged out (see UK Office vs . US Office).
 
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BritishBrevity

If you waste the whole day browsing TV Tropes after clicking that link, I can not be held legally responsible.

So I finally got around to seeing Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. In a word, excellent. For those who haven't heard about it, it's a spy thriller based on a novel by John le Carré about a retired spy who is secretly brought in to investigate the possibility of a Soviet mole in the top circles of the British intelligence service. It was surprisingly coherent and well-paced considering how complicated the plot is, and the intensely paranoid atmosphere that slowly builds up as the investigation proceeds lingered with me a long time after the movie had ended. The subdued style - most of the story consists of conversations in various grey and bleak places - might not appeal to everyone, but I really recommend it anyway.
 
I'm not excited for the US remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for the very simple reason that the Swedish version was totally awesome already. In fact, I find it mildly insulting that Hollywood couldn't leave well alone.

As for Sherlock Holmes, the only reason I want to see the new installment is because of Noomi Rapace (the girl who played the original Lisbeth Salander). I like Holmes quite a bit but the Hollywood adaptations are completely out of line with how I picture the stories to be. Don't get me wrong, nice effects and all but still. On the other hand, I think the British series is brilliant, very excited to hear there is a new season out.

Another great British TV series is Downton Abbey if anyone is interested in escapist period dramas taking place in the WWI era.
 
Homeland was the best new TV show this Fall (on Showtime). Damian Lewis and Claire Danes are terrific, and Mandy Patinkin (Diego Montoya) steals the show. Tense, twisting plot with a number of surprises. Very intelligently written and well acted.
 
Shadow said:
So I finally got around to seeing Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. In a word, excellent. For those who haven't heard about it, it's a spy thriller based on a novel by John le Carré about a retired spy who is secretly brought in to investigate the possibility of a Soviet mole in the top circles of the British intelligence service. It was surprisingly coherent and well-paced considering how complicated the plot is, and the intensely paranoid atmosphere that slowly builds up as the investigation proceeds lingered with me a long time after the movie had ended. The subdued style - most of the story consists of conversations in various grey and bleak places - might not appeal to everyone, but I really recommend it anyway.
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Well described!
 
Natalie said:
I like Holmes quite a bit but the Hollywood adaptations are completely out of line with how I picture the stories to be. Don't get me wrong, nice effects and all but still. On the other hand, I think the British series is brilliant, very excited to hear there is a new season out.
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As am I. @Forostar: This was the one I spoke about a while back. If you can get BBC1 (I seem to remember you saying you can), it's on New Years Day. However, the sacrifice we have had to make for this series is less episodes of Doctor Who (same writer). Not a bad compromise!

Natalie said:
Another great British TV series is Downton Abbey if anyone is interested in escapist period dramas taking place in the WWI era.
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Oh how much I actually enjoy Downton Abbey.
 
Albie said:
As am I. @Forostar: This was the one I spoke about a while back. If you can get BBC1 (I seem to remember you saying you can), it's on New Years Day. However, the sacrifice we have had to make for this series is less episodes of Doctor Who (same writer). Not a bad compromise!
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Ok! Yes I can. :) I need to record it because I am not sure if I am able to see it when it's broadcasted. In the last season, Holmes' fast thoughts were portrayed in a pretty cool, modern way.

Albie said:
Oh how much I actually enjoy Downton Abbey.
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Reading Nat's description, that one sounds nice as well!
 
I added Downtown Abbey to the Netflix queue, thanks for the recommendation. I tried watching Whites, but did not really get into into it. Any other non-US shows anyone would recommend. Current British shows I like are Doc Martin and Misfits.

I have been watching Star Trek Voyager and DS9 (never finished either of them when they were on originally) and the early seasons of Law and Order.

God, I love the internet. Sometimes I think I was born 20 years too soon :)
 
I wasn't huge on Voyager, but DS9 was incredible. I hope that you enjoy it. Let me know where you get in the series, because I really do love to talk about it.
 
I just started Season 5 of Voyager and am in the middle of Season 3 of DS9. Voyager did get much better after 7 of 9 came on board, it has gotten better as I have gotten deeper into the show.. I really liked DS9 as well, but stopped watching in the middle of Season 5 during the original run ... life in a pre-TIVO world made syndicated shows hard to watch.

I might give Enterprise a shot when I am done with these 2.

Voyager, I just gave up on in the middle of Season 2, after TNG, DS9, and the movies I think there was just too much Star Trek. I would like to see it back on TV in some form.
 
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