ThePumpkins.net

I preferred the Hobbit movies to the LOTR ones. I could live without all of them quite happily though.

This is weird.
The extended cut of LOTR is one of my favourite movies (yes, it's all one big movie obviously) but I think hardly anything works in The Hobbit.

Man Of Steel (2013)

Fresh, more "realistic" take on Superman's origin story.
Of course there's your usual CGI-overkill in the movie's climax, but other than that, this is a surprisingly well-written, well-acted and dark film.
We get to see more of Krypton's history and culture ever than before, Superman is more like a doubting and suffering human being and the villains aren't any stupid monsters but rather the last survivor's of Superman's destroyed home planet that would start an invasion on mother earth.
Don't expect the next Godfather here, though, but if you're in comics like me ever since, you should give this one a try.
To me, it's the best Superman movie since 1980's Superman II...and that one rather was a spoof!

7.5/10


A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)

5th instalment of the Die Hard franchise and the cracks already apparent in part 4 (4.0, I'm sorry) come into full fruition here.
Moving the series out of the US and into the former Soviet Union seems like a fresh idea first but even though half of the movie is in Russian with subtitles, it hardly adds anything new.
Then there's no plot, literally.
John Mc Clane is in search for his son who is rescuing a politician for an anti-elitist, pro-Russion guerrilla unit.
That's it.
Bruce Willis gets tossed aside and the only thing he does is occasionally shooting some guys, wisecracking and looking old (and bored to tears).
The action scenes are lame, predictable and totally fake (maybe they simply played some GTA 5 and used that footage), all characters are forgettable, the editing goes way too fast, the bad guys are jokes and even though the movie's length hardly reaches the 90 minutes mark, it's way too long.
The only good thing is how well-aware Bruce Willis seemed to be about in what a mess he's gotten himself into, so he usually comments anything with foul one-liners and silly jokes that kept me entertained throughout the movie's running time a little.
Other than that, congratulations for burying the legendary action franchise with this turd!
One of the worst sequels to any franchise that once was good...at least up to part 3...

2/10

After years, there has finally been a proper DVD release and now I'm watching the Twin Peaks TV-show for the first time.
I'm only a few episodes into season one, but this is pure gold for a David Lynch fan like me and it could very well become my favourite show of them all in the end

Yeah, I noticed that they finally gave Twin Peaks a proper remaster and release on dvd/bluray. I've only seen the first season, but I remember it was great. I haven't seen the movie either. It might be time for me to watch the rest of it too!

DON wrote:
That review was spot on, What a rubbish film. Die Hard 1 & 3 are defiantly excellent though.

caman wrote:
I would rank them 1, 4, 3, 2, 5 - but even 5 I think is a watchable mindless action movie. I mean, Bruce Willis is still cool even if everything else in the film is crap

True , Bruce Willis is pretty badass. 2 & 4 are both good but 5 is real tough to watch. I always considered The Last Boyscout a Die Hard film, Joe Hallenbeck is almost identical to John McClane.

It Follows

4/5

You guys seen this? 'Horror' movies usually don't interest me but this was very good and (at least I thought so) very original and interesting. I think the director is a real talent too. Right from the start it had none of the usual setups or shots that you would expect. Though it's a very simple premise it was really well done and strangely though-provoking. I won't say anything about what actually happens. I didn't know anything about it and that seemed to be the best way to see it. Cool music score as well.

plasmate74 wrote:
I have not seen it but I love horror movies so I will defiantly give it a watch. Thanks for the recommendation !

I've watched half of this movie just now. I like the visuals / photography - it has a realness about it I don't see often. Unless its an Australian film ... but I think the actors have american accents so... Bit confused there.

Some creepy factor.

But what is annoying the shit out of me is our heroine who is completely stupid and acting like a cry-baby victim.

It's not an Australian movie. American. Set in Detroit or near about. Did you watch the rest of it?

The way it was shot didn't feel american. Or at least it was unlike most american films.

No, I haven't watched the second half - I was too tired. I'm going to finish it tonight though.

Cool. Let us know what you think.

Overall, not very good. The second half didn't expand anything, and the ending was terrible. I wasn't sure if the thing was even still alive or not or what was going on. It just ended.

There was a weird bit where she goes into the water searching for some guys on a boat, then a shot of her in the car still wet and looking like she'd been violated (as in she had sex with them to get the thing off her back). But then the movie basically says she didn't. So why the fuck confuse us that way??

And another thing I could never figure out. How was the thing getting around. There's instances where it doesn't appear for 3 days, so maybe it's still walking after them? But then it appears on the roof of a house. So it teleports....? Why not teleport somewhere useful??

Yah, should have killed that girl off quickly after the first act and then have it make it's way around the group so you don't know who is going to live or die.

For positives, the way it was shot and the interactions between the characters were unusually realistic. But the story wasn't good and that's what counts.

If the thing gets the person before they pass it on it goes back to following the one before. I think she did have sex with those guys on the boat, but it got them, so it reverted back to her. It was definitely still alive at the end (in the background of the final shot you can see it following). You can't kill it, only pass it on. That was the only thing that irritated me—the fact that they thought they could kill it at the end (if shooting it in the head a million times and drowning it does work then it's probably not going to die!) I was just fascinated to know what the origin of it was. And why the whole sex thing?

Yeah the sex thing was a bit grubby. And weird how the girl winds up having sex with three guys on screen in the film, but each time it's like nothing to do with the thing following ... It's just, let's do it cause whatever. Not very pleasant.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Yeah, it came out like a month ago but I just saw it now. Pretty awesome

^ still need to see this.

Star Wars: A New Hope The Force Awakens (2015)

Anyone catch Star Whores: The Farts of Wiccans? I liked it, but at the same time it was huge let down. What was this J. J. Abrams guy thinking, taking amazing actors, a multi-million dollar budget, the anticipations of millions of fans, and churning out the exact same plot that the entirety of pop culture has already re-enacted a zillion times? I came to see a continuation of the story, not a fan remake where every element is 110% known and predictable.

And it's 2015. There is absolutely no excuse to have fake-ass cartoony-looking CGI aliens that the 1977 puppets somehow manage to put to shame.

I actually came to appreciate the god-awful prequels more after this movie. The acting was atrocious, and the kiddie-stuff was annoying as hell, but at least they had original stories. J. J. Abrams, I better not see you walking in the street, or you'll be having to deal with my foot up your ass.

My verdict:

3 (+8 for good acting, -5 for lack of originality)