Summer Movie Thread

[SouthernHockeyChick]

OK...since this seems to be coming up a lot (and I am about to bring it up again) I thought I'd just start a whole thread!

Saw "Finding Nemo" yesterday and it was great!! I've read it being called "sub-par Pixar" but I didn't think it was at all sub-par. It was a whole lot of fun (with kid and adult humor) and the story was great! And, of course, the Pixar short was awesome too!

[Jeff O Rocks]

I want to see Daddy Day Care and Wrong Turn (out 6/13 I believe) ..hopefully I can soon and will give you guys a thumbs up or down!! Meanwhile, if anyone sees either, please let us know... :spin:

[nccanes]

We saw "Bend It Like Beckham" last week. Fun film. In the same vein of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but about an Indian family in the UK with a daughter that wanted to play soccer. I enjoyed it more than BFGW, but I didn't see BFGW until it had been over-hyped.

[Stormbringer]

Has anyone here seen X-Men 2? If so, was it better than the first X-Men flick like everyone says, or not as good?

[folgersnyourcup]

X2 was definitely much more fun and entertaining for me than the original. I enjoyed the original but the part that turned me off a bit was having to put up with introductions of the characters. I'm a long time reader of the comic and knew it had to be done to people new to the X-Men so after seeing the first movie it only left me with high hopes for the second film where they could finally do a real story instead of spending a good half of the film introducing the characters and their powers.

This movie didn't dissapoint despite being almost a carbon copy of the X-Men Story from '87 or so "God Loves, Man Kills" complete with the same villain. I found it to be very entertaining with surprises, in-jokes for readers of the series, and a few laugh-out-loud moments littered throughout. You should definitely go see it SB being a comic book fan.

[Jillsdad]

Have to agree with SHC, took my daughter to see Finding Nemo on Saturday afternoon and absolutely loved it. I laughed harder than my daughter or my wife. Ellen Degeneres character was absolutely hilarious. Looked like typical quality PIXAR to me as well. Worth the money to go see, in fact might see it again.

[nccanes]

Finding Nemo sets record opening for animated movies....

1. 'Finding Nemo,' $70.6 million
2. 'Bruce Almighty,' $35.6 million
3. 'The Italian Job,' $19.3 million
4. 'The Matrix Reloaded,' $15.0 million
5. 'Daddy Day Care,' $6.8 million
6. 'X2: X-Men United,' $5.0 million
6. 'Wrong Turn,' $5.0 million
8. 'The In-Laws,' $3.7 million
9. 'Down With Love,' $1.6 million
10. 'The Lizzie McGuire Movie,' $1.0 million
10. 'Bend It Like Beckham,' $1.0 million


The Beckham movie was only playing on 491 screens while tying flick Lizze McGuire was playing on 1,330.

[tommy]

I want to see "The Italian Job" really bad! Anybody seen it here?

[hyena]

We saw "Bend It Like Beckham" last week. Fun film.

i just saw that last week as well -- it's actually on DVD already. it was great!

re: X2 -- i thought it was better than the first. i'm not usually a fan of movies like that, though.

yesterday i saw "spider" (david cronenberg drama starring ralph fiennes), and thought it was pretty good. if you like dark films, i'd recommend it.

i really want to see "the italian job", but the next one on my list is "the shape of things".

[Kat]

My fiance saw the Italian Job... he liked it.

-Kat

[rons#1fan]

Finding Nemo: I thought it was great, and I have to agree Ellen DeGeneres was a hoot ! The kids saw so many trailers they could practically recite the whole movie :roll:

Italian Job: Lady from the office saw it and she really liked it a lot.

[tommy]

Dude, you guys all HAVE to see the Italian Job... I saw it last night with two of my buddies, and it was SOOOOOOOOOO cool.... WOW what amazing actions scenes, sweet technology and effects, and great overall movie... go see it now!

[folgersnyourcup]

I'm going to be seeing Hollywood Homicide in a few minutes so I'll let you guys know how that is.

[folgersnyourcup]

My Hollywood Homicide Review (no spoilers)


Just got back from seeing Hollywood Homicide which overall I enjoyed. I felt it was a bit uneven in terms of good vs. bad scenes. Much of the entire first half of the film (first hour) was chock full of what I thought to be wasted potential. There were so many scenes that I could feel the script building me up to the inevitable punchline/point of the scene.....which never came. There were so many parts where it looked like Harrison Ford was going to say something witty but didn't. The same goes for Hartnett.

The 2nd half of the film was an entirely different beast. There were a few groaners (jokes that fell flat) in it but nothing was left unfinished and Harrison Ford had plenty of things to do/say and loads of great one-liners.

You've got Harrison Ford's character who's a real estate broker/cop who's very down on his luck and has a "My Girl" cellphone ring which you hear a little over 40 times and Josh Hartnett's character who is a police offer whose ultimate dream is to be an actor (he's constantly getting ready for a Streetcar Named Desire play) and who teaches yoga and has sex with random beautiful women who adore him on the side.

There's plenty of potential for that matchup which is why the first half of the movie left me feeling empty. It set up the characters okay, but then they might as well have been two nobodies, the actors didn't look tested at all and just seemed to be going through the motions.

I can pinpoint the exact moment my feelings for the movie changed. To give away as little as possible, I'll just say it involved paddle boats, duck poop, a car, a bridge, a criminal who just won't give up, and a cop who doesn't want to give his feet left. I was trying to find a word to describe this scene and I thought the best for it was......cute. It was just a cute scene, that's all there is to it. It played to each actor's strengths and finally I was having fun.

After that the movie really got underway. There's an absolutely wonderful interrogation room bit featuring the two stars apart but cutting between the two of them that just kept getting sillier and sillier until a final if you don't laugh at this you're not breathing climax. Harrison Ford plays everything but roles you would imagine him in and that's what makes it work so well. THIS was why I came to see this movie, there were clips of this and the ending chase scene in the previews of him doing some bits which I found to be great. It's just so un-Harrison Ford which I really liked.

The last 20 minutes or so are devoted to one of those big car/bike/taxi/whatever you can find or steal from whoever chase scenes that's cliche, but always fun. Harrison Ford again is everything you wouldn't imagine him to be and is simply laugh out loud funny. This bit also reassured me that this guy is NOT to old to star in another Indiano Jones movie. Though I'm sure much of the work was down by stuntmen, it looked very convincing and he was definitely able to keep up with the pace.

A great you go this way/I'll go that way culminates the chase scene and it's a lot of fun as the story switches between the two paths the main characters are taking.

The ending was relatively satisfying as well. There's several subplots in the movie, guy out to get Ford's job, etc. etc. etc. but the main premise is some guys are dead and their killer has to be stopped. Cliche, but fun.

Unfortunately, the very weak (at least I thought so) first half keeps this movie from being a very, very good buddy movie in the vein of crowd-pleasing hits like Rush Hour. Anyone that goes to see this movie most likely won't leave early though, there's enough to keep you interested, so they'll still see the great 2nd half.

Unfortunately, I've got a feeling that may not be many. I saw this movie tonight (opening day) and there were 8, count 'em, 8 people in the theater INCLUDING my brother and I....... That's awful for opening night. I can only hope more see it tomorrow. I still have not seen any reviews, perhaps it was really slammed. I thought the previews looked promising but remember after seeing a preview a bit back and putting the movie on my must-see list I overheard the guy behind me saying "That looks like crap". Perhaps I was alone on looking forward to this one...

So....I suggest to see this film if:

A. You're a big Harrison Ford fan.
B. You're completely in love with Josh Hartnett and have to see any and every movie he has his shirt off in.
C. You're willing to sit through a decidedly average first half knowing that better things are to come.
D. You've already seen "Finding Nemo".

It's a fun film for the most part, though not one that'll make you think, not one that'll make you say wow, and not one that'll have you counting the days till it gets it's oscar nom, just simply an okay movie. I can't highly recomment this one but I still recommend it. I personally thought the strong second half was well worth the price of admission...mileage may vary though. Oh, and in case I didn't stress it enough, prepare to be bombarded by "My Girl".

Highly Recommended

Recommended <------------------------------------------

Skip this crap

Those are my three levels and this one gets my "recommended" status.

2 out of 4 Stars

Should this film unexpectedly get remade from scratch with bits from the 2nd half sprinkled about the first half and the running time then cut by about 30 minutes to a 90 minute total running time (to make up for some of the seemingly needless scenes in the first half) then increase the rating to a 3 out of 4. That's as likely to happen as one of my cats pissing in my refrigerator and causing a chain reaction that destroys all of Raleigh (and some parts of Cary) so the 2 out of 4 Stars rating stands.

[folgersnyourcup]

I did a little bit of online searching and found that this film was cowritten. Perhaps that explains some of the inconsistencies? Possibly there was a little "you write the first half, I'll write the second half" mentality here huh? I've no clue. As it stands, thinking about the movie as a whole, the script was just bad bad bad. Sure, it's got its' moments, all of which come in the film's second half, but this is the entire first half I'm talking about here. Half of a 2 hour movie is a very, very large chunk of time out of the overall movie experience. That being said, this movie's script absolutely reeked of amateur. At some moments, I couldn't believe this movies' script was picked up to be made into a film. Thinking about the movie in the time I wrote my review and now I have decided to lower my rating from 2 out of 4 stars to 1 and 3/4 out of 4 stars. The film is not absolutely horrible on the whole but not great by any means. Missed potential is the name of the game. I still recommend it, as I had fun watching it.

Checking out current reviews, this movie absolutely got BOMBED with poor reviews. On www.rottentomatoes.com, out of 103 reviews taken from newspapers and online sites from around the country, 75 of the reviews were "rotten" and a mere 28 were "fresh. That equates to a 27% rating by online sources and a 23% rating by critics such as Roger Ebert (who liked the movie!) That's simply horrible reviews and is what I am attributing the absolutely pathetic turnout to see this movie today.

[Stormbringer]

I don't know about the reviews, but I think Harrison Ford himself has not been sure about Hollywood Homicide and how it would do. On David Letterman last night, Ford sounded a bit unconfident every time the film was brought up. Things that make you go hmmmm...

Anyway, I've been wondering about the following ever since I saw an ad for its being on Pay-Per-View a few days ago...has anyone seen Spirited Away? It's supposed to be a very superb (As in Oscar winning) animated film with what looks to be an awesome storyline, but I would love some opinions on it. :)

[folgersnyourcup]

I missed Spirited Away in theaters but got the DVD and loved it. I love all of Miyazaki's stuff (Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle In The Sky, Princess Mononoke, etc.) and found this to be one of his best. A quirky, fun, exciting adventure story. There's not much violence at all, it's mainly just being shown new monsters, expanding characters' backstory etc. but it's very, very entertaining.

Of course, after watching it and was thinking about how much I loved it, my brother said "That was boring and sucked".

Soooo, I suppose it's not for EVERYONE but I thought it was great. You should definitely check it out.

[Jeff O Rocks]

This is not a new movie, but I saw Shallow Hal this weekend and I enjoyed it...there were parts that were funny and other parts made me feel sad..

What did yall think about it??

[SouthernHockeyChick]

This is not a new movie, but I saw Shallow Hal this weekend and I enjoyed it...there were parts that were funny and other parts made me feel sad..

What did yall think about it??

God, Mona. I almost posted this same thing yesterday. We saw it and loved it. The previews when it came out made it look like one, big fat joke and I was absolutely not interested in seeing a cruel movie. We just decided to check it out yesterday and it was great. Not at all cruel, in fact it had a really great message, IMO. And I LOVE Jack Black!!

[Jeff O Rocks]

This is not a new movie, but I saw Shallow Hal this weekend and I enjoyed it...there were parts that were funny and other parts made me feel sad..

What did yall think about it??

God, Mona. I almost posted this same thing yesterday. We saw it and loved it. The previews when it came out made it look like one, big fat joke and I was absolutely not interested in seeing a cruel movie. We just decided to check it out yesterday and it was great. Not at all cruel, in fact it had a really great message, IMO. And I LOVE Jack Black!!

The story was sweet..and the hospital thing and the little girl, almost made me cry!!

[moonstomper]

Just rewatched the greatest movie ever....Mac and Me. I laughed, I cried, I was really creeped out by that bugeyed little alien kid. For anyone who hasnt seen this classic heres a breif(and by breif I mean long) review ( well, the last half-hour I saw)

This is a touching story of a handicapped boy and his freind Mac. But Mac is no ordinary freind, hes an alien. And hes not just some ordinary alien, he is a 2 foot tall creppy-as-hell, bubbley-eyed, no lips havin, hilariously oversized t-shirt wearin, little nubs growin on the top of his head freak alien. The little-boy (Jake? well I dont remeber but Im just gonna call him jake) and his brother and his brothers love interest (who works at McDonalds) and some stupid little girl who only has like three lines are drving Mac around in a car so he can pick up "signals" on where to find his family(his mom, dad, and sibling that would later be identified as a female). Well he finds them, only their all dead. Or so it would seem, it turns out all they really needed was some Coca-cola. And once they had that they were so energetic and full of life, nearly fighting each other for the last few drops (Dramtic quote:"Theres only two cans left, you think itll be enough?" ..."Lets hope so.")

Well anyway there all back to life, and they all get in the van and begin a litlle road trip. OK, does anybody watch southpark? Remeber the Jar-Jar Binks episode? With the Jackoffasours? You do! Wow you have such a great memory, good job! OK, well they were just like them, reachin and grabbin everything, breakin stuff, bein loud. Well the brother pulls into a gas station, (dangerously fast I might add, that parking lot was crowded!) the aliens escape, and all hell breaks loose. And by all hell I mean they walk into a grocery store, knock over an empty soda can pyramid( pure comic genious!), grab a couple 12-packs (of....you guessed it! Coca Cola!), but before they can get anywhere, the store manger calls security, and security has a gun, at least he had a gun until the Daddy alien took it from him, and began accidently shooting all over the place, they then come outside where more police are, and there all "Drop the gun, and nothing will happen to you" and hes prolly like "Yeah right, you all gonna kill me" So he doesnt drop the gun he just keeps walking, Jake says I can get them to stop and he rolls after them, the police try to stop Jake and somehow scared the Daddy alien because he fired a gun into the grocery store....which then blew up...... and oh yeah.....Jake and the aliens were still inside! Well jake wasnt really inside he kind of got pushed by the blast and rolled backwards toward the crowd where he was pronounced dead....by some guy.....and then everybody cried (even me :cry: ) but wait..... whats that?! Over there! No, right there! In the Fire! why....why...somethings moving! its.....its.....its the aliens! But how? Who cares? Nobody does thats who, they just let this freaky fire monsters walk right up to the recently deceased, and put some kind of zombie curse on em because after a quick game of "light as a feather stiff as a board" Jake is fine. And then those aliens get their citizenship.

fantastic movie, and the moral of the story is:

Coca Cola once saved an entire alien race

[folgersnyourcup]

OH HOLY CRAP I LOVE MAC AND ME!!!!

I watched this movie SO MANY TIMES back when I was in elementary school! I want to shake your hand for reminding me of this absolute GEM! Some people may not think much of it but it'll always be special to me.

Now off to see if this is on dvd yet and if not to try and track down a used VHS tape copy of it off Ebay.

I highly recommend everyone else here to check this out. Particularly if you have kids. This would be a very fun film for them to watch if you can track it down. Just watch it with an open mind and just expect a fun film.

[Shell]

I haven't seen it.. but I am scared to get it now.. I don't know that I would enjoy it nearly as much as stompy's post that had me gigglin all the way through.

[Jeff O Rocks]

I remember Mac and Me...cute movie....those aliens had the most pointy ears I ever saw!! :D I loved it when the dad alien was driving the car!

[moonstomper]

I loved it when the dad alien was driving the car!

*smacks self in the head....hard*

That was the funniest part and I left it out! Darn it, it was so funny because as they were driving away one of em blew a big bubble (gum i guess, but they have no teeth, or lips!) and inside the words "We'll be back" appeared....but its like "No....you wont."

[Canesluver]

This movie isn't really in the same category as those mentioned above, but if you're into foreign films, I highly recommend it:

I just saw Chaos. It's in French w/English subtitles. A great story-- very emotional, touching, AND humerous, too. Currently at Madstone in Cary. Madstone's a great place to catch independent and foreign films, as well as documentaries. I love that place -- great popcorn, too! :D

[nccanes]

Okay, I know people have been to some movies since this thread became dormant.

Let's hear it. Hulk? Charlies Angels? T3? I know they are all silly summer fare, but any feedback?

I saw Bend it Like Beckham at Madstone. But I missed the popcorn! :(

[Romney]

With 3 kids running around here, I don't make it to movies much in the summer other than the drive in. Adults pay $6, kids 12 and under are free (can't beat that around here).

Finding Nemo was great (both times we went), Daddy Day-care was cute too. I wish I had the stamina to make all three movies like my 12-year old and really get my money's worth.

[Kat]

I saw the Hulk... the CGI was okay, but the movie was long and boring. I would say that they could have cut about 45 minutes worth of crap and it would have been much better. I personally wouldn't waste the money on it, unless you have a nostalgic Hulk obsession that goes way back.

I have not seen Finding Nemo but I have heard good things about it.

-Kat

[Stormbringer]

I saw the Hulk... the CGI was okay, but the movie was long and boring. I would say that they could have cut about 45 minutes worth of crap and it would have been much better. I personally wouldn't waste the money on it, unless you have a nostalgic Hulk obsession that goes way back.

The Hulk I am very wary of because of stuff I've heard about it that I know would stick in my comic loving and knowing crawl...namely how they've drastically changed the origin and ESPECIALLY the Hulk's real name. Which I realize sounds VERY picky, but this is considering that the Hulk movie comes after Spider-Man, where the origin and especially Spidey's real name (Peter Parker) were not at all changed. And IMO, that added to the Spidey movie's overall brilliance and its easily being the best comic book movie since Men In Black.

If I get a chance to see The Hulk, I'll try to watch it with an open mind, and not let the name and origin changes make me, well, angry. But as petty as it sounds, they could have at least had the name be _____ Banner...at least the television show did that.

[Kat]

SB... I saw Spider-Man and really liked it. I am not a comic-book fan, but my fiance is. He liked the Hulk okay. I really did almost outright hate it. It wasn't the details like the name-change and such, it was the overall story. In my opinion (and that of the other girl with us and some critics I have read), it was way way too long and drawn out. I was actually checking my watch at times and fidgeting, wishing it would just get on already. I think that the running time was 2 hours, 20 min., when it really should have been more like 90 for the amount of story they had. They also did some weird stuff with the editing that I didn't like, sort of like a split screen type thing. I think that it was supposed to make it look more like a comic book but I just thought it was dumb.

-Kat

This is all my opinion, of course, and should be taken as such.

[Stormbringer]

Since Kat mentioned seeing it over in the Ladies Thread, I was wondering who else has seen or is planning to see Pirates of the Caribbean? Those of you who have seen it, what did you think? The overall consensus on Rotten Tomatoes for Pirates seems to be very good...

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/PiratesoftheCaribbeanTheCurseoftheBlackPearl-1123873/

...certainly much better than League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which is really the movie I've been most wanting to see lately.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/TheLeagueofExtraordinaryGentlemen-1123784/

Anyone here seen League or is planning to see it too?

[nccanes]

I saw "Pirates" last night SB. It was great fun. Lots of action, nice special effects, and a little humor too. Depp was silly and great.

It paid homage to some of the "scenes" from the ride at Disney World which brought a little snickering from the audience too.

Well done and worth the money for sure. :D


Edited to add: Ooh, I haven't read Kat's comment in the Ladies Thread - I must go now and see if I've just written a total contradiction. :eek2:

[Romney]

I was planning to go see both movies, SB. I certainly will wait a bit to hear more about League before I go to that one though after looking at those reviews on Rotten Tomato though. Pirates is playing locally. I hope to get there by week's end. Thanks for the heads up. :spin:

[Kat]

Sorry, we went off-topic over there... anyhow, Pirates was really good. I highly recommend it. It is defintely more of a comedy than anything, though. And if this butt can sit in that seat for 2 1/2 hours and not get fidgety...

I am also going to re-post (hope that's ok) my fiance's comments about area theaters. He saw T3 at Southpoint earlier in the day (which he really liked, btw), and then Pirates at Brier Creek, and he says that Brier Creek has bigger screens and better sound, fwiw. I say your average user probably wouldn't know the difference, but if you are an AV geek like he is... It is also probably less crowded and easier to park, or at least will be until the stores around get filled in.

-Kat

[Stormbringer]

Thanks for the comments Eileen and Kat and you're welcome Romney. :) Based on the comments here and elsewhere, I really have started leaning towards Pirates. But my folks are opting for League because of the matinee price...so I guess I'll get to be the first one here, if not among the first to see that. :) As much I want to see Pirates, I'm not fretting over seeing League, I actually cannot wait to see if the critics are wrong about it like they were regarding Independence Day...

Anyway, good or bad, I will of course let all of you know how League was. :)

[Kat]

Guin was telling me about League yesterday... I don't think that she particularly liked it. I have heard not-very-good things about it, but then again critics are often wrong. I would be interested in hearing what others think.

-Kat

[nccanes]

Well Pirates was the #1 movie this weekend. 70 mil since its opening, 46 mil for the weekend.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Disney was rolling in doubloons as "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" plundered the box office for $46.4 million in its first weekend.

Based on the Disney theme-park attraction, the movie starring Johnny Depp had taken in $70.4 million since opening Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Debuting in second place was Sean Connery's literary superhero adventure "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," which had a $23.25 million opening weekend.

Connery stars as Victorian-era adventurer Allan Quatermain leading a team of characters lifted from literature, including Dorian Gray, Capt. Nemo and Dr. Jekyll.

"Pirates of the Caribbean" commandeered the box-office lead from the previous weekend's No. 1 flick, "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," which fell to third place with $19.6 million.

"Terminator 3" pushed its 12-day total to $110.5 million. Overall box-office revenues were up slightly, ending a string of four down weekends. The top 12 movies grossed $140 million, up 3.5 percent from the same weekend last year.

For the year, Hollywood receipts are running about 5 percent behind 2002 revenues.

"Finding Nemo," the year's top-grossing movie, was No. 5 for the weekend with $8.2 million, lifting its total to $290.8 million.

The surreal fairy tale "Northfork" debuted strongly in limited release, taking in $61,000 at five theaters. From sibling filmmakers Mark and Michael Polish, "Northfork" stars Nick Nolte, James Woods and Daryl Hannah in the story of locals who refuse to evacuate their town to make way for a hydroelectric dam.

"Pirates of the Caribbean" stars Depp as a rascally pirate on a quest to retrieve his stolen ship from his first mate (Geoffrey Rush) and a crew of cursed mutineers who turn into skeletons in moonlight.

Produced by blockbuster baron Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Gore Verbinski, the well-reviewed "Pirates" offered elaborate stunts and visual effects for the action crowd and a classy cast that elevated it above the usual summer popcorn picture.

A staple in Errol Flynn's days, pirate movies had fallen on hard times in Hollywood with such modern bombs as "Cutthroat Island" and "Treasure Planet."

"Everybody had said pirate movies were cursed. The curse is officially over," said Chuck Viane, Disney head of distribution.

Disney bombed with its previous theme-park adaptation, last summer's "The Country Bears." But with the success of "Pirates," audiences skeptical about seeing movies based on Disney attractions might be a bit more primed for the next one, this fall's "The Haunted Mansion," starring Eddie Murphy.

The studio is running trailers for "The Haunted Mansion" before "Pirates of the Caribbean."

[VandyCane]

We went to see League of Extraordinary Gentlemen last night and I thought it was better than most of the reviews. Is it great? No, but I thought it was fine summer entertainment. My husband is a big comic book fan (he read the "graphic novel" before we saw the movie) and he really enjoyed it. The CGI and the backdrops were its greatest weakness but despite that I enjoyed the concept of all these characters from classic books coming together as reluctant heroes. I am a big fan of Sean Connery and he can still kick ass with the best of them.

[Canesluver]

Just got home after seeing Pirates of the Caribbean!!! :)

LOVED IT!! LOVED IT!! LOVED IT!!

Swashbuckling good fun! Best time I've had at the movies in a long time!
Johnny--funny, funny, funny!! Orlando--hot, steamy, sweaty. . . .!! :roll:

Get your butts out of your chairs -- push back from those computer screens and go see this movie!!

Oh, yeah.. . . .. and one more thing -- did I mention I LOVED IT!!!!!?????
:D

(only complaint-- about 15 minutes too long)

[Stormbringer]

We went to see League of Extraordinary Gentlemen last night and I thought it was better than most of the reviews. Is it great? No, but I thought it was fine summer entertainment. My husband is a big comic book fan (he read the "graphic novel" before we saw the movie) and he really enjoyed it. The CGI and the backdrops were its greatest weakness but despite that I enjoyed the concept of all these characters from classic books coming together as reluctant heroes. I am a big fan of Sean Connery and he can still kick ass with the best of them.

What you said Vandy overall represents my feelings towards League, which I've just returned from seeing and having a divine dinner at Vincent's afterwards. I wouldn't go as far as saying the critics were absolutely wrong, but they were downright nitpicky. I agree that the CGI and especially backdrops (A particular one coming to mind is that of London after the beginning of the film, which looked like a close-up shot of a piece of commemorative currency.) were the worst aspects of the films. The other not great aspect of the film, which I agreed with Ebert and my father on, was the ending. It just felt awfully jumbled together, and the lighting in it could have been better. But overall, League was a very enjoyable flick with some good acting from Connery and Co, and definitely makes me want to seek the graphic novel, which I've heard from many before is superb.

My rating: 2 and a half stars

***WARNING: BIG TIME SPOILERS AHOY***

As much as I enjoy reading some of Ebert's reviews, (Especially ones for horrible movies...I wholeheartedly recommend I Hated, Hated, HATED This Movie, some funny comments along with movies you wouldn't believe Ebert reviewed in that.) he came across as being the most nitpicky on League. He wouldn't let up on the fact that everybody called Tom Sawyer "Agent Sawyer" (That's how he introduced himself for crying out loud! :roll:) and especially the fact that Dorian Gray turned out to be one of the bad guys. League may not be the best movie ever nor this summer, but it certainly was better than the single star Ebert and others gave it.

[Kat]

having a divine dinner at Vincent's afterwards.

Vincent's Pizza on Capitol? The guy that owns that place plays hockey with me... great guy. Good pizza there, too.

-Kat

[Stormbringer]

having a divine dinner at Vincent's afterwards.

Vincent's Pizza on Capitol? The guy that owns that place plays hockey with me... great guy. Good pizza there, too.

I LOVE Vincent's! Not only does their pizza and tiramisu rock, but the restaurant is practically a Canes museum...lots of cool Canes stuff and autographs in there. :cool: Very neat that you play hockey with the owner of that great place, Kat... :)

[Romney]

After reading what everyone's said about Pirates, I was all set to go. I thought tonight would be a great night. I suppose I am just not meant to see Pirates yet.

I went to the drive-in tonight thinking my 2 younger kids would fall asleep since it was the 2nd movie and I could watch Pirates with my 12 year old (after Rugrats Go Wild). After sitting through Rugrats (which was pretty cute), I was just getting comfortable when 2 minutes into the movie my van started acting up. Luckily I was able to contact my husband just before he punched in at work. His friend said he would cover for him. I'm thankful he did this (even if he is a Devils fan) so that he was able to come to our rescue about 30 minutes later. Although we were there for part of the movie I just couldn't enjoy it with some nervous kids, but what I saw did whet my appetite.

Now I'm crossing my fingers that the van is fixed by Thursday when Pirates will be the first movie and my husband would be able to go. Funny part of it is that my husband had to pay to get in to rescue us. I can't wait to hear what the guys at the dealership have to say when they see all of the junk food in the car. Along with some shoes, etc that we couldn't find without the lights.

[Canesluver]

Hey, Romney-- just curious....

Where do you live that you have a drive-in movie theater? I haven't seen a drive-in since about 1968!

That's pretty cool!

[guinevere]

Sorry to chime in late here.. I saw League of Extraordinary Gentleman on Friday. It held my attention and it was cool to have all those characters in one film. My complaints were the backdrops, a difficulty maintaining my suspension of disbelief with some of the effects - ie a sub the size of the Nautilus being able to fit in a Venice Canal. The biggest drawback for me were the fight/chase scenes. These were done with a very jerky filming technique and I ended with a major headache and some car sickness before I left the theatre. That stuff doesn't usually bother me. I would have liked those scenes to have been more clear. It was hard to see what was going on.

Guin

[Romney]

I'm from Oswego, New York, Canesluver. The drive-in, technically in Minetto, NY, was closed for a while but re-opened a couple years ago. It's (usually) a great change from the theater. There is plenty of space for the kids to play outside until showtime and get tired out. It's a nice summer treat.

[SouthernHockeyChick]

Couple things to add:
A) I don't know why but I absolutely hated Spiderman.

B) I saw a drive-in theater in Kansas City this weekend.

C) Brier Creek is definitely the best theater around, IMO, and I have no AV skills so it's not just Garner who thinks that. We drive all the way up there (remember we live about an hour southwest of Raleigh) just for that theater. The lobby and box office set-up actually sucks but the theaters themselves are worth it!

[Shell]

Cool to know about Brier Creek.. I haven't gone there but it is pretty close to work.
We had a drive-in theater in Binghamton, NY.. we hung out there all the time on Friday nights in high school.. I don't know why they went away.. I love them!

[Romney]

The only thing I've heard about the financial end of drive-ins is that nearly all of the money they take in through admission prices goes pays for the movies. The money the establishments make as a profit is from the concession (sp?) stand. Although many people bring their own snacks, just as many line up during the intermissions to get their goodies.

[folgersnyourcup]

I'll throw Terminator 3 in here as a movie you guys should see if you haven't already. I went in having read no reviews and expecting it to be an enermous pile of crap. I was pleasantly surprised and definitely enjoyed it. It's a bit shorter than the second one and never comes anywhere close to approaching its' feel but it is definitely a good fun movie. They went a bit over the top at points with humor but for the most part it was okay. This was definitely a much lighter affair than the second film was. The only major complaint I had is that the Terminator theme music is completely nonexistent throughout the film only showing up in the ending credits. The composer that worked on T3 is different than the one that worked on the first two films but I still would have hoped they would retain SOME of the music. That was not the case and unfortunately I thought that the music was just THERE throughout the movie and did nothing to help scenes.

A good movie though with a wonderful ending that I think is well worth catching.

[Stormbringer]

Speaking earlier of Sean Connery and LXG, I just came across this tidbit that is highly recommended for all Connery fans...

http://www.yourethemannowdog.com/

:D

[opuntia]

There used to be a drive-in in Durham, but it's been a long time since I've been up that way.

I saw "Finding Nemo" and it was cute (Ellen DeGeneres' character made the movie - go figure). I have heard fab things about "Pirates" and plan to go drool over it this weekend (Johnny and Orlando - yum!).

[Romney]

nccanes wrote:

I saw "Pirates" last night SB. It was great fun. Lots of action, nice special effects, and a little humor too. Depp was silly and great.

It paid homage to some of the "scenes" from the ride at Disney World which brought a little snickering from the audience too.

Ditto.

I was surprised to see so much humor in this type of movie. It made us get out our video of our honeymoon to show our 12 year old the ride (we actually filmed it) from DisneyWorld. :spin:

[Jeff O Rocks]

I was surprised to see so much humor in this type of movie. It made us get out our video of our honeymoon to show our 12 year old the ride (we actually filmed it) from DisneyWorld. :spin:

Kind of off-topic but I love that ride........ :spin: I love the part where the skeleton is steering the ship..right before you go down the.........hillllllllllllll!!! :D

[SouthernHockeyChick]

I'm mad at you people!!! ;) I just saw Pirates of the Caribbean and I guess I was just expecting too much. It was kinda fun but wasn't as great as I had it built up in my mind to be. Between you guys and the people I work with I just got the idea it was going to be awesome. My biggest complaint about it was that it actually wasn't funny enough! Maybe it was just my mood? I'm betting that if I see it again when it comes out on DVD I'll like it better.

We're just about to watch The Pianist on PPV! Can't believe we haven't seen it yet!

[nccanes]

Sorry SHC - overhype can mess up a movie for you. I guess we were all pleasantly surprised at how fun the movie was - and from the trailers, you'd never guess it was fun-ny at all.

It was just a pleasant summer movie - not dependent on special effects and not too dumbed down.

Glad I saw it right out of the gates. :D

[nccanes]

Kind of off-topic but I love that ride........ :spin: I love the part where the skeleton is steering the ship..right before you go down the.........hillllllllllllll!!! :D

I've ridden that ride SO many times, but I know I've forgotten most of it! I had to ask my hubby about that part and he couldn't believe I didn't remember the skeletons driving the ship. I want him to see Pirates with me, because I know he'll remember more scenes that were inspired by the ride.

[Jeff O Rocks]

I've ridden that ride SO many times, but I know I've forgotten most of it! I had to ask my hubby about that part and he couldn't believe I didn't remember the skeletons driving the ship.

Shame on you matey........it's walking the plank for you then!! ;)

It is amazing to me how huge it is inside....the fire, the darkness..and OMG..the animals......the chickens look so real! :crazy:

[Stormbringer]

I've ridden that ride SO many times, but I know I've forgotten most of it! I had to ask my hubby about that part and he couldn't believe I didn't remember the skeletons driving the ship.

Shame on you matey........it's walking the plank for you then!! ;)

It is amazing to me how huge it is inside....the fire, the darkness..and OMG..the animals......the chickens look so real! :crazy:

Yes...Pirates is indeed a very well done ride at Walt Disney World. So well done, that that was practically the only ride my dad and brother went on when we were down in WDW last year and the year before.

[Canesluver]

Here's something good to see:

Whale Rider. It packs a strong emotional punch, and the 13-year old actress in the leading role is amazingly good. It's set in New Zealand, and you might call it a coming of age story. The cast are all Maori's, the country's native people, and the depiction of their ritual "dancing" is fascinating. There's also a strong undercurrent in the film about how to hang onto ancient traditions in a modern world.

(Shell mentioned this movie on another board. Thanks for the tip, Shell!. . . . and yes, I could hear my hubbie sniffing during one scene, too)

[tommy]

This isn't a new release, but I just saw a movie called "Pi" today. Anyone else seen it? It's about a number theorist, plagued by headaches and hallucinations, who is trying to figure out patterns in nature, who runs into an Hasidic Jew who also happens to be a number theorist, and their pursuit of the same number makes them odd allies. It's a great movie, highly recommend it. (It's in black and white, if that would discourage anyone.)

Oh yeah, and I saw Fight Club for the first time last night... duuude... that was trippy.

[lvscolencanes]

I'm mad at you people!!! ;) I just saw Pirates of the Caribbean and I guess I was just expecting too much. It was kinda fun but wasn't as great as I had it built up in my mind to be. Between you guys and the people I work with I just got the idea it was going to be awesome. My biggest complaint about it was that it actually wasn't funny enough! Maybe it was just my mood? I'm betting that if I see it again when it comes out on DVD I'll like it better.

We're just about to watch The Pianist on PPV! Can't believe we haven't seen it yet!

Hey SHC or anybody, how was The Pianist, I work at a video store in Angier, and get to get movies free... :D , and that is one I have been lookin at to get but never have, is it good??

[tommy]

The Pianist was probably the best WW2 movie from the Jewish perspective that I've ever seen. An interesting movie, since it is the story of a famous Polish pianist who gets caught up in the war. You absolutely must see this movie.

[folgersnyourcup]

I've seen Pi Tommy, I thought it was really good as well. You should check out Darren Aranofsky's second film, "Requiem For A Dream" if you liked Pi. I like it a lot, Ellen Burstyn is absolutely outstanding in it and she was completely robbed when Julia Roberts won the best actress oscar for Erin Brokovich over here.... :mad:

The Pianist is wonderful.

[lvscolencanes]

I will get it tonight! Thanks Folgers, and Tommy!! :D

[tommy]

I've seen Pi Tommy, I thought it was really good as well. You should check out Darren Aranofsky's second film, "Requiem For A Dream" if you liked Pi. I like it a lot, Ellen Burstyn is absolutely outstanding in it and she was completely robbed when Julia Roberts won the best actress oscar for Erin Brokovich over here.... :mad:

Requiem is next on my list, folgers! I met a guy in Charleston a few weeks ago, and we talked a lot about cool movies, and Requiem for a Dream, and Pi were both among his recommendations. Aronofsky seems like a really good filmmaker. Is Requiem as graphic/shocking as people say it is?

[folgersnyourcup]

I thought Requiem For A Dream was amazing. Aronofsky uses many of the same techniques he used in Pi (the camera attached to the actor's waist that was used several times, there's a specific name for it, he thought it up, it talks a lot about it on one of the special features on the Pi dvd). He had an actual budget for this movie though and he takes advantage of it.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Ellen Burstyn is just absurdly good in it. The rest of the actors are wonderful as well: Jared Leto, Jennifer Connely, and yes even Marlon Wayans is unbelievable. He's really a wonderful actor, he's just done a lot of really silly roles. It could be Aronofsky allowed him to reach his full potential, I don't know....but he's really good.

As for your question....I wouldn't say it's too GRAPHIC, there is one shot upon subsequent viewings I turn my head away (I've watched it about ten times) which I won't tell you about, sorry, it would really ruin the effect if you knew about it beforehand but it's not for more than a second. It's one hell of an emotional rollercoaster ride though. Some call it the most depressing movie they've seen. I just think it's a damn good story. Yes it's sad, yes it's depressing. But it's just amazing to watch. MAKE SURE TO WATCH IT LOUD. The final 15 minutes of the movie are just BANG BANG BANG in your face loud, all plots coming together, wonderful music, just oustanding. When watching the first time my roommate stood up and left about 10 minutes into this segment as he had to take a breather. It's not violent stuff like gunfights or action scenes or anything, just a visual and audio assault that must be seen to do any justice to.

It's been accused by some of having more style over substance due to some pretty fast editing and cutting together of shots at various parts in the movies, screen split down the middle stuff, etc. but I found it just fine. The DVD has a ton of great stuff on it and the commentary track with Aranofsky is great. It's also only 10 bucks just about everywhere and is a must buy. It boggles my mind that it is so cheap.

Just buy it. Heck, if you haven't bought Pi already and like it enough to purchase that as well there is a 2-pack of both dvd's for about 18 bucks. I REALLY don't think you'll be disappointed in Requiem For A Dream. If for some reason you are though, it's only 10 bucks.

Just prepare to be in awe of Ellen Burstyn. Good grief....what a performance. She plays the mother.

[Ashleygirl]

Kind of off-topic but I love that ride........ :spin: I love the part where the skeleton is steering the ship..right before you go down the.........hillllllllllllll!!! :D[/quote]

More off topic, but I laughed so hard on that ride the first time I took it. We heard the waterfall coming and thought it was going to be huge and we all screamed for 1 second, then about pee'd our pants laughing at ourselves after the 10 foot drop! Ihaven't seen the movie yet, maybe this weekend I'll venture out.

[Stormbringer]

Did they already have one of these? Or maybe we just always pretended to have them fight. Any bets on what round 2 will be? Pinhead vs. Michael Myers?

Yeah...I saw the ad for this in the previews before League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and I leaned over and whispered to my dad...

"Didn't they already do that?"

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I could definitely swear that I saw ads for a Freddy vs. Jason flick a few years ago...

And now I see why, if you look carefully at the credits for Jason Goes To Hell, Freddy's glove is mentioned.

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0107254

Any thoughts?

[folgersnyourcup]

At the end of Jason Goes to Hell, Freddy's glove appears and pulls Jason down to hell. Back in '92 (I think that's when Jason Goes To Hell came out) there was much talk and speculation about a possible Freddy vs. Jason movie. Wes Craven tried to write a script but stopped saying he couldn't think of anything that didn't come across as stupid. He released New Nightmare, which was a Freddy movie but took an interesting spin on the franchise (the actors from several of the Freddy films played themselves in New Nightmare and it was set in the real world with Freddy coming into that). Freddy vs. Jason kept being mentioned but it was basically just caught in limbo. Hundreds of fan scripts were written, many of them being terribly dumb.

Fast forward to now, and Ronny Yu is directing the film that refused to die. I have stayed away from reading recent rumors about the film and have not heard anything about the script that was used. I'm only hoping for a fun movie. Ronny Yu directed The Bride of Chucky which I thought was terrible but he also did "Bai fa mo nu zhuan" (Bride With White Hair) which amazing. I think he is capable of doing an excellent job with this movie.

I never really cared about the Friday the 13th series much, though I have seen them all. They all come across as pretty dumb to me, but I have always had fun watching them over the years.... I thought Jason X was absolutely hysterical and I had a blast watching it. With the Friday the 13th movies, it's never been about plot though, just seeing what inventive ways Jason will murder his victims.

I love the Nightmare On Elm Street Series though, with the original, part 3, and New Nightmare being some of my favorite films. I found 4 pretty good as well, and 2 interesting.....but 5 was barely passable for me and 6 (Freddy's Dead) was just crap. The 3-D glasses bit in the theater with it was totally ridiculous.

But the premise of a man that was burned to death by a group of parents who sought their on vengeance on him after he was acquitted of the murder of many kids on a technicality and now haunts the children of these parents' dreams as revenge has always appealed to me. There were some really interesting dream sequences in all of the movies and in the world of Nightmare on Elm Street, if you die in the dream you die in real life as well.

You might have heard some of the buzz for Freddy vs. Jason over the years SB and have thought it had already come out.... To my knowlege there has been no trailer years back though I could be wrong. Perhaps a small teaser trailer was put out at one point to generate interest.

[Stormbringer]

I never really cared about the Friday the 13th series much, though I have seen them all. They all come across as pretty dumb to me, but I have always had fun watching them over the years.... I thought Jason X was absolutely hysterical and I had a blast watching it. With the Friday the 13th movies, it's never been about plot though, just seeing what inventive ways Jason will murder his victims.

As much as I like horror, I've never been a fan of Jason and the Friday the 13th series myself. And that's funny coming from me, considering that I designed and wear a mask similar to what Jason would wear if he was a Caniac. ;) I don't know why, but I've been wanting to see Jason X. It looks too cheesy to pass up...though it's not the first time an overdone horror franchise has gone where no man has gone before. Remember the Leprechaun series? The final flick in that sets the one who fears you'll steal his gold in the Final Frontier.

I love the Nightmare On Elm Street Series though, with the original, part 3, and New Nightmare being some of my favorite films. I found 4 pretty good as well, and 2 interesting.....but 5 was barely passable for me and 6 (Freddy's Dead) was just crap. The 3-D glasses bit in the theater with it was totally ridiculous.

I've not seen too much of the Nightmare On Elm Street series, but what little I have seen wasn't bad. What really sticks out is a part I saw when I had just turned nine or ten years old on Halloween...they were having a Nightmare... marathon on either TBS or TNT or USA, and they were showing the fourth one. Well, the part I caught in that was when two teens had been turned into cockroaches in a dream, and Freddy trapped and squished either one or both of them. :eek2: Obviously, that image has never really left my mind. :crazy: Despite that, I would really like to see the fourth Nightmare... because I recently saw a music video for a song from its soundtrack, and the scenes shown looked very interesting.

[Jeff O Rocks]

With Friday the 13th and even Nightmare, the original is always the best. Even though Michael Myers is creepy, nothing compares to that first one...stabbing the guy and leaving him hanging on that door!!!! :crazy:

[folgersnyourcup]

Remember the Leprechaun series? The final flick in that sets the one who fears you'll steal his gold in the Final Frontier.

Ah, but you are forgetting the completely ridiculous sequel that came next....Leprachaun in the Hood. I kid you not. Ice-T was in it. It was CRAP. But yeah, Leprechaun in Space was pretty god awful. :D

And you are right about the cockroach death. It's one of the more inventive ones. In the films, early on every character is established as having some sort of phobia or weakness of some kind. Freddy then exploits that in the nightmare sequences. In this case, the girl was scared of bugs and would stomp on them. She is working out and trying to stay awake but falls asleep for a split second and is in dream world. The barbell she is lifting starts to come down on her arms and they crush the wrong way revealing bug arms and she then slowly turns into a cockroach. Freddy then picks up a box that says "roach motel" on the outside and crushes the box while laughing and saying "Once you check in....YOU NEVER CHECK OUT!". That death is right up there with the one in part 3 (for bizarre ingenuity) with the guy that likes puppets having his veins pulled out from all parts of his body and having them used by freddy to make him walk like a marionette and out the window so it appears to be a suicide. (The veins and such are only in the dream, to onlookers it looks like he is walking strangely to his death. All the kids are in a mental institution for not wanting to go to sleep).

Hehe, I had a similar experience as you did with Freddy. When I was 8 or so I saw the end of a show on HBO called "Freddy's Nightmares" which was a weekly show that had scary things and Freddy presenting them. It freaked me out and I was always scared of Freddy after that.

Now that this thread appears to have been hijacked (sorry!) it would be fine if any moderator wanted to move the posts about Freddy movies and such to a new thread. It might work well if others start to join in on this discussion of horror flicks.

[raleighcanesfan]

With Friday the 13th and even Nightmare, the original is always the best. Even though Michael Myers is creepy, nothing compares to that first one...stabbing the guy and leaving him hanging on that door!!!! :crazy:

This latest Halloween, Resurrection?!? was pretty cool. I haven't jumped from a scary movie in the 90s or 00s like I did with that. A good plot, that shined the light on where Michael hides (sewars) and his house (the wicked highchair thing. Plus the whole Jamie Lee Curtis thing was sweet. Not often can you do that with a horror sequel, but I wouldn't mind going to see another Halloween.

[nccanes]

If you don't have school aged children (or nieces/nephews) that you take to the movies you can skip this post. ;)

We took in Freaky Friday this afternoon. I have to say it was pretty enjoyable. Jamie Lee Curtis does a great job with her performance as a HS kid (post-switch). Lindsay Lohan was very good too. I have to say I was laughing out loud a few times.

On a related note, either my kids are growing up and able to see movies that I can actually tolerate or the movie studios have done a better job of bridging that gap. There have been several movies we've gone to that we've all enjoyed and didn't require me taking a nap during! ;)