DCO third annual November Alphabet Marathon - discussion/review/banter thread

[Dragonfire]

The Ice Pirates



Have an ice day! It's a parched future, and water, the galaxy's only valuable commodity, is controlled by the evil Templars. Their only foes: a handful of daring Ice Pirates.

Spoofy-goofy comedy, otherworldly special effects, spectacular space creatures, bedraggled 'bots, and bicep-rippling swashbuckling (swishbuckling when our heroes try to blend in with some slave eunuchs) highlight this cult fave. Robert Urich (Vegas), Mary Crosby (Dallas), Anjelica Huston (The Addams Family), and Ron Perlman (Hellboy) romp through a storyline involving a determined princess, the search for her missing father, and a lost planet awash in seet water. The manic, concluding time-warp battle is just the ice-ing on the intergalactic cake. Dig in!

My Thoughts

This movie is rather silly and even goofy at times, but I think it is fun and entertaining.  The plot isn’t the most original and some things are predictable, which may disappoint or bother some viewers.  The plot manages to be entertaining even though it is mostly simple.  A few scenes have some action in them without being that violent.  The action scenes are done fine, though for some reason, most of the characters seem to prefer to fight with swords even though they have access to more futuristic weapons.  That is a little odd, but it still manages to work.  None of the characters are developed much, though the cast does fine with their parts. 

I enjoy the movie overall and find it fun and entertaining even though it does have a few issues.



I did get a review posted on Epinions.

Ice Pirates

[Rich]

Title: Star Trek

Runtime:122
Certificate:12
Year:2009
Genres:Science-Fiction

Plot:
Director J.J. Abrams (Alias) re-teams with his MI: III screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to bring a new vision of the greatest space adventure of all time. Featuring a young, new crew venturing boldly where no man has gone before, Star Trek depicts Romulan time traveller Nero's bloody quest for revenge against Spock and the Federation.

My Review:
A welcome glossy revamp of Star Trek, and it really is a fantastic piece of work. The casting is superb, Pine as a feisty Kirk is excellent in the role, and the choice of Quinto as Spock inspired. The love interest between Spock and Uhura (Saldana) was a little twist that was unexpected but works well, and Urban playing the sarcastic and dry Bones better than the original. Pegg as Scottie was ok for me, and with Chekov and Sulu played well we have a full house.
The effects are jaw-dropping, the first view of Nero's Romulan ship is stunning, and the huge budget is evident in every minute of the movie. Audio is knee-tremblingly solid, and you are immersed in the film from the first shots.
I was not happy with the one to one between Nimoy and the new Spock, but that is about the only negative I can list about a fresh, exciting storyline. I am sure ST purists may find more fault, but I was never into the ST enough to notice any continuity or design anomalies. Seeing the history of Kirk literally from birth, and the early schooling years of Spock, give us an insight to their characters strengths and flaws before joining Starfleet.
I believe you don't have to be a trekkie to enjoy this film, standalone it is a great movie, and I take my hat off to Abrams for this modern day sci-fi action classic.

My Rating
 

[Jon]

Lust, Caution
4 out of 5



Lust, Caution is the daring new film from acclaimed Academy Award®-winning director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Set against the backdrop of a transforming country, a young woman finds herself swept up in a radical plot to assassinate a ruthless and secretive intelligence agent. As she immerses herself in her role as a cosmopolitan seductress, she becomes entangled in a dangerous game that will ultimately determine her fate.

Ang Lee’s films continue to be amongst the most rewarding. You never know what’s coming next, his past work encompassing Drama, Western and even Fantasy in Hulk. The only thing predictable is that each one will be delivered with passion and integrity and so now we have a war-time period drama and it is typically of the highest quality. It is a substantial story and there is little to no action, but it is engrossing. The time you invest in it is rewarded in an authenticity rarely matched. It looks stunning throughout and the score by Alexandre Desplat matches beautifully. It’s one of the best I’ve heard for a long time. Composers like James Horner or Hans Zimmer that just repeat their own themes should be ashamed by its subtlety.

While I say there is little action, it’s more important to stress that Lee delivers what is necessary at any given moment. So it is that a very disturbing murder closes the first act, taking the innocence of the naive group of revolutionaries. Lee makes it brutally clear how difficult it is to kill someone as they desperately fumble a situation they were unprepared for.  Afterwards the story picks up a few years later and from then on is solely concerned with Wong and Mr. Yee as she is recruited by the resistance proper to build on her earlier work to become his mistress and there are several scenes as filthy as anything outside of Jimmy’s thread!

I’m in two minds about the legitimacy of the sex scenes, as I always am. Are they really needed or are they a crutch for lazy directors? Hitchcock created some incredible chemistry in films like Notorious without Cary Grant doing Ingrid Bergman doggy style. And did James Stewart have to 69 with Grace Kelly to get the point across? No. In fact the very thought of it should rightly offend fans of those films and those stars. They were above such shenanigans. Hitch of course was very cheeky. The train sequence in North By Northwest for instance, but the point was made without compromising the plot.

But it’s very hard to dismiss them as mere set-pieces here. Ang Lee is always about the sub-text and they are part of the fabric of the film and reveal important nuances of both characters (there are similar depths to sequences of Mah Jong games, just without the sweating!). This is not China’s Basic Instinct and there is some irony in Ang Lee doing a similar theme to Black Book and out-sexing Verhoeven! That’s being flippant though, because the nutty Dutchman is all about shocking people. While the first sequence with Mr. Yee is particularly shocking, it’s for good reason and the style of the love-making changes as they get lost in each other. The integrity is never abandoned for gratuity; there’s one sequence where the two become literally tangled together and the metaphor is obvious when you think about it.

The bravery and skill of both actors is tremendous and absolutely convincing. Tang Wei is gorgeous and challenging as the young girl caught up in a revolutionary plot that she is paying dearly for. The sequence where her she makes an awful decision to give up her innocence is understated and devastating. This is importantly before the group as a whole commit the murder. Opposite her is Tony Leung as Mr. Yee, the target of the assassination plot. Leung continues to prove he is one of the best screen actors in the world. The difference between this and his role in In The Mood For Love is huge, yet both are powerful performances.

The ending is open to interpretation and very clever. Lust Caution is a powerful, satisying drama that may be of interest to people who enjoyed Black Book and even Inglorious Basterds. It is very different to both, while sharing themes and aesthetics, but is more adult.

[Rogmeister]

Fargo (1996)
Produced, written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Music by Carter Burwell
Director of Photography: Roger A. Deakens
Cast: Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Harve Presnell, Peter Stormare

DVD Special Features
"Minnesota Nice"--All-new documentary
Interview with the Coen Brothers and Frances McDormand
Audio commentary by Roger Deakens
Trivia Track
Original Theatrical Trailer and TV Spot and other features

At the beginning of this movie is a notice that this movie was based on true events but that they have changed the names to protect the innocent.  Don't believe it...the movie plot is a total fabrication.  The film deals with an auto dealer, Jerry Landergaard (William H. Macy) who is so deep in dept that he concocts a bizarre plan...to have his wife kidnapped and to then have her rich father pay the ransom.  He did not, however, count on the dogged policework of pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson.  Quirky is a word often used to describe the films of the Coens...some might prefer the word bizarre...but their films are defiitely different.  Personally, I love this film...if it had been shot anywhere else, I probably wouldn't care so much for it...but it was shot in Fargo, North Dakota (and other nearby locations) using authentic accents and that gives it a humorous charm despite the violent acts also seen in the film.  I think you should check it out.  When this film first came out, critic Gene Siskel said "You won't see a better film this year" and this film also made the list of films in the book "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die".  So see it...

[Emma]

ive had Fargo for a while! I love Steve Buschemi, ill have to watch it now :p

[Rick]

Don't you hate when a DVD you bought years ago but never watched turns out to be messed up half way through it... 

[RossRoy]

Don't you hate when a DVD you bought years ago but never watched turns out to be messed up half way through it... 

that's what scares me about collecting...

have you tried ripping it with your computer? i've saved a few that way...

[Rick]

No, I haven't. Thanks. I'll give it a shot.

[Emma]

Don't you hate when a DVD you bought years ago but never watched turns out to be messed up half way through it... 

Yes :K I was so glad I watched my copy of Punch Drunk Love when I did! or I would have had a silly scratched copy :K

(I also hate it when I lend someone a DVD it comes back then when I watch it its scratched!!)

[Jon]

Don't you hate when a DVD you bought years ago but never watched turns out to be messed up half way through it... 

Happened to me twice. I simply bought another copy. 

Spoiler (hover to show)

And then returned it with the faulty disc and asked for a refund...   

[Rogmeister]

I don't know how many discs did this but I heard once that some older DVDs from Universal tended to just stop working after awhile.  This happened with one disc that I owned...the original version of Apollo 13.  I wound up getting the new special edition 2-disc set when it was released.  Maybe if I'd contacted them they would have done something about it? 

[Rogmeister]

Question regarding this marathon...do all our reviews here have to be from DVDs?  I watched a western on TCM today and thought about doing a review of it here but wasn't sure if that was allowed.  I did do a non-DVD review once in my ongoing westerns marathon but I figured since that was my own thread I could do what I wanted there 

[Jon]

You can include whatever source you like, Roger! Achim recently used cinema for 2012 and in the past I've used TV for marathons. Remember the point of the reviews is to advise others. Achim just hinted to all of us not to by 2012 on DVD! 

You keep talking about rules like we have some!

[Rogmeister]

Well, okay then...I will do a new reply and review that movie even though I had planned another "I" movie for this.  I can do that one later (it's even a John Wayne movie I haven't watched yet).  Also, my "Fargo" review blew out the window my notion of avoiding contemporary films... 

[Rick]