From Netflix this weekend: The Pathfinder.

I wasn't sure what to think of this movie coming in; all I really knew about it was that my local theatre has featured a cardboard cutout display with a guy fighting what looked like a huge monster. So I was figuring it to be some low-budget borderline fantasy flick, and would have passed on it. My son thought said cutout looked very cool, and we ended up putting it on our Netflix list.

Turn out, this movie is actually a bit of a hidden gem. The premise is that a Viking boy of ten, maybe twelve years old survives some sort of shipwreck/disaster and is picked up by an Indian (read: Native American) woman, whose village agrees to allow him to live with them.

Fast forward to his adulthood, and another band of Viking marauders has landed. The young man, who thinks of himself as an Indian, is faced with the terrifying invaders (who are portrayed like monsters... the armor is quite scary, and the warriors are incredibly cruel and brutal), and some choices.

Warning: this film is quite gory; no blood is spared. But the plot is smooth and well told, the acting is good, and everything looks great. If you're looking for an adventure flick, I'd defintiely recommend this one.

We saw In Bruges yesterday, a very interesting and unconventional sort of crime film, with Collin Farrell and two more well known actors (Gleeson and Fiennes).

The story is a bit simple, two Brittish hitmen are sent to Bruges to lay low after one of them was in an incident, but the way it is filmed, and the funny moments and gruesome ending make it like nothing you would normally expect from such a movie.

The two lead characters are likable and the performances are good.

For me personally it was very nice to see the kind of town Bruges is: very close to what towns look like in the Netherlands. So if that's the way to understand where I live, give it a go.

I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.

I am watching my favorite film again, The 13th Warrior.

This movie seems to be waaay under-rated; for some reason I fell in love with it the first time I saw it and have seen it waaaay too many times-hehe.

5 out of 5 stars for me.

Anyone else a fan of it? Hater of it?

I saw Kung Fu Panda last weekend with Veronica. I wasn't expecting much, thinking that I had already seen the best parts in the trailers.

I was very surprised that it was really a very good movie. Very funny to watch, had a good message but wasn't preachy and the humour was well rounded for adults and kids. All round great movie that I will certainly buy when it comes out on DVD.

Went to go see Don't Mess With The Zohan last night. You should see it if you like Adam Sandler or just a nice funny movie but not if you're easily offended. A bit of a slow start but quickly becomes better.

3.6/5


Also: Going to see Hulk tonight!

HULK IS FAN-F***ING-TASTIC. 4.5/5

We've seen a few movies lately. Almerin already mentioned In Bruges. Very nice film. Don't let your children watch it, however. It drops the F-bomb a LOT...but that was part of the awkward, but realistic humour.

We also saw Martian Child. I LOVE this movie! It's about an orphan boy who believes he is from Mars, who at first lives in a box, until a Fantasy/Sci-fi writer comes and adopts him. Oh no, he doesn't get 'cured' at all, he still wears his 'holding down belt' because Earth's gravity is weak, and he's still only here on Earth to complete his mission of documenting how humans live and behave. The whole movie is great, even the ending. I think several people here on the Inn may also be able to relate to it. Being a bit different than everyone else, the loner, maybe the outcast. I know i could sometimes...but not in that typical cliche way, because the determination and strength of this kid's character is astounding. Easily a family film (it would be a great movie for your kids to watch, actually), but also an overall pleaser to anyone who'd see it.

We've also seen Penelope, though Almerin has yet to finish it up. It's also a pretty alright movie. A girl (Christina Ricci) is born with a pig's face (nose, actually) because of a curse that an old witch placed on her rich, greedy, snobby family line. A nice twist on how she loses her oinker snout. Not what you're thinking throughout the film. Great family movie.

And last night we watched Untraceable. It really wasn't that bad at all. It's not so 'impossible' as people like to say. It's not so ridiculous that you can't enjoy it. It's not even ridiculous at all. It's suspensful, thrilling, and leaves you making sure your doors and windows are locked, haha. I do think it is overly unlikely that even the FBI/government wouldn't be able to shut down the website, but it's an exaggerated extreme scenario, and well...it just works. It's about a troubled person (can't give away who the killer is yet) who sets up his basement as a 'torture chamber' so that he can film animals and people dying through a live streaming video on the internet. The more viewers that come to watch it, the faster the victim dies through the horrible, horrible torturing. So, basically, everyone watching is murdering him. Sure, there are a few little 'yea right' moments in the movie, but not overly. It's enjoyable. But the lighting in the film is SO ANNOYING!! High-ish contrast and low brightness. Too dark.

Bought "Jumper"...
it was very disappointing

C'mon! They have Mace Windu and Anakin Skywalker together again and all they could come up with was this?

I saw Martian Child. It was soooo good. That little boy is amazing.

We saw Untraceable via Netflix, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was farfetched, and a bit of a reach, and a couple of the technical items went beyond my suspension of disbelief, but it was a watchable suspense movie - the items weren't so far over the edge that it ruined the film for me (like I had been expecting).

If you like detective/thriller movies, you'll most likely enjoy this one.

The fact that the government could not shut the site down was not that farfetched, since it was based overseas... but the site would not come back up within seconds. Remember what happens when the Inn moves to a new server? It's usually 12-24 hours (longer for some people) before you get the update, even if we set the TTL to force an imediate refresh. Thisis determined by your personal internet carrier, as well as by multiple major routers along the way. Instant new site isn't possible, but it makes for a good movie.

Also thought that the FBI cybercrmies detective having no firewall on her own computer - thus letting the bad guy gain complete control of all her systems - was a bit farfetched. Possible, I suppose, but no "expert" would be that stupid.

Duncan, I also happen to be a huge fan of 13th Warrior, it is an amazing film.

Recently also saw Untracable like many others here. I enjoyed it for the suspense, and the creativeness the killer has, always enjoy it when the movie guys come up with horrific ways of killing off people, and the deaths themselves (in my opinion at least) were pretty realistic (not for those with weak stomaches).

I'm currently working my way through The Hours again(had to stop it when my step daughter came home... didn't think a five year old was ready for that one yet). It was weird watching it while I was ironing and getting ready for a small fathers day get together with the whole 'hostess' theme going on... really makes you think about where you are in life and what it all means, and hopefully you end up with a happier conclusion than most of the characters do

Glad to hear someone liked the Hulk, my husband is trying to convince me to go see it with him...

Doomsday.

Worst movie ever!!!!!!! Almost, anyway.
We couldn't finish it! >_<

Doomsday... SUCKED!!! I can't remember the last time I turned a movie off... oh wait, it was something with cannibals and corny studentfilming...

*AARGH for supressed memories coming back*

anyway, we went to see the Incredible Hulk yesterday. It was entertaining, but not as satisfying as I hoped. The story was weak for a sequel. And YES, I know that this isn't a real sequel to the Ang Lee Hulk movie, but in a way it is, since they skip the whole part where Banner becomes the hulk, which was basically the center of Lee's version.

All in all the movie felt like a big build-up for another sequel to come. I can't say to much because I don't want to ruin the fun for other people. Let's say that I feel that nothing is really rounded up, which does not give the closing that normal movies have.

On a last note, the promised Cameo of Iron Man is nothing like what I had imagined when I heard about it.

Incredible Hulk is an entertaining enough movie to rent on DVD, but if I really knew what to expect I would've skipped it in theaters and saved my money to go see Kung Fu Panda or the Dark Knight.

3 out of 5

Are you tired of the summer Blockbusters? Looking for something with little plot, bad conversation, and pretentious camera tricks? Do you want a way to waste an hour and a half of you life? If you answered yes to all, then have I got the movie for you!

Funny Games is the story of a dull, unintersting family as they spend time in their enormous summer home on the lake, surrounded by other enormous summer homes on a lake so big they must travel by sailboat to visit anyone. However, the villians soon make an appearance as bland, uninterseting killers who make a wager with themselves that this particular family will be dead by morning. What passes for "hijinx" ensue.

To be quite honest, this movie induced no fear, no suspense, and no interest at all other than a surge of bile as i revisited my dinner.

Ihe acting was tasteless, stiff, and inconsequential. The dialogue was stiff, forced, and horribly written. Dead moneys could have made a better movie. Howard the Duck was a better movie.

The villians are supposed to be shockingly normal white blond sububanites, but they are just unbearable. Had i been the victim, I would have offed myself just to be rid of them.

The opening sequence is enough to make anyone gag. Mom, Dad, and Son are in a car, playing "Name That Tune" with Classical music. Suddenly we hear noisemetal, but it's not the family, its just the opening credit music. In addition to the out-of-place music, we are treated to 8bit graphics for the title. At several points, the alpha male villian speaks directly to the audience, and at one point uses an actual remote control to rewind part of the movie and replay it differently. This technique was wasted in such a horrible piece of cinematic trash that I weep for Naomi Watts, despite the fact that I think she can't act her way out of a paper bag to save her life, no matter what movie she is in.

This film had no redeeming qualities whatsoever and is, in point of fact, SO bad i give it a negative infinity and demand the gods retun the 90 minutes of my life I wasted on this crap.

((Edit: as an avid fan or all things bloody, i had been looking forward to this. Now I am just sad.))

4 stars

I really enjoyed the sci-fi Sunshine. I hadn't heard anything about it and then my husband brought it home. I thought it was going to be one of those crappy sci-fi action pacted things he so enjoys, that the writers spend more time on making scary aliens and finding fun ways to have them kill people instead of plot. But was pleasantly surprised. The premise of the movie might be a bit far off... I really know know enough about the planets and physics and such to know if sending a GIGANTIC bomb to the dying sun and having it explode as close to the core as they can will bring the sun back... but it opened up a neat movie. I liked the way the characters developed and how the greatest challenge they faced was not space aliens, or the sun, but each other. It has some intense scenes, and I really enjoyed the cinematography they enlisted when they venture onto the other ship. Caught me off guard and actually ended up rewinding the film to make sure I had seen the half second clip that I thought I saw, so that was really enjoyable.
All in all I think it has been one of the better space movies I've seen in awhile, that haven't outright been comedies...
M.

Movies we've seen lately:
Rounders
Pathology
Drillbit Taylor
21
Over Her Dead Body
The Happening
The Ruins

But i'm only going to briefly review 2 or 3. I'm really not in a writing mood.

The Ruins. Cool! I thought it was pretty alright. Plot line from IMBD: A group of friends whose leisurely Mexican holiday takes a turn for the worse when they, along with a fellow tourist embark on a remote archaeological dig in the jungle, where something evil lives among the ruins. It's suspensful enough, has a decent amount of visual gore but doesn't over do it, and the acting is all in all decent and believable. Are there cheesy moments? One or two, maybe. A good horror/thriller film for these days. We were pleasantly surprised! I'd give it 7.5 stars out of 10.


Drillbit Taylor. I thought this was a really funny movie. 3 less-than-popular kids hire a homeless guy (who they believe to be a real bodyguard) to protect them from a couple of nasty school bullies. The main bully in this movie really is a monster! Terrible. The events that go on throughout the movie are funny and clever, and you can't help but LOVE the geeky kids. They rock. The movie tries to convey a message (that fighting violence with violence is no good), and even though in the end that message proves not to work in this case...it still comes through anyway. Funny kick-ass scene in the end. Oh, and if you like Fight Club, you'll get a kick out of it. This movie is great for adults and children...however, there are a few adult-like ideas and scenes, and 'some' cursing. great movie, though! 8 stars out of 10.

Pathology. Good film, but too many corny drug-usage scenes mixed with sex. But if you want great visual effects and GORE, mixed with an interesting story line...go for it! Great ending, can't say great acting but it worked out fine. If you don't want to see dead people and cadavers, don't see this movie. That's what it's all about. You've got these med students 'playing the role of God', killing people off and making a game of it...one student will kill, and the others have to do an autopsy to find out how it was done. The point of the game is to commit the perfect murder...one that can't be figured out. 7 stars out of 10. Makes you wonder what really goes down with your body when you die. :/

Watched Good Luck Chuck this weekend. Netflix sent us the unrated version... er, let's just say, you don't want to watch this movie with your mother. Don't even think of watching this while your kids are awake.

The basic premise is that this guy has a curse/charm on him that any woman who sleeps with him will end up meeting her soulmate next. Thanks to an old girlfriend (whose wedding Chuck attends), this fact becomes common knowledge, and spreads like wildfire, since it is apparently true (and apparently, half the city's single female population wants to get married NOW).

The acting in this movie was decent, the dialogue was wickedly funny (Chuck's goofy buddy was hilarious in just about every scene... you'll never think of grapefruit the same way after this movie). The movie does suffer from romantic comedy formulitis; when Chuck and his love interest have their required big conflict, it feels artificial. We knew from the commercials that he'd fall in love with this girl and worry about sleeping with her (due to his curse). Only, not only does he worry, but after they have been together, this smart, witty guy goes absolutely 110% over-the-top-stalker-crazy. Overdone, in my opinion.

However, the movie as a whole was quite funny... often in a very "wrong", screwball kind of way. Beware, the language in this movie gets quite filthy at times, and sex is a common, repetitive theme.

Oh, yes, and the nudity. I'm sure it was more prevalent since we had the unrated version, but I was stunned by the sheer volume of nudity in this film. There are probably thirty topless women in this movie; many of Chuck's trysts are documented for us. There is one montage shot that includes positions that are probably too extreme for the Karma Sutra.

Oh, yes... and if you want to really be scarred for life, watch the credits. There's a nice little scene there involving some really dark humor that I am stunned a major movie studio had the guts to include. If you're like me, you'll watch that scene, unable to look away (as if watching a train wreck), all the while wishing that you had turned it off before that point.

Final report: not a bad movie, but not for the prudish, easily offended, or easily embarrased.