What did you watch today?

[Vincent_Bouche]

If we're talking strictly films from 2000+ ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sc ... _the_2000s and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sc ... _the_2010s ), I don't have all my notes handy to look up all the scores. But I remember enjoying...

6.75/10 for Cloud Atlas, you're too harsh , it's an ambitious movie, imperfect yes, but really different and that deserves much praise IMO.
Many thanks for this "extensive" listing that reminds me of a few movies I would maybe rank also at 9/10 : Donnie Darko (but I wouldn't really say it's a sci-fi movie!) and of course Inception (I think that's the only one I could rank higher).
There are also a few ones I haven't seen, especially those by Mamoru Hosoda!

[Vincent_Bouche]

Dawn of the Dead (2004, French Blu)
A really good remake of an old classic - 7/10

[Chris_Xa]

6.75/10 for Cloud Atlas, you're too harsh , it's an ambitious movie, imperfect yes, but really different and that deserves much praise IMO.

Actually my scale is more logarithmic (as in, a curve instead of a straight line)... So where others say 3/5 is their average, for me that's more 2/5. 1/5 is average, and 0.5/5 is poor. Generally for me, 3/5=good, 4/5=very good, 5/5=excellent. So almost 7/10 (on my scale) is not bad at all. But given what else I've seen, it did not resonate as strongly as others.

Many thanks for this "extensive" listing that reminds me of a few movies I would maybe rank also at 9/10 : Donnie Darko (but I wouldn't really say it's a sci-fi movie!) and of course Inception (I think that's the only one I could rank higher). There are also a few ones I haven't seen, especially those by Mamoru Hosoda!

Believe DONNIE DARKO to be definitely scifi, but those elements are hidden behind the cryptic plot and direction. You still get things like time travel, aliens, alternate lives, parallel universes, etc - which for me equals scifi. They're so well hidden, that film needs at least 2 watches (a rare thing for me) to fully start comprehending all those hidden meaning.
As for Hosoda, he could well be on the way to becoming the new Miyazaki - that's how well Girl/Leapt/Time and SUMMER WARS impressed me. WOLF CHILDREN was decent but not as good, but he's definitely someone to watch. And considering how disappointed I was with Miyazaki's "final" film, Hosoda may be the only one to carry forth Miyazaki's mantle into the future. Let's hope.

[Ain_Uussaar]

Wrath of the Titans
Grown Ups 2

[Vincent_Bouche]

De Rouille et d'Os (Rust and Bone - French Blu)
Very powerful movie by maybe the best contemporary French director... for those who haven't seen Jacques Audiard's movies, I think it's time to do something - 8/10

[Jim_Mcdonaugh]

Dirty Harry complete collection [UK Blu] - great, better then I expected, read so many bad reviews regarding A/V quality.
To be honest, never even wanted to bother.
The Gauntlet 1977 [UK blu] - nice A/V, good flick.

[Chris_Xa]

12 YEARS A SLAVE (6.25/10, logarithmic scale)
Ok, can see why it won the best film Oscar this year, and the script was very good. Have not seen American Hustle so I don't know if that was better, but from clips of the latter I'd go with this. Deserves the Oscar for adapted script, probably likewise for film (but have only seen GRAVITY and NEBRASKA from the nominees - but would not say it's THE best film of 2013); and even though it lost for editing, it also did a very good job there too. Cannot agree with the best Supporting Actress Oscar though - Lupita did ok but did not have enough presence in the film; Squibb (NEBRASKA) was better, and from clips I saw perhaps it should have gone to Lawrence (someone here saw Roberts in August: Osage County and said she was good in that too). As for the males, Fassbender did a very good job and Chiwetel a close second, though none were Oscar winning performances (haven't seen the respective winners in their respective films, so cannot judge). Good direction and ok cinematography, but GRAVITY deserves those category wins.
As for the film, a good look of a journey through slavery in the USA. Beginning seemed like an unrealistic premise to me, but the end advises it was a true story and what happens at the start DID infact happen (a case where reality is stranger than fiction). Also got me thinking about capitalism and many other "-ism"s, human nature, the root of American industry, exercising control and power, ruling through fear, why education is important, the power of organisation, and more. Is it a cinema film though? Well it uses the wide screen very well, so perhaps - but only if you don't have a big screen at home; the sound is nothing special though.

MONUMENTS MEN (4/10, logarithmic scale)
Misleading trailer suggesting action, which is not. Ok drama, average direction (that feels somewhat wayward) & script. If you expect battles, action, capers, heists, etc - forget it - but not a bad mini-history on what happened to the art during WW2. Not for the cinema though.

[Chris_Xa]

Dirty Harry complete collection [UK Blu] - great, better then I expected, read so many bad reviews regarding A/V quality.
To be honest, never even wanted to bother.
The Gauntlet 1977 [UK blu] - nice A/V, good flick.

A good series of films including the Gauntlet (which I sometimes think of as Dirty Harry #0). Magnum is the best, and Enforcer is probably the weakest. Pity Clint does not like extras and commentaries; oh well.

Jim, I've been given to understand you live in Russia; if I'm correct, have you been lucky enough to watch the complete War And Peace (Vojna I Mir, http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=3483 ) - and perhaps even the mythical 484minute version ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063794/alternateversions )? If so, what did you think, from a Russian point of view? Yes I know it's technically through a Soviet lens, but it is about Russians.

[Samuel_Scott]

Motorway (2012) - http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=3151

[Jim_Mcdonaugh]

Jim, I've been given to understand you live in Russia; if I'm correct

Yap, I'm a freaking russian alright. But I'm not a communist!

have you been lucky enough to watch the complete War And Peace (Vojna I Mir, http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=3483 ) - and perhaps even the mythical 484minute version ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063794/alternateversions )?

I watched that 517 min version (raw cut) on some very old VHS cassettes (truly horrible A/V quality). But it was a long time ago, so I don't recall the details.
Except it was a very boring experience.

If so, what did you think, from a Russian point of view? Yes I know it's technically through a Soviet lens, but it is about Russians.

Well, though I'm a russian indeed, I never liked that old Soviet Cinema, or contemporary Russian for that matter.
I always find russian/soviet actors to be very poor when it comes to acting. To be honest, I don't even recall the last time I watched anything Russian... seriously.
And I never liked Russian literature, too. I don't know why. I guess I'm tired of everything Russian? It happens these days.

[Ain_Uussaar]

Gulliver's Travels
Guns, Girls and Gambling

[Chris_Xa]

Yap, I'm a freaking russian alright. But I'm not a communist!

Never insinuated you were or were not. Political ideologies are irrelevant in a film discussion forum. They may colour our viewpoints (but so do so many other things in life), and in the end it's our opinions on the films that are of interest (however we get there).

.....War And Peace (Vojna I Mir, http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=3483 ).....watched that 517 min version (raw cut) on some very old VHS cassettes (truly horrible A/V quality). But it was a long time ago, so I don't recall the details. Except it was a very boring experience.

Wow, there's a 517min version out there somewhere? That's a dream for those (like me) who wish to experience the complete version of a film... Wonder if we'll ever get a chance to see it. Thanks for alerting us to its existence; if the 480min version is mythical, I guess this version might belong in the realms of a parallel reality...

Well, though I'm a russian indeed, I never liked that old Soviet Cinema, or contemporary Russian for that matter.
I always find russian/soviet actors to be very poor when it comes to acting. To be honest, I don't even recall the last time I watched anything Russian... seriously. And I never liked Russian literature, too. I don't know why. I guess I'm tired of everything Russian? It happens these days.

Found NIGHTWATCH and DAYWATCH (especially with the "unique" subtitles) to be excellent - and WAR ( http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/f ... ?fid=24291 ) as well. As for other Russian/Soviet films, SOLARIS, POTEMKIN and RUSSIAN ARK I found overrated ; MONGOL ( http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/f ... ?fid=13631 ) was quite enjoyable (still awaiting the sequel); Ivan The Terrible is still on my to-watch list; liked the cinematography of ALEXANDER NEVSKY (even if the rest of the film was below average, I did find it interesting it predicted the Nazi-Soviet conflict - and relevant thoughts); enjoyed BURNT BY THE SUN ( http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=6749 ) and sequel; and WINDOW TO PARIS ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110719 ) is hilarious (which LE CONCERT that I watched recently, reminded me of). Can't think of any others at the moment, but I do find Russian cinema interesting; like all countries, it has its good and bad films.

[Jim_Mcdonaugh]

Wow, there's a 517min version out there somewhere? That's a dream for those (like me) who wish to experience the complete version of a film... Wonder if we'll ever get a chance to see it. Thanks for alerting us to its existence; if the 480min version is mythical, I guess this version might belong in the realms of a parallel reality...

It's like TV-series version/mini-series. There're some other versions exist (much longer), but I can't be more specific coz I never cared about this movie.

Never insinuated you were or were not. Political ideologies are irrelevant in a film discussion forum. They may colour our viewpoints (but so do so many other things in life), and in the end it's our opinions on the films that are of interest (however we get there).

That's the problem with those old Soviet movies. Too much ideology was implemented which made those movies unwatchable to me.
American war movies are pretty much the same (every US soldier is a bloody hero, always), but atleast americans do it with some grace.

[Chris_Xa]

That's the problem with those old Soviet movies. Too much ideology was implemented which made those movies unwatchable to me.
American war movies are pretty much the same (every US soldier is a bloody hero, always), but atleast americans do it with some grace.

Every country has made movies depicting it in an ideal light: European, British, Australian, Chinese, Latin American, Indian, African, Asian... As for American movies, not always: PLATOON, APOCALYPSE NOW, CASUALTIES OF WAR would hardly be thought of as "heroic"; even KELLY'S HEROES (great film) is really a bankheist (ie robbery, not a very heroic/moral endeavour) in war-film clothes. Many of their older films though, yes - but that's largely due to the WW2 success. It's interesting though that for their "draw" (Korea), I can't think of any USA films made that deal with that situation - either in a positive or negative light; HEARTBREAK RIDGE comes to mind, but that only warrants a very quick background mention.

[Samuel_Scott]

The Lady Assassin - http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=3152

[Ain_Uussaar]

Hitchcock
Cosmopolis

[Chris_Xa]

Hitchcock, Cosmopolis

Any interesting extras for either of these? Cosmopolis AU release is barebones, and Hitchcock has no release listing in Rewind so I don't know what (if any) extras it has.

[Ain_Uussaar]

Cosmopolis wasn`t very good. Hitchcock was good but I was expecting more of a life story but it was just about making of Psycho. I didn`t watch them on retail discs so no extras.

But Amazon has bluray extras for Hitchcock listed as:

Audio Description
Audio Commentary with Sacha Gervasi and Stephen Rebello
Deleted Scene
Becoming the Master: From Hopkins to Hitchcock
Obsessed with Hitchcock
Sacha Gervasi's Behind the Scenes Cell Phone Footage (15 cert.)
Hitchcock Cell Phone PSA
The Story
The Cast
Danny Elfman Maestro
Hitch and Alma
Remembering Hitchcock

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hitchcock-Blu-r ... =Hitchcock

[Noor_Razzak]

Prisoners 8/10 - got it on Blu-ray for cheap. Great thriller, terrific performances by all, especially Hugh Jackman. Highly recommend.

[Ain_Uussaar]

Last Vegas