A View From The Master

Well as most of you will know my top 100 didn't quite finish the way I wanted it to. I've had to reset my phone (I lost everything, Damn you apple), so all is in good working order now. I've made a new review thread because there were still movies from my list I wanted to write something about, so a new review thread seemed a good idea. Ill also be posting reviews of new movies aswell as old ones.

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The Terminator
Directed By: James Cameron



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Plot - A cyborg assassin called "The Terminator" is sent back through time to 1984 to kill the seemingly innocent Sarah Connor-a woman whose unborn son will lead the human race to victory in a bitter future war with a race of machines. If the Terminator succeeds, mankind is doomed. Sarah's only hope is a soldier from that post-apocalyptic war, who has chased the Terminator back through time. The future of the human race depends on which one finds her first.

The Terminator is where this movie franchise all kicked of, we have had tv shows, computer games, movie merchandise, and sequels all come along over the years - but The Terminator is where it all begin. For me this movie is by far the strongest in the series, I know alot of people prefer T2 but Ime a big fan of the original and nothing comes close. Ime not saying T2 is a bad movie, I think it's a fantastic movie but there are just things I like alot better about the original film.

. I like the darker tone

. This movie stars Michael Biehn

. I prefer Arnold as the villain

. Linda Hamilton looks do-able in this movie, in T2 she lookes like a beefed up steroid user who would put me in a choke hold.

. This movie doesn't star Edward Furlong.

. Edward Furlong isn't on my screen screaming his annoying ass off in every scene.

Terminator is a movie icon, it's a movie that will no doubt get a re-boot sometime soon, and it will doubt kill the franchise of even more. Some movies are better of left alone, T2 worked as a sequel but everything after that just dragged The series down, none more so than terminator 3 (terrible). Termination Salvation tryed to take the movie in a different direction, it changed the format and although it wasn't terrible it still wasn't good either.

This movie will always have a place in my favourite movies collection, it's a movie I enjoy watching and although it's a little dated now its still a fantastic movie. Great cast, great story and one of the best movie soundtracks out there make this a movie for everyone ( my mum even like this movie)..

300
Directed By Zack Snyder



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Plot: In 480 BC, the Persian king Xerxes sends his massive army to conquer Greece. The Greek city of Sparta houses its finest warriors, and 300 of these soldiers are chosen to meet the Persians at Thermopylae, engaging the soldiers in a narrow canyon where they cannot take full advantage of their numbers. The battle is a suicide mission, meant to buy time for the rest of the Greek forces to prepare for the invasion. However, that doesn't stop the Spartans from throwing their hearts into the fray, determined to take as many Persians as possible with them.


300 is a love it or hate it movie, it's movie that devides opinion with movie fans, which isn't a shock because most of Zack Snyder's work does that. Watchmen, Man Of Steel and 300 all have there haters, but those movies also have there fair share of fans - me being a one of them. Zack Snyder is fast becoming one of my favourite directors out there, I think all his work is visually amazing and his eye for detail is remarkable. 300 is visually his best work, it looks absolutely amazing, every tiny detail looks incredible and makes some scenes in this movie look epic. I know this movie isn't a masterpiece, I know it has its flaws - but I just can't understand why it receives so much hate among some critics, and many movie fans. In my eyes it's a very entertaining movie, that looks and sounds fantastic... Although the narrator annoys the crap out of me, seriously his voice is more annoying than Bridget Jones on her period..

This is a movie that cracked my top 100 favourite movies, infact in cracked my top ten so you can probably see ime a big fan. Zack Snyder is certainly making a name for him self now, whether it's good or bad press he certainly has people's attention and with his latest blockbuster Man Of Steel deviding opinion yet again.... he just keeps making more of a fan out of me. Overall 300 is a great movie, I own it on both DVD and Blu Ray and I can't wait for its sequel to hit the screens next year, even if it isn't Synder directing.

Adrift
Directed By: Hans Horn



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Plot: A weekend break onboard a boat goes horribly wrong for a group of old high-school friends. They forget to let the ladder down before they jump into the ocean for a swim. Without the ladder, it proves impossible to climb back in to the boat. They are stuck in the water many miles from shore, with baby Sara left alone onboard. Sara's mother, Amy, must contend with a childhood incident that has traumatized her into an aqua-phobic, as well as contending with the group of friends' increasing desperation, as they begin to turn on each other. Soon, the exhaustion of keeping afloat, coupled with the struggle to get back onboard, both begin to take a terrible toll. The happy reunion turns into anything but, as a fight for survival ensues.

Well the weekend is over and I managed to sit and watch a movie called Adrift, well when I say I sat and watched a movie - i actually mean I wasted 2 hours of my life ill never get back. Ime not to sure if this movie is a sequel or just a similar movie to open water, but there is no originality at all, the idea of jumping of a boat into the sea without throwing the ladder over first is something I'd probably do, so it's interesting to watch and think how they would get back on the boat. The problem with this movie is once there in the sea there's nothing new at all, there's nothing original and although Open Water wernt great I'd still say it was more enjoyable and a better made movie than this.

Adrift is a movie full of flaws, I know it wernt made with a big blockbuster budget or it hasn't got a star studded cast but it has some major problems. While I sat watching this movie it became pretty frustrating, all i kept thinking was surely there are more things you could be trying to get back on that boat, I felt like they where ways they could of got out of the water and back onboard but was left floating for the purpose of the movie. Another problem with a movie like this is ..... The characters!, they need to be likeable, they need to connect with the viewer for the movie to work, you need to feel for them in the situation there in and I got nothing from them. Seriously I'd of felt more for the police officer who shot that dog if he was in this situation.

Overall this was a pretty bad movie, it had a weak cast, weak characters and the movie became very boring very fast. It's a movie clinging to that bit of success Open Water had but fails in every way possible, if that even is possible. .

Die Hard
Directed By: John McTiernan



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Plot: Tough New York cop John McClane finds himself in a tight situation when an office building in Los Angeles is taken over by terrorists. Apart from himself, everyone else in the building - including his wife - is held at gunpoint while their captors spell out their demands. The F.B.I. are called in to survey the situation, but John McClane has other plans for the terrorists.

The 80's was the ultimate action movie decade, it had some of the greatest action movies ever made, movies like Predator, Lethal Weapon, Commando, First Blood, Terminator, and of course... Die Hard!. What made Die Hard stand out among the rest tho?... John McClane!!. Die Hard didn't need Muscle Bursting action Stars, it didn't need Bruce Willis running around with a machete down his pants or a Rocket Launcher over his shoulder ( Arnie), all it needed was John McClane. McClane is one of the greatest movie characters ever created. He's a character everybody loves, he's a badass, he's crazy, and he's cool all rolled into a big ball, I mean who else can pull a vest of like John McClane?..

I wanted to review and share my thoughts on this movie because its a movie everybody seems to enjoy, it's a movie I've seen pop up on alot of top 100 lists, and it's a movie well received by alot of critics . Don't get me wrong Die Hard deserves all the praise it gets... but that doesn't mean it doesn't have it's minor faults.

. With a running time of 132 minutes the movie is way to long.

. There is way to much time with John McClane off screen.

. John's and Holly's relationship just doesn't feel right, it feels forced for the purpose of the story. ( he doesn't give a **** basically).

I don't really know why ime picking at minor things I don't like about this movie, maybe it's because there little things that annoy me, or maybe it's because without those minor things this movie would flow alot more nicely. I just think there's a little to much time spent on things that don't really matter. Overall Die Hard is a fantastic movie, it's entertaining as F*** and it's a very cool movie, well McClane makes it cool but it all fits together. Die Hard will always have a place in my movie collection, and a place in my top 100.

The Rock
Directed By: Michael Bay



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A group of U.S. marines, under command of a renegade general, take over Alcatraz and threaten San Francisco Bay with biological weapons. A chemical weapons specialist and the only man to have ever escaped from the Rock are the only ones who can prevent this chaos from happening..

We all know Michael Bay's movies are loud, noisy, and big. I mean sometimes it can feel abit to much when your sitting in the cinema and your ears feel like someone is hitting them with a stick, and Michael Bay is well known for throwing his stick about (insert Joke). Looking back through his filmography I wanted to pick up on a movie I think he deserves a little bit of credit for. Don't get me wrong i enjoy his movies, there big dumb fun, there entertaining and there sh**, but this is a movie that is actually a really good film, and a movie worth writing a review on.

The Rock is a movie I have always enjoyed, it has everything you would expect from an action movie, gun fights, fist fights, car chases, and explosions, well everything you would expect from a Bay movie really. The difference between The Rock and every other Michael Bay movie is.... this movie actually has a good story, it actually has a good cast, and it doesn't have Shia LaBeouf, seriously! although I love Transformers --- I just can't cope with Shia LaBeouf and his screaming. With a running time of over 2 hours this movie is long, but it's not a problem with its pacing, it's non stop from the word go and there's always something going on without a dull moment in sight. Ime not saying this movie is a masterpiece, ime not saying it's brilliant, but it is an enjoyable movie. Ed Harris and Connery are fantastic, it has a pretty interesting story (not really original) and its always fun to watch with alot happening.

Overall Michael Bay can actually make an enjoyable movie, he can actually come up with a story for his movies, and he can actually make a movie without giant robots.....he isn't all that bad.

From Dusk Till Dawn
Directed By: Robert Rodriguez



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Plot summary: The Gecko brothers are fugitives, and are on the run after a very interesting bank robbery. They kidnap the Fuller family, and drive to a Mexican bar to meet with other on-the-run criminals. It turns out the crooks in the bar are vampires, and if the Gecko brothers and the Fuller family can survive from dusk until dawn, the "crooks"" will let em' go.

From Dusk Till Dawn is a movie I've always enjoyed, it's a movie that made my top 100 favourites, and it's a movie I hope will make the Mofo nineties list. This is a movie that has everything to offer, Comedy, horror, action, and one damn hot babe. Seriously, this is one of the most entertaining movies ever made, you can switch your brain of ( you need to ) and enjoy. I dont really know what to think off Robert Rodriguez as a director, I enjoyed Sin City and Dusk Till Dawn, but everything else has been.... Lets put it nicely Sh**. Edit: The Faculty is quite enjoyable aswell.

From Dusk Till Dawn is one of the strangest movies I've even seen. The movie is split into two half's.... it would simply be like going into a dvd store and putting two completely different movies together..... sounds strange, but it works. The first half is pretty calm, pretty interesting. The second half is crazy, entertaining, and madness, that's really fun to watch. Don't get me wrong it's a pretty bad movie, but it doesn't take itself serious, and it does what it's intended to do.

Dusk Till Dawn is certainly a very cool movie, you can see Tarantino has had a hand in it, and he even pulls of his role as one of the Gecko brothers very well.... Ime lying, it was terrible!!, but he was still a pretty enjoyable character so who cares. George Clooney is a badass, Harvey Keitel is a preacher, and the Sex Machine is pretty damn cool character. The star of the movie has to go to Salma Hayek. The lapdance scene is one of the sexiest movie scenes ever, if she put her foot in my mouth I'd suck her toenail right off.

Overall From Dusk Till Dawn is a very entertaining movie, it has lots of cool characters, cool scenes and crazy moments. It's not a great movie, but it's certainly one of my favourites. If you havn't seen this movie you should really check it out.

Warrior
Directed By: Gavin O'Connor


My Favourite Movie Ever

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Plot: An ex-Marine haunted by a tragic past, Tommy Riordan returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh and enlists his father, a recovered alcoholic and his former coach, to train him for an MMA tournament awarding the biggest purse in the history of the sport. As Tommy blazes a violent path towards the title prize, his brother, Brendan, a former MMA fighter unable to make ends meet as a public school teacher, returns to the amateur ring to provide for his family. Even though years have passed, recriminations and past betrayals keep Brendan bitterly estranged from both Tommy and his father. But when Brendan's unlikely rise as an underdog sets him on a collision course with Tommy, the two brothers must finally confront the forces that tore them apart, all the while waging the most intense, winner-takes-all battle of their lives..

I've done a review on Warrior before in a different thread, it wasn't a great review, it was just a few things I wanted to write about the movie. After completing my top 100 favourites, and placing Warrior as my number 1 favourite movie of all time, I thought it was only right I write a review of why I love this movie so much, and why I placed the movie at number 1 on my list. For me Warrior was the best movie of 2011, it's a very underrated movie and got overlooked because of the buzz, and hype surrounding... Drive. Don't get me wrong Drive is a great movie, you could go as far as to say both Drive and Warrior are the best movies to have came along over the past couple of years. But for me Warrior is the stronger movie, it's more emotional, more powerful, and more meaningful.

The first time I seen the trailer to this movie I got pretty excited, ime a big mma fan, and ime a big Tom Hardy fan, so I was pretty pumped up for this film. After seeing the movie it was not what I expected at all, I left the cinema shocked at how much I enjoyed this film. Solid story, strong cast, great performances, emotional performances, it really was a fantastic movie. If you havnt seen this movie don't let the mma aspect put you off, it's really just the back setting to the story in front of us. Don't get me wrong there are some cool fights scenes, but the the whole point of the movie is how the characters fight as a family, something alot of people can relate to.

One of the strong points of this movie is the cast. Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, and Nick Nolte are all on fine form. Nolte actually delivers one of the best performances of his career ( well best in a long while). Tom Hardy is sensational, and this movie proves why he is considered one of the best actors around today. I can't really fault any of the cast, they where all fantastic, and all there performances are convincingly real that the movie achieves so much emotion, and so much power. As I said earlier the movie focuses on it's characters rather than the mma theme, it's truly well made, and although it's not original it doesn't matter at all.

Overall Warrior is my number 1 favourite movie ever, sure it's cliched.. It has it's Rocky moments, it's sports movie moments, but it is head and shoulders above the rest. I really hope alot of people check this movie out after my review, and if you do please give me your feedback.

Basic Instinct
Directed By: Paul Verhoeven



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Plot: Former rock star and San Francisco nightclub owner Johnny Boz is found murdered in his bed. Detective Nick Curran is assigned to the case; he has a history of alcoholism and drug abuse although he is clean now. The prime suspect is Catherine Tramell, an attractive and manipulative novelist who had been seeing Boz for a while. Police psychiatrist Beth Gardner (who happens to be Nick's ex-girlfriend) is brought in on the case when it is discovered that Boz's murder was copied directly from one of Catherine's novels. Nick starts to get too involved and everyone seems to be a suspect.

Well I was flicking through the television last night and seen that Basic Instict was on, now ime not going to lie, I have had Basic Instict sitting in my dvd collection for years and I've actually never seen the full movie. I say it's in my dvd collection, but it's basically my happy time collection. My collection has movies like Show Girls, Basic Instict, Striptease.... You get the idea. Damn this review is going to make me sound like a bad pervert. Here's the thing, I've always had a little thing for Sharon Stone. Ive always considered her a milf, i think it's the older woman attraction.... I have Basic Instict 2 aswell, and The Specialist... Haha.

Basic Instict is a pretty average movie. There was nothing that really stuck out for me, and the best bits of the movie I'd actually already seen. Ime not saying this is a bad movie, it's thrilling, its clever, and it does have it's entertaining moments, but nothing unique, or nothing that really stands out. Ime not really a fan of Paul Verhoeven anyway, i loved Starship Troopers, and I enjoyed Total Recall, but that's about it. I actually think he's a very overrated director.

Basic Instict is a very sexual movie, Sharon Stone looks hot, and Michael Douglas looks like a foot. I've never took to Michael Douglas as an actor, most of his movies I find him annoying, and creepy. Plus.. he always seems to play the same character, but in different movie. Sharon Stone is great, she's probably the reason I didn't turn the movie off. This is probably the hottest I've ever seen her, and the sex scenes are great :). This movie isn't all bad, ime actually making it sound worse than it is. Ime just not really a fan of movies like Basic Instinct, I can see why people may enjoy it, but it's not really a movie for me.

Overall pretty average movie, I won't be watching it again any time soon (well not the full movie anyway), but i may watch it again in time to come. I've heard Basic Instinct 2 is terrible compared to this movie..... so ime staying well clear of that.

The Avengers
Directed By: Joss Whedon



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Plot: Nick Fury is director of S.H.I.E.L.D, an international peace keeping agency. The agency is a who's who of Marvel Super Heroes, with Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When global security is threatened by Loki and his cohorts, Nick Fury and his team will need all their powers to save the world from disaster..

Well lets start of by saying this is a movie long over due a re watch. The first time I seen The Avengers i was not impressed at all, i had waited so long for its release that I felt very disappointed when i actually seen it. Iron was fantastic, it was one of the best comic book movies I've ever seen. Iron man 2 sucked. Captain America pretty much sucked aswell. Thor and The Incredible Hulk I enjoyed, I thought they were very entertaining, and very enjoyable to watch. So why wouldn't I like The Avengers?, what went wrong?,..........Everything.

The Avengers was just one big mess. Now I know there are alot of fans of this movies on here, and I know this review probably won't go down well, but ill explain anyway. For me The Avengers just didn't work on so many levels. I felt the story was very weak, I mean Thor managed to deal with Loki all by him self in Thor, yet now we need 5 other super hero's in on it this time around.? Loki for me just wasn't a strong enough villain for this movie, I didn't feel he was menacing enough, or powerful enough.

Other problems I have:

. I don't think the characters fit together well in the avengers world. Iron man was a very grounded movie, it was quite realistic in ways. Thor was obvisouly a bit far fetched, it was abit more out there. So for me, they didn't feel right together, they didn't gel well, and they all looked out of sorts.

. The Avengers lost alot of the humour, and spark that previous movies brought. They especially toned down Tony Stark, and yet he still managed to steal the show.

. The movie feels to crammed together. I felt left behind in places with way to much going on.

Overall The Avengers isn't a terrible movie, it looks great, and some of the action sequences look amazing. But I have major problems with it, and it should of been a whole lot better. Weak story, and character problems make this a struggle for me to really get into. All that's really left to say is ...... Big Let Down.

King Kong
Directed By: Peter Jackson



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Plot: Set in the 1930s, this is the story of a young and beautiful actress Ann Darrow from the world of vaudeville who finds herself lost in depression-era New York and her luck changes when she meets an over-ambitious filmmaker Carl Denham who brings her on an exploratory expedition to a remote island where she finds compassion and the true meaning of humanity with an ape Kong. The beauty and the beast finally meet their fate back in the city of New York where the filmmaker takes and displays the ape in quest of his fame by commercial exploitation which ultimately leads to catastrophe for everyone including a playwright Jack Driscoll who falls in love with Ann and plays an unlikely hero by trying to save her from Kong and her destiny.

King Kong is a movie that I've always found very interesting. I've actually never scene the original movie, it was abit before my time, well alot before my time. I have tryed to watch it, but I just couldn't seem get into it ( I think it was little to old ). Anyway,.. I've always found the whole concept of King Kong very fascinating, skull Island in particular. Just the idea of an island undiscovered, full of extinct animals and ancient people is very interesting. When I heard Peter Jackson was bringing King Kong back to the big screen i was very excited, with a massive budget and a big update to the legend Kong everything seemed positive..... It was.

I actually forgot to consider this movie when updating my top 100 favourite movies. Ime not quite sure if this movie would of made the cut, but i certainly would of considered it. Peter Jackson certainly delivered big with this movie, from the very start it's a fantastic adventure ( a bloody long adventure), full of excitement, emotion, action, comedy, everything you would expect from a family movie. Ime not quite sure how this movie holds up against the original, because as I said ..I havnt seen it, but I think Jackson did a pretty good job here. King Kong looks fantastic, everything around you comes to life, the Dinosaurs, the island, and Kong himself looks incredible.

If I had to pick up on any negatives about this movie, then I would have to say.... It's running time. King Kong is way to long, the first hour or so of this movie could of easily been cut down to 15 minutes. Don't get me wrong, it builds to the excitement, it's builds the anticipation, but it kills the movie. The running time isn't a problem with a first viewing, but with a second viewing the first half of the movie is very boring.

Overall King Kong is a great movie. I always find it pretty strange that they go to an island full of extinct animals and bring back a monkey, I'd of thought the T-Rex was the better option... But oh well. Anyway.. King Kong is a great adventure, with a strong cast, great story and incredible moments. This is a movie for just about everyone, it's a great family movie.

Casino
Directed By: Martin Scorsese



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Plot: This Martin Scorsese film depicts the Janus-like quality of Las Vegas--it has a glittering, glamorous face, as well as a brutal, cruel one. Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro, mobsters who move to Las Vegas to make their mark, live and work in this paradoxical world. Seen through their eyes, each as a foil to the other, the details of mob involvement in the casinos of the 1970's and '80's are revealed. Ace is the smooth operator of the Tangiers casino, while Nicky is his boyhood friend and tough strongman, robbing and shaking down the locals. However, they each have a tragic flaw--Ace falls in love with a hustler, Ginger, and Nicky falls into an ever-deepening spiral of drugs and violence..

Martin Scorsese is considered one the greatest directors of all time, He's brought us many movie classics like, GoodFellas, Taxi Diver, Raging Bull, and my favourite of them all.....Casino. Ime probably one of very few who considers Casino Better than Goodfellas, and ime probably all alone when I say I consider it Scorsese's best work. Casino has always been a movie favourite of mine ever since i was a young boy ( yep I watched these films young ). It's a movie I have owned on Vhs, Dvd, and Blu Ray, and a movie i have seen more times than I wish to write. Ime a big gangster movie fan, i love most gangster films out there, but Scorsese is the man that nails it. Goodfellas and Casino are exceptional, there two of the greatest movie ever made.

Casino is fantastic movie, with a great story, and excellent cast. The cast is what really shines for me in Casino, Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro are the greatest movie duo ever, and it's no surprise Scorsese used them both in Casino and Goodfellas. Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, and Sharon Stone all deliver fantastic performances in this movie. Joe Pesci is as crazy as ever, delivering pretty much the same performance as he did in GoodFellas. Robert Di Nero delivers as per usual, and Sharon Stone is as sexy as ever, she delivers her best performance of her career.

Ime really hoping Casino pops up high on the Mofo's 90's countdown. I don't know if i can call this movie underrated, but i want to. It's certainly underrated when comparing it to Scorsese's other movies, and it certainly gets over shadowed by GoodFellas. Casino is sharp, stylish and gripping. It's a movie I will always love, and a movie that I will always argue, and call Scorsese's finest.