Blows up in your face!! Awful!!

I watched this about 4 weeks ago having never heard of it...after about half an hour i was wondering what was actually happening, because the plot is non-existent!

Then when the scene with the posh voiced british special forces getting shot (and then saved by the americans) came along it was almost embarrassing to watch a scene like in any film! The bomb handling parts must surely be vastly unrealistic and almost offensive to those who do such a dangerous job!
Stereotypical charactors, the main guy is like maverick in top gun (without the charm, F-14 fighter jets and filmography), but worse, so much that you want to see him die because he is so annoying. There is NO SOUNDTRACK, i think there are maybe two parts with music, the rest is mostly the main guy chatting rubbish to himself. I
couldnt believe it when i heard all the media hype, and people raving about this film, has to be in my top 5 worst ever films. If i wasnt so hungover i would of drove home!

Two hours of tense stand-off in Iraq

Documentary style film about an adrenaline-junkie bomb disposal technician in post-invasion Iraq. It is similar in feel to the HBO series 'Generation Kill' though some scenarios in THL are outlandish and less credible compared to the fact-based GK. My main problem with THL is that the central character would have been busted long ago for not obeying instructions and unnecessarily putting his team at risk though there is the 'Catch-22' aspect to consider. Another favourable comparison is with the film 'Jarhead' - about a foot soldier's experience in the first Kuwait/Iraq war.

What the movie does brilliantly capture though, is the prosaic monotony of the soldiers life whilst under the constant stress of life threatening situations. The men are portrayed as aliens in a foreign landscape: unable to make progress against the enemy, anticipate where the next bullet or bomb will come from, or know who is neutral and who is foe. Much of their bravery is pointless as the bombs they disarm today will be replaced with new ones tomorrow.

The most memorable scene is set in a supermarket shopping isle back home. The shelves are stacked full of multiple brands and variations of breakfast cereal. The soldier looks up and down the shelves in disbelief at the meaningless mountain of choice. He is silent but his deep dissatisfaction with everyday civilian life is summed up in this single sequence.

A large part of the negative comment on the movie seems to be centred around the intentional lack of purposeful narrative, no central lead that the audience can adopt as an alter-ego, killing off recognisable faces for no plot benefit, and lack of any poetic insight into the meaning and purpose of war. Iraq is not that kind of situation.

If you want an all-conquering hero, good kicking evil, or character redemption this is not the place to look.

Amazing

It was so amazing i spent the first 30 mintues of the movie with my mouth open with shock.

Tarantinesque

That one is easy: if you like Tarantino, you'll love that movie, and if don't, you won't.

Personally I never was a fan (except for Kill Bill vol.1) so I didn't care much for the movie. It mainly came short in my eyes by trying to run two independent storylines (although they artificially collide ultimately) but failing to dig into any with enough strength and depth. Therefore it's pretty hard to care. I'll admit that the scene in the basement bar is very well done and entertaining and Diane Kruger was the best I've ever seen her. But without the Tarantino tag, I doubt this movie would have been noticed by many people.

Please do not buy/rent/watch this

District 9 is the worst kind of film. It has an original and innovative underlying concept that has the potential to create a"must have" film. Unfortunately this gives the viewer a glimmer of hope that this atrocious film will improve. It keeps you with your finger lightly resting on the stop button as you endure every stupid and ill thought out plot twist. I kept asking myself, is this meant to be a comedy? Sadly, the answer is no. There are a few moments of action and interest that keep that glimmer of hope alive until you reach the end. Unfortunately this just gives way to a disappointing and illogical ending. Sad.

This film robbed me of 112 minutes of my life. Please don't let it do the same to you.

Pure logic and enjoyment.

This is without doubt a first-class thoroughly enjoyable ride into fun!
The performances are very good with some excellent chemistry between Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law.
They were obviously enjoying themselves immensely,as indeed were most of the cast.It's an atmospheric and beautifully shot movie with remarkable attention paid to London of the 1890's including a wonderful set-piece on an incompleted Tower bridge.The whole production design is gorgeous and includes a wonderful score by Hans Zimmer,easily one of his best.
Overall,this is superb entertainment which is intriguing,full of action and very witty!
If you don't like this then you had better check your pulse!
Well directed by Guy Richie and produced by Joel Silver.See it!

visual feast of effects and silliness

Take this movie for what it was meant to be: pure visual spectacle with lots of effects, silly plot elements, forced emotion, desperation, and goofy stuff like carrying elephants and giraffes by helicopter to the big arks.

Don't make it about any more than that, don't take it seriously, and you will be just fine.

Why Not 3D?

Have not seen the film yet but am currently giving it 3 stars purely because this is not being released in 3D - Why not? Someone in another review said they think 3D will be possible on Blu Ray soon. It already is as I have some in my collection right now. So I repeat, why not this one?? I am only going for the cheaper Duel pack because I bet you anything you like in 6 months time a 3D version will come out.

Exciting and entertaining.

I came very late to this series as it has been out for a while.But I saw it as a boxed set in Blu Ray and decided to give it a try.

I found it to be very exciting and a good action thriller.I like most films with Mat Damon.He is an excellent actor and I t hink he did a lot of the action sequences himself.

I enjoyed it and would recommend it to those who like films in this genre.

Over hyped and over here....

A touch of the"George Lucas" here with the technology and the love of it taking over from the need for a tight script. I found it 20 mins too long but a good popcorn movie, not much more. Each to their own, but for pure entertainment at the cinema last year, for me"Star Trek" was much better,"Avatar" was fun, but not that much fun!

miscasting prevalent

This is a sweet movie.We all know how it will end,so there are no surprises,but there is a lot of imagination and many plot devices to keep the viewer entertained along the way. The biggest problem for me was that the major roles were severely mis-cast,with the notable exception of Michelle Pfeifer as a witch. She alone looked the part, was credible, acted marvellously, and looked like she was enjoying every moment of playing a wicked, old witch determined to do a terrible deed.This is a far cry from her usual parts, and given the witch was an old hag, ugly etc it took courage for her to take the part. The other key roles were very miscast. The young hero was not up to the role, and way too much of a"fop" with his floppy long hair. The beautiful young girl/star who falls to earth was also lacking in innocence, and the poor wig/blonde dye job on her hair did not help. Neither did her awful dress. De Niro was also in the wrong role for him. The insistence on using a huge English cast also meant that somehow David Brent/Gervais got into the film-when is someone going to be honest enough to tell him that he simply is not funny? Siena Miller looking like a footballer's WAG also looked about 15 years too old for the part.
This being said,the would-be King Septimus was excellent,as was the all-to-brief cameo by Peter O'Toole,and the mother and father of"fop" boy were excellent and credible as the original star-crossed lovers.
Definitely worth getting,but could have been much better with some better casting.

Great Fun

I really enjoyed this movie, even though some reviews had been sceptical. The movie is fun, engaging, however often struggles decide who and what age it's target audience are. I really hope we see the continuation of the films to their natural conclusion, as this beats the melodrama of the Twighlight saga hands down.

Great Film Really packs a punch

Sat and watched this with the wife who does not normally like this kind of thing but she absolutely loved it. From the opening jail break to the theatre shoot out the film was gritty and no holds barred.

A let down!

Enjoyed the first Transformer movie so I rented this one and I am so glad I didn't buy it...it was such a big let down! Not going to explain the movie it was too badly made to bother.

A great film box set to buy in HD

There are some films, which due to special effects and cinematics, really benefit from being in HD, and the Matrix trilogy is no exception. The sound quality and visuals really make this box set an enjoyable experience, especially considering the price

District 9

Dissapointed with this film.

The trailers made it look like a serious epic. High drama, no expense speared film.

However, i did not know weather or not to take this film seriously. Thought the graphics were poor. The story line was poor.

I got the impression there was a hidden message in the story line. The film is basically about how humans are so racist, destructive & generally none tollerent of other people. Especially thought the setting of South Africa was a little bit too far given the history there.

Didn't enjoy it at all. Seemed like its purpose was to send a msg to the world rather then to create a good, enjoyable film.

Poor. Not worth watching.

Superb blu-ray

In Holland the blu-ray is already available and the quality is superb. It has a lot of very nice extra's. The commentary from director Roland Emmerich and Co-writer and composer Harald Kloser is insightfull and fun. They both make clear that this movie is not really to be taken seriously and yes, they do know that there are plotholes in this movie that are so big, Hannibal could have moved his army through it!!! And a fun fact, John Cusack and they boy who played his son did all the underwater scenes themselves, because they were better at it than the stuntmen who were innatialy hired for the job.
The deleted scenes are nice to look at, but it's also pretty clear why they are deleted. The alternate ending is also fun, it could have giving the film a totaly different ending, but again it's clear why they eventualy didn't use it. In the documentaries there is the same kind of stuff you can expect to found with every movie: Oh he is such a great director, Oh my actors are magnificent, bla bla bla.
Nothing new there. There are also some talkings heads seriously talking about the 2012 apocalypse: terrible, don't take these people serious.
And of course, the movie quality is fantastic. Crisp and clear, but don't expect the same experience as in the theater. You need at least a 50 inch television to do this film some justice.

Excellent Watson!

What a great film this is! I was hugely surprised at how good it is when I first saw it. I have always loved Sherlock Holmes and was unsure whether this would be true to the classics.

Well, as far as I am concerned, this IS the classic Holmes movie. I loved the way the relationship with Watson was portrayed, and the Victorian London imagery was a pleasure to behold. The story unfolds with magnificant charm, as mysteries unravel before our eyes, and seemingly innocuous observations become crucial to the game. There is plenty of action, some of which is portrayed almost in bullet time, with Holmes' thought processes being narrated before the actual event. It works really well.

I can't really say more without giving away spoilers. And I hate spoilers.

There must be more Holmes films made with this new cast. Not to do so would be a crime.

Incidently if you are a fan of the TV series House, you may watch this movie and see some similarities between House - Wilson and Holmes - Watson. As House was based on Holmes this is hardly a surprise!
(Do a Google to read the whole story)

......" win or lose, this war ends tonight!"......

Terminator: Salvation (otherwise known as Terminator 4) is the next chapter in the saga and revolves around a major holocaust on humanity inflicted by Sky-net. John Connor (played by Christian Bale) leads a human army against the machines, in order to stop them from eliminating the small pockets of human resistance.

Christian Bale is not convincing as John Connor and this is a real shame, but Sam Worthington excels in his moody performance as Marcus Right. The underlying issues e.g. human value and struggle can only help to increase its appeal, and these issues are inherently there and touched on throughout. However, the film should come with a health warning as it is highly stylised and the action can be dizzying due to the constant panning. It is unrealistic in parts and even though Arnold Schwarzenegger is not in the movie per say, there is an interesting surprise in store!

This is an alternative approach to the normal Terminator movies and a simpler storyline has been adopted. Character development is not a major area of concern for McG, but as far as the action goes; there is always something going on. Many viewers will have expected something bigger and grander but Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines has already made us accustomed to mediocrity. Its not worthy of being mentioned with the first two movies but then again, compared to Terminator 3 it is a vast improvement.

McG directs with style over substance and Terminator Salvation is not a film that takes itself too seriously. However McG does deserves credit for creating a truly apocalyptic atmosphere and for the ever present testosterone charged action. As an action film it is as good as any other that has been released in this day and age, but made slighter better or rather slightly more interesting by the fact that its part of a jigsaw piece from a major Hollywood franchise.

Brilliant, even if you're not keen on Star Trek

I'm the first to admit that I'm not a huge fan of the whole Star Trek franchise. But after strong recommendations I gave in and was pleasantly surprised. A really engrossing film with fantastic action and a gripping story. Glad I gave it a go, can't wait for the next one.