LarsMac
Member
Speaking of movies, IMDB's latest list of the bottom 100 has only one movie that I have actually watched. Down from 20, last year.
Just an observation.
Just an observation.
-
OK, it's on.
Last movie you watched
- Thread starter zxc
- Start date
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
That's pretty funny.
I've only seen one item there, and I don't think it should be held against me because I was about ten at the time, and my parents took me to the Sunday afternoon matinee in our small rural town to see it. So it was coerced!
84. 2.4 Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964) 6,430
Note: No, I did not see it upon initial release. *doh* It was sometime in the late 70's.
BigApplePi
Banned
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Piranha. 2010. This is a fun movie. Starts out with Richard Dreyfus in a rowboat drunk fishing for bass. The lake starts to drain in a whirlpool caused by an earthquake (I think) which releases a bunch school of piranha who have not been fed for awhile. Dreyfus can't control his rowboat and when his body is discovered later, you cannot recognize Richard Dreyfus although he is an actor familiar to me. (a body double maybe?) Needless to say (why did I have to say, "needless to say"?), some of the others who saw this movie said it made them throw up. I don't know why. What do you expect if piranhas eat you? They are bound to leave excess flesh which is a waste from their POV. Anyway the plot is good and you will feel comfortable following it along. I liked this movie. The question is, why won't YOU like it?
I forgot. The movie takes place during Spring Break. So you get to see a lot of bare breasts. I added that comment so you would get a feel for the characters.
I forgot. The movie takes place during Spring Break. So you get to see a lot of bare breasts. I added that comment so you would get a feel for the characters.
Red Devil
Member
The Fountain -
The slow pace of the movie and the abstractness might put some people off. At the core, it's a love story. And quite a powerful one. Liked it.
Spirited Away -
Surreal, enchanting. Great story-telling. If you like that and animation movies, go for it. My first Miyazaki film. Princess Mononoke is next on the list.
Hotel Rwanda:
Over-whelmingly sad. Great performance by Don Cheadle.
Btw, for people who watch a lot of movies and like keeping track of them, check out icheckmovies.com. It's a neat site where you can check off movies that you've watched from various official and unofficial lists.
The slow pace of the movie and the abstractness might put some people off. At the core, it's a love story. And quite a powerful one. Liked it.
Spirited Away -
Surreal, enchanting. Great story-telling. If you like that and animation movies, go for it. My first Miyazaki film. Princess Mononoke is next on the list.
Hotel Rwanda:
Over-whelmingly sad. Great performance by Don Cheadle.
Btw, for people who watch a lot of movies and like keeping track of them, check out icheckmovies.com. It's a neat site where you can check off movies that you've watched from various official and unofficial lists.
nanook
a scream in a vortex
movies i saw in the last half year or so, with my own subjective ratings
(where 6=recommendable/worthwhile, 7=cinema worthy)
Samsara 10
Manderlay 8
Nanjing! Nanjing! 8
Eva 7+
Sàidékè balái 7 +
The Raven 7+
Prometheus 7+
Mirror Mirror 7
Dark Shadows 7
Deadfall 7
Total Recall 7
Sucker Punch 7
The Dark Knight Rises 7
Survive Style 5+ 7
A Fantastic Fear of Everything 6+
The Awakening 6+
Copying Beethoven 6+
The Amazing Spider-Man 6+
Red Lights 6+
The Deep Blue Sea 6+
The Remains of the Day 6
The English Patient 6
Head in the Clouds 6
The Divide 6
Snow White and the Huntsman 6
Resident Evil: Afterlife 6
i'm a geek, so sometimes i give a bonus for genre, concepts, visuals or favorite actors.
most hated movie: thor
(where 6=recommendable/worthwhile, 7=cinema worthy)
Samsara 10
Manderlay 8
Nanjing! Nanjing! 8
Eva 7+
Sàidékè balái 7 +
The Raven 7+
Prometheus 7+
Mirror Mirror 7
Dark Shadows 7
Deadfall 7
Total Recall 7
Sucker Punch 7
The Dark Knight Rises 7
Survive Style 5+ 7
A Fantastic Fear of Everything 6+
The Awakening 6+
Copying Beethoven 6+
The Amazing Spider-Man 6+
Red Lights 6+
The Deep Blue Sea 6+
The Remains of the Day 6
The English Patient 6
Head in the Clouds 6
The Divide 6
Snow White and the Huntsman 6
Resident Evil: Afterlife 6
i'm a geek, so sometimes i give a bonus for genre, concepts, visuals or favorite actors.
most hated movie: thor
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
most hated movie: thor
Interestingly, I saw it, and never really felt inclined to see it again.
to me, it was supposed to be about the Asgard gods, yet the whole movie seems smaller than life. Asgard didn't really seem to be that big/god-like, and then the entire earth plot occurs in a forgotten rinky-dink town in the middle of a desert. Maybe "Smaller than Life" is a great summary of the problems with it.
The only great points for me was (1) that battle scene with the giants in their home dimension, that occurred in the beginning of the movie, and (2) the shot of Chris H taking off his shirt about 20-30 minutes in. And I suspect you didn't even have #2 going for you...
Thor's kind of a blowhard loser too, for some of the movie, and not the type of person I like anyway. I found him more interesting in The Avengers.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
I signed up, although I certainly don't feel like paying for any kind of access.
Out of the top 500 movies in the favorites list, I've seen 288 of them. Probably about 15 others I've seen pieces of, but didn't feel comfortable saying I've seen. And my percentage dropped a lot in pages 11-20... for the first 250 movies in that list, I think I saw about 90-95% of them.
I'll have to add others manually I guess.
It kind of did blow my mind, though, to realize HOW many hours of movies I must have watched since being a teenager. Kind of scary.
LarsMac
Member
Watched "Unknown", with Liam Neeson, last night.
Was really interesting. I had never read a review, or heard anything about the plot, so came with no expectations - Well other than Neeson is nearly ALWAYS worth the time.
In the opening, the only hint of things to come is when Liz is checking in, and Martin is still out dealing with the cab, and the hotel clerk tells Liz there is a problem with the Eisenhower Suite. the look on her face show a lot deeper than you would expect from the person we just saw in the cab.
Like, "Omigod! this is a bitch not to cross."
And I just have to say that her ending seemed kinda lame.
I would have done it a bit differently.
Was really interesting. I had never read a review, or heard anything about the plot, so came with no expectations - Well other than Neeson is nearly ALWAYS worth the time.
In the opening, the only hint of things to come is when Liz is checking in, and Martin is still out dealing with the cab, and the hotel clerk tells Liz there is a problem with the Eisenhower Suite. the look on her face show a lot deeper than you would expect from the person we just saw in the cab.
Like, "Omigod! this is a bitch not to cross."
And I just have to say that her ending seemed kinda lame.
I would have done it a bit differently.
Red Devil
Member
Nah, I haven't paid either. If you really want to have better movie-searching options and want to make lists, then you can get a premium account. Otherwise not necessary at all.
Wow, that's a good number. Did you see all the lists? If you haven't, then do... It's easier to check off movies that way. They have official and personal lists for the IMDb top 250, reddit top 250, lists by director's filmographies, a list for decades (90s, 2000s etc), by genre : horror, comedy, romance, animation etc.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
I think I spent about an hour skimming through some of the main lists there and adding movies, then thought, "OMG, I've been doing this for an HOUR??? What a geek!" and quit. Lol.
But I know there are a bunch of movies I didn't mark off yet because they hadn't shown up in any list. And then there's all the B-rated movies I watched as a teenager... oy vey.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
I just watched The Road finally the other night. It's not a PERFECT movie, but having not have read the book yet at the time, I got the feeling of how the book must be written and how the adapation was likely the best possible adaptation that could have been done.
The cinematography is beautiful -- the dreariness of the road is caught in stark excruciatingly drab colors (browns, greys, etc.), which makes the memory sequences (of happier sunnier times) pop even more. The two leads (Kodi and Viggo) do an excellent job. It's too bad that Duvall, Pierce, and Theron did not get more screen time; Duvall and Theron were especially good, but really their appearances counted as little more than cameos.
"Stark" is really the word for this movie.
I think the biggest flaw is simply the narrative style -- the movie at least just comes off as a bunch of strung-together anecdotes that capture their life on this journey, where they are heading toward the sea because...? That is not really explained, except that the father is convinced the sea offers his boy a chance at life. I had the feeling that the snapshots could be arranged in any order without really much impacting the story, it's kind of flat rather than having a narrative arc; that is the big issue with most "road trip" movies, where the entire movie just involves a journey from here or there that might not be narratively compelling. However, in this case, it doesn't diminish the beauty (as well as the gut-twisting nausea) of those individual scenes.
Also, there's an ongoing theme of "carrying the light" and comparing the Man and the Boy to the "noble humans" vs much of the rest of humanity which has fallen into animalistic practices such as cannibalism, to the point of locking up women and children for food as well as devouring their own dead (due to the severe food shortage).
The Boy is always asking his dad if they are the Good Guys. Their relationship is actually very special. The Man's sole purpose in life is to keep his Son alive; and the Son trusts the Man even if he disagrees with him on some thing; you can see the love between them but also the differences and how in some ways the boy is purer (in part because he is a boy but also because he is more hopeful) and the father is more pragmatic (because ideals are great but survival is even better) and especially because the Woman abandoned both of them in the past, so he has to be true and succeed.
I've since bought the book and read about forty pages, and much of my intuition is correct. It's rather a hard book to transfer to screen due to the minimalism of the dialogue, and many items seem to be out of sequence between movie and book... yet it likely doesn't much matter.
The best scenes I think are the flashbacks with Woman and Man (Theron is compelling in what little time she has on-screen, in part because she isn't afraid to be unlikable), as well as the scenes were the Boy and Man are arguing -- the Man, because he is doing things to protect the Boy but the Boy is arguing the ideals that have been taught to him by the Man, and in some ways the Boy brings the Man back to himself so that in the desire to keep them both alive he doesn't lose his own humanity. (I have found this with my own kids, that they sometimes remind me of things that I believe that I have momentarily forgotten or deprioritized.) To me, that is "good" family. Also, Duvall shows why he is considered one of the best accomplished actors out there; he just nails this role, and I didn't even recognize him until his scenes were half-over.
[There's also a bit of an endearing scene with an abandoned soda machine, it reminded me of the pilot to the current TV show Revolution where the parents are feeding their kids ice cream because it's the last taste of ice cream they will likely ever have.]
The cinematography is beautiful -- the dreariness of the road is caught in stark excruciatingly drab colors (browns, greys, etc.), which makes the memory sequences (of happier sunnier times) pop even more. The two leads (Kodi and Viggo) do an excellent job. It's too bad that Duvall, Pierce, and Theron did not get more screen time; Duvall and Theron were especially good, but really their appearances counted as little more than cameos.
"Stark" is really the word for this movie.
I think the biggest flaw is simply the narrative style -- the movie at least just comes off as a bunch of strung-together anecdotes that capture their life on this journey, where they are heading toward the sea because...? That is not really explained, except that the father is convinced the sea offers his boy a chance at life. I had the feeling that the snapshots could be arranged in any order without really much impacting the story, it's kind of flat rather than having a narrative arc; that is the big issue with most "road trip" movies, where the entire movie just involves a journey from here or there that might not be narratively compelling. However, in this case, it doesn't diminish the beauty (as well as the gut-twisting nausea) of those individual scenes.
Also, there's an ongoing theme of "carrying the light" and comparing the Man and the Boy to the "noble humans" vs much of the rest of humanity which has fallen into animalistic practices such as cannibalism, to the point of locking up women and children for food as well as devouring their own dead (due to the severe food shortage).
The Boy is always asking his dad if they are the Good Guys. Their relationship is actually very special. The Man's sole purpose in life is to keep his Son alive; and the Son trusts the Man even if he disagrees with him on some thing; you can see the love between them but also the differences and how in some ways the boy is purer (in part because he is a boy but also because he is more hopeful) and the father is more pragmatic (because ideals are great but survival is even better) and especially because the Woman abandoned both of them in the past, so he has to be true and succeed.
I've since bought the book and read about forty pages, and much of my intuition is correct. It's rather a hard book to transfer to screen due to the minimalism of the dialogue, and many items seem to be out of sequence between movie and book... yet it likely doesn't much matter.
The best scenes I think are the flashbacks with Woman and Man (Theron is compelling in what little time she has on-screen, in part because she isn't afraid to be unlikable), as well as the scenes were the Boy and Man are arguing -- the Man, because he is doing things to protect the Boy but the Boy is arguing the ideals that have been taught to him by the Man, and in some ways the Boy brings the Man back to himself so that in the desire to keep them both alive he doesn't lose his own humanity. (I have found this with my own kids, that they sometimes remind me of things that I believe that I have momentarily forgotten or deprioritized.) To me, that is "good" family. Also, Duvall shows why he is considered one of the best accomplished actors out there; he just nails this role, and I didn't even recognize him until his scenes were half-over.
[There's also a bit of an endearing scene with an abandoned soda machine, it reminded me of the pilot to the current TV show Revolution where the parents are feeding their kids ice cream because it's the last taste of ice cream they will likely ever have.]
Red Devil
Member
I saw Rashomon recently and somehow wasn't that impressed. The pace of the movie seems fairly slow and I got bored around halfway into it.
Haha. I initially spent hours on it too until I was sure I had checked every movie I'd ever seen. The site is kind of a good motivator too once you realize how many movies you haven't seen.
Haha. I initially spent hours on it too until I was sure I had checked every movie I'd ever seen. The site is kind of a good motivator too once you realize how many movies you haven't seen.
LarsMac
Member
Departures.
Watched it last night. Very interesting take on life.
Watched it last night. Very interesting take on life.
MichiganJFrog
Rupert Pupkin's stalker
Lincoln
The whole time I was watching it, I just kept thinking, "Yay for our team!"
The whole time I was watching it, I just kept thinking, "Yay for our team!"
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
...Although they took our team manager out right after the game ended, before the after-game celebrations could start.
MichiganJFrog
Rupert Pupkin's stalker
...Although they took our team manager out right after the game ended, before the after-game celebrations could start.
I know. There's this scene right before then where everything gets kind of somber, and I was like, "Oh, crap, I forgot about this part."
EmergingAlbert
Active Member
Skyfall.
It's been a while since I've seen a James Bond movie (the only two I've seen were "The World is Not Enough" and "Die Another Day," both with Pierce Brosnan (sp?) as Bond. I'm not a huge James Bond fanatic, although I watch them for the fight scenes and explosions. I saw it with my parents, who said the new Bond (can't remember the actor's name) was better than Pierce and second best next to Sean Connery (I'll admit I've never seen a Connery film), but I disagree. I really liked Pierce Brosnan (sp?), but I think that may be my nostalgia getting the best of me since I grew up with him.
Aside from that, the story was quite intriguing for an action flick, and the explosion scenes were awesome. I also really loved the soundtrack (as I always have with 007 movies, especially since the main theme reflects the title and is written specifically for each film).
On a side note, I just realized that I used way too many parentheses in this post.
It's been a while since I've seen a James Bond movie (the only two I've seen were "The World is Not Enough" and "Die Another Day," both with Pierce Brosnan (sp?) as Bond. I'm not a huge James Bond fanatic, although I watch them for the fight scenes and explosions. I saw it with my parents, who said the new Bond (can't remember the actor's name) was better than Pierce and second best next to Sean Connery (I'll admit I've never seen a Connery film), but I disagree. I really liked Pierce Brosnan (sp?), but I think that may be my nostalgia getting the best of me since I grew up with him.
Aside from that, the story was quite intriguing for an action flick, and the explosion scenes were awesome. I also really loved the soundtrack (as I always have with 007 movies, especially since the main theme reflects the title and is written specifically for each film).
On a side note, I just realized that I used way too many parentheses in this post.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
Daniel Craig. He has two first names.
It's pretty amazing how that plays into things. When I was growing up, Roger Moore was James Bond and of course I thought he was the best and never saw a Connery movie until my mid/late 20's. Nowadays I would say that Connery and Craig are my two favorite Bonds, overall. I'm not sure why Timothy Dalton doesn't get more love, but maybe he just doesn't feel as accessible for some reason...
With Brosnan, he'lll always be attached with Remington Steele (a romance/detective show) in my head. I never got attached to Moore as The Saint (the TV show that positioned him to do Bond) because I was too young to watch it at the time.
MichiganJFrog
Rupert Pupkin's stalker
This is going to sound totally shallow (probably because it is), but I could never look at Timothy Dalton without thinking of Jim Varney.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
I'm still laughing, but ... how on earth do they look the same? Do you mean the eyes?
"Are you Bond? James Bond?"
"No, I'm Ernest, and I'm going to spy camp!"
MichiganJFrog
Rupert Pupkin's stalker
That's part of it. Maybe it's a stretch, but I think the greatest point of similarity is in their chins:
http://www.cinedica.com.br/Artista-Timothy-Dalton-935.php
http://www.last.fm/music/Jim+Varney
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
I just saw Wreck-It Ralph. Aside from a few small segments which didn't work for me, I actually felt like it was pretty meaningful; I think what sticks with me is that even when Ralph was trying to be someone else or find a different place in the world, he was still the guy he did not want to be. No matter how he tried to recast himself, he was still him, and finally had to come to grips with it and learn to accept himself. I know some other movies also stress the same point, but here is seemed a little more starker and more straightforward, without getting smarmy. (And in the end, Ralph is willing to embrace this even if it kills him, without much fanfare or excessive thought; I think that's what I mean by "stark," as there was no assurance of a happy ending, and the ending didn't even matter in a way to his decision.) It also left me pensive; there are parts of who I am that I've always wished I could change and have tried hard to do so, but this movie is inspiring me to embrace them and just stop trying to be things that I'm not.
I also really enjoyed the nostalgic feel of the movie. I grew up with Donkey Kong, Pac Man, and the other early games. As a matter of fact, Q*Bert figures prominently, and I was very much into that game: The last time I played, I was in eight grade, and I played 5-6 hours on one quarter and finally handed it off to the next person (with more extra guys than the screen could show, I think I had approximately 18-23), and that was the last day I played Q*Bert. It was fun to see him, and the entire original Street Fighter crowd (which was some years later, but still quite a number of years back), show up in this movie.
There was a beautiful little short called The Paperman that ran before the film, and it was great. I loved the art style and the b&w coloring, and it left me a little choked up. I know Lasseter contributed; we're starting to see the real merge of Disney and Pixar here.
I also really enjoyed the nostalgic feel of the movie. I grew up with Donkey Kong, Pac Man, and the other early games. As a matter of fact, Q*Bert figures prominently, and I was very much into that game: The last time I played, I was in eight grade, and I played 5-6 hours on one quarter and finally handed it off to the next person (with more extra guys than the screen could show, I think I had approximately 18-23), and that was the last day I played Q*Bert. It was fun to see him, and the entire original Street Fighter crowd (which was some years later, but still quite a number of years back), show up in this movie.
There was a beautiful little short called The Paperman that ran before the film, and it was great. I loved the art style and the b&w coloring, and it left me a little choked up. I know Lasseter contributed; we're starting to see the real merge of Disney and Pixar here.
redbaron
irony based lifeform
Last 3 movies I watched were Harry Potter 5-7. Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows Pt. 1.
I hadn't seen any of them until recently, I've watched 1-7 in the last couple of weeks. For a kids' movie they're pretty entertaining, they actually hold up well on their own. There is something that really irritated me though:
The main protagonists so far, are themselves close to useless. It seemed to get to a point where they had gotten noticeably stronger, but they're still pretty much just kids. I get that's supposed to be the point, but I would have thought that by now, the 2nd last instalment of the film they would at least be getting close to matching their enemies for magical prowess.
But they don't. They just suck at everything. I think it might just be how the movie is portrayed or something, but whenever they do something great, it always just seems flukey. Like they cast a spell that happens to land in the right spot and saves the day. Kind of boring when almost every heroic action by the main protagonist is sheer luck.
I suppose it's based on the book, and they're staying true to that. I can see there's probably parts that are left out, but surely at least Harry (he's supposed to be the chosen one) could do something amazing like some of the other wizards have done. Movie keeps going on about how he's the most powerful wizard, even more powerful than Voldemort - yet he seems to be bested by every other wizard in between as well?
I hadn't seen any of them until recently, I've watched 1-7 in the last couple of weeks. For a kids' movie they're pretty entertaining, they actually hold up well on their own. There is something that really irritated me though:
The main protagonists so far, are themselves close to useless. It seemed to get to a point where they had gotten noticeably stronger, but they're still pretty much just kids. I get that's supposed to be the point, but I would have thought that by now, the 2nd last instalment of the film they would at least be getting close to matching their enemies for magical prowess.
But they don't. They just suck at everything. I think it might just be how the movie is portrayed or something, but whenever they do something great, it always just seems flukey. Like they cast a spell that happens to land in the right spot and saves the day. Kind of boring when almost every heroic action by the main protagonist is sheer luck.
I suppose it's based on the book, and they're staying true to that. I can see there's probably parts that are left out, but surely at least Harry (he's supposed to be the chosen one) could do something amazing like some of the other wizards have done. Movie keeps going on about how he's the most powerful wizard, even more powerful than Voldemort - yet he seems to be bested by every other wizard in between as well?
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
Did you watch Part 2 yet? You didn't mention it.... I feel like Deathly Hallows Part 2 actually shows you what the kids can do, to some degree, and you also get to see what the teachers of the school can do.
I don't particularly get the idea that Harry is super-powerful, to be honest; he is just particularly powerful against Valdemort because of their particular history, and that will make more sense if you've read all the books or see DH Part 2. Harry otherwise doesn't seem that spectacular to me. And Hermione is the best of the three with some spells.
I don't particularly get the idea that Harry is super-powerful, to be honest; he is just particularly powerful against Valdemort because of their particular history, and that will make more sense if you've read all the books or see DH Part 2. Harry otherwise doesn't seem that spectacular to me. And Hermione is the best of the three with some spells.
redbaron
irony based lifeform
Ok well I just watched part 2 after making that post. I stand corrected. Part 2 redeemed the faults in part 1, which left me feeling really...annoyed.
I still don't get though why they weren't this powerful in part 1, nothing actually happened in between. They're almost like bumbling idiots in part 1, but I can forgive it based on the happenings in part 2.
I feel like it was probably the best or at least second best movie. There were genuine protagonists, which is what I think annoyed me about part 1. The main characters weren't doing anything or getting anywhere, and the story felt like it was just plodding along without any real developments.
Anyway overall I was satisfied. The successes they had didn't just feel like dumb luck, where they're sitting around and have no idea what to do and then suddenly they're saved by a means entirely out of their control, that had nothing to do with their actions.
And also yeah, part 2 explained the back-story a lot better. Probably had the most intense moments out of all the films and it tied in nicely.
Also Bonnie Wright (Ginny) is mega-hot in the last 3 films.
I still don't get though why they weren't this powerful in part 1, nothing actually happened in between. They're almost like bumbling idiots in part 1, but I can forgive it based on the happenings in part 2.
I feel like it was probably the best or at least second best movie. There were genuine protagonists, which is what I think annoyed me about part 1. The main characters weren't doing anything or getting anywhere, and the story felt like it was just plodding along without any real developments.
Anyway overall I was satisfied. The successes they had didn't just feel like dumb luck, where they're sitting around and have no idea what to do and then suddenly they're saved by a means entirely out of their control, that had nothing to do with their actions.
And also yeah, part 2 explained the back-story a lot better. Probably had the most intense moments out of all the films and it tied in nicely.
Also Bonnie Wright (Ginny) is mega-hot in the last 3 films.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
Yeah, they had no real idea what they were doing in Part 1. Once they got an idea of what they were looking for and where to go, then suddenly they started actually doing things than just meandering about.
DH Part 2 also nailed the Snape backstory. That scene and the one with Harry in the woods before meeting Valdemort are probably my favorite. But even Neville gets his moment(s) in the sun, which is kind of nice -- he could have easily been Harry (and the "chosen one") except that Valdemort decided that Harry was the one instead and created his own nemesis.
Ginny did get cute, didn't she? I watched all the movies in something like a three week period or less, so I could go see DH Part 2 in the theater. So it was like time lapse photography for me, watching the kids grow up from movie to movie.
I'm glad they nailed the last movie, at least. So many of these movie series really flop by the end and can't offer any kind of payoff. In this sense Harry Potter outdid the Matrix and so many others. I would say Prisoner of Azkaban and this are probably the ones I consider best (and the Half-Blood Prince isn't bad).
redbaron
irony based lifeform
Agree on all points. Snape I wasn't sure about after Half-Blood Prince, I wasn't sure if he was good or bad, but it didn't seem right to consider him bad. The scene where he was attacked by McGonagall and didn't fight back was where I figured it out properly. My favourite character by far.
Overall I'd say the good far outweighs the bad, apart from Hallows Part 1, all the movies ended well and brought something more to the story and characters. Though I suppose Hallows 1 & 2 are meant to be taken collectively, they just couldn't be put into one movie. I even felt that they could have made part 2 longer than it was with the amount of content that was introduced, but I'm not going to complain about the way the movie ended.
Anyway my final verdict on the Harry Potter series as a whole is probably 9/10. It's very rare for me to sit through an entire movie, let alone eight of them without just getting bored. And despite the criticisms of Hallows Pt 1, that was more to do with how it fit into the overall story, I thought that the movie itself was good - I was just put-out by the last 30 minutes or so. But I can see that it was intended for Part 2 to explain/expand on it, so that's fine.
Overall I'd say the good far outweighs the bad, apart from Hallows Part 1, all the movies ended well and brought something more to the story and characters. Though I suppose Hallows 1 & 2 are meant to be taken collectively, they just couldn't be put into one movie. I even felt that they could have made part 2 longer than it was with the amount of content that was introduced, but I'm not going to complain about the way the movie ended.
Anyway my final verdict on the Harry Potter series as a whole is probably 9/10. It's very rare for me to sit through an entire movie, let alone eight of them without just getting bored. And despite the criticisms of Hallows Pt 1, that was more to do with how it fit into the overall story, I thought that the movie itself was good - I was just put-out by the last 30 minutes or so. But I can see that it was intended for Part 2 to explain/expand on it, so that's fine.
Red Devil
Member
Saw Life Of Pi today. Haven't read the book but I loved the movie. Definitely worth a watch. Stunning CGI and great story-telling. Suraj Sharma was brilliant as the teenage Pi. I went into it wondering how a movie which has a guy with a tiger alone in a boat in the middle of an ocean for 2 odd hours could possibly NOT bore me. But the events in the tale are so incredible, it was never a bore.
Note: Must watch in 3D only.
Note: Must watch in 3D only.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
Thanks for the overview. I was very impressed by the trailer, and it definitely looks to be one that should be watched in 3D.
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I saw Lawless over the weekend. I thought the theme and time period (southern Virginia, Prohibition years) was interesting, and the movie had some GREAT actors in it (and the acting was good); but overall I found it aimless and rather boring and can understand why it didn't seem to last long in release. Even the "climax" was rather non-stand-out; the entire movie had no real dramatic arc. So a fail for writing and editing.
I only remember one scene that really held me, dramatically, near the end, when two characters are saying one thing while exuding something else, and it felt like the whole movie finally came alive. Then the scene ended and it was back to Flatville USA.
Disappointing. Guy Pierce is in this movie, btw, and almost unrecognizable in some ways. Also nice to see the guy from Chronicle show up in a normal period drama.
I found the BR extras more interesting -- mini-documentary on the real people being portrayed in the movie, and an overview of the cultural/political dynamics at the time. For example, i didn't realize so many people had stills and regularly made corn whiskey anyway, as part of their Irish heritage, and so it's not like people just started cooking when the gov cracked down; the gov was actually interfering in an established way of life. (and so on.)
Solitaire U.
Last of the V-8 Interceptors
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Dolphin Tale. Watched it with the kids. The child actors were cool, and Morgan Freeman's performance was tight as usual, but they couldn't save the movie's mushy sentimental, painfully predictable plot and fake-smile happy pappy ending. I especially hated the status-quo music. Movies like this make me believe there's a prefab feeler-factory hard at work in Hollywoodland.
joal0503
Psychedelic INTP
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a rupert sheldrake lecture on the youtubez. goes over his latest book, The Science Delusion in which he challenges or questions the 10 dogmas of materialism. its out there, but i just find sheldrake and his work to be extremely interesting.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
was wondering about this movie. Never saw it yet, though, and now might not.
Rewatched Bad Teacher on Friday. Could have been funnier, but I just found Cameron Diaz refreshingly brazen. There's also a lot of Fe interplay going on here -- she's explicitly doing everything WRONG in the social code ("teachers don't DO that!"), and then the "villains" of the piece (including Ms Squirrel) are smarmy over-Fe'ing types. Meanwhile, the gym teacher is just your average ESTP guy who thinks all that stuff is crazy and is just waiting for the drama to die out.
Also started watching the special edition of Dead Poet's Society last night. Despite its flaws (which includes a little too much stand-up routine material from Williams in spots, + a bit of strawmen / stacking the deck by making the authorities too unreasonable and caricature), I still very much enjoy the movie because primarily of (1) tone [esp with the music and cinematography] and the (2) performances, especially Robert Sean Leonard and Ethan Hawke, although the supporting cast is pretty strong... and all of them teenagers or close to it. I really identify with the situations of both Neil (because I grew up in a repressive environment where I often felt smothered to the point of ending things) and Todd (in his inability to properly articulate everything he thought and felt).
EDIT: Oh yeah, and I watched Catch Me If You Can on Saturday night. Never saw it, but it was actually very good even if not entirely historically accurate (from what I understand, reading about it elsewhere). DiCaprio's a hit-or-miss for me, and this was actually a role in which I found him believable... and it fit with how he comes across (as very young rather than a "grown man" per se). Walken did a great turn as the dad figure, and I could track Frank's development and why he might have ended up becoming a con man, based on his family history and his father.
I still think the early scene, where Frank is mistaken for a substitute French teacher (while just being another student) and plays into it, is one of the best scenes in the movie; you just see his brazen chutzpah, no sense of fear, where he projects a particular role and people believe him because he speaks with authority. When the principal is lecturing the parents about how Frank pretended to be a sub for a week and was planning field trips to French bakeries for the class, it's hilarious because you know the dad actually is very pleased rather than upset with his son. he obviously had a grasp and a talent for how to scam people.
MichiganJFrog
Rupert Pupkin's stalker
Silver Linings Playbook
A guy gets his life together without becoming really boring.
A guy gets his life together without becoming really boring.
Anaximander
The vague
The Jacket.
It isn't bad but I was a bit disappointed with it after having watched 'the girl with the dragon tattoo' the night before.
It isn't bad but I was a bit disappointed with it after having watched 'the girl with the dragon tattoo' the night before.
Solitaire U.
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'Shiloh'. This movie is based on a book that I read to my kids years ago. It was on Movie City this morning so decided to give it a go.
As far as the acting goes, it's a very 'simple' movie. But that's not necessarily bad. The action doesn't focus around the dog, and the dog isn't portrayed as being unrealistically 'speshul', which was refreshing. In fact, none of the characters really stood out. I found the balance and lack of a 'star' to be unusual and somewhat cool. However, because of this, the characters in general seemed a touch bland.
The kid who played the boy (Marty?...see, I've already forgotten), was an adequate actor, but again nothing 'speshul'. Very good-looking. His father was a piece of wood, his mother less so. The sisters gave par 'little girl' TVish performances. Judd was appropriately nasty and mean-spirited.
My 8 year old, who watched it with me, says: "Kinda boring, but good enough to watch once." I agree.
As far as the acting goes, it's a very 'simple' movie. But that's not necessarily bad. The action doesn't focus around the dog, and the dog isn't portrayed as being unrealistically 'speshul', which was refreshing. In fact, none of the characters really stood out. I found the balance and lack of a 'star' to be unusual and somewhat cool. However, because of this, the characters in general seemed a touch bland.
The kid who played the boy (Marty?...see, I've already forgotten), was an adequate actor, but again nothing 'speshul'. Very good-looking. His father was a piece of wood, his mother less so. The sisters gave par 'little girl' TVish performances. Judd was appropriately nasty and mean-spirited.
My 8 year old, who watched it with me, says: "Kinda boring, but good enough to watch once." I agree.
MichiganJFrog
Rupert Pupkin's stalker
Queen of Versailles
A documentary about timeshare mogul David Siegel and his wife Jackie. Siegel trains his sales staff to manipulate people into buying something they don't really want and probably can't pay for, then convinces investors that "it's all good." Surprise, surprise: His empire slowly crumbles around him.
A documentary about timeshare mogul David Siegel and his wife Jackie. Siegel trains his sales staff to manipulate people into buying something they don't really want and probably can't pay for, then convinces investors that "it's all good." Surprise, surprise: His empire slowly crumbles around him.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
Killer Joe.
Wow.
And that was the R-rated version? Vs the NC17 in theaters?
It was pretty well-done and I enjoyed it; but it was probably the stupidest family I've seen in the US of A, and one of the more unsettling (from the violence perspective) movies I've ever seen.
I will also say it's one of the best performances I have ever seen by Matthew McConaughey. I had considered him a lightweight actor until his performance here. The look in his eyes chilled my blood; he was a pretty scary guy, capable of anything.
Wow.
And that was the R-rated version? Vs the NC17 in theaters?
It was pretty well-done and I enjoyed it; but it was probably the stupidest family I've seen in the US of A, and one of the more unsettling (from the violence perspective) movies I've ever seen.
I will also say it's one of the best performances I have ever seen by Matthew McConaughey. I had considered him a lightweight actor until his performance here. The look in his eyes chilled my blood; he was a pretty scary guy, capable of anything.
Solitaire U.
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'Mammoth' (2009).
Just finished watching this movie. Still kinda stunned, so I'll just say 'wow', excellent flick.
Just finished watching this movie. Still kinda stunned, so I'll just say 'wow', excellent flick.
MichiganJFrog
Rupert Pupkin's stalker
The Giant Mechanical Man
A kinda low-key chick can't seem to get her life together, and all these well-meaning extraverts keep telling her what to do. Jenna Fischer from The Office plays the protag.
A kinda low-key chick can't seem to get her life together, and all these well-meaning extraverts keep telling her what to do. Jenna Fischer from The Office plays the protag.
Puffy
"Wtf even was that"
Just saw Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York (2008).
It seems to have mixed reviews being called either one of the best films of the last 10 years, or one of the worst. I'm not sure I'm in a position to comment on that but I did really enjoy it. I actually saw it yesterday as well, and watched it again with friends today.
The most basic summary: middle-aged theatre director is confronted with the prospect of his own death, and, after being given a huge grant, sets about constructing his own staged 'city' within a large warehouse, where characters from his life and himself are acted by others. The film's often criticised as being confusing, which is because of how fluidly actors slip through identities; the chronology is also never clear, and a lot of the scenes are filled with subliminal details and references (often in the background so that you have to look for it). It's quite jarring trying to fit it together as a whole.
I think it gets criticised as our impulse as viewers is to be in control of a film, where there's so much information in this one that it's rather about pattern searching and being immersed (a little like the comic novel, Watchmen). Each viewing was so different in what I got from it that I feel this film has a life to it that I quite admire. Will be a while before I watch it again I expect though.
It seems to have mixed reviews being called either one of the best films of the last 10 years, or one of the worst. I'm not sure I'm in a position to comment on that but I did really enjoy it. I actually saw it yesterday as well, and watched it again with friends today.
The most basic summary: middle-aged theatre director is confronted with the prospect of his own death, and, after being given a huge grant, sets about constructing his own staged 'city' within a large warehouse, where characters from his life and himself are acted by others. The film's often criticised as being confusing, which is because of how fluidly actors slip through identities; the chronology is also never clear, and a lot of the scenes are filled with subliminal details and references (often in the background so that you have to look for it). It's quite jarring trying to fit it together as a whole.
I think it gets criticised as our impulse as viewers is to be in control of a film, where there's so much information in this one that it's rather about pattern searching and being immersed (a little like the comic novel, Watchmen). Each viewing was so different in what I got from it that I feel this film has a life to it that I quite admire. Will be a while before I watch it again I expect though.
Chad
Prolific Member
I just watched Charlie Bartlett it was okay I would give it a 7.5/10. Its well made with a descent plot for what it was. I am not really a huge fan of Teenage mellow dramas but this one isn't bad.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
I watched Ordinary People last night. It had some good dramatic parts, and some decent acting by Hutton and Sutherland; it is interesting, though, to me how movie expectations change over the years (since that one won the Oscar in 1980, I think).
@Puffy: Well, one thing I think we can say about Kaufman is that he doesn't play it safe. When one takes risks, sometimes it pans out more than others (and I'm not saying which this film is, as I haven't seen it), but I typically find something interesting in each of his screenplays. He's admirable just in his willingness to do the unexpected.
@Puffy: Well, one thing I think we can say about Kaufman is that he doesn't play it safe. When one takes risks, sometimes it pans out more than others (and I'm not saying which this film is, as I haven't seen it), but I typically find something interesting in each of his screenplays. He's admirable just in his willingness to do the unexpected.
Puffy
"Wtf even was that"
Hey Jenny. Yeah, I agree. Though, I've only actually seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in addition to this, which I did like and kind of surprised me (as I'm not usually in to romantic comedies.) I'm doing a screenwriting course hobby-wise at the moment, so I might buy a few of his screenplays.
If you like him, I'd recommend it. I would warn that it's the kind of thing that needs a few views though; I still feel like I need to watch it a few more times.
If you like him, I'd recommend it. I would warn that it's the kind of thing that needs a few views though; I still feel like I need to watch it a few more times.
Chad
Prolific Member
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
ESotSM is probably my favorite script by him, although I've also seen Adaptation (now that took balls -- to do an adaptation of someone's book, that makes the book take a backseat to the story he ended up telling) and Being John Malkovich. BJM was the first thing I saw by him and his first produced movie script, and it lingers with me still.
If you like him, I'd recommend it. I would warn that it's the kind of thing that needs a few views though; I still feel like I need to watch it a few more times.
He's worth the investment.
MichiganJFrog
Rupert Pupkin's stalker
Two good rockumentaries: Sound City, about a music studio in L.A.; A Band Called Death, about a black punk rock band from Detroit.
Lukenji
Man is something to be surpassed
I guess the last movie I watched was La Planète sauvage (1973).
It was a rather odd movie, for it seemed not to convey any human feeling into my soul. I don't know, it was a sort of science fiction story, wherein everyone had the most impassive faces, like those of films noir. And there were some aliens, but they didn't seem "modern", they were just bizarre-looking.
I guess it would be the creepiest film ever, if only it wasn't an animation. Instead it ended up just being wierd.
It was a rather odd movie, for it seemed not to convey any human feeling into my soul. I don't know, it was a sort of science fiction story, wherein everyone had the most impassive faces, like those of films noir. And there were some aliens, but they didn't seem "modern", they were just bizarre-looking.
I guess it would be the creepiest film ever, if only it wasn't an animation. Instead it ended up just being wierd.