goodbadmovieblog Reviews

Blitz (2011)

Gritty and Enthralling, But a Definite Guys Flick

[6/10 · 30 December 2012]

Pearl Reviews: We actually loved this film. As a woman watching this film I have to admit that this was a certainly a guy flick, Now doubt about it, It has no strong female lead. All the men in the film have those tough London accents that all sound freakishly like Phil Mitchel from 'Eastenders' because apparently it makes you sound more tough to talk like that.

But for a guy movie, with all the faults and stereotypes I just mentioned, I actually quite liked it. The soundtrack was pretty awesome also and gets bonus points for lacking Stallone, who seems to be fairly standard for movies of this type.

We would not necessarily watch it again as it isn't our kind of thing, But for a one off we will agree that it was pretty good viewing.

Gone with the Wind (1939)

A Fabulous Classic! A MUST SEE!

[9/10 · 8 December 2012]

Until last year neither of us had actually seen this film. But once we found ourselves the large amount of time necessary to partake in watching this film, we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Having not read the book, we didn't really know what we were getting into and the synopsis of the film on this and other sites was not exactly appealing. But it was the gritty characters and spectacular acting that really made this movie as enjoyable as we found it.

Saying that, the character of Scarlett O'Hara was insufferable most of the time. You spend the whole film shouting at her to grow up and get over it. Then you can't help but feel at the end of the film that she totally had it coming to her. But if she had been the meek and subservient woman that her sisters and friends were then there wouldn't have been a story to start with so you can forgive her for being a complete and utter insufferable snob.

Black Swan (2010)

Disturbing...But in a Good Way

[8/10 · 28 October 2012]

Wow! I forgot how much that movie deeply disturbed me . I have the deepest respect for Natalie Portman, and she really did deserve her Oscar for this movie. But holy s***balls this movie disturbs me. It mostly just made me cringe a lot. Especially the part with her nails, and when her legs go backwards. (Shudders) I mean I loved it! I really loved it. But every time I watch it, and this is the third time I've watched it now, I end up with a severe need to shower repeatedly to get the creepiness off me. This is a fine piece of film work and is beautifully shot and directed. It mixes the beautiful, the perverse and the passionate together incredibly well and you can't help but become kind of hypnotized. I can totally understand why Natalie Portman won the Oscar for her performance in this film. She is simply stunning. Her portrayal is superb and even my beloved wife here, who always has something to say about Natalie Portman, cannot fault her flawless performance here. If this movie were not so disturbing I would watch it over and over. But as it is, I tend to watch large chucks of it hiding behind my hands and peeking out between my fingers.

Santo vs. the Kidnappers (1973)

Mexican Wrestling Mystery...Interesting concept

[4/10 · 21 October 2012]

Um....Interesting one that one. That wasn't exactly the best movie to ease ourselves back into the swing of writing and posting these reviews. We have taken a month off to sort a lot of glitches and stuff out, and now we start out again with a movie that was entirely in Spanish and seemed to lack any desirable story-line of any kind. Like, usually when you watch a foreign movie, even without the subtitles on you can normally discern some kind of logical story progression. Not so much here. We are still totally at a loss as to what actually happened here. The production and technical elements of the film were very good and had the story been better we probably would have been able to enjoy it. But as it was, we found ourselves kind of...adrift. And I am not comforted by the fact that I know we have many more 'Santo' movies to go. A note needs to me made however in reference to Rossy Mendoza, a Mexican beauty queen. Who unlike a lot of American or British Beauty queens who seek a life in feature films, actually seemed to have some genuine acting talent. It was very tasteful and not at all slutty, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to let it slide. Overall we thought that, while this film was well out together tech wise, it lacked the actual substance and story to make the film an enjoyable experience.

'Babicky dobíjejte presne!' (1984)

Not Exactly What We'd Call Horror....

[5/10 · 28 June 2012]

Despite the fact that when we watched this we had to watch it completely in polish, without any subtitles, and had no idea what they were saying the whole time, we actually really enjoyed this title.

However I think labeling it as a 'Horror' is a little bit strong. There isn't exactly anything Horrific in this film. OK so the robotic grannies are a little bit scary, but beyond that there isn't really a lot in this film that we would say would constitute to using the word horror. In fact, there were parts of this film that were quite comic.

In fact, We actually found ourselves rooting for the granny in the end of the film.

The acting wasn't terrible and the story-line was actually pretty good, not original, but then again, most horror films are just the same story-lines that are recycled and presented in a different way anyway, and would have probably been a lot better if we actually understood what was being said.

Overall we quite enjoyed this film, not necessarily a film we'd watch again, but it was still enjoyable, just don't expect it to scare the pants off you.

'Imûhar', une légende (1997)

Heartwarming and Heart wrenching all at the same time

[7/10 · 28 June 2012]

Not at all what I thought it was going to be like.

We were really surprised actually. In a good way.

The little kid Ibraham Paris plays an amazingly strong role for such a young actor. It is really heartwarming how good he is and how well he brings across the feelings of his character, rather then relying on the older characters to do it for him.

And the setting and the music were absolutely magical. The desert is such a perfect place to set this kind of story as there is really nothing to distract you from the characters and their stories as the backdrop is just bare. Stunning to look at none the less, but still, not a lot grows in the desert.

The only thing that annoyed me is this film was billed as being French. Which was not strictly true. Parts were in French. But the rest of the film was in another language, Arabic or something similar we think, with French subtitles, so not technically a french film. Still it was magical to watch and we both really really enjoyed it. It was a heartwarming and at times heart-WRENCHING story and one that no doubt we will visit again in the future.

...A vy lyubili kogda-nibud? (1974)

First Adventure into Soviet Musical Comedy...

[6/10 · 28 June 2012]

That was certainly a singular experience.

OK, So, the film wasn't exactly bad. I mean alright, we had to watch the whole film, all 1hr and 17mins in Russian, with no subtitles, which meant having to decipher most of the story for ourselves, and occasionally talking over the top of the actors and making up or own story-lines and song lyrics.

Which every now and then were fairly similar to what was actually going on, though we didn't know it at the time. But once we look past the whole language barrier thing it pretty much was just the same as every other musical you watch.

The songs are a little cheesy, the dancing is usually terrible and the characters a little over the top. And from what we could tell, this one, though completely in a foreign language, was just the same. Though we have to admit the dancing was a little more shocking then we were originally prepared for.

But on the definite upside, the singing wasn't terrible a la Mamma Mia, and the music was surprisingly catchy. We may not have understood the words, but we were tapping our feet along with the music which has got to stand for something right?

So overall not a terrible experience, but not one I feel we shall be experiencing again

And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973)

Shockingly Old School, But that's kind of the Point

[6/10 · 28 June 2012]

Hallelujah for 1970's horror movies! Otherwise we would have very little to laugh about in life. The acting was over done and the effects were terrible, but then again, would we have 70s horror movies any other way?

Nope!

There were a few unbelievable elements to the film. Like the fact that although Dr Pope is in the Room while the family doctor is killed, he doesn't seem to see how or by whom the doctor is killed. There was also a fair amount of Damsel-in-Distress style fainting and some of the most ridiculous hats I have ever witnessed in a period film. And of course there was that horror movie classic of having it rain/thunder during the climax of the film. Seriously, have you guys ever noticed how many horror films do that? But seriously now, other then the slightly overacting, and the terrible rubber hand which you can all witness in the trailer, this was a fairly enjoyable film. A little predictable maybe but most horror movies follow the same sort of basic menu; Beautiful girl, evil curse, add a few ghosts, some stage screams and some eerie wind effects and stir well, and POOF! You have a scary movie. But despite this we still quite enjoyed it as we are huge scary movie fans, regardless of what decade they come from.

$9.99 (2008)

Witty, interesting and Just a Little Disturbing

[5/10 · 28 June 2012]

Oh Boy was that just a little disturbing.

Stop motion puppets having sex (shudders)

Not really sure that this one had much in a way of a story line. I mean it was good for a one time viewing. But it was just a little to Salvador-Dali-Style-Surreal for my tastes. I mean, don't get me wrong, the script and the animation was amazing. I love a good bit of stop-motion animation, but this crazy Australian movie has just about turned my brain to stew.

We aren't saying that this film is bad. In fact considering the short synopsis that this movie has on IMDb we were expecting it to be quite dry and dull, what we actually got was a film that was fairly witty and meaningful...once you got passed the weirdness of it. Don't be fooled folks, just because this is an animation, does NOT mean that it is safe for children to view. This is very definitely an adult picture, just portrayed in a way that is slightly different than usual.

What Price Survival (1994)

Not Terrible, But it's mostly clever camera work

[6/10 · 28 June 2012]

We do actually tend to really enjoy Asian cinema. It's something about the way they create atmosphere, and the stunning scenery and the beautiful soundtracks, which really outdid themselves in this picture actually. I just find them incredibly likable, However.

Even though this was meant to be a martial arts movie, you saw very little of the actual art. Just a lot of quick camera movements that were meant to imply that there was some amazing swordplay, but you never actually saw it happen. Or the fact that even though from the Cars and Trains that are visible in the film it is safe to assume this film was meant to be set in the early twentieth century, and yet many of the male characters walk around in very 'Matrix' style trench coats to add to their menacing look.

We think it had a very well played out story line and nice well developed characters but it was the little things that let it down.