Topic: "What Movies Have You Seen Lately?" Thread

[Cools!]

Nice try Pyro.

[PyroMenace]

[sirean_syan]

I saw Dredd the other night and it was pretty awesome. I think the most interesting thing about it was how lean it was. There was very little in the movie that didn't serve the immediate story and it manages to make a little dialog go a long way. It also did a great job of making Dredd and his partner cool characters that walked the line between hard ass future cops and actual people. It's totally something, to me, that ranks up there with action movies that aren't just fun but actually good.

[Cobra951]

Dredd was, I don't know, claustrophobic?  I liked it well enough, I guess.  I'm one of the 3 people who actually liked the original with Stallone.  I wanted to see a grand setting like that here, and got a shuttered building instead.

[Xessive]

Dredd was, I don't know, claustrophobic?  I liked it well enough, I guess.  I'm one of the 3 people who actually liked the original with Stallone.  I wanted to see a grand setting like that here, and got a shuttered building instead.

That was my initial reaction too! I still enjoyed it though.

[Cools!]

Yeah, I enjoyed it as well. I kind of liked how it was set in the future but the tech (guns, etc.) looked modern and not cartoonish like in the Stallone movie.

[MysterD]

Ted - One word describes this movie for me: hysterical.

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Since she was so pissed & upset w/ them, it seemed that Mila's character came around back to Wahlberg & Ted too quick for me. That part seemed kinda rushed, to keep the movie a little bit away from 2 hours (film was around 1 hr 40 or so).

[Cobra951]

I started to watch Ted a few weeks ago, and never finished.  Once the odd premise became old hat on both sides of the screen, the whole thing went into rom-com doldrums, and lost my interest.  Even Mila couldn't hold it.

[MysterD]

Dredd was, I don't know, claustrophobic?  I liked it well enough, I guess.  I'm one of the 3 people who actually liked the original with Stallone.  I wanted to see a grand setting like that here, and got a shuttered building instead.

Are you considering me in the "3 people" who liked the Stallone & Diane Lane version of Judge Dredd?
I actually liked it, too.

[Cobra951]

Heheh!  I guess so.  Maybe I exaggerated.  Maybe there were 3 dozen people that liked the movie.   

[scottws]

I liked it too.  It was campy (especially the props!) but it had a certain charm.

[MysterD]

Seven Psychopaths - Pretty good. It was very well-acted, well-written & a hilarious deconstruction of many of those type of action films (about hitmen).

[Cools!]

X-Men: First Class: I was expecting something along X-Men Origins: Wolverine but it ended up being much better. The main actors that played Prof X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) were amazing and the plot wasn't too bad. I enjoyed it a lot more than the mess The Avengers was. My only negative was that pretty much all the extra mutants were utterly useless, even Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence - she must've gotten really good to earn an Oscar considering how fucking bad she was in this and the Hunger Games).

[Xessive]

I was really in the mood for an animated show so I finally started watching Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends. That show is absolutely adorable.

[PyroMenace]

Oh god I hate that fucking show.

[Cobra951]

The World's End.  I read nothing on it ahead of time, and had no ideas what to expect.  That was the perfect way to watch this.  It really threw me for a loop.  Later, I realized the pedigree of the film.  Just watch it.  Even the credits song is awesome.  No preconceived notions, for best effect.

[MysterD]

Shadow Dancer
The Place Beyond The Pines
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Star Trek Into Darkness

First 3 movies were pretty good.
About Star Trek Into Darkness - it was good, but nothing great. The action was awesome and much better than the actual story itself.

[Cobra951]

What, you didn't like The Return of the Return of Khan?  So creative, and original too!    Destroyed more Star Trek canon, but I guess that's expected now.

I just watched This Is the End (not to be confused with my last post--what is it with movie themes and names being so similar every so often?).  Taking about 15 minutes of Saturday-Night-Live-skit-quality material out of it would make it so much better.  It's worth a watch regardless.

[scottws]

I saw Gravity over the weekend in 3D.  I actually liked it quite a bit, but that was mostly because of the decent acting from the

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only two

actors in the movie and the great depiction of zero gravity and space.  In a way, it reminded me a bit of 2012 in the sense that one the stuff hits the fan, there is a rapid fire of one calamity after another.  The good news here is that John Cusack isn't in the movie.

One complaint is that it is a rather short movie, though you don't really realize how short until it is over.  I mean this in the sense that the events in the movie sucked me in completely and when it was over you just realized that it was a short duration that all those events took place in.

[Cools!]

I lost all interest in Gravity the minute I heard Sandra Bullock's voice in the trailer. Yes, she's a great actress, but man did she sound annoying as hell. Then recently I read that the movie is absolutely beautiful but lacks depth beyond the graphics (cliche plot, no character arcs, etc.) and is basically a tech demo that in the hands of someone who knows how to write an actual story would've been a truly revolutionary movie. Which is surprising to me considering how good Children of Men was.

tl;dr - Sanda Bullock has an annoying voice.

---

Anyway, two long movies I watched recently:

The Hobbit - I actually liked it and stayed interested till the end even though I can't stand long movies these days. I wasn't sure how they could make such a short book into 3 movies, but having watched the first part I'm actually excited for the remaining 2 because I'm a sucker for details and good movie music.

Cloud Atlas - Another long movie and I sort of enjoyed it. Sort of because I found the theme ultimately really naive. I was actually hoping there would be more to it, some kind of connection between all the stories that wasn't as predictable as it ended up being. Maybe it was just too ambitious of a story to fit into 3 hours. Either way, I still found it intersting and will probably enjoy it more when I watch it again at some point. Then again, 3 hours, gah...

[Cobra951]

Elysium was a huge disappointment.  Very neat idea, even if some of it seems lifted right out of Mass Effect.  But the plot holes, the completely unbelievable developments (and I don't mean the sci-fi--that's fine) and degrading from an intriguing setup into a villain-centric caricature totally destroys it.  Jodie Foster must kick herself every day for letting someone talk her into that role.

[scottws]

I saw Elysium too and agree that it was not good.  I think what really ruined it for me was the villian-centric nature of it as well, especially with Sharlto Copley playing a supposed badass.  I just couldn't buy into that character at all after his role in District 9.

[K-man]

I watched Kurosawa's Ran the other night.  My first Kurosawa film.  Happened to see it on-demand.

It was excellent.  Looking forward to getting around to watching the movies of his I actually own.

[scottws]

I saw After Earth.  Don't ask me why.  I definitely cannot give an acceptable answer.  Anyway it is horrible and don't watch it.  This sums it up nicely.

[Quemaqua]

Nice.

[ender]

Last I saw was Gravity. I loved it. I think the truly important thing here is how it uses new technology to re-imagine how we can tell cinema. It is a simple story, but the way in which it is told creates an entirely different experience than a typical survival/action film. For me, it was a breath of fresh air.

Tonight I'm going to see 12 Years a Slave, the new film by british video artist and film director Steve McQueen... looks incredible. I was a huge fan of Hunger and Shame, McQueen's previous two films so really looking forward to this one.

[Cools!]

Pacific Rim - I liked it. I'm not a huge anime fan but I've always had a thing for giant mechs and to me the movie felt like it stayed true to the genre. Having said that, I kind of wish it had avoided some of the typical cliches, both of the genre and Hollywood blockbusters in general. My biggest complaint would be that while I enjoyed most of it, I was never drawn into the world completely. I just didn't feel the tension or the desperation in the characters or the sense that the world was really coming to an end and these mechs were the last hope for humanity.

[ren]

Last I saw was Gravity. I loved it. I think the truly important thing here is how it uses new technology to re-imagine how we can tell cinema. It is a simple story, but the way in which it is told creates an entirely different experience than a typical survival/action film. For me, it was a breath of fresh air.

I watched Gravity twice and want to go see it again. It's also the first time I've ever liked (or even been able to stomach) a 3D movie. Can't recommend this one enough.

Also Sandra Bullock is a slamming hottie.

[ender]

Agreed. When Sandra Bullock slips out of that space suit, yowzers.

Okay. Updates. Two weeks ago I saw 12 Years a Slave. This might be the best film I've seen all year. Though it completely destroyed me. I left an emotional mess. That never happens, but this movie really hit me hard. Amazing all around.

Saw Ender's Game today. It wasn't bad. Actually, it got a lot of things right. Though it does feel very compressed. It also doesn't have time to develop the bond between Ender and the crew. Kind of disappointing on a character level, but the kids acting is pretty good. Harrison Ford, I think, is a smart choice -- he brings a certain warmth to Graff, as well as a certain viscous determination. The guy is old, but he's still a commanding presence on screen. Surprised how dark it was for a movie that had a lot of younger kids in the theater. Some of the kid-on-kid violence is left in the movie, though I wish it was explored further and had more weight.

Overall, and OKAY movie. It stuck pretty close to the book as well as it could. I just wish it had more. Maybe a mini series was a better idea for this material? Either way, it seems they might be able to set it up for Speaker for the Dead, which I was also surprised about. Though I am not sure how that film could ever be made.

I will say, I was entertained and the zero G scenes are pretty. Though it doesn't spend enough time in battle school.

Ah well. Not the disaster I thought it would be. A little icey on the likability side sometimes, but this seems to be the general vibe when handling super intelligent children in films.

[scottws]

I saw Rush on the flight out to L.A.  I enjoyed it quite a bit.  I don't have much more to say about it than that, sorry.

[Cools!]

Last week I watched Taken and Taken 2. It's like Jason Bourne got older and grumpier. 1st one was definitely fun as long as you don't think too much about it, the 2nd stretched the concept of "taken" a bit too far.

This week I've started watching older stuff:

A Beautiful Mind: Not sure why I never watched it. I liked it. Solid acting and I love Jennifer Connelly <3.

Chocolat: Subtle and cute. Really enjoyed it. One of those movies that made me go "ah, beautiful day" when I woke up the next day. Juliette Binoche is awesome as always.

Dances with Wolves: I was too young when it came out and I probably would've found it boring. Now that I have seen it, man, such a beautiful setting and cinematography. I can't say I *loved* Costner's performance (I hated the tone of his narration), but the movie itself is definitely touching. Not really something I'd watch any day because of the length, but worth it for the costumes and locations. Sigh... Avatar... you could've been so much more.


 

[Xessive]

I watched Knights of Badassdom. It's as silly as it sounds. It's not to be taken seriously but it's a fun movie!

[PyroMenace]

Red Boxed Gravity, I mostly agree with the pros and cons of this one. It was a bit less realistic than I was expecting, but again the filming of it was really beautiful and fascinating, probably would have looked much better seeing it in a theater. Also George Clooney's character bugged me the most, I don't know if I'd call it "acting" as it was just Clooney being Clooney in space... or fuck it, not even space, his acting was like he was on set in front of a green screen because he virtually had no reaction to anything happening, he was just there being all nonchalant Clooney.

[Cobra951]

Snowpiercer--gripping, weird sort-of sci-fi.  Well put together and acted.  It hasn't been released yet officially here.  I recommend watching it without reading much about it, see what you think.  Basic premise is a train constantly circumnavigating the globe on a frozen, post-apocalyptic Earth, carrying the remnants of humanity.  Not believable as science, but I don't think that's its aim.

[PyroMenace]

Been getting back into movies recently. Watched American Hustle, Captain Phillips, and Rush. All were very good.

[scottws]

I saw the 2nd Hunger Games movie - Catching Fire - recently.  I must say that, except for the implausible "Make sure they believe you are head-over-heels in love with one another" command from President Snow and the song-and-dance related to the characters trying to fill that promise, I enjoyed the movie a great deal.  The acting was, for the most part, very good and the events were highly engrossing.

[Xessive]

I just watched a Mojo top 10 video on Youtube listing the top 10 Sci-Fi movies. On that list was The Toxic Avenger. I decided to look it up.

Wow.

It is a wacky movie to say the least

[scottws]

How did that make any top ten movies list other than something like "Top Ten Movies Just As Bad As Sharknado".

[Xessive]

How did that make any top ten movies list other than something like "Top Ten Movies Just As Bad As Sharknado".

I have no idea. The list was specifically top 10 sci-fi movies "with a cult following." Apparently, this movie has a cult following.

It's a.. just.. uh.. I have no words to describe it.

You can get a good laugh out of how bad it is

[scottws]

Ah, you didn't mention the "with a cult following" part.  The Room also has a cult following.  It's also one of the worst movies ever made, much worse than The Toxic Avenger or Sharknado.