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

[Xessive]

The difference between truth and fiction is that fiction needs to make sense

[Quemaqua]

Miyazaki also did Howl's Moving Castle and My Neighbor Totoro, which are equally excellent.  I think he was also the lead guy for Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky, and Nausicaä.  There's another fellow in Studio Ghibli that's done some of the others, but pretty much anything from them is fantastic.  I'm also a big fan of Whisper of the Heart and The Cat Returns.

I don't mind Burton, though I really didn't care for his Batman much.  But then, I hated every Batman movie that existed up until Batman Begins.  Definitely don't judge him based on those two movies alone, as one of them sucks (Batman) and the other is rather weird from any perspective.

Also, I personally think Mars Attacks! is a modern masterpiece.  But that might have something to do with my friend's well-timed and oddly spoken "roast beef" comment after an event early in the movie (you had to be there... but it was funny).  Not the best movie ever, but it was definitely underrated, and I think Cobra nailed at least one of the big reasons.  I also rather liked Sleepy Hollow, and Corpse Bride is one of the very few kooky musical type movie things that doesn't piss me off and make me want to punch people in the face.  It could stand to have less music, but I really enjoyed the animation and the characters.

Lastly, yes, you can very easily criticize science fiction or fantasy if it isn't believable.  Just because you create something that is impossibly unreal doesn't mean you can get away without writing rules for it.  In fact, any good writer of such material will tell you that's where they probably spend a ton of their time.  It's one thing to come up with a cool story hook for a book or short story, but it's entirely another thing to take those fantastic and disparate ideas and turn them into something consistent.

[scottws]

Thanks for trying to get me to give Tim Burton a chance, but it isn't going to happen.  I just tried to think about any other director that I hate more and I couldn't do it.  I almost brought up McG because, well, his name is "McG" but I saw T4 recently and liked it so he gets a pass now.

[Quemaqua]

I wasn't trying to change your mind, I'm just saying those aren't good movies to judge the guy on.  You're welcome to hate him all you like.

[iPPi]

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete

Basically, it's a director's cut of the film with 26 additional minutes -- but what a difference does it make!  The original AC had a choppy story and it was kind of difficult to understand everything that was going on between the action sequences.  With ACC, the story is a lot more fleshed out (some action sequences are a little longer) and the whole movie is just significantly better.  Plus, since it is available in HD, I highly recommend trying to watch it in HD.  You're in for a treat.

In addition to the 26 additional minutes, a lot of the scenes have been redone -- either more detail has been added, or lighting has been changed.

Overall, it feels like a completely different movie.

[Quemaqua]

I was waiting for that to come out on Blu-ray for a long time.  I still haven't even seen the original.

[iPPi]

It comes out on blu-ray Tuesday June 2 -- only 3 days from now.

[Xessive]

Just watched I Heart Huckabees. It was a pleasant mindfuck. A lot of amusing ideas.

[Xessive]

Cool World!! That movie took me back! It also reminded how hot Kim Basinger is.. was.. no, still is.

I also watched Cypher (2002), which was pretty cool.

[scottws]

G.I. Joe.  It was an average popcorn flick, cool only because of the characters.  I loved G.I. Joe as a kid.

[MysterD]

I watched I Love You Man. It was pretty funny.

[Pugnate]

G.I. Joe.  It was an average popcorn flick, cool only because of the characters.  I loved G.I. Joe as a kid.

I haven't seen it yet, but I am surprised to hear so many say it was OK.

I thought it would be impossible to make that less than a disaster for today's movie going audience.

[MysterD]

I haven't seen it yet, but I am surprised to hear so many say it was OK.

I thought it would be impossible to make that less than a disaster for today's movie going audience.

I'm betting for GI Joe movie, they followed the procedure of the Transformers movie -- make awesome action sequences, but not worry about making much of a story and character development.

[MysterD]

Adventureland was pretty good. Pretty funny, too -- I might add.

[MysterD]

Observe and Report -- outrageous; hilarious; gut-busting funny; disturbing; and also just a lot of fun to watch. Rogen stole the show. One kick-ass dark comedy.

[Xessive]

I just watched 9. It was pretty good.

[Cobra951]

Star Trek (09).  Take the entire history of that long series, and throw it out the window, watch it shatter, then sweep away the shards so no one notices them.  If the movie had been about an entirely new universe, it would have been halfway decent.

[iPPi]

Obsessed - ridiculous thriller.  Starts off decently though, but it goes downhill from there.

Drag Me to Hell - good horror film.  Worth watching.

Ponyo on the Cliff - Pretty good, but I was a little disappointed that it was more family friendly and lacked more mature themes when compared to other Miyazaki films.

The Proposal - surprisingly decent romantic comedy... but it's still a romantic comedy. 

[Xessive]

The Proposal - surprisingly decent romantic comedy... but it's still a romantic comedy. 

Sandra Bullock is still smokin' hot!

[MysterD]

Assassination of a High School President -- Really good noir/dark comedy set in a High School.

[Cobra951]

Drag Me to Hell - good horror film.  Worth watching.

Yes it is.  Good horror films have gone the way of the dodo.  This is one welcome exception.

[Xessive]

Watched Surrogates, I enjoyed it. Felt very Japanime-inspired.

I also watched I Sell The Dead, which is a very quirky and amusing non-mainstream film (I don't think it was an indie but it's definitely not you're run-of-the-mill popcorn flick). Check it out if you like that sort of thing.

[MysterD]

Blood: The Last Vampire (2009 film) - Just freakin' awesome.

[Xessive]

Blood: The Last Vampire (2009 film) - Just freakin' awesome.

Oh that movie was terrible man! The first 20 mins were alright because they were in line with the original animated movie then it just derailed terribly.

The special effects were cheap and low-budget at best but I let that slide, the new (and irrelevant) story felt stilted just to fill an extra hour and was incoherent at times, and the incomprehensible English speech from non-english speaking actors was unintentionally funny

The evil chick at the end was pretty hot but nowhere near hot enough to make this miserable abortion survive.

It wasn't a complete waste of time simply on the basis of seeing what a great example of a bad example would be.

[idolminds]

Well, I watched two movies that I will comment on because of...expectations.

The first was Death Race. The new one with Jason Statham. I thought it looked ok from the trailer but overall wasnt expecting much. I ended up really enjoying it. Lots of action with cool cars, cars shooting each other at high speeds, shit blowing up, the works. Its a big dumb "guy" movie. One thing I particularly liked was the distinct lack of CGI. All the good stuff was done practical and it makes the movie so much more watchable and interesting. You see a car blown up, smashed into, or just racing around...it was a real car. Ok, modified movie car and stuff but they were still throwing these wrecks around. Anyway, gets a thumbs up from me.

On the other side of the coin, and speaking of thumbs up, was The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. At first I totally wrote it off. Chinese mummies? Come on. But then I saw that Roger Ebert liked it. He shared the same thoughts about the series that I did. I loved the first one but thought the second one was horrible. So did he, and he says as much in the review for the 3rd. He even goes on to say "But 'The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor' is the best in the series..." Sure other reviews were low, but some critics don't like movies like "The Mummy", you know? Maybe Ebert was right?

Hes wrong. Very fucking wrong.

I thought it was WORSE than the second film, even though that one had a bad case of "annoying child actor syndrome" and this one didn't. This one had a bad case of "horrible CGI syndrome". All the CGI was extremely obvious and it just looked like they threw it around because they gave them the budget to do so. It wasn't even particularly well done. And, I'm ok with outlandish and crazy situations...I mean, its a movie about a mummy. But at one point they are in the mountains trying to keep the emperor from reaching this shrine thing, so they are defending it and whatnot. So far so good. Then they call on the aid of fucking YETIs to come help them. This chinese chick yells out some jibberish and here comes some yeti to the rescue.

UGH! Seriously, its hard to put into words how much I disliked this movie. I would rather play Halo than watch this again. Needless to say I no longer trust Eberts opinion.

EDIT: Oh yeah, they also recast Rachel Weiszs character. I did not like that and didnt think it worked out too well. So I'm just sticking to the first movie in the series and pretending the rest dont exist.

EDIT2: Just for kicks I found Eberts review of Death Race. Short version is he hated it. More proof that hes crazy.

[MysterD]

Just watched Terminator: Salvation. From the action perspective it was satisfying. From a more cerebral view it raised a lot of questions and doubts. A lot of plot holes. It didn't really do much for most of the characters it introduced.

Yeah, just got through watching Terminator: Salvation. The film's weakness is its lack of character and plot-development - agreed.

But, yes - the action itself and look of the film was outstanding. Good flick - but not great.

I still like Terminator 2 as the best of the Terminator films.

There's one thing I never really understood about the almighty killing machines. Now, just to be clear, they are supposed to be the ultimate killing machines, right? Why the F do they throw their targets around rather than just snap their necks right there when they actually manage to physically catch them?!! Target identified: John Connor.. Objective: Hurl repeatedly.

ROFL!!!!

[MysterD]

Watched Surrogates, I enjoyed it. Felt very Japanime-inspired.

I just watched Surrogates. I must say, it was very entertaining and definitely fun to watch and follow, from start to finish. Cool movie.

The Ending

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Even though I figured the "Lights Out" type of ending would take place (see Deus Ex's "Tracer Tong" ending and Escape Fron NY's ending - where they basically cut off the power to the world), I just loved the way the whole ending was orchestrated, synchronized and done here in Surrogates - with them shutting off the network of all the surrogates and they all fall like dominoes.

It just looked freakin' cool.

[Pugnate]

I still can't believe how bad Transformers 2 was. The first was pretty good because the it felt a little restrained.

This from Megan Fox's overly slutty outfits and behavior, to Optimus pwning everything and everyone... it was just too much. The mainstoryline mattered in the first, and there was some tension through most of it. Here it was like they said fuck it.

[Cobra951]

Transformers 2 is particularly disturbing because it was profitable.  Hollywood is on notice that story, and just plain making sense don't matter to paying audiences.  God help intelligent movie lovers.

I watched Surrogates the other night.  It was . . . odd.  I like the idea, up to a point, but I find it completely unbelievable, particularly that the radically life-altering technology goes from debut to full use and perfection in a decade.  Then that ending.  Yeah, it looked cool, but come on.

I did find it entertaining, though.  You're right about that.

[MysterD]

Transformers 2 is particularly disturbing because it was profitable.  Hollywood is on notice that story, and just plain making sense don't matter to paying audiences.  God help intelligent movie lovers.

I watched Surrogates the other night.  It was . . . odd.  I like the idea, up to a point, but I find it completely unbelievable, particularly that the radically life-altering technology goes from debut to full use and perfection in a decade.  Then that ending.  Yeah, it looked cool, but come on.

I did find it entertaining, though.  You're right about that.

Surrogates is not a great movie. It is not is going to rock the foundation of movies w/ a superb plot, storytelling, and breathtaking groundbreaking action. This is NOT that film.

Though, I think it is one of the better popcorn flicks, if you ask me. Despite it having the message and warning that many other movies have had about technology trying to take over our lives completely - i.e. Terminator movies; The Matrix movies; Wall-E; and the list goes on - it still felt like a popcorn flick at heart.

I liked following who was in the chair being someone else or something else they really couldn't be factor. It was just cool to me. This was like the ultimate MMO, hehe - everybody puppeteer robots from their own home and using the robots into the real world from a chair, instead of in a virtual world - and this, I found to be quite odd, different, and actually quite cool.

Yes, Surrogates was tons better than that Transformers 2. Transformers 2 - ugh, was just that God awful. Transformers 2 could've been better, if they just let out the slapstick stuff and all the horribly acted and terrible dialogue scenes in-between the action - thpse "acting" sequences just went on WAY too long. Bay needs to hire some new freaking writers here...

[Cobra951]

I liked following who was in the chair being someone else or something else they really couldn't be factor. It was just cool to me. This was like the ultimate MMO, hehe - everybody puppeteer robots from their own home and using the robots into the real world from a chair, instead of in a virtual world - and this, I found to be quite odd, different, and actually quite cool.

Yes, I got the MMO idea immediately.  It's no surprise that movie stories derive inspiration from games, though it is a bit ironic.  Here's another movie I thought got inspiration from videogames: Groundhog Day.  Do it over and over again until you do everything right, and you finish the game.  Lots of game overs in the process.

[iPPi]

The movie 'Gamer' did that as well.  That film was garbage though.  Surrogates was... okay.

Anyway, I saw Law Abiding Citizen.  I enjoyed it quite a bit.  The comparison of the main character and the Joker is immediately apparent.  Aside from the ending, it was a good film.  It's too bad the end was retarded.

[Cobra951]

True, but Gamer was obvious.  It was about playing games through a flesh and blood . . . avatar.  Hey . . .

[Schlotzky5]

I liked surrogates. It reminded me of Minority Report.

A note on the ending:

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I laughed a bit. All the surrogates falling down reminded me of that beer commercial where all the people fall down like human dominoes.

[MysterD]

Ong Bak 2: The Beginning - Man, Tony Jaa just has some bad-ass action sequences in his films. I kinda missed the "instant replays from different angles" thing that the original had going on in its awesome sequences, but OB2 did a much better w/ telling a story than the original.

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The running across numerous elephants scene was awesome.
Also, the last sets of fight scenes in the village was bad-ass.

[Quemaqua]

Didn't know they made a sequel to that.  I'll have to check it out.

[MysterD]

Didn't know they made a sequel to that.  I'll have to check it out.

To be specific, Ong Bak 2: The Beginning is a prequel, actually. Takes place centuries before the first one, chronologically on the timeline here. Takes place in 1400's AD.

There is an Ong Bak 3 coming Spring 2010 - and it's a direct sequel to Ong Bak 2.

[MysterD]

Anyway, I saw Law Abiding Citizen.  I enjoyed it quite a bit.  The comparison of the main character and the Joker is immediately apparent.  Aside from the ending, it was a good film.  It's too bad the end was retarded.

I just saw this Law Abiding Citizen, last nite. Enjoyed it quite a bit, as well.

It was just fun to watch how much more bad-ass Gerard Butler was going to get, as the film progressed and everything.

ENDING TALK

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Actually, even though the ending felt kind of pulled out of its ass a bit, since it felt like too quick of a jump from the dude going to try and disarm the bomb (since they did not show it happen) to the Foxx/Butler final confrontation. It felt pretty much too quickly cut back Jamie Foxx and Gerard in the jail-cell, very few scenes later. I thought since Jamie was holding a gun, I figured Jamie would've shot him, myself....but, nope.

But, I must say - I liked them blowing-up Gerard. Turning his own weapon against him. Nice. It just felt like it got to that point a little too quickly for me. Minor complaint, though.

Though, I think this all might've been a little more interesting if Gerard's character did wipe-out Foxx's family before the predictable ending of Gerard getting (somehow) killed.

[W7RE]

I just finished watching Law Abiding Citizen. I liked it a lot, but the ending...

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First, if the guy was so smart, why did he not have some sort of security in place in his little underground tunnel? As soon as they headed in there I was waiting for them to trip a trap of some sort, but it never happened.

What bothered me most was when the protagonist is killed, and the antagonist goes on with life, smug about the fact that he outsmarted Gerard Butler's character. The guy never learned the lesson he was supposed to. He came close when he said "I don't make deals with murderers", but his smugness showed he really had no remorse for the way he treated the case in the beginning of the movie. I mean I knew Butler was going to die, but I expected something more along the lines of Foxx's family dying and then him murdering Butler. Still not a "happy ending", but it would have been much more satisfying.

[Cobra951]

I've been on the fence about this movie for a while.  Everyone who writes about it keeps hinting that the ending sucks.  I don't want a spoiler, so I didn't read yours.  Does the ending make you sorry you spent the time?  I hate that.  I'm sick of Hollywood screwing up a movie in the last 5 minutes.  It's like having rotten eggs for dessert after a tasty dinner.