Films you should watch, books you should read

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 3:32 am

Departed, 2006. Director: Martin Scorsese
just watch it.

Post by **cowsmanaut** » Tue May 08, 2007 10:15 am

Hot Fuzz... just saw it... It's a bit slow at the start and you think.. where are the jokes.. and then.. BAM.. it all comes.

MitchB1990 · Post by **MitchB1990** » Wed May 09, 2007 12:44 am

cowsmanaut wrote:Hot Fuzz... just saw it... It's a bit slow at the start and you think.. where are the jokes.. and then.. BAM.. it all comes.

oh man I really want to see that movie...

Tom Hatfield · Post by **Tom Hatfield** » Thu May 10, 2007 7:17 pm

I went on a movie kick this week. So far I've watched Dr. Strangelove (first time seeing it, went in with an open mind, was duly impressed), Hot Fuzz (better than Shaun of the Dead imho — "the Greater Good"), Pan's Labyrinth (very good, but very depressing), and the Devil's Backbone (took a while to find a decent sub). Del Toro doesn't mess around with the reality in his films, which is ironic considering they're half fantasy. I think it says something very important about his style.

The Departed will be next on my list after the Boondock Saints. I heard the latter is amazingly good but have yet to watch it.

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Thu May 10, 2007 7:54 pm

I'm really looking forward to your opinion on The Boondock Saints Tom, as I, too, know many people who love it, yet I find it very dull and boring.

Des · Post by **Des** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 10:34 pm

Just watched Apocalyto on DVD. I've always thought of Mel Gibson as bit of a prat, but I have to hand it to him on this one - cracking stuff! I thought it was a superb movie. It certainly didn't feel like over 2 hours long as the action was relentless and thrilling. Superb touch to have the dialogue in ancient Mayan with subtitles, this made it feel more authentic.

My only problem with the movie was that Jaguar Paw kept reminding me of Brazilian football star Ronaldinho!

somemale · Post by **somemale** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 7:59 am

everyone must read Watchmen by Alan Moore
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchmen

TO me there is some link between DM and this graphic novel....

Post by **Sophia** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 8:55 pm

Des wrote:I've always thought of Mel Gibson as bit of a prat

Me too.
... and that movie confirmed it.

To me it felt way more than 2 hours long, as it was nothing but an unceasing series of pointless graphic violence. It became almost comically absurd after a while.

Oh well, that's just me.

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 10:02 pm

To me it felt way more than 2 hours long, as it was nothing but an unceasing series of pointless graphic violence. It became almost comically absurd after a while.

In the past, I used to laugh of films like Apocalypto etc. But since I saw "Come and see" I simply can`t watch violence on the screen. It just makes me sick. That film crushed my brain like none before and because of it I started watching none- or little- violent films only.

I can't remember ever seeing another film that expressed the descent into madness any better and being so involving as Come and See. By the end of the film, you feel like you've just experienced what it must be like to lose your mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_and_See

Des · Post by **Des** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 11:47 pm

I found the violence in Sin City (for example) a bit excessive, but I thought the gore in Apocalypto was entirely justified. The movie tries to engender primal feelings in the viewer - to make you think and feel like a primitiive hunter, to experience the fear and the adrenaline rush. It certainly worked for me as I found it exciting from start to finish and felt genuinely scared during the horrific human sacrifice scene. Nice advert for water births towards the end

Lunar Celebration · Post by **Lunar Celebration** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 2:58 pm

This is a bit lame but anyway:

I watched "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" last night for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it - except the 'bringing everyone to life at the end' bit, which didn't quite fit but on the whole an entertaining couple of hours...

And an underrated book - "The Eyes of the Dragon" by Stephen King. Trust me, if you enjoyed Dungeon Master, you'll love this...

The characters are walking cliches but the eloquence and flow of the writing - you can tell it was by the author of the Shawshank Redemption... Sumptuous.

Highly recommended. Deathly Hallows? Pffft.

Tom Hatfield · Post by **Tom Hatfield** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 6:23 pm

Deathly Hallows didn't grip me like the others, but I was surprised at how well everything came together in the end. Halfway through the book I was thinking, there's no way she can satisfyingly wrap this up in that many pages. There was only one real unexplained Deus Ex Machina that annoyed me, and it was well before the final showdown. It's still worth reading, but it was clearly written for die-hard fans. Rowling was very careful in choosing who she killed in this one, so as not to upset anyone I'm sure, which is peculiar considering how vivid and honest she's been with her characters' emotions, and that's the real reason I like the stories: they're identifiable.

I've read the Eyes of the Dragon, and I use it as a comparative basis of how magic should be. Stephen King in general is an amazing author. If you haven't trounced into his territory yet, I recommend Skeleton Crew and Four Past Midnight, both collections of short stories. It's a good primer before moving on to his bigger works, like the Stand or It. One of my personal favorites is Misery. Have yet to read any Dark Towers beyond the first. I like the common theme he uses in all of his horror stories, sort of his own expansion on the Cthulhu mythos.

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 6:54 pm

I quite liked Deathy Hallows. The first three books in the series still remain unequalled for me, but it was certainly better than Order of the Phoenix and about on par with Goblet of Fire and Half-blood Prince. I agree with Tom, it all came together well, and I especially enjoyed the chapter about Snape's past.

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:02 pm

If the deus ex machina is to do with neville, she has explained that one - though the second book kinda gives you a clue as to why

My friend questioned it, then found an interview

Yeah, I did think that the book was going all over the place, but it did at least feel satisfying in the final confrontatiosn and where they take place

And yes, I liked the snape's past chapter, I'd hoped for alot of bits liek that tobe the case

Tom Hatfield · Post by **Tom Hatfield** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 12:39 am

No, it was when his three friends showed up with their Patronuses . . . Patroni, whatever, and just as quickly disappeared back into the fray. Care bear stuff like that just irritates me.

Post by **Gambit37** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 2:28 am

Read the first Harry Potter and couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. There are much better children's books out there. Saw the first four films: entertaining. I'll stick with those.

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:21 am

I think it's the characters and accessability from what people say - really, anything that gets kids wanting to read and makes it easy for them so books aren't boring or scary and gets them reading anything else is fine by me

I think I realised recently that Lone Wolf gamebooks probably gave me the impetus to read stuff like Michael Moorcock and JRR Tolkien in later primary

Post by **Gambit37** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:20 am

I agree that getting kids reading is a great thing. But I was bored by HP#1 -- lots of dialogue and not much else as I recall. Maybe I'll give 'em another go sometime. I couldn't believe how many people have been reading the latest one on the morning commute.Which I now don't have to do anymore!

I'd read the Hobbit and LOTR by the time FF and Lone Wolf were out -- the fantasy link got me into the gamebooks; other way around for me!

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:15 pm

I think two and three are better stories (and films) than one is. Still, it's just the world she creates that seem to get kids engrossed, innit

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:57 pm

It's the world with all its characters and nifty little details as well as the well-thought-out plot. But most of all, it's the writing style. For some reason, I never could put a new Potter book away easily. The pacing is fantastic, and there is always that subtle, light humour that makes sure you don't take everything too seriously, at least in the third three books, which are the masterpieces in my eyes.

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 9:23 pm

hey, I`m just watching Die hard 4.0
Good stuff!!!

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Post by **linflas** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 9:32 am

this is the kind of entertainment movies i like watching on theatres because this is why big screens are made for !
i liked DH4 a lot except the not humanely possible "i can blast a plane with my truck" sequence...

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:14 pm

I`m just watching "Zodiac" (smoke brake, cause I can`t smoke in my brother`s room

). It`s very good and it`s based on facts!!!

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 12:45 am

There`s a good BBC document called "The Power of Nightmares" (2004), wchich shows the process of growth and forming of islamic organizations inspired by Sayyid Qutb`s philosophy from the small radical Egyptian political groups in 50`s to modern terrorist organisations in the beginning of 80`s - strictly connected to the war with Soviets in Afghanistan, wchich the international terrorists company used as a polygon. The implication of that war was the great activity of these groups in the 90`s, after the war, trying to overthrown the regimes in their native countries- especially in Egypt and Algieria, wchich finally turned into a bloodbath. Document shows the fall of these (loosely connected) organizations in late 90`s and its "new wave" after 9/11. Although 3rd part, is the worst one, where the authors claims that the politics uses the fear for their benefits- wchich is only partially thrue- it`s worth to see!

Chaos-Shaman · Post by **Chaos-Shaman** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 4:22 pm

Europe and North Americans paid for those wars to fight the Soviets with drugs sold to our citizens, I remember the freedom of Afghanistan stamped on them. After the 1992 war with Iraq, the drugs were slowed down to a trickle, and now the money is being used to fight Europe and North America which is why they are trying to kill the poppy growers ( the poppy is the biggest prescription drug we use) so the poor farmer really gets a one two punch. It's all underground, and all those CIA and FBI guys have their hands in there somewhere. They are all crooks, have a read

http://www.derrickjensen.org/mccoy.html

Des · Post by **Des** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:14 pm

The Power of Nightmares is one of the best documentaries I've seen in recent years. You can download it free (legally) from http://www.archive.org/details/ThePowerOfNightmares in various formats.

Des · Post by **Des** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:21 am

The new Beowulf move http://www.beowulfmovie.com/ looks promising. It will have to go some to beat the superb Stardust for best fantasy movie of 2007. Unless you count 300 which is sort of half historical epic half fantasy (especially the monsters).

MitchB1990 · Post by **MitchB1990** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 1:53 am

Wow I can't believe I forgot to mention the entire RingWorld series or any books by Larry Niven. They are amazing.

Des · Post by **Des** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 11:51 pm

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385752/
His Dark Materials hits the silver screen either as The Golden Compass or the Norhtern Lights depending on where you are. I hope to see this one (and Beowulf too) at the cinema soon.

Post by **Ameena** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 9:58 am

I thought the film was called "The Golden Compass" (dammit) wherever you are - it's just the novel title that's different ("Compass" being the American title).
I watched the trailer for it online the other day...hrrmmm...but then, I'm usually gonna like the book(s) of something better than the film, regardless...but still...

(And it's not even a compass - it's an Alethiometer, arrrgh :evil)