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Old 2007.09.17, 05:45 PM   #1
Tokyo Jihad
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Default [ELE-CRITIQUE MOLE FORUMS] Movie/TV reviews.

Reviews written by:

golem09:
Shoot em Up
1408

Tokyo Jihad:
Knocked Up
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Check the likened Music review thread for what exactly this is all about.

Here I hope we can better yack about movies without getting in the way of the Yuu-tubiness of the "Currently Watching" thread. I suppose tv shows can be discussed too (tho perhaps the more popular stuff might best be left for their own threads, ala the Lost thread, though they're welcome here too.
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Old 2007.09.17, 05:46 PM   #2
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Knocked Up
When I found out Judd Apatow was writing/directing another film (after his spectacular 40-year old Virgin) I was eagerly awaiting it. Then my car got totaled and not a single one of my wonderful friends would bum me a ride to the theatre for Knocked Up. So alas, I had to wait for the dvd.
My main issue is just that, however. Its supposedly an “extended/unrated cut” which I wasn’t very enthused about. 40-y/o’s dvd was an extended cut too and it was by far inferior to the theatrical cut. And there’s no option for the original cut, so you’re stuck with an already long (by comedy standards) film with some gross pacing issues. (The theatrical cut of 40y/o tho is flawless. I had to DVR it off of HBO, hopefully they show Knocked up too, just for measure.)

Now, because the dvd cut is my only experience with this movie, I can only imagine what kind of stuff was cut (and I’m betting I’m right.) The pacing isn’t quite as bad as 40y/o, but there’s usually 2 or 3 ho-hum jokes in a scene for each singular hilarious scene-stealing joke (even if its still a pot or dick joke.)

So, enough with the bitching about the dvd ver which may or may not be inferior to the theatrical cut I didn’t see. What about the story? Well, like any Apatow production (besides the aforementioned film: Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared) it’s the three “r’s”: its “real,” it’s “right,” and its “runderful.” I particularly thought it was interesting how he keeps you off-balance to who you should be feeling for, Seth Rogan’s character, Ben, or Alison, played by Katherine Hiegl. This can often be a hard and fast sign of shitty writing, but here I think its executed on the money, while still maintaining that Ben is the unequivocal protagonist. Having a baby (in the situation presented in the movie) is definitely a two-person journey (and is justified.) I think Judd also properly justifies why Alison would even humor a relationship with a man like Ben. At first the subplot involving Paul Rudd seemed, while great, completely distant from the plot. But then it blindsides you and does…what a subplot is supposed to do, make the story work!

Judd Apatow certainly knows whats funny, and also knows how tell a story. Sure, sometimes we have to put the story in pause to tell a few jokes (much worse in 40y/o than here though) but his stories always come in for the win. While I still honestly cant give Knocked Up the edge on 40 year old Virgin, it’s certainly one you shouldn’t skip on.

I give it a Cat Stevens out of a possible Yuusef Islam.
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Old 2007.09.18, 01:20 PM   #3
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1408
When I saw the trailer, I thought, this looks really good. When I read that's it's from Stephen King, I thought, this must be really bad.
So I went into the cinema with mixed feelings, after watching the trailer another 3 or 4 times.

I was amazed of the atmosphere in this room. I just so creepy, and Cusack does his best to look scared. It works really nice. There are a lot of shockers, but there's an even greater amount of stress generated before that. The story is good, and I definitely like the ending.

I was very surprised of how the trailer influenced me while watching the movie:
Originally Posted by Spoilers
1. The scene at the window, when that guy appears right behind him was a lot shorter in the trailer. I got an extra shock when it turned out to be longer.
2. The first victim is lying on the floor when Enslin finds him. Well, at least in the trailer.
3. In the trailer his daughter has that creepy deep voice, which made me think that she was the personification of the evil that haunts this room. Because of that, the whole hugging scene was pure stress.
4. Samuel L. Jackson appears later in the trailer and says: "I warned you about 1408". That suggested me, that he was the bad guy, maybe alive for the last 100 Years or some cliche like this. I liked the actual ending a lot more. The unknown is so much scarier that some silly old curse
The trailer wasn't just recut, it contained completely different footage, so that the viewer is confused about what he believes to know about the movie. Great effect.

After all one of the best horror movies I have seen in years.

I give it a 13
1+4+0+8
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Old 2007.09.18, 01:33 PM   #4
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Woooo, Golem gets the honor of being the first 2nd party contributor!
/high five ~_^
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Old 2007.09.26, 02:12 AM   #5
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Shoot 'Em UP

I thought I had seen the best action flick of the coming years with Die Hard 4, but I was wrong. Shoot 'Em Up is more than great, I actually think of watching it a second time in the cinema. I takes about 1 minute until the action starts and it won't stop no matter for what reason. Everything is so ludicrous it's pure fun. Clive Owen can shoot better than Lucky Luke and Bullseye comined and because he can, he does. He's eating more carrots as Bugs Bunny, and sometimes he even uses them to kill somebody.

Go watch it, if you like fun.

EAT MORE VEGETABLES!

I give it 5 carrots of a possible 5 and a half carrots.
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Old 2007.09.26, 05:20 AM   #6
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^I totally want to see that. Clive Owen is my D.O.G.E.
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