Recently viewed movie thread - Rental Edition (4 Viewers)

[oukurt]

Watched a couple tonight to take a break from Marty movies.

The Other Guys was a decent comedy. Laughed out loud a handful of times, but for me it was just a tad too corny for repeated viewings. Falls into the 'would watch a couple more times' category. 6/10

The Town will pop up into my best of 2010 list. I think the comparisons to Heat are justified. It had a similar 'feel' and similar themes. However, it definitely didn't come off as a cheap knock off. I think The Town was more tense and gritty than Heat. One things for sure - Affleck has a damn good start to his directing career with this movie and Gone Baby Gone. (Would like to see him do something outside of his Boston comfort zone though). 8/10

Cool. Looking forward to getting The Town. Just added it to #1 on the Netflix queue.

 

[El Floppo]

Was also surprised to see Kevin Spacey was the "main suspect", had no idea coming in he was in the movie

I believe his name was deliberately left off the opening credits.

Didn't even think about that, but now that you mention it I think you're right in that he wasn't listed in the opening credits. Opening credits were pretty cool also.

Interesting...But at that point, I had never seen or heard of Kevin Spacey- had anybody else? I'm sure he'd been working prior to that, but enough to be a household name? I could be wrong, but I say no. For me, that was his debut- and what a debut.

 

[oukurt]

Whats the FBG take on Crazy Heart the movie Bridges won his oscar for...

Meh.

 

[saintfool]

Was Up in the Air the Clooney/Rittman thing? Pretty ok, IMO, but nothing much more.

i seem to recall the FFA's resident gadfly - Otis? Woz? Lhucks? - treating "up in the air" like it was almost dostoevsky. it struck a chord for him or hit too close to home or some such thing. maybe it was profound for them.

 

[Steelnation]

Winter's Bone

 

[Steelnation]

Wait, you don't find Airplane! funny?

I think I laughed once, but the first time I had ever seen it was about 2 years ago.

You must have zero sense of humor if "I think I laughed once".....

 

[scoobygang]

Ebert's top 10 movies of 2010---

1. The Social Network

2. The King's Speech

3. Black Swan

4. I Am Love

5. Winter's Bone

6. Inception

7. The Secret in Their Eyes

8. The American

9. The Kids Are All Right

10. The Ghost Writer

HERE is the A.V. Club's top movies of the year.

The Kids Are All Right looks terrible. Preachy and agenda-driven. I could be wrong, but I saw that director in an interview and she did not come across very well.

It is neither of those things. I'm not sure it's entirely successful, but it presents the central lesbian couple as an admirably flawed marriage.

 

[Chaka]

Again, I thought it was interesting but not everything people made it out to be. This film has many flaws.

Inception is not perfect - that's for sure. But i think it's a truly original action film that's deftly directed and features a film score for the ages. That's enough of a reason for me to give it high praise.

Is that enough reason to put it at the top of 'Best of the Year' lists? Top 10? For me I don't think so (definitely not #1 which is Winter's Bone for me) but I haven't sat down and tried to rank the films I have seen this year, so perhaps it would make the Top 10 for me.

 

[KarmaPolice]

King of Comedy:

Great movie. Probably my favorite Scorsese movie I've seen now. Lots of dark/uncomfortable humor in this, and esp. love the scene where he's talking to the cardboard cutouts while his mom is yelling at him. Also have to give Scorsese props for:

ALMOST making Sandra Bernhard look doable.



*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***");document.close();

 

[Chaka]

And would someone please explain why if there is no gravity on level one (van chase shootout on the bridge) there cannot be gravity on level two (Gordon Levitt fighting in the hotel), but even if there is no gravity on level one and/or two there can be gravity on level three (the snow fortress fight)? WTF?

And did all the bad guys get their weapons training from COBRA? They couldn't hit the ocean from the beach.

Sure the ending was interesting, but it was pretty much the most obvious ending possible. Is he or isn't he? Ooooooooooo. Well no ####! What other direction would any film director possibly have chosen to go? Ambiguity was really the only option for an ending.
*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***

");document.close();Again, I thought it was interesting but not everything people made it out to be. This film has many flaws.

Wow.Ummmmm...........

Maybe you should understand it a little better before discussing it's many flaws. I'm just talkin here.

Seriously? Edited to remove a smart ### comment.

 

[KarmaPolice]

King of Comedy

Props to jdoggy for giving me I needed to bump this to the top of my queue. For some reason I always thought this was a Jerry Lewis biography. Totally unprepared for another dose of mentally unbalanced DeNiro. Nobody plays psycho quite the same way or quite as effective as DeNiro and sometimes seeing his films now you forget that there was a time that he did load up in the effort department. Great stuff, without having to resort to anything cliched or even graphically violent. I really liked After Hours after seeing it recently, but dangnabit, this just might be better. It just has that little something extra that allows me to call it a classic.

4.5/5

KP, definitely add this to your Scorsese list, especially since you enjoyed After Hours.
*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***");document.close();

I kinda saw it as both - the whole movie was a comment on the fan/celeb dynamic. Ending could be a statement about the media glorifying the stuff. I could see the book deal, etc.. being real but doing the show being in his head. Either way, it's great.



*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***");document.close();

 

[oukurt]

Just watched Law aBiding Citizen - I know it was a bit over the top and got slammed in the reviews but I really dug it.

I liked Law Abiding Citizen as well. I am a sucker for these types of movies. I would recommend Seven Days to you. Same premise. Young daughter is raped and murdered. Obsessed with vengeance, the father concocts a plot to kidnap, torture and execute the man responsible for the crime. Claude Legault is awesome in this. Perhaps not quite torture porn but undeniably torture drama. Delves into some very dark places. However you don't mind going there. More fascinating than anything.Available on Netflix instant.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Again, I thought it was interesting but not everything people made it out to be. This film has many flaws.

Inception is not perfect - that's for sure. But i think it's a truly original action film that's deftly directed and features a film score for the ages. That's enough of a reason for me to give it high praise.

Is that enough reason to put it at the top of 'Best of the Year' lists? Top 10? For me I don't think so (definitely not #1 which is Winter's Bone for me) but I haven't sat down and tried to rank the films I have seen this year, so perhaps it would make the Top 10 for me.

Sure. I agree with jdogg on his reasons, and also give it props for being a 'summer movie' that actually makes you think a little bit. Makes people older than 13 excited to see a summer blockbuster again. I loved the movie. So far I haven't seen many of the 'award' movies, so Inception is in the top 5 by default. Not sure how it will rank after I see the likes of True Grit, Black Swan, The Fighter, etc...

 

[Chaka]

Again, I thought it was interesting but not everything people made it out to be. This film has many flaws.

Inception is not perfect - that's for sure. But i think it's a truly original action film that's deftly directed and features a film score for the ages. That's enough of a reason for me to give it high praise.

I would put Inception at #1 on my list. I agree that some of the rules of the different levels of the dreams seemed a bit inconsistent, but then again so are dreams. However just enjoy it instead of looking for flaws.Also check this link out if you have seen it. It helps ties some lose ends together that you may have missed.

http://screenrant.com/inception-spoilers-d...ion-kofi-68330/

A bit inconsistent? Thanks for the link I'll check it out. I am certain there is plenty I missed in the film, I hope it helps iron it out for me.

 

[Chaka]

Again, I thought it was interesting but not everything people made it out to be. This film has many flaws.

Inception is not perfect - that's for sure. But i think it's a truly original action film that's deftly directed and features a film score for the ages. That's enough of a reason for me to give it high praise.

Is that enough reason to put it at the top of 'Best of the Year' lists? Top 10? For me I don't think so (definitely not #1 which is Winter's Bone for me) but I haven't sat down and tried to rank the films I have seen this year, so perhaps it would make the Top 10 for me.

Sure. I agree with jdogg on his reasons, and also give it props for being a 'summer movie' that actually makes you think a little bit. Makes people older than 13 excited to see a summer blockbuster again. I loved the movie. So far I haven't seen many of the 'award' movies, so Inception is in the top 5 by default. Not sure how it will rank after I see the likes of True Grit, Black Swan, The Fighter, etc...

I found it thought provoking too, it had a great score as well as being visually and stylistically stunning. It might make my Top 10 of the year, like I said I haven't tried to rank all the films I have seen this year.

 

[hooter311]

King of Comedy:

Great movie. Probably my favorite Scorsese movie I've seen now. Lots of dark/uncomfortable humor in this, and esp. love the scene where he's talking to the cardboard cutouts while his mom is yelling at him. Also have to give Scorsese props for:

ALMOST making Sandra Bernhard look doable.
*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***");document.close();

I hope she was at least nominated for best supporting actress that year. Her and DeNiro bickering at each other was money.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Again, I thought it was interesting but not everything people made it out to be. This film has many flaws.

Inception is not perfect - that's for sure. But i think it's a truly original action film that's deftly directed and features a film score for the ages. That's enough of a reason for me to give it high praise.

I would put Inception at #1 on my list. I agree that some of the rules of the different levels of the dreams seemed a bit inconsistent, but then again so are dreams. However just enjoy it instead of looking for flaws.Also check this link out if you have seen it. It helps ties some lose ends together that you may have missed.

http://screenrant.com/inception-spoilers-d...ion-kofi-68330/

A bit inconsistent? *** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***");document.close();Thanks for the link I'll check it out. I am certain there is plenty I missed in the film, I hope it helps iron it out for me.

In the movie did they say that if you died in the dream you die in real life, or did it depend on what level/how deep you were?

 

[El Floppo]

King of Comedy:

Great movie. Probably my favorite Scorsese movie I've seen now. Lots of dark/uncomfortable humor in this, and esp. love the scene where he's talking to the cardboard cutouts while his mom is yelling at him. Also have to give Scorsese props for:

ALMOST making Sandra Bernhard look doable.
*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***

");document.close();

I hope she was at least nominated for best supporting actress that year. Her and DeNiro bickering at each other was money.I kinda hope not- I loved her in this, but she was basically herself (or at least her stage/comedienne persona).Jerry, on the other hand, was flat out brilliant.

 

[El Floppo]

So- interesting, I've been thinking more about WInter's Bone lately- it's stuck with me. Pretty sure I commented that something was missing for me in the movie- a kind of edge related to suspense maybe (it's still not entirely clear to me what was lacking at the time for me, just that I wasn't all googly moogly over it).

But as I reflect- what came up missing for me while watching, actually resonates with me in the reflection. That movie was SOOOO much about real life in a corner of the world... and real life isn't necessarily suspenseful, even when you're in the middle of something important. The film carried the sense of drama (more than suspense... and maybe my connecting to the movie with a "suspense movie" is part of what was missing for me?) over the family situation amazingly well and didn't need any white-knuckled freakouts (even if the lake scene had a lot of cringe/creepy in it).

And hot-damn, it was so well written and performed, let alone directed and especially art-directed (lighting was amazing too in it's naturalness).

 

[El Floppo]

Watched part of The Thin Man last night and recorded it for future watching. Not for people who don't like old movies- a lot of the acting outside of the leads is so very much part of that era's method of delivery (ie: no method). But NIck and Nora are such great characters and funnily/well written and are caustically/drunkenly portrayed so well ( :( Myrna Loy)- fantastic anti-heroes.

One thing I noticed in the filming, the camera didn't do any tracking or even changing of focus. The director would have scenes with actors in different distances from the camera, and the focus would always stay on the lead- even when other actors were talking in the fore or background leaving them completely fuzzed/blurry while Nick or Nora smiled or responded silently in crisp focus.

 

[Gr00vus]

Again, I thought it was interesting but not everything people made it out to be. This film has many flaws.

Inception is not perfect - that's for sure. But i think it's a truly original action film that's deftly directed and features a film score for the ages. That's enough of a reason for me to give it high praise.

Is that enough reason to put it at the top of 'Best of the Year' lists? Top 10? For me I don't think so (definitely not #1 which is Winter's Bone for me) but I haven't sat down and tried to rank the films I have seen this year, so perhaps it would make the Top 10 for me.

Sure. I agree with jdogg on his reasons, and also give it props for being a 'summer movie' that actually makes you think a little bit. Makes people older than 13 excited to see a summer blockbuster again. I loved the movie. So far I haven't seen many of the 'award' movies, so Inception is in the top 5 by default. Not sure how it will rank after I see the likes of True Grit, Black Swan, The Fighter, etc...

I found it thought provoking too, it had a great score as well as being visually and stylistically stunning. It might make my Top 10 of the year, like I said I haven't tried to rank all the films I have seen this year.

I'm with Chaka on this one. Great visuals/audio, which covers up some pretty glaring holes in the premise/plot. I had a hard time getting on board with how what they were doing was even possible, they didn't really bother to explain it, just offer it as granted. Eventually the whole "what's real/what's dream" wasn't really compelling and it devolved into action sequences for the sake of action sequences - which were rendered spectacularly - leaving me to feel they could have done somewhat better if they had found other things to explore in these dream states than straight up violence.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I'm with Chaka on this one. Great visuals/audio, which covers up some pretty glaring holes in the premise/plot. I had a hard time getting on board with how what they were doing was even possible, they didn't really bother to explain it, just offer it as granted. Eventually the whole "what's real/what's dream" wasn't really compelling and it devolved into action sequences for the sake of action sequences - which were rendered spectacularly - leaving me to feel they could have done somewhat better if they had found other things to explore in these dream states than straight up violence.

Thought the premise was that the subconscious will react when it knows people are ####### with it - hence the action scenes. Not a matter of not having anything better to do during the dream state, as the premise was to have somebody construct a dream well enough so they could get in and out without being found out/killed.ETA: I don't think that people who love the movie are saying that it's without flaws.

 

[Gr00vus]

I'm with Chaka on this one. Great visuals/audio, which covers up some pretty glaring holes in the premise/plot. I had a hard time getting on board with how what they were doing was even possible, they didn't really bother to explain it, just offer it as granted. Eventually the whole "what's real/what's dream" wasn't really compelling and it devolved into action sequences for the sake of action sequences - which were rendered spectacularly - leaving me to feel they could have done somewhat better if they had found other things to explore in these dream states than straight up violence.

Thought the premise was that the subconscious will react when it knows people are ####### with it - hence the action scenes. Not a matter of not having anything better to do during the dream state, as the premise was to have somebody construct a dream well enough so they could get in and out without being found out/killed.ETA: I don't think that people who love the movie are saying that it's without flaws.

React doesn't necessarily have to mean outright physical violence with guns, fist fights, explosions, etc. - dreams are actually pretty subtle and indirect things much of the time, yet they completely forgo that, let alone having everyone's subconscious react pretty much the same way each time.

 

[saintfool]

Watched part of The Thin Man last night and recorded it for future watching. Not for people who don't like old movies- a lot of the acting outside of the leads is so very much part of that era's method of delivery (ie: no method). But NIck and Nora are such great characters and funnily/well written and are caustically/drunkenly portrayed so well ( Myrna Loy)- fantastic anti-heroes.One thing I noticed in the filming, the camera didn't do any tracking or even changing of focus. The director would have scenes with actors in different distances from the camera, and the focus would always stay on the lead- even when other actors were talking in the fore or background leaving them completely fuzzed/blurry while Nick or Nora smiled or responded silently in crisp focus.

those are some of my favorite classic movies. they're just fun to watch. powell and loy have crackerjack comic timing.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

Was Up in the Air the Clooney/Rittman thing? Pretty ok, IMO, but nothing much more.

i seem to recall the FFA's resident gadfly - Otis? Woz? Lhucks? - treating "up in the air" like it was almost dostoevsky. it struck a chord for him or hit too close to home or some such thing. maybe it was profound for them.

I watched this on HBO late one night. About the only thing I can say positive about it was that it didn't put me to sleep. Although it was close. I don't understand any love for the movie at all. The better movie would have been to make it his sister's character flying around the world taking the pictures for the wedding, or even him doing it for her without all the job market love story crap that was unentertaining. I wouldn't even give it a 1/5.

 

[saintfool]

Was Up in the Air the Clooney/Rittman thing? Pretty ok, IMO, but nothing much more.

i seem to recall the FFA's resident gadfly - Otis? Woz? Lhucks? - treating "up in the air" like it was almost dostoevsky. it struck a chord for him or hit too close to home or some such thing. maybe it was profound for them.

I watched this on HBO late one night. About the only thing I can say positive about it was that it didn't put me to sleep. Although it was close. I don't understand any love for the movie at all. The better movie would have been to make it his sister's character flying around the world taking the pictures for the wedding, or even him doing it for her without all the job market love story crap that was unentertaining. I wouldn't even give it a 1/5.

Guess the FBG:

Just watched this movie, and holy crap it's the best movie I've seen in a long time. We've got a bunch of morons over in the Avatar cartoon thread raving about what a "great movie" it is. This was a great, great movie. Awesome acting, awesome dialogue, awesome script, awesome story. Fiance and I both absolutely loved it. This is what filmmaking is about. James Cameron can take his special effects and sinking ships and blockbusters. I'll take this every day of the week.

Loved it.

 

[hooter311]

Was Up in the Air the Clooney/Rittman thing? Pretty ok, IMO, but nothing much more.

i seem to recall the FFA's resident gadfly - Otis? Woz? Lhucks? - treating "up in the air" like it was almost dostoevsky. it struck a chord for him or hit too close to home or some such thing. maybe it was profound for them.

I watched this on HBO late one night. About the only thing I can say positive about it was that it didn't put me to sleep. Although it was close. I don't understand any love for the movie at all. The better movie would have been to make it his sister's character flying around the world taking the pictures for the wedding, or even him doing it for her without all the job market love story crap that was unentertaining. I wouldn't even give it a 1/5.

Come on, it wasn't a bad film. You just probably have to be or have been corporate scum to be able to relate to it on any level. I enjoyed it, but it wouldn't be on my "best of" lists.

Speaking as corporate scum here.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Guess the FBG:

Just watched this movie, and holy crap it's the best movie I've seen in a long time. We've got a bunch of morons over in the Avatar cartoon thread raving about what a "great movie" it is. This was a great, great movie. Awesome acting, awesome dialogue, awesome script, awesome story. Fiance and I both absolutely loved it. This is what filmmaking is about. James Cameron can take his special effects and sinking ships and blockbusters. I'll take this every day of the week.Loved it.

Either Krista or Tim.

 

[hooter311]

Guess the FBG:

Just watched this movie, and holy crap it's the best movie I've seen in a long time. We've got a bunch of morons over in the Avatar cartoon thread raving about what a "great movie" it is. This was a great, great movie. Awesome acting, awesome dialogue, awesome script, awesome story. Fiance and I both absolutely loved it. This is what filmmaking is about. James Cameron can take his special effects and sinking ships and blockbusters. I'll take this every day of the week.Loved it.

Either Krista or Tim.

Definitely Mr. Pac10 chucklehead himself.

 

[saintfool]

Guess the FBG:

Just watched this movie, and holy crap it's the best movie I've seen in a long time. We've got a bunch of morons over in the Avatar cartoon thread raving about what a "great movie" it is. This was a great, great movie. Awesome acting, awesome dialogue, awesome script, awesome story. Fiance and I both absolutely loved it. This is what filmmaking is about. James Cameron can take his special effects and sinking ships and blockbusters. I'll take this every day of the week.Loved it.

Either Krista or Tim.

definitely not K4. tim is a good guess, just by sheer volume of posts alone he would be a likely guess.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I'm with Chaka on this one. Great visuals/audio, which covers up some pretty glaring holes in the premise/plot. I had a hard time getting on board with how what they were doing was even possible, they didn't really bother to explain it, just offer it as granted. Eventually the whole "what's real/what's dream" wasn't really compelling and it devolved into action sequences for the sake of action sequences - which were rendered spectacularly - leaving me to feel they could have done somewhat better if they had found other things to explore in these dream states than straight up violence.

Thought the premise was that the subconscious will react when it knows people are ####### with it - hence the action scenes. Not a matter of not having anything better to do during the dream state, as the premise was to have somebody construct a dream well enough so they could get in and out without being found out/killed.

ETA: I don't think that people who love the movie are saying that it's without flaws.

React doesn't necessarily have to mean outright physical violence with guns, fist fights, explosions, etc. - dreams are actually pretty subtle and indirect things much of the time, yet they completely forgo that, let alone having everyone's subconscious react pretty much the same way each time.

You'd hate to be in my head at night.

 

[El Floppo]

Guess the FBG:

Just watched this movie, and holy crap it's the best movie I've seen in a long time. We've got a bunch of morons over in the Avatar cartoon thread raving about what a "great movie" it is. This was a great, great movie. Awesome acting, awesome dialogue, awesome script, awesome story. Fiance and I both absolutely loved it. This is what filmmaking is about. James Cameron can take his special effects and sinking ships and blockbusters. I'll take this every day of the week.Loved it.

Either Krista or Tim.

definitely not K4. tim is a good guess, just by sheer volume of posts alone he would be a likely guess.

Hmmmm... I'd give the "holy crap..best movie" to LHUCKS, along with the litany of "awesomes". Fiance and Cameron/blockbuster (by association, mass-america) disgust I'd give to Otis. Is there an L'Hotis?

 

[SmoovySmoov]

Again, I thought it was interesting but not everything people made it out to be. This film has many flaws.

Inception is not perfect - that's for sure. But i think it's a truly original action film that's deftly directed and features a film score for the ages. That's enough of a reason for me to give it high praise.

I would put Inception at #1 on my list. I agree that some of the rules of the different levels of the dreams seemed a bit inconsistent, but then again so are dreams. However just enjoy it instead of looking for flaws.Also check this link out if you have seen it. It helps ties some lose ends together that you may have missed.

http://screenrant.com/inception-spoilers-d...ion-kofi-68330/

A bit inconsistent? *** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***

");document.close();Thanks for the link I'll check it out. I am certain there is plenty I missed in the film, I hope it helps iron it out for me.

In the movie did they say that if you died in the dream you die in real life, or did it depend on what level/how deep you were?

No, you go up a level.(edit to remove sarcastic remark)

 

[El Floppo]

Guess the FBG:

Just watched this movie, and holy crap it's the best movie I've seen in a long time. We've got a bunch of morons over in the Avatar cartoon thread raving about what a "great movie" it is. This was a great, great movie. Awesome acting, awesome dialogue, awesome script, awesome story. Fiance and I both absolutely loved it. This is what filmmaking is about. James Cameron can take his special effects and sinking ships and blockbusters. I'll take this every day of the week.Loved it.

Either Krista or Tim.

definitely not K4. tim is a good guess, just by sheer volume of posts alone he would be a likely guess.

Hmmmm... I'd give the "holy crap..best movie" to LHUCKS, along with the litany of "awesomes". Fiance and Cameron/blockbuster (by association, mass-america) disgust I'd give to Otis. Is there an L'Hotis?

I hope to #### that it wasn't me

 

[saintfool]

Hmmmm... I'd give the "holy crap..best movie" to LHUCKS, along with the litany of "awesomes". Fiance and Cameron/blockbuster (by association, mass-america) disgust I'd give to Otis. Is there an L'Hotis?

Bingo!I might have overstated O's affection for it (and for that apologize) but many people found it borderline profound.

 

[TylerRoseFan]

The Other Guys was a decent comedy. Laughed out loud a handful of times, but for me it was just a tad too corny for repeated viewings. Falls into the 'would watch a couple more times' category. 6/10

Didn't like it very well. 3/10

Saw it last night. Several great moments. However, it just kinda dragged on. It's the last time I'll see it. 2/5

 

[TylerRoseFan]

A Serious Man

Wow, the pressure this guy was under was palpable. Very well done. Enjoyable. Ending was shocker. Even though it was very well done, I'll not watch it again. 3.5/5

 

[Chaka]

I'm with Chaka on this one. Great visuals/audio, which covers up some pretty glaring holes in the premise/plot. I had a hard time getting on board with how what they were doing was even possible, they didn't really bother to explain it, just offer it as granted. Eventually the whole "what's real/what's dream" wasn't really compelling and it devolved into action sequences for the sake of action sequences - which were rendered spectacularly - leaving me to feel they could have done somewhat better if they had found other things to explore in these dream states than straight up violence.

This didn't bother me so much. It's typical to use a MacGuffin to get a story moving.It's like a warp engine or a transporter beam, doesn't matter how it works so long as it gets the job done.

 

[Chaka]

I'm with Chaka on this one. Great visuals/audio, which covers up some pretty glaring holes in the premise/plot. I had a hard time getting on board with how what they were doing was even possible, they didn't really bother to explain it, just offer it as granted. Eventually the whole "what's real/what's dream" wasn't really compelling and it devolved into action sequences for the sake of action sequences - which were rendered spectacularly - leaving me to feel they could have done somewhat better if they had found other things to explore in these dream states than straight up violence.

Thought the premise was that the subconscious will react when it knows people are ####### with it - hence the action scenes. Not a matter of not having anything better to do during the dream state, as the premise was to have somebody construct a dream well enough so they could get in and out without being found out/killed.ETA: I don't think that people who love the movie are saying that it's without flaws.

The subconsicous reacts, fortunately for the protagonists they shoot like reject bad guys from an A-Team episode.

 

[Time Kibitzer]

Was also surprised to see Kevin Spacey was the "main suspect", had no idea coming in he was in the movie

I believe his name was deliberately left off the opening credits.

Didn't even think about that, but now that you mention it I think you're right in that he wasn't listed in the opening credits. Opening credits were pretty cool also.

Interesting...But at that point, I had never seen or heard of Kevin Spacey- had anybody else? I'm sure he'd been working prior to that, but enough to be a household name? I could be wrong, but I say no. For me, that was his debut- and what a debut.

Yah it looks like you are correct. Looking at Spacey's filmography prior to Se7en, there isn't much there (although he was in Glengarry Glen Ross, but I haven't seen that movie and don't know how prominent his role in that film was). Because of that, the surprise/shock value of seeing Spacey as the "main suspect" probably was far less back in 1995 when the movie came out then if you saw it for the first time these days. Because of that, it's somewhat odd that Spacey was completely left out of the opening credits, but was the first name listed and it had the whole screen to itself at the beginning of the end credits.

 

[Gr00vus]

I'm with Chaka on this one. Great visuals/audio, which covers up some pretty glaring holes in the premise/plot. I had a hard time getting on board with how what they were doing was even possible, they didn't really bother to explain it, just offer it as granted. Eventually the whole "what's real/what's dream" wasn't really compelling and it devolved into action sequences for the sake of action sequences - which were rendered spectacularly - leaving me to feel they could have done somewhat better if they had found other things to explore in these dream states than straight up violence.

This didn't bother me so much. It's typical to use a MacGuffin to get a story moving.It's like a warp engine or a transporter beam, doesn't matter how it works so long as it gets the job done.

I'm familiar with MacGuffins, and can accept them much of the time.I put it aside for the most part when watching the film, but it did leave me unsatisfied when it was all said and done, probably because this particular MacGuffin was much more intimately involved in the premise and plot than most.

 

[hooter311]

Was also surprised to see Kevin Spacey was the "main suspect", had no idea coming in he was in the movie

I believe his name was deliberately left off the opening credits.

Didn't even think about that, but now that you mention it I think you're right in that he wasn't listed in the opening credits. Opening credits were pretty cool also.

Interesting...But at that point, I had never seen or heard of Kevin Spacey- had anybody else? I'm sure he'd been working prior to that, but enough to be a household name? I could be wrong, but I say no. For me, that was his debut- and what a debut.

Yah it looks like you are correct. Looking at Spacey's filmography prior to Se7en, there isn't much there (although he was in Glengarry Glen Ross, but I haven't seen that movie and don't know how prominent his role in that film was). Because of that, the surprise/shock value of seeing Spacey as the "main suspect" probably was far less back in 1995 when the movie came out then if you saw it for the first time these days. Because of that, it's somewhat odd that Spacey was completely left out of the opening credits, but was the first name listed and it had the whole screen to itself at the beginning of the end credits.

Since he plays "John Doe", he probably didn't want to take any of the pre-marketing focus away from Pitt or Freeman. He was still big enough at the time for it to be a surprise to the audience, especially since he had done more comedies and what not before that role.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

I'm with Chaka on this one. Great visuals/audio, which covers up some pretty glaring holes in the premise/plot. I had a hard time getting on board with how what they were doing was even possible, they didn't really bother to explain it, just offer it as granted. Eventually the whole "what's real/what's dream" wasn't really compelling and it devolved into action sequences for the sake of action sequences - which were rendered spectacularly - leaving me to feel they could have done somewhat better if they had found other things to explore in these dream states than straight up violence.

This didn't bother me so much. It's typical to use a MacGuffin to get a story moving.It's like a warp engine or a transporter beam, doesn't matter how it works so long as it gets the job done.

I'm familiar with MacGuffins, and can accept them much of the time.I put it aside for the most part when watching the film, but it did leave me unsatisfied when it was all said and done, probably because this particular MacGuffin was much more intimately involved in the premise and plot than most.

About the same problem that people had with Vanilla Sky. You either accept the premise or not.

 

[krista4]

Guess the FBG:

Just watched this movie, and holy crap it's the best movie I've seen in a long time. We've got a bunch of morons over in the Avatar cartoon thread raving about what a "great movie" it is. This was a great, great movie. Awesome acting, awesome dialogue, awesome script, awesome story. Fiance and I both absolutely loved it. This is what filmmaking is about. James Cameron can take his special effects and sinking ships and blockbusters. I'll take this every day of the week.Loved it.

Either Krista or Tim.

Wow, read this thread much? Not even close.My guess is Otis, based on the "holy crap" line, though I'm surprised he wouldn't have called them "chuckleheads" rather than "morons".

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Guess the FBG:

Just watched this movie, and holy crap it's the best movie I've seen in a long time. We've got a bunch of morons over in the Avatar cartoon thread raving about what a "great movie" it is. This was a great, great movie. Awesome acting, awesome dialogue, awesome script, awesome story. Fiance and I both absolutely loved it. This is what filmmaking is about. James Cameron can take his special effects and sinking ships and blockbusters. I'll take this every day of the week.Loved it.

Either Krista or Tim.

Wow, read this thread much? Not even close.My guess is Otis, based on the "holy crap" line, though I'm surprised he wouldn't have called them "chuckleheads" rather than "morons".

 

[krista4]

Guess the FBG:

Just watched this movie, and holy crap it's the best movie I've seen in a long time. We've got a bunch of morons over in the Avatar cartoon thread raving about what a "great movie" it is. This was a great, great movie. Awesome acting, awesome dialogue, awesome script, awesome story. Fiance and I both absolutely loved it. This is what filmmaking is about. James Cameron can take his special effects and sinking ships and blockbusters. I'll take this every day of the week.Loved it.

Either Krista or Tim.

Wow, read this thread much? Not even close.My guess is Otis, based on the "holy crap" line, though I'm surprised he wouldn't have called them "chuckleheads" rather than "morons".

 

[RudiStein]

I know I'm late to the party but just watched "A Serious Man".

What was that crap?

 

[jeter23]

How about top 5 movies with a surprise ending?

I think all of mine would be fairly recent.

1. The Usual Suspects

2. Primal Fear

3. The Prestige

4. Se7en

5. The Game

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Sixth Sense

Fight Club

Usual Suspects

Planet Of The Apes

Empire Strikes Back

6. Frailty

 

[bryhamm]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned in this thread (can't search for 3 letter words), but I saw The Box last night. Didn't like it very much at all. Combination of moving along way to slow for my tastes and the whole story not being what I expected, and not in a good way.

3/10