Just got back from seeing "The Hills Have Eyes," which was better than I thought.  Never saw the 70s version, but this was certainly one of the better horror flicks I'd seen in recent memory.

On the home front, I picked up the two-disc DVD edition of "The Goblet of Fire," and it's A-plus all around.  The film itself is even more fantastic than I remembered in the theaters, and the bonus features -- unlike the three previous films -- are excellent and plentiful.  The hurdles of bringing the three Triwizard Tournament tasks together were of particular note, as well as the whole preparation for the Yule Ball.

I meant to see "The Legend of Zorro" in theaters last year, but it slipped by after hesitation due to the critics' lukewarm reception.  I have to say, I didn't find it anywhere near as objectionable as others made it out to be.  In fact, I liked it quite a bit, and is almost comparable to the first movie; good ol' fashioned swordplay and gunfights abound, with another tightly-woven screenplay by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio.  I'll never get tired of those "hero's identity revealed" moments in films, and this one didn't disappoint either.   

And then there's "In Her Shoes."  Interesting that I picked up Corpse Bride at the same time my male friend picked up In Her Shoes. (For his wife..... or so he says.)  After his incessant begging for me to watch it, I gave in, and I'm rather glad I did.  All the actresses are certainly on top of their game here -- the ever excellent Toni Collette is perfect in her role as the rigid, no-nonsense business woman, Cameron Diaz is radiant in her slut-loser role, and Shirley MacLaine plays a fantastic surrogate grandmother.  The overarching plot thread of Rose and Maggie's mother made for an integral inclusion for when MacLaine's character is introduced, and bodes well with the sisters' relationship.  In truth, I likely wouldn't have liked the movie as much if it wasn't for its happy, feel-good resolution.  Definitely an uplifting, emotional flick.

Speaking of Corpse Bride, numerous viewings made me appreciate the film so much more than when I first saw it last October.  Although the plot still feels a bit light on weight, the animation is an absolute marvel to soak in, and the characters are colorful and entertaining.  Emily's plight still hits a delicate nerve that I've yet to feel in any other movie - and that's definitely gotta count for something.

None of the movies on your list really appeal to me.  However, I might go see "Capote"... other than that, I think recent Hollywood films have been highly dissapointing.  As for "The Hills have Eyes", while the idea would make a fun video game, all the reviews I've read say it's rather cliche and uninspired. 

cheers,

-avatar!

I found Corpse Bride an underwhelming disappointment.  I doubt I'll ever willingly watch it again.

I have yet to set foot in a theater this year.  Silent Hill will most likely be the first movie I go see.

I watched Lord of War and was surprised by it.  The same goes for Crash and Butterfly Effect (director's cut, have never seen theatrical).  I've been meaning to watch I Heart Huckabees all the way through after catching part of it on Showtime.  I finally watched all of Bruce Almighty this year too.  I watched Final Destination 1 and 2, expecting to be dragged to see 3, but those I go see movies with didn't say anything about it.  The first two were good for what they are; I'll probably watch 3 on DVD.

It's sad that I recently found Man-Thing to be a better movie than The Hulk.  They should take Ang Lee's Oscar away JUST for that movie alone.  He and Schumacher should never be allowed to direct again.

Showed my support for Dave Chapelle by seeing Block Party. 

Uh... I think the last movie I saw in theaters was Narnia back in January.  It was decent (much better than the book anyway).  I'll probably see V for Vendetta next (mostly because people have been nagging me).  Overall, the the film landscape this year is extremely bleak.  Right now, the only film I care even remotely about is Casino Royale, and that doesn't drop until November.

The only movie I've seen recently wasn't even a recent release. My friend dragged me over to his house because apparently, he got really stoned one night, and ended up downloading a whole bunch of movies.

One of them, a little gem from 1991, was called Riki-Oh (aka Story of Riki). I couldn't believe how hardcore this movie was. I thought McBain was the king of all action flicks, but this one took the cake, (bloodied) hands down.

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The most recent movies I've seen are High Tension, Waiting and The 40 Year Old Virgin. Personally, I think they're all worth seeing although High Tension's ending was a bit retarded.

Say, has anyone seen Howl's Moving Castle?  After reading up on PLAY's glowing review (and subsequently seeing how it was up for the AA's Best Animated Feature), I'm thinking of picking up the just-released DVD.

Last Miyazaki film I saw was...... Whisper of The Heart?  And Spirited Away, of course.  But methinks it's time for something new; what think?

Howl's Moving Castle is excellent!  In my opinion, Spirited Away is better, but HMC is his second best film (I haven't seen them all, but I've seen most, although I've yet to see WotH).  I saw it in the theatre, and really enjoyed it   I'm definitely picking it up, and highly recommend you do too! 

cheers,

-avatar!

I'm going to go check out Dave Chappelle's Block Party tomorrow.  I should've been went to see it.  I'm so pissed I missed out on Underworld 2 also...  I'm too busy even for the theater now... 

Fingers crossed for Silent Hill.  Then X-men and Superman.

Truthfully, I'm not that gung-ho about anything so far this year, except maybe Silent Hill.

Oh, I forgot to mention The Da Vinci Code.  I'm actually looking forward to that one too.

Whisper of the Heart? Kind of a prequel or sequel to The Cat Returns, I think. I saw them both, and enjoyed The cat Returns soooo much more! It was really cute! WotH was good, it had a cat in a tux, but the cat in the tux didn't appear for very long. I was kinda disappointed . . .

I've haven't seen The Cat Returns, but I'll try to catch that along with Howl's Moving Castle.    Thanks for those recommendations, guys!

I can't wait to see The Da Vinci Code myself, and hopefully, this weekend can afford me V For Vendetta.

Saw this earlier today.  I've never read the book, so I can't compare it to that, but as a movie, it's pretty dang good.

I think it was actually a comic book series (limited) by Alan Moore.  He's a very talented and creative writer.  I'd like to read V, my guess is it's much better than the movie.  I only say that because most comic books are much better than their respective movies.  Although it has some mixed reviews, overall they are quite positive, so I'll probably go see it sooner or later (heh... I used to see Natalie Portman on campus).

cheers,

-avatar!

I've been hearing alot of this V for Vendetta - - Lots of hype, including originally being delayed for a year because of the 'London Blow-up' scene that's being talked about lately . . .

In a completely different direction, I recently watched the 1981 classic "Videodrome" - quite bizzare, with classic 1980's era special effects.  As much as I dig cgi, I think this movie does great with very little.  The whole chest-becoming a video cassette player thing.....check it out if you have the time for something that comes out of left field.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086541/

Sounds interesting... I'll see if I can find it on DVD.
Thanks for the note,

-avatar!

if you're into twisted stories, moody and intense thriller action, scenes that are certainly disturbing, and if you would love to see locations straight from silent hill adapted into movie,  you just got to have to see - hostel.

I suggest to check this site - gives away the atmosphere of the movie
http://www.hostelfilm.com/

in my opinion - one of the best thrillers of all time.

Tsk, missed "V" this weekend - only because it wasn't showing at the College Point Multiplex yet.  They've got the biggest screen, and the most kickass sound system; the only way to watch action-packed flicks. ^_^

I've seen the original The Hills Have Eyes. I recommend it, along with The Last House on the Left. But I have to warn you that Last House is very disturbing, more so than anything released within the past 20 years or so. It's so disturbing because what happens in the movie could actually happen in real life. It has real monsters; not the kind that hide in your closet, but the kind that pass you on the street every day.

The last time I made it to the theaters was last July, when I watched The War of the Worlds. It's possible I might see Vendetta in the theaters. The idea sounds cool.

Saw another one...2005's "Serenity"....interesting twists and turns (Cool beginning)...overall....good Sci-Fi....just could've been slightly better..

Better than IMAX?  I saw it at an IMAX theater on Friday, and I'd be hard-pressed to name a theater that quite compares to that.  It wasn't quite the immersive experience that Harry Potter 3 was in IMAX, but it was very nice.

If you haven't seen the TV series Firefly already, get that (Serenity is a sequel to the show and the show is better than the film).

Good to know - thanks for the info - I thought the world that was created in Serenity had a lot of thought put into it, more than the overal package of the movie allowed to develop.  Something felt like it was a Sci-Fi channel tv show...all grown up ;-)

"Remember, remember, the fifth of November...."

Finally saw "V" last night, and I must say, I liked it quite a bit.  I wonder, though, how much I would've liked it had I read the graphic novels first?  Moore did, after all, request to have his name removed from the credits - and fans of the story say it's been butchered to a large extent.

In any case, as a stand-alone film, most of it hits the right chords.  The political ideology is intriguing, and although I had heard it was toned down to give way to characters and more personality, I think that choice was for the best, as far as the film medium goes.  I love both the Kill Bill-esque "hit-list" element, and the fragmented-flashback technique of storytelling.  The acting is superb; Portman is INFINITELY better here than in the Star Wars films, and Weaving comes through in the mask beautifully.  Good directing choices, though perhaps my only qualm with the film is with the story's proposed time frame.  It's always difficult to effectively portray a film who's plot takes place over an extended period of time, but more allusions to the happenstance throughout the course of the year would have been better appreciated.