In this topic I keep track of the movies I watch and make some general comments. Feel free to interact, suggest movies, state your opinions, and talk about movies you watched if you like. I'm arbitrarily beginning with this weekend. -March 9, 2008 [b]Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)[/b] [img size=260]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/BrotherReed/Movies/goldmember.jpg[/img] Alright, so my roommate made me watch this. I really had no desire to see any of the Austin Powers films so perhaps my low expectations allowed me to get some enjoyment out of it. This is... pretty bad actually but there are some funny moments. The best part is easily the beginning credits sequence which is a serviceable parody of James Bond and features some hilarious cameos. Most of the rest is a thin plot with a lot of slapstick and, of course, rampant innuendos and sexual jokes. Myers does have a certain charm about him, although occasionally I felt they harped on the jokes too much instead of just letting them flow. Seeing famous actors in ridiculous roles, especially Michael Caine, is the most entertaining thing about this otherwise lackluster spoof. All of the gags that work feel like they've been pulled off better in other comedies. Overall, 4.5/10 [b]Die Hard (1988)[/b] [img size=260]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/BrotherReed/Movies/DieHard00021.png[/img] This is an action classic. I know I've seen part of it on TV before but I never got the whole thing in context. Especially in the wake of the latest Die Hard sequel, I felt it appropriate to visit the one that started it all. Oh man. This movie is intense! Bruce Willis is at the top of his game in the vehicle that made him an international star. Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber is a beloved villain and there's no questioning why. Rickman is a brilliant actor and here he embodies the intelligent gentleman seething with rancor beneath the veneer of his suit. He's tricky and sharp and his cat and mouse games with McClaine are great fun to watch. There are hair-raising stunts, hilarious one-liners (I laughed as much as I gasped), and stuff gets blown up. What more could you ask for? Yippie-Kai-yay, mother****er. An instant favorite. 9.5/10 [b]Night of the Living Dead (1968)[/b] [img size=260]http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f330/nufaciel/notld%20samples/notld_537.jpg[/img] Romero's original black and white, low-budget horror film about a bizarre epidemic in which the recently deceased return to life and prey on the flesh of the living. The word "zombie" is never used in the film - rather the reanimated corpses are called "ghouls" and it seems their mysterious infection has something to do with radiation from space. Whatever. Point is, a group of characters holes up in a farmhouse and tries to fortify themselves against the invading masses and find a way to escape. Ultimately, as is often the case in such claustrophobic thrillers, they end up fighting each other as well. Some of it drags, the acting isn't so great, and the film quality is pretty bad as well. Despite these flaws, it picks up significantly in the second act, actually becoming fairly disturbing and tense if not a little predictable. The uncompromising ending fits the tale and makes it more memorable. I'm probably giving it a lot of slack for being a supposed classic, but oh well. 6/10 and not a penny more.

Post edited by: BrotherReed, at: 2008/03/09 01:35