Movie News, Reviews, and Discussion Super-Thread

[Robo]

That's too bad; I've enjoyed Nick Cave & Warren Ellis' film work thus far.  Their score for The Assassination of Jesse James was most excellent.

[chronovore]

Finally watched The Road. Oh man. I loved it, a lot. Viggo's performance in this was on another level and I was very happy that the boy was able/allowed to contribute (instead of just being there). I felt the ending

spoiler (click to show/hide)

was definitely hopeful and not as bleak as some people made it out to be (of course this is just a matter of opinion, I guess it can be interpreted any which way). The father passed on to his son a good sense of humanity and will, the son was also shown to be a good judge of character. The father going through all this, knowing he wouldn't be able to see it through, that was damn heartbreaking.

[close]

Definitely up there as the best movie I've seen this year.

I'll read the book eventually but I'm going to let this sit and move out of my system as time goes by.

Also

spoiler (click to show/hide)

my eyes welled up during Robert Duvall's scenes (especially the campfire). He exuded this character that lost it all and is just drifting. His remark about not telling the father about how he lost his son, especially not to him... was powerful.

[close]

Glad to hear you enjoyed the movie, and I encourage you to read the book. I've read the book, and have trepidation about the movie because it's hard to watch a film if the book is still firmly in one's head. I've heard the movie is not as bleak as the book; that's about like saying "it's not as black as a moonless, cloudy night in the country." The book is probably the most bleak thing I've ever read.

[Kestastrophe]

Finally watched The Road. Oh man. I loved it, a lot. Viggo's performance in this was on another level and I was very happy that the boy was able/allowed to contribute (instead of just being there). I felt the ending

spoiler (click to show/hide)

was definitely hopeful and not as bleak as some people made it out to be (of course this is just a matter of opinion, I guess it can be interpreted any which way). The father passed on to his son a good sense of humanity and will, the son was also shown to be a good judge of character. The father going through all this, knowing he wouldn't be able to see it through, that was damn heartbreaking.

[close]

Definitely up there as the best movie I've seen this year.

I'll read the book eventually but I'm going to let this sit and move out of my system as time goes by.

Also

spoiler (click to show/hide)

my eyes welled up during Robert Duvall's scenes (especially the campfire). He exuded this character that lost it all and is just drifting. His remark about not telling the father about how he lost his son, especially not to him... was powerful.

[close]

Wow, you've made me super excited to see this now. Its not playing anywhere near where I live :'(


I saw Up in the Air with the wife yesterday. It was really funny and the dialogue was great. I thought for sure that the movie was going to devolve into a traditional love story, but instead it stayed with Clooney's character as the focus. Very interesting character.

also, Vera Formiga's naked ass and sideboob

[Phoenix Dark]

Inglorious Basterds

Totally different from what I expected. I thought this would be a big action flick with Tarantino's finger prints on it. Instead it's a Tarantino flick with some action finger prints here and there. It's nearly three hours, most of which is a build up to a pretty explosive climax. In fact, more than half of the "chapters" of the film are long scenes which end in some action payoff, each one done pretty damn amazing - from the opening scene (how many action movies start with 20 minutes of subtitled dialogue) to the final one. Perhaps my favorite is the tavern scene, which is so fucking tense.

Pitt seemed ridiculous in the trailers but it works well in the film. Especially at the Nazi propaganda film premier, where he takes the place of a suave British officer; fucking hilarious. Also my initial complaint about badass actors like Bruce Willis and Arnold being replaced by Eli Roth and BJ Novak disappeared while watching; sure I'd have loved to see Willis and Pitt on screen together again, but the Basterds don't have as much screen time as might be expected/imagined.

But perhaps the best thing about the movie is Christopher Waltz' character.

great movie

[EmCeeGrammar]

Jackie Brown was fun.  I notice whenever I watch Tarantino movies I get nervous on instinct during any mundane conversation.  Things can get ugly so randomly.

[Third]

Paranormal Activty

So bad it makes me mad. Why the hell stay at home when you can bring the evidence to the police so that they can protect you?

What the hell do you think the police could have done in that situation?

Investigate?

The whole movie was just distinguished mentally-challenged. A normal human being wouldn't sleep at the same place again. That's like asking for trouble.
Sure, the demon seems to follow that fat chick around for some reason. But their actions were still dumb.

[Tucah]

An Eductation

I really liked this, a lot more than I expected to like a film about a 16 year old's relationship with someone twice her age. Just an all around great film - fantastic acting job by the main girl, a good coming of age story supported with a well written script and good directing. Probably one of my favorite movies of the year.

[ManaByte]

Saw Harry Potter 6. Sets up Deathly Hallows well, but John Williams better return.

[BobFromPikeCreek]

Black Dynamite was hilarious. Really enjoyed it. The whole movie got about 10 times funnier around the middle after they figure out the evil plot (the scene where they piece it together is amazing). During the credits with the animated stuff I was thinking about how sweet a Black Dynamite cartoon would be. Apparently it's actually happening!

[Flannel Boy]

Late to the party, though, never invited.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was ruined by the narration.

[EvilBoris]

 I'll always place Chopper over Jesse James. truly black comedy.

[chronovore]

Paranormal Activty

So bad it makes me mad. Why the hell stay at home when you can bring the evidence to the police so that they can protect you?

What the hell do you think the police could have done in that situation?

Investigate?

The whole movie was just distinguished mentally-challenged. A normal human being wouldn't sleep at the same place again. That's like asking for trouble.
Sure, the demon seems to follow that fat chick around for some reason. But their actions were still dumb.

I just watched this tonight, and feel like it was about as clever as Blair Witch, and maybe slightly less scary than that. (Most people I've talked to didn't like the ending of Blair Witch, but it stayed with me for days.) I love the found-footage stuff, but retroscripting is only ever as good as the improv ability of the actors. Several times the cuts in the conversation flow seemed like they covered areas where the actors had gone astray or otherwise had been unable to keep the story moving.

Micah and Katie are pretty good characters; I lol'd at "that fat chick" - but I think it says something that she is barely "plump" and she does register as overweight, visually. Hollywood has warped us. While Katie is a generic, she's also really believable. Micah does a good representation of the jock-turned-day-trader type who is used to getting what he wants and puts up a lot of bluster without thinking about the consequences. Every time he opened his yap out of Katie's earshot, I thought "Oh, no, this isn't going to go well."

The titular "activity" all worked really well. There were a couple scenes that freaked me the fuck out, and the sense of build up was really well handled. Sufficient scares all around, but I felt like the LFE-abuse to denote the presence was a little heavy-handed.

Overall, the movie is overhyped for what it is, but I'm stoked to see another indie go big. Now hopefully they won't make the same mistake that happened with Blair Witch 2.

[The Fake Shemp]

Nah, the guy is working on AREA 51, which wrapped a bit ago. Found footage + aliens = you know

[Eric P]

saw Sherlock Holmes

i liked it.

[The Fake Shemp]

Would you - dare I say - state that it is better than James Cameron's Avatar: Digital 3D Experience: The Movie?

[duckman2000]

Alvin and the chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel. One of the Christmas presents for the kid this year, after weeks of whining about the movie. As Hannah Montana once said, everybody makes mistakes. Every Christmas.

"ItasgotGIRLshitmongs!"

 

It's not a very good movie.

[Eric P]

Would you - dare I say - state that it is better than James Cameron's Avatar: Digital 3D Experience: The Movie?

i avoided that film

[The Fake Shemp]

I finally saw The Hangover. Way too long, and the pacing is awkward. This was what everyone was all excited about?

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

Damn, The Hurt Locker does indeed kick all sorts of ass.  Its almost sort of a hangout movie, as the main characters, the soldiers that make up a Iraq war bomb disposal unit, just go from one nerve-jangling situation to the next without any sort of plot (or resolution) in sight.  Its a film that feels truthful to the war experience, but its hard to say exactly why.  Its non-preachy, its equal parts exciting and terrifying, and there's hardly a moment that ever feels out of place.  Even the tentative interactions between the Iraqis and servicemen feel about right.

You couldn't make a traditional war movie about the Iraq war, but as this film does prove, you can make a pretty dang good one about it.  One that functions just as well as entertainment as it does illumative, and never for a second does it feel exploitative.  That's a hell of a achievement.

***1/2

[TakingBackSunday]

I certainly thought much less of it than seemingly every fucking person out there.  Funny yes, but I've laughed out loud more at other movies in the past three years.

edit: the hangover, that is

[twerd]

the hangover couldve been a lot more awesome than it was. needed more zach galifianakis/baby jokes and less "hey look an asian man's penis!"/"obvious pop culture reference!"

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

The Hangover - Mediocre comedy hyped to hell for who the fuck knows why.  It is a pretty generic comedy set in Vegas and seems to be aping Harold and Kumar and Old School in a lot of ways.  Or maybe Wedding Crashers?  I think it was a safe comedy movie that found itself in a drought.  2009 was a bad year for movies and The Hangover was in a position to take advantage of that.  The DVD is now in one of those cheap fuck cases.  My mom tried to open the wrapping and poked a hole through the paper.  I guess for these new shitty cases, you need to use some scissors or a knife.

Case aside, there wasn't anything memorable.  Although I kind of liked the approach of trying to piece back together what happened the night before, like I said, this was one of the safest comedy movies to make sure the Old School/Wedding Crashers set would watch.  Which they did so I guess they succeeded.  Anyone who wanted more than retreads from movies made in 2002, I don't think this movie will tickle your pickle.  6/10

Inglourious Basterds - Had a lot of potential that I think was missed.  Why were some characters so feared that it was brought to Hitler's attention?  We'd never know because those feared characters maybe had a few seconds dedicated to why this person was such a menace to the Nazis.  On the other hand, there were a few Tarantino like touches to the movie.  I thought that this one needed to be lengthened and made into two parts although I understand that he did that already with Kill Bill. 8/10

Top Gun - My cock was sufficiently rocked by the sexual tension between Cruise and Kilmer. 10/10

[Phoenix Dark]

Agreed concerning Basterds. Tarantino has said he wanted to create his own Dirty Dozen type cast, but ultimately no one stands out except for Pitt. And while I'm not asking for flash backs of the Jewish soldiers' families getting slaughtered, I'd have at least liked some back story on them.

still an amazing flick imo tho. I watched it again last night

[BobFromPikeCreek]

Inglourious Basterds - Had a lot of potential that I think was missed.  Why were some characters so feared that it was brought to Hitler's attention?  We'd never know because those feared characters maybe had a few seconds dedicated to why this person was such a menace to the Nazis.  On the other hand, there were a few Tarantino like touches to the movie.  I thought that this one needed to be lengthened and made into two parts although I understand that he did that already with Kill Bill. 8/10

I think a lot of these were addressed in the original Cannes cut. Critics complained it was too long and the movie dragged, so they cut a decent chunk of the movie out for the theatrical release. Expect a director's cut.

[Third]

Saw Avatar in 3D.

Titanic was better.

[Great Rumbler]

Titanic was better.

And you thought Avatar was predictable. 

[cool breeze]

I rewatched Return of the Jedi yesterday, and honestly I don't think it's a very good movie.  It's not the first time I've seen it and I've thought this every time I've seen it.  It has moments that are neat, but most of it is pretty dull.

[ManaByte]

There are 50 reasons why Jedi sucks.

[Purple Filth]

Finally decided to check ZombieLand and it was good.

The characters were cool and that actor dude is definitely a Michael Cera 2 

[Diunx]

I rewatched Return of the Jedi yesterday, and honestly I don't think it's a very good movie.  It's not the first time I've seen it and I've thought this every time I've seen it.  It has moments that are neat, but most of it is pretty dull.

The only good star wars movie is the second one.

[Eric P]

I finally saw The Hangover. Way too long, and the pacing is awkward. This was what everyone was all excited about?

i lol'd a lot

enjoyed it both times i saw it

[BobFromPikeCreek]

Saw Avatar. Storywise, it abso-fucking-lutely was Ferngully with mechs. Visually, James Cameron made sweet, tender love with my eyes. Worth seeing for that alone.

[The Fake Shemp]

I thought it you removed Zach Galifianakis, that the film is actually pretty bad. Much of the film hinges on his patented delivery of non sequitors, and leans heavily on his stage personality that falls somewhere in between mildly distinguished mentally-challenged and psychotic.

That aside, it's too long, the pacing is awkward and when Galifianakis isn't driving the film, I was pretty uninterested. Some of the gags were pretty dumb. They get out of jail if they agree to be tased in front of kids? Heather Graham is breast feeding? It has that Chinese comic actor that's literally in every R-rated comedy these days? High-larious!

(Not so much.)

And in terms of arcs, the only person who actually has the semblance of one is Ed Helms' character. I felt like we just watched people try to put together a very contrived and "wild" (i.e. random) bachleor party which managed to somehow not help them grow as characters.

Maybe I was just expecting too much from Todd Phillips, but I came away from it with a feeling of indifference.*

spoiler (click to show/hide)

* much like Avatar

[close]

[Great Rumbler]

I rewatched Return of the Jedi yesterday, and honestly I don't think it's a very good movie.  It's not the first time I've seen it and I've thought this every time I've seen it.  It has moments that are neat, but most of it is pretty dull.

The only good star wars movie is the second one.

 

[twerd]

willco with the galifianakis love.  you're an okay guy, no matter what they say!

i saw the road, it was suitably depressing. i wish the really tense/dramatic moments were more drawn out though, a lot of the amazing set pieces the film so meticulously builds are solved and dismissed in less than a couple of minutes. i feel like the flashbacks were a little too much too, perhaps we could have seen a little less of that and gotten a little more exposition on the inner turmoils of The Man, which would've been awesome because viggo mortenson is a mangod and i had a half-mast chubby for him the whole film oh god what have i said

[Joe Molotov]

Oh man, I saw Angel Heart today. Awesome movie.

I think a lot of these were addressed in the original Cannes cut. Critics complained it was too long and the movie dragged, so they cut a decent chunk of the movie out for the theatrical release. Expect a director's cut.

From a Tarantino movie?? Huge fucking LOL!

[Eric P]

just watched The Princess Bride as my first Bluray film.

Wowzers.

currently watching the Criterion edition of The Lady Vanishes while eyeing the criterion bluray sale on amazon

[Mr. Gundam]

I saw Nine and Sherlock Holmes today. I fell asleep for a few minutes during Sherlock Holmes, but I actually kind of enjoyed it. The pacing is very slow, I'm not sure if the average filmgoer will like it. Nine was pretty superficial, I'd suggest that people watch 8 1/2 or listen to the Broadway recordings of Nine instead.

[Diunx]

How was DDL on nine? he is the only reason I wanna watch it.

[Mr. Gundam]

How was DDL on nine? he is the only reason I wanna watch it.

He's good, as is pretty much everyone else in it. The film is just flat.

God, I can't wait to get back to Seattle and all the independent theatres. Broken Embraces and A Single Man are calling...

[WrikaWrek]

Watched Sherlock Holmes. I had a good time, it's not brilliantly directed, and it has some pacing issues, the action could be better done, and sometimes it lacks something special, but the characters are fun to be with, and the visuals are pretty damn impressive if i may say so.

The comic tone isn't overdone, and you buy into the relationships, Mark Strong pulls off a good and charismatic villain without losing it's villain side, i liked it.

Not a must watch, but i would recommend it.

[Joe Molotov]

currently watching the Criterion edition of The Lady Vanishes while eyeing the criterion bluray sale on amazon

I grabbed Last Year in Marienbad a few days ago, and may order one or two more before it's over, since Blu-Ray prices seem to be on an uptick now, Post-Christmas.

[Eric P]

i'm currently watching Mike Judge's Extract and it's...not great

[Kestastrophe]

I watched The Fountain last night. It took me about the first half of the movie to wrap my head around what was going on, I can see it being more enjoyable on second viewing. I liked how the story stretched across time and I like how Aronofsky does science fiction.

It seems as though a local theater is finally getting The Road, so I will be seeing that this weekend if all goes as planned. BlueTsunami's praise has me excited

[Eric P]

watching lotr:fellowship w/ the gf.

it's pretty.

[Diunx]

Holy fuck Terminator 4 is two hours long? gonna watch some seinfeld episodes instead.

[Great Rumbler]

Holy fuck Terminator 4 is two hours long? gonna watch some seinfeld episodes instead.

Just watch the first hour and then shut if off.

[Don Flamenco]

Watched Zack Galifianakis at the Onion on netflix this morning.   that guy rules.

[Diunx]

*kiss a terminal cancer patient* "so this is what death tastes like"

smfh.

[Don Flamenco]

[youtube=560,345] sRljkDXpHPU[/youtube]

[Bebpo]

Paranormal Activity

Yeah, I hate to say it but I'm with the haters on this.  Movie was entertaining enough but the ending SUCKED.  Not a very satisfying payoff considering the entire film is building up to it.  Parts were creepy but it wasn't that scary.  The last 15 mins of [REC] was waaaaaaay scarier. 

I think the major problem I had was it was hard to be scared when the main guy is the biggest douche on the planet.  You seriously WANT HIM DEAD.  That is not...how horror movies are supposed to work.  Also the girl is the biggest wimp in the world to take all that shit from the guy and never leave him and just walk out the door.  But yeah, the guy was so distinguished mentally-challenged that it was often funny instead of scary.

Not a fan.  If the payoff was good it would have at least been worth the 80 mins spent watching it, but the payoff wasn't, so it wasn't. 

[Bebpo]

The Invention of Lying

Was cute.  First half was great and funny, 2nd half was kinda generic and not funny.  Wasn't great, but was an enjoyable light film with a pretty funny first half.

[Bildi]

Cannonball Run

I saw this tons of times when I was younger but haven't seen it for years.  It's still amazing.



This is Spinal Tap

I do not get people saying "OMG funniest movie ever" at all.  It has its funny moments no doubt, but yeah.  However it is extremely well done and I really enjoyed it.

[pilonv1]

Watched Sherlock Holmes. I had a good time, it's not brilliantly directed, and it has some pacing issues, the action could be better done, and sometimes it lacks something special, but the characters are fun to be with, and the visuals are pretty damn impressive if i may say so.

The comic tone isn't overdone, and you buy into the relationships, Mark Strong pulls off a good and charismatic villain without losing it's villain side, i liked it.

Not a must watch, but i would recommend it.

Pretty much my thoughts 100%. Maybe it's because I've seen a lot of Robert Downey Jr lately but there was something off about his voice, I cant pinpoint it but it always seemed to me that his accent was a little over the top. Jude Law was awesome though, and some of the incidental characters were excellent.

Didn't have any issues with the action, but the pacing was an issue. Obviously they're setting the foundations for a series, so I can cut some slack there. Everyone I went with really enjoyed it though.

[The Fake Shemp]

All you meatbags talking about getting your cock sucked by cat people in Jimmy Cameron's 3D Jungle Safari should go see The Hurt Locker instead. Anyone that says Cameron should win any serious award over The Hurt Locker should be raped in the anoos by an IED.

[Mr. Gundam]

Back in Seattle. Can't wait to go see some awesome movies this week.

And for the love of God, go see The Hurt Locker. I don't know why you people didn't see it months ago.

[The Fake Shemp]

I was actually busy, and it never got a nationwide release. Awesome flick, though. It has things that most Best Picture nominees have (i.e. storytelling, compelling characters).

[Mr. Gundam]

I was actually busy, and it never got a nationwide release. Awesome flick, though. It has things that most Best Picture nominees have (i.e. storytelling, compelling characters).

It's funny. For three weeks prior to it's Golden Globe nomination, it was playing at the $3 discount art house theater. It's now back at one of the full-priced theaters. Good for it, it's a great film and deserves some attention.

[The Fake Shemp]

I can't wait for James Cameron to ape the story, but put it in space - with cat people as the Iraqis.

EDIT: And I think you probably have to call it the definitive war movie of this generation.

[Groogrux]

Finally watched Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and loved it.  Don't know where the hell I've been and why I haven't watched it before now.  Jaybo finally convinced me to watch it.  I feel like I've been betraying Joss Whedon this whole time by not experiencing this online masterpiece.

Watched Angels and Demons.  Not impressed.  DaVinci Code was a better movie IMO.  The story and plot were there, but the director didn't take advantage of it.

500 Days of Summer wasn't bad.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel were both great in it.  I was actually happy to see Gordon-Levitt return to the big screen.  Definitely worth checking out.