Recently viewed movie thread - Rental Edition (4 Viewers)

[jdoggydogg]

Milk

Good movie. No doubt. Glad I saw it.

However, that Sean Penn earned the Oscar over Mickey Rourke is insane. Penn is one of our best actors. But in the next 20 years, he'll likely get five or ten roles that are Oscar-worthy. Rourke, however, has been criminally underutilized. This was a case of Hollywood supporting an issue over a great performance.

Hmm- disagree. I think this is a case of Hollywood getting it right and going with the best performance- as much as I loved Rourke's, Penn was fantastic. And I fully expected Hollywood to use your logic of giving the underutilized but deserving guy his due instead of going with the consistently great guy who consistently gets great roles.I really don't think the issue had anything to do with it.

I don't agree. Hollywood has a history of voting with trends. Crash is a terrible movie. But "racism is bad" helped that movie a lot.

 

[jdoggydogg]

UP

Very good movie. Funny and exciting. Highly recommended. Pixar continues its dominance over almost all other animated entries. If you doubt Pixar's greatness, watch Madagascar 2 and get back to me.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Hmm- disagree. I think this is a case of Hollywood getting it right and going with the best performance- as much as I loved Rourke's, Penn was fantastic. And I fully expected Hollywood to use your logic of giving the underutilized but deserving guy his due instead of going with the consistently great guy who consistently gets great roles.

By the way, to address this point specifically, I think Penn's a fantastic actor. It's not that I think Rourke was 10 times better. But Rourke had a rough childhood, and I was rooting for him to win. I like Rourke, and I think The Wrestler is the better movie. Rourke may not ever even sniff another role like this.

 

[shake zula]

Milk

Good movie. No doubt. Glad I saw it.

However, that Sean Penn earned the Oscar over Mickey Rourke is insane. Penn is one of our best actors. But in the next 20 years, he'll likely get five or ten roles that are Oscar-worthy. Rourke, however, has been criminally underutilized. This was a case of Hollywood supporting an issue over a great performance.

Hmm- disagree. I think this is a case of Hollywood getting it right and going with the best performance- as much as I loved Rourke's, Penn was fantastic. And I fully expected Hollywood to use your logic of giving the underutilized but deserving guy his due instead of going with the consistently great guy who consistently gets great roles.I really don't think the issue had anything to do with it.

I don't agree. Hollywood has a history of voting with trends. Crash is a terrible movie. But "racism is bad" helped that movie a lot.

 

[krista4]

Milk

Good movie. No doubt. Glad I saw it.

However, that Sean Penn earned the Oscar over Mickey Rourke is insane. Penn is one of our best actors. But in the next 20 years, he'll likely get five or ten roles that are Oscar-worthy. Rourke, however, has been criminally underutilized. This was a case of Hollywood supporting an issue over a great performance.

Hmm- disagree. I think this is a case of Hollywood getting it right and going with the best performance- as much as I loved Rourke's, Penn was fantastic. And I fully expected Hollywood to use your logic of giving the underutilized but deserving guy his due instead of going with the consistently great guy who consistently gets great roles.I really don't think the issue had anything to do with it.

I don't agree. Hollywood has a history of voting with trends. Crash is a terrible movie. But "racism is bad" helped that movie a lot.

Wait, what? Do you remember which "favorite" that movie beat to win?So, a few years ago Hollywood didn't support gay rights issues enough for the favorite to win, but this year that same issue caused Penn to win over Rourke?

I you, GBJDD, but .

 

[jdoggydogg]

Milk

Good movie. No doubt. Glad I saw it.

However, that Sean Penn earned the Oscar over Mickey Rourke is insane. Penn is one of our best actors. But in the next 20 years, he'll likely get five or ten roles that are Oscar-worthy. Rourke, however, has been criminally underutilized. This was a case of Hollywood supporting an issue over a great performance.

Hmm- disagree. I think this is a case of Hollywood getting it right and going with the best performance- as much as I loved Rourke's, Penn was fantastic. And I fully expected Hollywood to use your logic of giving the underutilized but deserving guy his due instead of going with the consistently great guy who consistently gets great roles.I really don't think the issue had anything to do with it.

I don't agree. Hollywood has a history of voting with trends. Crash is a terrible movie. But "racism is bad" helped that movie a lot.

Wait, what? Do you remember which "favorite" that movie beat to win?So, a few years ago Hollywood didn't support gay rights issues enough for the favorite to win, but this year that same issue caused Penn to win over Rourke?

I you, GBJDD, but .

Munich is a far better movie than Crash. Crash was awful.

 

[shake zula]

Milk

Good movie. No doubt. Glad I saw it.

However, that Sean Penn earned the Oscar over Mickey Rourke is insane. Penn is one of our best actors. But in the next 20 years, he'll likely get five or ten roles that are Oscar-worthy. Rourke, however, has been criminally underutilized. This was a case of Hollywood supporting an issue over a great performance.

Hmm- disagree. I think this is a case of Hollywood getting it right and going with the best performance- as much as I loved Rourke's, Penn was fantastic. And I fully expected Hollywood to use your logic of giving the underutilized but deserving guy his due instead of going with the consistently great guy who consistently gets great roles.I really don't think the issue had anything to do with it.

I don't agree. Hollywood has a history of voting with trends. Crash is a terrible movie. But "racism is bad" helped that movie a lot.

Wait, what? Do you remember which "favorite" that movie beat to win?So, a few years ago Hollywood didn't support gay rights issues enough for the favorite to win, but this year that same issue caused Penn to win over Rourke?

I you, GBJDD, but .

Munich is a far better movie than Crash. Crash was awful.

Munich was good but Crash was pretty good too.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Munich was good but Crash was pretty good too.

For Crash, that movie shouted every thing that a good movie whispers.

 

[krista4]

Milk

Good movie. No doubt. Glad I saw it.

However, that Sean Penn earned the Oscar over Mickey Rourke is insane. Penn is one of our best actors. But in the next 20 years, he'll likely get five or ten roles that are Oscar-worthy. Rourke, however, has been criminally underutilized. This was a case of Hollywood supporting an issue over a great performance.

Hmm- disagree. I think this is a case of Hollywood getting it right and going with the best performance- as much as I loved Rourke's, Penn was fantastic. And I fully expected Hollywood to use your logic of giving the underutilized but deserving guy his due instead of going with the consistently great guy who consistently gets great roles.I really don't think the issue had anything to do with it.

I don't agree. Hollywood has a history of voting with trends. Crash is a terrible movie. But "racism is bad" helped that movie a lot.

Wait, what? Do you remember which "favorite" that movie beat to win?So, a few years ago Hollywood didn't support gay rights issues enough for the favorite to win, but this year that same issue caused Penn to win over Rourke?

I you, GBJDD, but .

Munich is a far better movie than Crash. Crash was awful.

I think you meant to reply to the other one.

 

[Michael Fox Fan]

Munich was good but Crash was pretty good too.

For Crash, that movie shouted every thing that a good movie whispers.

jdogg - seems like we generally agree on movies. Munich was a very good movie. Crash just didn't have anything new to say. People are racist? No, really? LA cops have issues? Hmmm, I gathered that from seeing Colors back in the 80s. That said, I thought Crash was a solid movie - but nowhere NEAR deserving of an Oscar. This is what the Oscars have come to - movies (and actors) selected almost purely based on political/social issues. The truly great films are typically overlooked or underappreciated. It made me physically nauseous when Gump in 1995. Look at the list of films it beat: Shawshank Redemption, Quiz Show, Pulp Fiction, Four Weddings and a Funeral. ALL of those movies are far superior to a feel good piece of fluff.Let's skip forward to 1998 when Titanic wins against: As Good As It Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting, LA Confidential. Again, are you ****ing kidding me? Ok, we can debate the 1st couple, but Good Will Hunting and LA Confidential are so far head & shoulders above Titanic, it's an embarrassment that those 3 movies are even on a list together.Let's go back in time to 1991: Dances With Wolves beats Goodfellas. At least Ghost didn't win.1990: Driving Miss Daisy over Dead Poets Society, Field of Dreams, My Left Foot, and even Born on the 4th of July (which I personally didn't care for, but Driving Miss Daisy sucked)2002: A Beautiful Mind over Gosford Park and In the Bedroom. Not even close. I'm probably biased by the book, but the movie simply was not interesting. Certainly not compared to the book. In contrast, Gosford Park and In the Bedroom were very good movies (though in a "good" year neither would have been nominated, perhaps)2004: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King over Lost in Translation and Mystic River. Absurd. Beyond moronic. Lost in Translation is in the top-3 movies I've seen in the past decade. Mystic River was so well done, gripping, difficult to watch (in a good way), etc. LOTR was very good, but please, what was the big deal? [and yes, I'm a huge fan of the books, so this isn't a slam on the story]2006: Crash over Good Night and Good Luck, Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Munich. Unreal. So what does this rather lengthy list of examples tell us? The Academy repeatedly makes horrible decisions. At this point, your best option for finding a great movie is to wait for the award show, then watch every movie that does NOT win the Oscar.

 

[krista4]

Munich was good but Crash was pretty good too.

For Crash, that movie shouted every thing that a good movie whispers.

jdogg - seems like we generally agree on movies. Munich was a very good movie. Crash just didn't have anything new to say. People are racist? No, really? LA cops have issues? Hmmm, I gathered that from seeing Colors back in the 80s. That said, I thought Crash was a solid movie - but nowhere NEAR deserving of an Oscar. This is what the Oscars have come to - movies (and actors) selected almost purely based on political/social issues. The truly great films are typically overlooked or underappreciated. It made me physically nauseous when Gump in 1995. Look at the list of films it beat: Shawshank Redemption, Quiz Show, Pulp Fiction, Four Weddings and a Funeral. ALL of those movies are far superior to a feel good piece of fluff.Let's skip forward to 1998 when Titanic wins against: As Good As It Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting, LA Confidential. Again, are you ****ing kidding me? Ok, we can debate the 1st couple, but Good Will Hunting and LA Confidential are so far head & shoulders above Titanic, it's an embarrassment that those 3 movies are even on a list together.Let's go back in time to 1991: Dances With Wolves beats Goodfellas. At least Ghost didn't win.1990: Driving Miss Daisy over Dead Poets Society, Field of Dreams, My Left Foot, and even Born on the 4th of July (which I personally didn't care for, but Driving Miss Daisy sucked)2002: A Beautiful Mind over Gosford Park and In the Bedroom. Not even close. I'm probably biased by the book, but the movie simply was not interesting. Certainly not compared to the book. In contrast, Gosford Park and In the Bedroom were very good movies (though in a "good" year neither would have been nominated, perhaps)2004: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King over Lost in Translation and Mystic River. Absurd. Beyond moronic. Lost in Translation is in the top-3 movies I've seen in the past decade. Mystic River was so well done, gripping, difficult to watch (in a good way), etc. LOTR was very good, but please, what was the big deal? [and yes, I'm a huge fan of the books, so this isn't a slam on the story]2006: Crash over Good Night and Good Luck, Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Munich. Unreal. So what does this rather lengthy list of examples tell us? The Academy repeatedly makes horrible decisions. At this point, your best option for finding a great movie is to wait for the award show, then watch every movie that does NOT win the Oscar.

:absolutelybrilliantposting:

 

[Michael Fox Fan]

:absolutelybrilliantposting:

 

[Mr. Mojo]

Munich was good but Crash was pretty good too.

For Crash, that movie shouted every thing that a good movie whispers.

jdogg - seems like we generally agree on movies. Munich was a very good movie. Crash just didn't have anything new to say. People are racist? No, really? LA cops have issues? Hmmm, I gathered that from seeing Colors back in the 80s. That said, I thought Crash was a solid movie - but nowhere NEAR deserving of an Oscar. This is what the Oscars have come to - movies (and actors) selected almost purely based on political/social issues. The truly great films are typically overlooked or underappreciated.

It made me physically nauseous when Gump in 1995. Look at the list of films it beat: Shawshank Redemption, Quiz Show, Pulp Fiction, Four Weddings and a Funeral. ALL of those movies are far superior to a feel good piece of fluff.

Let's skip forward to 1998 when Titanic wins against: As Good As It Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting, LA Confidential. Again, are you ****ing kidding me? Ok, we can debate the 1st couple, but Good Will Hunting and LA Confidential are so far head & shoulders above Titanic, it's an embarrassment that those 3 movies are even on a list together.

Let's go back in time to 1991: Dances With Wolves beats Goodfellas. At least Ghost didn't win.

1990: Driving Miss Daisy over Dead Poets Society, Field of Dreams, My Left Foot, and even Born on the 4th of July (which I personally didn't care for, but Driving Miss Daisy sucked)

2002: A Beautiful Mind over Gosford Park and In the Bedroom. Not even close. I'm probably biased by the book, but the movie simply was not interesting. Certainly not compared to the book. In contrast, Gosford Park and In the Bedroom were very good movies (though in a "good" year neither would have been nominated, perhaps)

2004: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King over Lost in Translation and Mystic River. Absurd. Beyond moronic. Lost in Translation is in the top-3 movies I've seen in the past decade. Mystic River was so well done, gripping, difficult to watch (in a good way), etc. LOTR was very good, but please, what was the big deal? [and yes, I'm a huge fan of the books, so this isn't a slam on the story]

2006: Crash over Good Night and Good Luck, Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Munich. Unreal.

So what does this rather lengthy list of examples tell us? The Academy repeatedly makes horrible decisions. At this point, your best option for finding a great movie is to wait for the award show, then watch every movie that does NOT win the Oscar.

If you're going to criticize the oscars, don't forget 2002. Chicago, the weakest film to win best picture in 50 years, over Road To Perdition which wasn't even nominated!I agree with most of your comments except Lost In translation which I thought was terrible and I can't figure out why it was ever praised by anyone.

 

[Michael Fox Fan]

If you're going to criticize the oscars, don't forget 2002. Chicago, the weakest film to win best picture in 50 years, over Road To Perdition which wasn't even nominated!

I agree with most of your comments except Lost In translation which I thought was terrible and I can't figure out why it was ever praised by anyone.

Mojo -- I looked at the winner / nominees for every year since 1990 and posted the most egregious examples. Fully agree that Chicago was a terribly weak best picture winner - but the other nominees weren't great either (and I forgot Road to Perdition was that year, to be honest). Other nominees: Gangs of NY (vastly overrated), The Hours, Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, The Pianist. I'm sure some FFA folks have an opinion on which of these deserved best picture -- I personally don't. None of these movies did anything for me.Not going to try to sway you on Lost in Translation. I've debated this movie before, and frankly, people often fail to appreciate it. I'll say this: if you've never traveled extensively for work or experienced the loneliness of spending weeks on the road in some random place (whether foreign or domestic) it's difficult to relate to this film. For whatever reason, it "spoke to me".

I watched The Wrestler tonight and loved it.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Munich was good but Crash was pretty good too.

For Crash, that movie shouted every thing that a good movie whispers.

jdogg - seems like we generally agree on movies. Munich was a very good movie. Crash just didn't have anything new to say. People are racist? No, really? LA cops have issues? Hmmm, I gathered that from seeing Colors back in the 80s. That said, I thought Crash was a solid movie - but nowhere NEAR deserving of an Oscar. This is what the Oscars have come to - movies (and actors) selected almost purely based on political/social issues. The truly great films are typically overlooked or underappreciated. It made me physically nauseous when Gump in 1995. Look at the list of films it beat: Shawshank Redemption, Quiz Show, Pulp Fiction, Four Weddings and a Funeral. ALL of those movies are far superior to a feel good piece of fluff.Let's skip forward to 1998 when Titanic wins against: As Good As It Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting, LA Confidential. Again, are you ****ing kidding me? Ok, we can debate the 1st couple, but Good Will Hunting and LA Confidential are so far head & shoulders above Titanic, it's an embarrassment that those 3 movies are even on a list together.Let's go back in time to 1991: Dances With Wolves beats Goodfellas. At least Ghost didn't win.1990: Driving Miss Daisy over Dead Poets Society, Field of Dreams, My Left Foot, and even Born on the 4th of July (which I personally didn't care for, but Driving Miss Daisy sucked)2002: A Beautiful Mind over Gosford Park and In the Bedroom. Not even close. I'm probably biased by the book, but the movie simply was not interesting. Certainly not compared to the book. In contrast, Gosford Park and In the Bedroom were very good movies (though in a "good" year neither would have been nominated, perhaps)2004: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King over Lost in Translation and Mystic River. Absurd. Beyond moronic. Lost in Translation is in the top-3 movies I've seen in the past decade. Mystic River was so well done, gripping, difficult to watch (in a good way), etc. LOTR was very good, but please, what was the big deal? [and yes, I'm a huge fan of the books, so this isn't a slam on the story]2006: Crash over Good Night and Good Luck, Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Munich. Unreal. So what does this rather lengthy list of examples tell us? The Academy repeatedly makes horrible decisions. At this point, your best option for finding a great movie is to wait for the award show, then watch every movie that does NOT win the Oscar.

The Oscars are a joke. When the Academy actually votes for the best film of the year, it's only a coincidence.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Munich is a far better movie than Crash. Crash was awful.

I think you meant to reply to the other one.

You're making what for dinner?

 

[El Floppo]

Hmm- disagree. I think this is a case of Hollywood getting it right and going with the best performance- as much as I loved Rourke's, Penn was fantastic. And I fully expected Hollywood to use your logic of giving the underutilized but deserving guy his due instead of going with the consistently great guy who consistently gets great roles.

By the way, to address this point specifically, I think Penn's a fantastic actor. It's not that I think Rourke was 10 times better. But Rourke had a rough childhood, and I was rooting for him to win. I like Rourke, and I think The Wrestler is the better movie. Rourke may not ever even sniff another role like this.

I agree with this.Too tired/lazy to look it up, but I feel like the Oscars usually rewards that kind of performance over other- maybe better- performances.

Also too tired to get into the obvious "the Oscars" are often not about the the best "fill-in-the-blank". Not a fan of Crash. Not a fan of Titanic.

And since we're playing that game... as much as I genuinely love the movie Rocky, anybody remember which movies it beat to win the oscar?

 

[Mr. Mojo]

I think we could trash the oscars all day long.

I have to say that 2008 was actually a very good year for films even though there wasn't an all time great in the bunch.

I saw the following and thought that they were all good from 08:

Slumdog Millionaire, The Changeling, Frozen River, The Visitor, Gran Torino, Benjamin Button, In Bruges, Frost/Nixon, and I''m sure I'm forgetting a few.

Saw Defiance last night. Thought it was good. Daniel Craig is a very underrated actor.

 

[shake zula]

The Hammer Adam Corrolla's flick. Very funny and fun at the same time. If you like his act, i.e. his podcast you'll love the movie. Very reminiscent of the show. Worth the rental.

The Hangover Hilarious movie. Great cast.

 

[jamny]

The only reason I had this movie on my Netflix queue was because of this thread and I'm glad for that. I really enjoyed The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. For some reason I thought it was a old western but it's a modern day story. My only criticism was that the alternate timelines had me confused in the beginning. I thought there was a second killing. I don't think this is a spoiler, it's just something I didn't catch on to right away. Otherwise it was a very good movie. Tommy Lee Jones was great as usual and January Jones (Mad Men) was hot and put in a great performance. Some great visuals and a solid cast.

 

[Wingnut]

Coaline: Good but not great.

The Internatoinal: Good but will have to watch it again to understand it all

Waiting 2: Still Waiting: Not even in the same universe as the first (big shock there ). Cant recommend.

Crank 2: High Voltage: I put this in the "Shoot Em Up" category. Non stop over the top stuff. Just a fast-paced popcorn flick, and Amy Smart looks goood.

Up next:

 

[jdoggydogg]

Hmm- disagree. I think this is a case of Hollywood getting it right and going with the best performance- as much as I loved Rourke's, Penn was fantastic. And I fully expected Hollywood to use your logic of giving the underutilized but deserving guy his due instead of going with the consistently great guy who consistently gets great roles.

By the way, to address this point specifically, I think Penn's a fantastic actor. It's not that I think Rourke was 10 times better. But Rourke had a rough childhood, and I was rooting for him to win. I like Rourke, and I think The Wrestler is the better movie. Rourke may not ever even sniff another role like this.

I agree with this.Too tired/lazy to look it up, but I feel like the Oscars usually rewards that kind of performance over other- maybe better- performances.

Also too tired to get into the obvious "the Oscars" are often not about the the best "fill-in-the-blank". Not a fan of Crash. Not a fan of Titanic.

And since we're playing that game... as much as I genuinely love the movie Rocky, anybody remember which movies it beat to win the oscar?

I love Taxi Driver, so I prefer that over Rocky. But Rocky is a good movie. I think Rocky is a lot better than some of the other lame Oscar winners (Chicago, Titanic, Forrest Gump, Driving Miss Daisy).

 

[jdoggydogg]

I think we could trash the oscars all day long. I have to say that 2008 was actually a very good year for films even though there wasn't an all time great in the bunch.I saw the following and thought that they were all good from 08:Slumdog Millionaire, The Changeling, Frozen River, The Visitor, Gran Torino, Benjamin Button, In Bruges, Frost/Nixon, and I''m sure I'm forgetting a few.Saw Defiance last night. Thought it was good. Daniel Craig is a very underrated actor.

I would call The Wrestler a great movie.

 

[jdoggydogg]

The Hammer Adam Corrolla's flick. Very funny and fun at the same time. If you like his act, i.e. his podcast you'll love the movie. Very reminiscent of the show. Worth the rental.

Funny movie. I liked that one.

 

[TexanFan02]

Hmm- disagree. I think this is a case of Hollywood getting it right and going with the best performance- as much as I loved Rourke's, Penn was fantastic. And I fully expected Hollywood to use your logic of giving the underutilized but deserving guy his due instead of going with the consistently great guy who consistently gets great roles.

By the way, to address this point specifically, I think Penn's a fantastic actor. It's not that I think Rourke was 10 times better. But Rourke had a rough childhood, and I was rooting for him to win. I like Rourke, and I think The Wrestler is the better movie. Rourke may not ever even sniff another role like this.

I agree with this.Too tired/lazy to look it up, but I feel like the Oscars usually rewards that kind of performance over other- maybe better- performances.

Also too tired to get into the obvious "the Oscars" are often not about the the best "fill-in-the-blank". Not a fan of Crash. Not a fan of Titanic.

And since we're playing that game... as much as I genuinely love the movie Rocky, anybody remember which movies it beat to win the oscar?

Wow, what a great year. Rocky and the last three could have been #1 in basically any year since then. And would have been better than many that actually were chosen for #1. Can't comment on Bound for Glory since I haven't seen it. Oh, and Crash sucked. It was like it was written by a 3rd grader, and adapted to fit the lowest common denominator.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Oh, and Crash sucked. It was like it was written by a 3rd grader, and adapted to fit the lowest common denominator.

Thank you.

 

[tdoss]

Crash can kiss my @zz...horrible piece of crap.

 

[guru_007]

dog days of summer coming upon us....three from last weekend, listed in order viewed....



Downfall - I seem to recall this one getting some strong reviews in this thread, so I queued it up. All in all, it was okay, but nothing special. I think the actor that portrayed Hitler did a pretty strong job, as did the wife of one of the guys...but that was the problem - they introduced soooo many generals, advisors, high ranking officials without really giving most of them due justice as to their position, responsibility, etc... It was a constant introduction of new people, where all you got was their name (and sometimes, their rank), and then on to the next one. At the end, where they update the fates of the characters in the story, there were like 40 of them. That was too many and detracted a lot from the movie. It wasn't too long at 2 1/2 hours, and really probably needed to be made either longer, or into a mini-series or something to help the story along. It was a strong portrayal of the fall of Berlin for sure, but again, I just felt there were way too many people brought in, and very few movies can ably keep along the plot line of more than a few characters (one that did a good job that comes to mind was the Great Escape, one of my favorites). Anyway, rank it a 2.0/5.0.

Lucky Number Slevin - this one was a slick, fast moving, well done movie. It has a nice plot line and does a very good job telling a story. And while there may have been nothing ground breaking or astonishing about this movie, sometimes there doesn't need to be in order to make an enjoyable film. Josh Hartnett did a very good job as Slevin, and Lucy Liu was adorable. Very strong cast in this one, and they all did alright, although I'm not sure I loved the jobs Freeman and Kingsley did (I may have picked some other actors for these roles). All in all, I was pleasantly surprised with this one, score it a 3.0/5.0

The Strangers - suspenseful, gripping, edge of your seat kind of stuff, however void of any real plot, love for the characters, or care whether they live or die. What this movie did, it did well. but at 70 minutes, only 6 actors, and only 2 of which spoke, and only one set, come on, at least give a little more attention to details. Also, I would have liked to have known the rationale for the antagonist, but I can live with they way it was done...."Because you were home" that was a decent touch. I'll score this one a 2.0/5.0

 

[shake zula]

dog days of summer coming upon us....three from last weekend, listed in order viewed....



Downfall - I seem to recall this one getting some strong reviews in this thread, so I queued it up. All in all, it was okay, but nothing special. I think the actor that portrayed Hitler did a pretty strong job, as did the wife of one of the guys...but that was the problem - they introduced soooo many generals, advisors, high ranking officials without really giving most of them due justice as to their position, responsibility, etc... It was a constant introduction of new people, where all you got was their name (and sometimes, their rank), and then on to the next one. At the end, where they update the fates of the characters in the story, there were like 40 of them. That was too many and detracted a lot from the movie. It wasn't too long at 2 1/2 hours, and really probably needed to be made either longer, or into a mini-series or something to help the story along. It was a strong portrayal of the fall of Berlin for sure, but again, I just felt there were way too many people brought in, and very few movies can ably keep along the plot line of more than a few characters (one that did a good job that comes to mind was the Great Escape, one of my favorites). Anyway, rank it a 2.0/5.0.

I loved this movie. I actually just lent it to a buddy who loved Valkryie.

Big Fish: Came highly recommended. Loved it. Save for the amount of dust in the room at the end. Toooo much dust.

 

[jdoggydogg]

dog days of summer coming upon us....three from last weekend, listed in order viewed....



Downfall - I seem to recall this one getting some strong reviews in this thread, so I queued it up. All in all, it was okay, but nothing special. I think the actor that portrayed Hitler did a pretty strong job, as did the wife of one of the guys...but that was the problem - they introduced soooo many generals, advisors, high ranking officials without really giving most of them due justice as to their position, responsibility, etc... It was a constant introduction of new people, where all you got was their name (and sometimes, their rank), and then on to the next one. At the end, where they update the fates of the characters in the story, there were like 40 of them. That was too many and detracted a lot from the movie. It wasn't too long at 2 1/2 hours, and really probably needed to be made either longer, or into a mini-series or something to help the story along. It was a strong portrayal of the fall of Berlin for sure, but again, I just felt there were way too many people brought in, and very few movies can ably keep along the plot line of more than a few characters (one that did a good job that comes to mind was the Great Escape, one of my favorites). Anyway, rank it a 2.0/5.0.

I loved this movie.

Same here.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

I think we could trash the oscars all day long. I have to say that 2008 was actually a very good year for films even though there wasn't an all time great in the bunch.I saw the following and thought that they were all good from 08:Slumdog Millionaire, The Changeling, Frozen River, The Visitor, Gran Torino, Benjamin Button, In Bruges, Frost/Nixon, and I''m sure I'm forgetting a few.Saw Defiance last night. Thought it was good. Daniel Craig is a very underrated actor.

I would call The Wrestler a great movie.

Haven't seen it yet - it's on my list. Sounds like a good one.I forgot to add The Reader and Milk to the list of good ones I watched from 2008.

 

[El Floppo]

Pretty sure we saw that new teen vampire movie the other night.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Pretty sure we saw that new teen vampire movie the other night.

Did you get a sex change and forget to tell us?

 

[KnowledgeReignsSupreme]

The only reason I had this movie on my Netflix queue was because of this thread and I'm glad for that. I really enjoyed The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. For some reason I thought it was a old western but it's a modern day story. My only criticism was that the alternate timelines had me confused in the beginning. I thought there was a second killing. I don't think this is a spoiler, it's just something I didn't catch on to right away. Otherwise it was a very good movie. Tommy Lee Jones was great as usual and January Jones (Mad Men) was hot and put in a great performance. Some great visuals and a solid cast.

Been meaning to queue this up.

 

[KnowledgeReignsSupreme]

The Strangers - suspenseful, gripping, edge of your seat kind of stuff, however void of any real plot, love for the characters, or care whether they live or die. What this movie did, it did well. but at 70 minutes, only 6 actors, and only 2 of which spoke, and only one set, come on, at least give a little more attention to details. Also, I would have liked to have known the rationale for the antagonist, but I can live with they way it was done...."Because you were home" that was a decent touch. I'll score this one a 2.0/5.0

This movie creeped me the #### out. Even moreso because we had some "incidents" in our neighborhood a few months back.

 

[El Floppo]

Pretty sure we saw that new teen vampire movie the other night.

Did you get a sex change and forget to tell us?

You looking for a date?The wife doesn't care about seeing "important" films- she's one of those anti-film-snobs... too bad she married her nemesis in that regard. I've seen more drek in the last 10 years than I did in the entire 30 before.

 

[hooter311]

My Bloody Valentine 2009

One of the better, if not the best slasher flick I've seen in the last decade. Scream was the last one that comes to mind that I really enjoyed but there could be a couple I'm forgetting about. All the pick axe violence and cheesy gore a guy could ask for. More tongue-in-cheek than truly terrifying. I really enjoy the clumsy type of killer like in Scream or the original Friday the 13th sequels, and this movie provided that. I've never seen the original to have something to compare it with. Really wished I would have went to it in the theater as it pulls no stops in throwing everything it can at the screen for the 3D effects. I thought the gimmicks worked even without the 3D though.

3.5/5

 

[saintfool]

watched "milk" the other night. nice performance from penn. solid script. really no complaints with it, especially for a "movie with a message". the wife and i found it very enjoyable.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Pretty sure we saw that new teen vampire movie the other night.

Did you get a sex change and forget to tell us?

You looking for a date?The wife doesn't care about seeing "important" films- she's one of those anti-film-snobs... too bad she married her nemesis in that regard. I've seen more drek in the last 10 years than I did in the entire 30 before.

Always looking for a date. Just let me know if there's any secret wood I need to watch our for.That's Mrs. Dogg's greatest cerebral asset: she loves important movies.

 

[jdoggydogg]

The Hobart Shakespeareans

********** KRISTA ALERT **********

Great documentary about a fantastic teacher. This guy teaches literature and music to mostly Asian and Hispanic kids in a rough Central Los Angeles neighborhood. If you are a teacher, you will love this. If you have kids, you will love this. If you want to be inspired, you will love this. Fantastic doc and only an hour long.

 

[krista4]

The Hobart Shakespeareans

********** KRISTA ALERT **********

Great documentary about a fantastic teacher. This guy teaches literature and music to mostly Asian and Hispanic kids in a rough Central Los Angeles neighborhood. If you are a teacher, you will love this. If you have kids, you will love this. If you want to be inspired, you will love this. Fantastic doc and only an hour long.

NOTED.

 

[Mr. Yuk]

Big Fish: Came highly recommended. Loved it. Save for the amount of dust in the room at the end. Toooo much dust.

One of my faves.

 

[SmoovySmoov]

The Hobart Shakespeareans

********** KRISTA ALERT **********

Great documentary about a fantastic teacher. This guy teaches literature and music to mostly Asian and Hispanic kids in a rough Central Los Angeles neighborhood. If you are a teacher, you will love this. If you have kids, you will love this. If you want to be inspired, you will love this. Fantastic doc and only an hour long.

My special lady is a teacher. I'll queue it up for her. Thanks, holmes.

 

[jdoggydogg]

The Hobart Shakespeareans

********** KRISTA ALERT **********

Great documentary about a fantastic teacher. This guy teaches literature and music to mostly Asian and Hispanic kids in a rough Central Los Angeles neighborhood. If you are a teacher, you will love this. If you have kids, you will love this. If you want to be inspired, you will love this. Fantastic doc and only an hour long.

My special lady is a teacher. I'll queue it up for her. Thanks, holmes.

Excellent. Mrs. Dogg's a teacher and she loved it.

 

[El Floppo]

Pretty sure we saw that new teen vampire movie the other night.

Did you get a sex change and forget to tell us?

You looking for a date?The wife doesn't care about seeing "important" films- she's one of those anti-film-snobs... too bad she married her nemesis in that regard. I've seen more drek in the last 10 years than I did in the entire 30 before.

Always looking for a date. Just let me know if there's any secret wood I need to watch our for.That's Mrs. Dogg's greatest cerebral asset: she loves important movies.

lol- brings to mind a line from 16 Candles:You know,

just now I really felt

how much you like me.

You're probably zoning in

on my brain waves or something.

Well, not really.

I felt it on my leg. (pulls out lifesavers roll)

 

[jdoggydogg]

Pretty sure we saw that new teen vampire movie the other night.

Did you get a sex change and forget to tell us?

You looking for a date?The wife doesn't care about seeing "important" films- she's one of those anti-film-snobs... too bad she married her nemesis in that regard. I've seen more drek in the last 10 years than I did in the entire 30 before.

Always looking for a date. Just let me know if there's any secret wood I need to watch our for.That's Mrs. Dogg's greatest cerebral asset: she loves important movies.

lol- brings to mind a line from 16 Candles:You know,

just now I really felt

how much you like me.

You're probably zoning in

on my brain waves or something.

Well, not really.

I felt it on my leg. (pulls out lifesavers roll)

Great movie. "My grandma just felt me up."

 

[Mr. Mojo]

Finally saw There Will Be Blood.

Why did I wait so long? Because while Hard Eight and Boogie Nights were very good, Magnolia is one of my least favorite films ever.

Positives:

Very good first half - good scenery, good story, very interesting subject matter, good acting.

Negatives:

One of the worst soundtracks ever. The music was so bad, it was a negative distraction whenever it was used.

The second half was horrible and endless.

PT Anderson has a unique style but just can't seem to stop a film from getting boring.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Finally saw There Will Be Blood.

Why did I wait so long? Because while Hard Eight and Boogie Nights were very good, Magnolia is one of my least favorite films ever.

Positives:

Very good first half - good scenery, good story, very interesting subject matter, good acting.

Negatives:

One of the worst soundtracks ever. The music was so bad, it was a negative distraction whenever it was used.

The second half was horrible and endless.

PT Anderson has a unique style but just can't seem to stop a film from getting boring.

I like the movie. I don't like the soundtrack. The soundtrack feels like a composed piece of music that was not made for the film. I don't mind that it's atonal and screechy. I don't like the way the soundtrack was edited into some of the scenes.

 

[saintfool]

Finally saw There Will Be Blood.

Why did I wait so long? Because while Hard Eight and Boogie Nights were very good, Magnolia is one of my least favorite films ever.

Positives:

Very good first half - good scenery, good story, very interesting subject matter, good acting.

Negatives:

One of the worst soundtracks ever. The music was so bad, it was a negative distraction whenever it was used.

The second half was horrible and endless.

PT Anderson has a unique style but just can't seem to stop a film from getting boring.

I like the movie. I don't like the soundtrack. The soundtrack feels like a composed piece of music that was not made for the film. I don't mind that it's atonal and screechy. I don't like the way the soundtrack was edited into some of the scenes.

i loved the soundtrack. i thought it was totally appropriate for the film.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Finally saw There Will Be Blood.

Why did I wait so long? Because while Hard Eight and Boogie Nights were very good, Magnolia is one of my least favorite films ever.

Positives:

Very good first half - good scenery, good story, very interesting subject matter, good acting.

Negatives:

One of the worst soundtracks ever. The music was so bad, it was a negative distraction whenever it was used.

The second half was horrible and endless.

PT Anderson has a unique style but just can't seem to stop a film from getting boring.

I like the movie. I don't like the soundtrack. The soundtrack feels like a composed piece of music that was not made for the film. I don't mind that it's atonal and screechy. I don't like the way the soundtrack was edited into some of the scenes.

i loved the soundtrack. i thought it was totally appropriate for the film.

We probably had this conversation already. But...The mood of the compositions was perfect. The movie is disarming and tense. But there are scenes with normal conversation where the screechy violins simply detract from the dialogue. I like the compositions, but they are placed in scenes in an almost deliberately weird context. My beef is more with the choices of placement than the compositions themselves.