Recently viewed movie thread - Rental Edition (4 Viewers)

[Sam Quentin]

Boondock Saints Hilarious. I was thoroughly entertained. Dafoe just kills it in this one. His Paul Smecker is a great character. Smecker and "the funny man" make this movie. I also liked the use of music and religion in this one. This movie was fun.

Great movie and a very disappointing sequel.I strongly encourage anyone who enjoyed Boondock to check out the documentary "Overnight" which follows the writer/director of Boondock, Troy Duffy who became an overnight success when BS was picked up by the studio. Duffy couldn't handle the instant success and proceeded to burn every single bridge and completely alienate himself from the entire Hollywood scene. Dude was a huge train wreck and the documentary, which started as a misguided attempt to document his meteoric rise, is highly entertaining as it ends up as a cautionary tale about how not to handle success in Hollywood.

That doc is a very good watch. I can't believe the sheer audacity of that dude, more than a little uncomfortable to watch. I've never seen a bigger ego, especially from a bartender.

Duffy is a highly entertaining train wreck.If not for his mouth and ego BS would have received much more acclaim when released and he wouldn't have had to crawl on his belly for 10 years to get the sequel made.

He is a walking Curb Your Enthusiasm episode, that's for sure.

Funny thing is, I had already seen Overnight a few years back. He reminded me of Fred Flinstone in any episode where Fred gets lucky famous.

 

[Copeman]

The little woman is home sick today. I told her I'd watch The Bounty Hunter (with Jennifer Aniston) with her tonight to cheer her up. What am I in for? She told me the dude that played in 300 was in it. Are there going to be swords and stuff?

Take some LSD. Otherwise you are going to suffer.

A few of my friends really thought the Ugly Truth was funny. I thought Butler was almost painful to watch with the over the top male chauvinist routine. Not a lot of upside here.

Gerard Butler was excellent in one of my favorite movies (Dear Frankie), and he was very good in 300. But this guy is wasting his talent on a lot of romantic comedy bull####.

I thought he was very good in Law Abiding Citizen.

 

[jdoggydogg]

The little woman is home sick today. I told her I'd watch The Bounty Hunter (with Jennifer Aniston) with her tonight to cheer her up. What am I in for? She told me the dude that played in 300 was in it. Are there going to be swords and stuff?

Take some LSD. Otherwise you are going to suffer.

A few of my friends really thought the Ugly Truth was funny. I thought Butler was almost painful to watch with the over the top male chauvinist routine. Not a lot of upside here.

Gerard Butler was excellent in one of my favorite movies (Dear Frankie), and he was very good in 300. But this guy is wasting his talent on a lot of romantic comedy bull####.

I thought he was very good in Law Abiding Citizen.

I haven't seen that, so I can't comment. But I think Butler has the potential to be a very solid artist if he starts picking better movies.

 

[Copeman]

I haven't seen that, so I can't comment. But I think Butler has the potential to be a very solid artist if he starts picking better movies.

Do yourself a favor and see it. I thought this movie was excellent. Very under the radar.

 

[jdoggydogg]

I haven't seen that, so I can't comment. But I think Butler has the potential to be a very solid artist if he starts picking better movies.

Do yourself a favor and see it. I thought this movie was excellent. Very under the radar.

Cool. I'll add it to the queue.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Last night I watched Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

(for the first time I should add). I am sad that I didn't see this one when it came out. There were some really funny parts, but overall it suffered from the 80s syndrome - when I watch a movie from that era I hadn't seen before it comes off as cheesy, but if I had seen it before, it has a built in nostalgia factor that pushes it to greatness. Don't get me wrong - I liked it and was glad I finally watched it, but there was just something holding me back from loving it.

I don't know for sure, but maybe repeat viewings would help. I love this movie more now than when I first saw it.

I'm pretty sure watching PT&A is the hardest I've ever laughed in a movie theater. Seeing it in the theater on opening night helped. Being a teenager and a big fan of John Hughes, Steve Martin, and John Candy helped, too. The finish is a bit jarring after how madcap and silly most of the movie was, but it's consistent with Hughes's other work, and IMO finishing the film with one final craziest set piece madness wouldn't have been as good as choice as setting a high value on being home and having a home to go to - it legitimized the stakes for Neal.

Yes. And furthermore, this is a movie that I am so impressed by every time I see it. So many bad comedies are a collection of weak, random funny bits. But Planes has a central, subversive silliness that binds the story together so well.

 

[Chaka]

I haven't seen that, so I can't comment. But I think Butler has the potential to be a very solid artist if he starts picking better movies.

Do yourself a favor and see it. I thought this movie was excellent. Very under the radar.

LAC is pretty violent and extremely implausible but it's overall a solid take on the revenge movie genre.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Last night I watched Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

(for the first time I should add). I am sad that I didn't see this one when it came out. There were some really funny parts, but overall it suffered from the 80s syndrome - when I watch a movie from that era I hadn't seen before it comes off as cheesy, but if I had seen it before, it has a built in nostalgia factor that pushes it to greatness. Don't get me wrong - I liked it and was glad I finally watched it, but there was just something holding me back from loving it.

I don't know for sure, but maybe repeat viewings would help. I love this movie more now than when I first saw it.

I'm pretty sure watching PT&A is the hardest I've ever laughed in a movie theater. Seeing it in the theater on opening night helped. Being a teenager and a big fan of John Hughes, Steve Martin, and John Candy helped, too. The finish is a bit jarring after how madcap and silly most of the movie was, but it's consistent with Hughes's other work, and IMO finishing the film with one final craziest set piece madness wouldn't have been as good as choice as setting a high value on being home and having a home to go to - it legitimized the stakes for Neal.

Yes. And furthermore, this is a movie that I am so impressed by every time I see it. So many bad comedies are a collection of weak, random funny bits. But Planes has a central, subversive silliness that binds the story together so well.

My biggest gripe with the movie is a nitpick. When the bus transporting Neal and Del to St. Louis gets to downtown STL, it's on a Mississippi river bridge with the Gateway Arch in the background. That is an easy way to establish where the characters are, but the geography is lousy. They were coming from Kansas/western Missouri, which means the bus somehow went around the St. Louis metro and into Illinois on its way to downtown STL, and then up to the north side of town to Lambert Field. Stuff like that shouldn't bother me so much, but it does. I guess since Hughes handled the geographical details well enough for the Griswolds' cross-country drive in Vacation, the botched bus ride in PT&A yanked my chain a little. But if I have to take that scene in order to get Neal's doll-pulling-its-own-string impression, the F-bomb blitzkrieg at the rental car counter, and Del driving while smoking and getting his arms trapped in his sleeves, I'll take the full package gladly.

There was a local guy who grew up in the ghetto here, and he came back to make a semi-autobiographical movie in our city. The movie wasn't very good, but what really stuck out was the characters walked from one spot right to a supposedly adjoining spot. But if you know the city, these two spots are miles apart. It's nitpicky, but it made no sense to pretend these two spots were adjoined.

 

[jdoggydogg]

I haven't seen that, so I can't comment. But I think Butler has the potential to be a very solid artist if he starts picking better movies.

Do yourself a favor and see it. I thought this movie was excellent. Very under the radar.

LAC is pretty violent and extremely implausible but it's overall a solid take on the revenge movie genre.

Cool. Good action movies are rare these days, so it's worth the risk to check it out.

 

[SmoovySmoov]

Take some LSD. Otherwise you are going to suffer.

This should be on a shirt, or something.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Take some LSD. Otherwise you are going to suffer.

This should be on a shirt, or something.

Speaking of funny shirts...

 

[Glaven]

I don't know for sure, but maybe repeat viewings would help. I love this movie more now than when I first saw it.

I'm pretty sure watching PT&A is the hardest I've ever laughed in a movie theater. Seeing it in the theater on opening night helped. Being a teenager and a big fan of John Hughes, Steve Martin, and John Candy helped, too. The finish is a bit jarring after how madcap and silly most of the movie was, but it's consistent with Hughes's other work, and IMO finishing the film with one final craziest set piece madness wouldn't have been as good as choice as setting a high value on being home and having a home to go to - it legitimized the stakes for Neal.

Yes. And furthermore, this is a movie that I am so impressed by every time I see it. So many bad comedies are a collection of weak, random funny bits. But Planes has a central, subversive silliness that binds the story together so well.

My biggest gripe with the movie is a nitpick. When the bus transporting Neal and Del to St. Louis gets to downtown STL, it's on a Mississippi river bridge with the Gateway Arch in the background. That is an easy way to establish where the characters are, but the geography is lousy. They were coming from Kansas/western Missouri, which means the bus somehow went around the St. Louis metro and into Illinois on its way to downtown STL, and then up to the north side of town to Lambert Field. Stuff like that shouldn't bother me so much, but it does. I guess since Hughes handled the geographical details well enough for the Griswolds' cross-country drive in Vacation, the botched bus ride in PT&A yanked my chain a little. But if I have to take that scene in order to get Neal's doll-pulling-its-own-string impression, the F-bomb blitzkrieg at the rental car counter, and Del driving while smoking and getting his arms trapped in his sleeves, I'll take the full package gladly.

There was a local guy who grew up in the ghetto here, and he came back to make a semi-autobiographical movie in our city. The movie wasn't very good, but what really stuck out was the characters walked from one spot right to a supposedly adjoining spot. But if you know the city, these two spots are miles apart. It's nitpicky, but it made no sense to pretend these two spots were adjoined.

The old Sergio Leone trick.

 

[jdoggydogg]

There was a local guy who grew up in the ghetto here, and he came back to make a semi-autobiographical movie in our city. The movie wasn't very good, but what really stuck out was the characters walked from one spot right to a supposedly adjoining spot. But if you know the city, these two spots are miles apart. It's nitpicky, but it made no sense to pretend these two spots were adjoined.

The old Sergio Leone trick.

Did he do this a lot? I wasn't aware.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Brooklyn's Finest

Started this last night. I seem to recall some positive reviews for this movie, but so far this a perfunctory police drama with several cliches I've seen before. Does it get better after the first 40 minutes?

What you see is what you get.

Yeah. I have about an hour left, and I am very disappointed.

Oy. What a waste of time. This is the perfect example of a movie where almost everything is in place, but without a good script, the movie is pointless. The actors, sets, art direction are all fine. With movies, story and script are critical. And this script is amateurish.

The script is no doubt underwhelming, but for me the rest of those elements still elevated it to an above average cop drama. I wouldnt say the script is bad per se, but keeping the 3 main storylines separate felt like it was almost forced so there could be the unimpressive colliding stories routine at the end.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Brooklyn's Finest

Started this last night. I seem to recall some positive reviews for this movie, but so far this a perfunctory police drama with several cliches I've seen before. Does it get better after the first 40 minutes?

What you see is what you get.

Yeah. I have about an hour left, and I am very disappointed.

Oy. What a waste of time. This is the perfect example of a movie where almost everything is in place, but without a good script, the movie is pointless. The actors, sets, art direction are all fine. With movies, story and script are critical. And this script is amateurish.

The script is no doubt underwhelming, but for me the rest of those elements still elevated it to an above average cop drama. I wouldnt say the script is bad per se, but keeping the 3 main storylines separate felt like it was almost forced so there could be the unimpressive colliding stories routine at the end.

It's not so much that the movie's awful as it is that the movie should have been a lot better.

 

[Glaven]

There was a local guy who grew up in the ghetto here, and he came back to make a semi-autobiographical movie in our city. The movie wasn't very good, but what really stuck out was the characters walked from one spot right to a supposedly adjoining spot. But if you know the city, these two spots are miles apart. It's nitpicky, but it made no sense to pretend these two spots were adjoined.

The old Sergio Leone trick.

Did he do this a lot? I wasn't aware.

He did it multiple times in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly anyway. Don't know if he did it also in his other films.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Last night I popped in Invasion of the Body Snatchers ('78 version)

Was surprised - this was a damn good movie. Thought I read that the original had a different feel - more political/cold war themed? Loved the ending to this one....

 

[saintfool]

Last night I popped in Invasion of the Body Snatchers ('78 version)

Was surprised - this was a damn good movie. Thought I read that the original had a different feel - more political/cold war themed? Loved the ending to this one....

that's a really fun take on the "body snatchers" premise, i think. abel ferrara - "king of new york" director - did a version of it in the mid-90's that was pretty good, as i recall. meg tilly has this great scene in it.

 

[GoFishTN]

I thought The Spirit looked interesting. I was wrong.

 

[saintfool]

I thought The Spirit looked interesting. I was wrong.

this could rank as one of the bigger movie disappointments in recent memory. i so wanted this to be good and interesting. it's sitting in my queue. i keep pushing it back because i know it's going to suck and yet i still want to see it.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

Frozen River

A tale of mothers and the desperate things they do to keep their families intact. Thanks to those in this thread who recommended this movie. Seriously. This is a beautiful, haunting movie. I loved it. One of the best movies I've seen in years. Some in our society will rail against immigrants for being in this country illegally. But when you are fighting for your family's survival, immigration laws are irrelevant. Brilliant story. Kudos for the casting, as well. Almost every character was pitch perfect.

I agree that it was an excellent, totally believable film.

 

[Wu-banger]

watched "Death At A Funeral" ..........

........ watched Chris Rock , Martin Lawrence, Lukle Wilson, Tracy Morgan and the midget from Elf for two hours and didnt laugh once.

 

[SmoovySmoov]

watched "Death At A Funeral" .................. watched Chris Rock , Martin Lawrence, Lukle Wilson, Tracy Morgan and the midget from Elf for two hours and didnt laugh once.

That's because it's another Americanized version of a good foreign film.

 

[hooter311]

watched "Death At A Funeral" .................. watched Chris Rock , Martin Lawrence, Lukle Wilson, Tracy Morgan and the midget from Elf for two hours and didnt laugh once.

That's because it's another Americanized version of a good foreign film.

The original is hilarious, I still am in awe they would even make this.

 

[Mookie Blaylock]

watched "Death At A Funeral" .................. watched Chris Rock , Martin Lawrence, Lukle Wilson, Tracy Morgan and the midget from Elf for two hours and didnt laugh once.

That's because it's another Americanized version of a good foreign film.

The original is hilarious, I still am in awe they would even make this.

Loved the original. But considering the source, it doesn't surprise me in the least that they re-made this film.

 

[hooter311]

Rock Star

Realized I hadn't seen this when we were discussing Wahlberg films a while back. Not a very good movie, but very entertaining. Nobody but Marky Mark could have pulled off that role better. Garbage, but fun garbage.

3/5

 

[GoFishTN]

I thought The Spirit looked interesting. I was wrong.

this could rank as one of the bigger movie disappointments in recent memory. i so wanted this to be good and interesting. it's sitting in my queue. i keep pushing it back because i know it's going to suck and yet i still want to see it.

I find almost all movies tolerable. This is the first one I've ever rated on Netflix below 3 stars.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

The Spirit was beyond awful

 

[Bojang0301]

The Fly - The more I watch of Cronenberg the more I like his work. He is patient and gruesome all packaged in one bundle. He knows how to create tension and capture human emotion through the gore and violence he creates in his films.

 

[Copeman]

The little woman is home sick today. I told her I'd watch The Bounty Hunter (with Jennifer Aniston) with her tonight to cheer her up. What am I in for? She told me the dude that played in 300 was in it. Are there going to be swords and stuff?

Well I watched it, and while it was pretty bad, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I made it through the whole thing.5.5/10

 

[saintfool]

The Fly - The more I watch of Cronenberg the more I like his work. He is patient and gruesome all packaged in one bundle. He knows how to create tension and capture human emotion through the gore and violence he creates in his films.

so i take it you haven't seen his film "crash" yet?

 

[jdoggydogg]

I thought The Spirit looked interesting. I was wrong.

Nice looking, but I've read enough horrible reviews to stay away from this one.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Frozen River

A tale of mothers and the desperate things they do to keep their families intact. Thanks to those in this thread who recommended this movie. Seriously. This is a beautiful, haunting movie. I loved it. One of the best movies I've seen in years. Some in our society will rail against immigrants for being in this country illegally. But when you are fighting for your family's survival, immigration laws are irrelevant. Brilliant story. Kudos for the casting, as well. Almost every character was pitch perfect.

I agree that it was an excellent, totally believable film.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Rock Star

Realized I hadn't seen this when we were discussing Wahlberg films a while back. Not a very good movie, but very entertaining. Nobody but Marky Mark could have pulled off that role better. Garbage, but fun garbage.

3/5

Very entertaining movie.

 

[jdoggydogg]

The Fly - The more I watch of Cronenberg the more I like his work. He is patient and gruesome all packaged in one bundle. He knows how to create tension and capture human emotion through the gore and violence he creates in his films.

Scanners, Videodrome, Eastern Promises, and A History of Violence are all good - as well.

 

[jdoggydogg]

The Fly - The more I watch of Cronenberg the more I like his work. He is patient and gruesome all packaged in one bundle. He knows how to create tension and capture human emotion through the gore and violence he creates in his films.

so i take it you haven't seen his film "crash" yet?

Crash is really ####ed up. I love it that someone was willing to make that kind of a movie.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

I watched Shutter Island and Chloe recently.

I thought they were both very good, but not great. Shutter Island didn't feel like a Scorcese movie to me, but DiCaprio and Kingsley were both good in it and visually it all looked pretty stunning. Both movies had a pretty good twist in them that I didn't really see coming.

 

[badmojo1006]

Dead Snow, Norwegian film about Nazi zombies and if that isn't a recipe for awesomeness, I don't know what is.

Just watched it. Started slow, but ended great.I was when he went to throw the Molotov out the window, hit the wall and burned down the house

 

[Chaka]

Dead Snow, Norwegian film about Nazi zombies and if that isn't a recipe for awesomeness, I don't know what is.

Just watched it. Started slow, but ended great.I was when he went to throw the Molotov out the window, hit the wall and burned down the house

This was a surprisingly entertaining film. Lots of good comedy.

 

[KGB]

Dead Snow, Norwegian film about Nazi zombies and if that isn't a recipe for awesomeness, I don't know what is.

Just watched it. Started slow, but ended great.I was when he went to throw the Molotov out the window, hit the wall and burned down the house

This was a surprisingly entertaining film. Lots of good comedy.

holy crap, nazi zombies, im in

 

[Chaka]

Dead Snow, Norwegian film about Nazi zombies and if that isn't a recipe for awesomeness, I don't know what is.

Just watched it. Started slow, but ended great.I was when he went to throw the Molotov out the window, hit the wall and burned down the house

This was a surprisingly entertaining film. Lots of good comedy.

holy crap, nazi zombies, im in

Seriously, what's not to love?Although I think they are more appropriately called zombie Nazis.

Reminds me of my favorite McBain movie

 

[KGB]

Dead Snow, Norwegian film about Nazi zombies and if that isn't a recipe for awesomeness, I don't know what is.

Just watched it. Started slow, but ended great.I was when he went to throw the Molotov out the window, hit the wall and burned down the house

This was a surprisingly entertaining film. Lots of good comedy.

holy crap, nazi zombies, im in

Seriously, what's not to love?Although I think they are more appropriately called zombie Nazis.

Reminds me of my favorite McBain movie

I dunno, when me and my kid kill them on COD. We call em nazi zombies. Man, I almost wish there really were nazi zombies, I'd have a blast killin em all.

 

[Glaven]

Saw Darkon yesterday. It's a movie about people who LARP. Pretty entertaining movie, with several hilarious parts, but I think the film could have been even better. For one, the movie was kind of all over the place, but I guess that's what the director was going for. Second, the director elucidated some conflicts that the people had, whether it be in "real-life" or in the "LARP World", and then he never came back to those topics in the rest of the movie. For example, he would show he interviewed one person in "real-life" who had an interesting story, and then not even show that person during the LARP sessions. One guy was somewhat frequently interviewed during the first half of the film, then a conflict arose with his "character" and then he was never shown for the rest of the movie and there was no reason given for this.

Still a fun movie to watch, i'd give it a 7.3333/10

 

[KarmaPolice]

Saw Darkon yesterday. It's a movie about people who LARP. Pretty entertaining movie, with several hilarious parts, but I think the film could have been even better. For one, the movie was kind of all over the place, but I guess that's what the director was going for. Second, the director elucidated some conflicts that the people had, whether it be in "real-life" or in the "LARP World", and then he never came back to those topics in the rest of the movie. For example, he would show he interviewed one person in "real-life" who had an interesting story, and then not even show that person during the LARP sessions. One guy was somewhat frequently interviewed during the first half of the film, then a conflict arose with his "character" and then he was never shown for the rest of the movie and there was no reason given for this.

Still a fun movie to watch, i'd give it a 7.3333/10

WTF is LARP?

 

[videoguy505]

WTF is LARP?

Live Action Role Play. People who put on wizard hats & robes and go out into the woods to play Dungeons & Dragons. A step away from cosplay and furries.

 

[Bojang0301]

The Fly - The more I watch of Cronenberg the more I like his work. He is patient and gruesome all packaged in one bundle. He knows how to create tension and capture human emotion through the gore and violence he creates in his films.

so i take it you haven't seen his film "crash" yet?

I've seen Naked Lunch, Scanners, The Fly, Eastern Promises, A History of Violence... I'm going to watch Extensz (sp?) when I get the chance. Will probably go through a few movies before that. I don't mind that some of his stuff is far out in left field. There always seems a purpose for his gore and it is, IMO, well done in the story it is presented in.

 

[Glaven]

WTF is LARP?

Live Action Role Play. People who put on wizard hats & robes and go out into the woods to play Dungeons & Dragons. A step away from cosplay and furries.

 

[jdoggydogg]

The Fly - The more I watch of Cronenberg the more I like his work. He is patient and gruesome all packaged in one bundle. He knows how to create tension and capture human emotion through the gore and violence he creates in his films.

so i take it you haven't seen his film "crash" yet?

I've seen Naked Lunch, Scanners, The Fly, Eastern Promises, A History of Violence... I'm going to watch Extensz (sp?) when I get the chance. Will probably go through a few movies before that. I don't mind that some of his stuff is far out in left field. There always seems a purpose for his gore and it is, IMO, well done in the story it is presented in.

I don't like Extensz, though many Cronenberg fans do. You must see Videodrome.

 

[hooter311]

The Fly - The more I watch of Cronenberg the more I like his work. He is patient and gruesome all packaged in one bundle. He knows how to create tension and capture human emotion through the gore and violence he creates in his films.

so i take it you haven't seen his film "crash" yet?

I've seen Naked Lunch, Scanners, The Fly, Eastern Promises, A History of Violence... I'm going to watch Extensz (sp?) when I get the chance. Will probably go through a few movies before that. I don't mind that some of his stuff is far out in left field. There always seems a purpose for his gore and it is, IMO, well done in the story it is presented in.

No way could I handle more than one of his entries per month. I watched the Fly recently as well, will wait a while and check out Naked Lunch.

 

[Chaka]

The Fly - The more I watch of Cronenberg the more I like his work. He is patient and gruesome all packaged in one bundle. He knows how to create tension and capture human emotion through the gore and violence he creates in his films.

so i take it you haven't seen his film "crash" yet?

I've seen Naked Lunch, Scanners, The Fly, Eastern Promises, A History of Violence... I'm going to watch Extensz (sp?) when I get the chance. Will probably go through a few movies before that. I don't mind that some of his stuff is far out in left field. There always seems a purpose for his gore and it is, IMO, well done in the story it is presented in.

No way could I handle more than one of his entries per month. I watched the Fly recently as well, will wait a while and check out Naked Lunch.

Don't waste your time with Naked Lunch. It is incomprehensible drivel, so it pretty much does Burroughs perfect justice.I didn't enjoy eXistenZ either, it's amazing to me that it came out the same year as The Matrix but the production values are straight out of 1983.

I need to check out Eastern Promises.

Videodrome is Cronenberg's opus IMO.