Recently viewed movie thread - Rental Edition (5 Viewers)

[Osaurus]

Transformers 3. Had a bunch of time to kill (see GMTAN post) and this movie time-wise was perfect. Holy #### this movie is long. Saw most of the first, could not watch more than 10 minutes of the second one, and this one was the best of the lot. I like the casual references to Megan Fox sprinkled in for good measure. Totally what I expected it would be except for Patrick Dempsey who does tool very well. 3/5

 

[wikkidpissah]

Animal Kingdom - Excellent conception, muddy execution. Even though there was a lot more plotting in this than the film I reviled here a coupla wks ago (Blue Valentine), I had much the same problem with it. The director chose to portray the messiness of crim life by making the dramatics equally messy. I know i'm an old fart for requiring highly-conceived structure & dialogue when so many appear to have embraced naturalism and organic performance in place of classic forms, but i cant let go of the feeling that "behavior" is the job of actors & "perspective" is the job of writers & directors and that no movie is complete without both. I fear it all is starting to pass me by, but it still stinks of laziness to me.

That could be why i spent most of the 2nd half thinking what a wonderful premise for a play this would be. SPOILER - A teen orphaned into having to board at the home/headquarters of a crime family, with the story of the demise of the enterprise told by the comings & goings of cops & robbers from the house. When the innocent witnesses too much of the guilty, the family is forced to wonder if the "thickness" of blood is diluted by generation. Arthur Miller meets The Godfather. Not a doubt in my mind that Mama Smurf (matriarch of the family, slipperily played by Oscar-nominated Jacki Weaver) could be as great a character as Willie Loman or Blanche DuBois in the hands of the right playwright.

Anyway, much good movie-making up in here, if not particularly my kind. 3.2/5

 

[saintfool]

coen bros telling of "true grit" tonight was a bit of a disappointment. the better coen works have complex relationships, plotting and rich characters to go along with great cinematography. this is one of their lesser works. this was a rather soulless affair reeally and especially so from their regular cinematographer, roger deakins. it was like he and the coens had some disconnect.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Limitless:

This is what you get when you have a limited imagination and do a movie about a super cool drug that lets you do just about anything you want. Bradley Cooper plays a bum writer who happens to run into his ex-brother in law who just happens to be in possession of a super drug that unlocks all of your brains power. (why wasn't he taking it himself or hoarding it for himself?). Now what would you do if you had this drug?

Spoiler

Probably not write your book in 4 days and become a day trader working for the man who also has to borrow money from Russian gangsters for some reason. (if I a thinking correctly, he would have made the money he was borrowing in the 2 days that he took to borrow the money).

And that's what this dumb character does. Mix that in with some nauseating camera work and goofy subplots about others on the drug and you get a movie that I was glad came to an end. Completely average. I didn't like it, but made it through the movie. 4/10

 

[El Floppo]

Going to take Jr to see his first movie (in a theater) in a couple of hours- Winnie the Pooh.

I hear it's getting good reviews.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Going to take Jr to see his first movie (in a theater) in a couple of hours- Winnie the Pooh. I hear it's getting good reviews.

Yikes. Raining here, so we might be hitting the theater soon too. The boy wants to see Cars 2.

 

[El Floppo]

Going to take Jr to see his first movie (in a theater) in a couple of hours- Winnie the Pooh. I hear it's getting good reviews.

Yikes. Raining here, so we might be hitting the theater soon too. The boy wants to see Cars 2.

I thought we'd be seeing that one too... but kinda glad the wife picked Pooh.

 

[wikkidpissah]

Going to take Jr to see his first movie (in a theater) in a couple of hours- Winnie the Pooh. I hear it's getting good reviews.

Cant believe the subject of those first-day-home photos you sent out backinaday is old enough to go to the picture show. I know who'll be watching a face more often than the screen. It'll be the better show fo sho - enjoy.

 

[krista4]

Agreed. Has there been any other 'reboots' that have come out where the original director was the one directing the update?

not exactly reboots, as they were never franchise films but both "the vanishing" and "funny games" were redone for hollywood by their original directors.

Didn't know that. Have seen the originals of both (and The Vanishing is probably my favorite creepy movie), but not the remake of either. Considering I liked both a lot, I'll probably just stick with the originals.

 

[krista4]

Going to take Jr to see his first movie (in a theater) in a couple of hours- Winnie the Pooh. I hear it's getting good reviews.

I'd like to see it.

 

[El Floppo]

Going to take Jr to see his first movie (in a theater) in a couple of hours- Winnie the Pooh. I hear it's getting good reviews.

Cant believe the subject of those first-day-home photos you sent out backinaday is old enough to go to the picture show. I know who'll be watching a face more often than the screen. It'll be the better show fo sho - enjoy.

Sorry to pack on the years, gb dale, but he just turned 4.And you were DEAD ON- I have no idea what the movie was about, but bub seemed to enjoy it (and I DID love watching him enjoy it).

 

[jdoggydogg]

Going to take Jr to see his first movie (in a theater) in a couple of hours- Winnie the Pooh. I hear it's getting good reviews.

Yikes. Raining here, so we might be hitting the theater soon too. The boy wants to see Cars 2.

I'll be taking my son to this soon.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

Animal Kingdom - Excellent conception, muddy execution. Even though there was a lot more plotting in this than the film I reviled here a coupla wks ago (Blue Valentine), I had much the same problem with it. The director chose to portray the messiness of crim life by making the dramatics equally messy. I know i'm an old fart for requiring highly-conceived structure & dialogue when so many appear to have embraced naturalism and organic performance in place of classic forms, but i cant let go of the feeling that "behavior" is the job of actors & "perspective" is the job of writers & directors and that no movie is complete without both. I fear it all is starting to pass me by, but it still stinks of laziness to me.

That could be why i spent most of the 2nd half thinking what a wonderful premise for a play this would be. SPOILER - A teen orphaned into having to board at the home/headquarters of a crime family, with the story of the demise of the enterprise told by the comings & goings of cops & robbers from the house. When the innocent witnesses too much of the guilty, the family is forced to wonder if the "thickness" of blood is diluted by generation. Arthur Miller meets The Godfather. Not a doubt in my mind that Mama Smurf (matriarch of the family, slipperily played by Oscar-nominated Jacki Weaver) could be as great a character as Willie Loman or Blanche DuBois in the hands of the right playwright.

Anyway, much good movie-making up in here, if not particularly my kind. 3.2/5

I liked it more than you. I thought it's ability to give you a first hand, realistic feeling of the lifestyle was excellent and had me on the edge of my seat.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Animal Kingdom - Excellent conception, muddy execution. Even though there was a lot more plotting in this than the film I reviled here a coupla wks ago (Blue Valentine), I had much the same problem with it. The director chose to portray the messiness of crim life by making the dramatics equally messy. I know i'm an old fart for requiring highly-conceived structure & dialogue when so many appear to have embraced naturalism and organic performance in place of classic forms, but i cant let go of the feeling that "behavior" is the job of actors & "perspective" is the job of writers & directors and that no movie is complete without both. I fear it all is starting to pass me by, but it still stinks of laziness to me.

That could be why i spent most of the 2nd half thinking what a wonderful premise for a play this would be. SPOILER - A teen orphaned into having to board at the home/headquarters of a crime family, with the story of the demise of the enterprise told by the comings & goings of cops & robbers from the house. When the innocent witnesses too much of the guilty, the family is forced to wonder if the "thickness" of blood is diluted by generation. Arthur Miller meets The Godfather. Not a doubt in my mind that Mama Smurf (matriarch of the family, slipperily played by Oscar-nominated Jacki Weaver) could be as great a character as Willie Loman or Blanche DuBois in the hands of the right playwright.

Anyway, much good movie-making up in here, if not particularly my kind. 3.2/5

I liked it more than you. I thought it's ability to give you a first hand, realistic feeling of the lifestyle was excellent and had me on the edge of my seat.

I liked it a lot. Very different in tonality than a lot of gangster movies.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Going to take Jr to see his first movie (in a theater) in a couple of hours- Winnie the Pooh. I hear it's getting good reviews.

Yikes. Raining here, so we might be hitting the theater soon too. The boy wants to see Cars 2.

I'll be taking my son to this soon.

Well, it took 10+ movies but Pixar managed to put out a movie I have 0 desire to watch again.

 

[JOBOOZOSO]

I watched Inception. Best thing about the movie is inspired the South Park spoof Insheeption.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Rufus Sewell (a personal favorite) is starring in a new Masterpiece Mystery on PBS starting Sunday night called Zen. He is a detective in Rome. Show has gotten very good reviews.

Exxxxcellent. A month of Poirots/Marples has had me yearning for class warfare. I think Zen is a DaVinciCode-ish thing - Blighty was as excited about it as Sherlock, if i recall. Of course they were all abuzz about last summer's Kenneth Branagh Swedish mysteries and they turned out to be a snoregasbored. Something to break the summer viewing tedium anyway (although Animal Kingdom FINALLY became available on my RedBox - a report on that tonite).

Is Sewell the recurring lead of this show or just the star of the pilot? Cant tell from imdb

 

[Kenny Powers]

Transformers 3. Had a bunch of time to kill (see GMTAN post) and this movie time-wise was perfect. Holy #### this movie is long. Saw most of the first, could not watch more than 10 minutes of the second one, and this one was the best of the lot. I like the casual references to Megan Fox sprinkled in for good measure. Totally what I expected it would be except for Patrick Dempsey who does tool very well. 3/5

Good to know. As someone who loved Transformers growing up (right there with GI Joe, Ghostbusters, and TMNT for me), I liked the first one a lot for what it was. 2nd one was an abortion. This at least has me interested now.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Going to take Jr to see his first movie (in a theater) in a couple of hours- Winnie the Pooh. I hear it's getting good reviews.

Yikes. Raining here, so we might be hitting the theater soon too. The boy wants to see Cars 2.

I'll be taking my son to this soon.

Well, it took 10+ movies but Pixar managed to put out a movie I have 0 desire to watch again.

Doh. Too bad. I think my son's going to love it, though.

 

[Kenny Powers]

coen bros telling of "true grit" tonight was a bit of a disappointment. the better coen works have complex relationships, plotting and rich characters to go along with great cinematography. this is one of their lesser works. this was a rather soulless affair reeally and especially so from their regular cinematographer, roger deakins. it was like he and the coens had some disconnect.

Pretty much agree with all of this. I saw the original after seeing this, and while I certainly found the remake more interesting, the girl is to overbearing in the Coen's version. I wouldnt disagree its a good performance, but she takes it a little to far. Still good dialogue overall though. Considering this was a Coen's western just a few years removed from NCFOM, I was definitely disappointed.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Going to take Jr to see his first movie (in a theater) in a couple of hours- Winnie the Pooh.

I hear it's getting good reviews.

Yikes. Raining here, so we might be hitting the theater soon too. The boy wants to see Cars 2.

I'll be taking my son to this soon.

Well, it took 10+ movies but Pixar managed to put out a movie I have 0 desire to watch again.

I think their 2012 release
will right the ship.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

Rufus Sewell (a personal favorite) is starring in a new Masterpiece Mystery on PBS starting Sunday night called Zen. He is a detective in Rome. Show has gotten very good reviews.

Exxxxcellent. A month of Poirots/Marples has had me yearning for class warfare. I think Zen is a DaVinciCode-ish thing - Blighty was as excited about it as Sherlock, if i recall. Of course they were all abuzz about last summer's Kenneth Branagh Swedish mysteries and they turned out to be a snoregasbored. Something to break the summer viewing tedium anyway (although Animal Kingdom FINALLY became available on my RedBox - a report on that tonite).

Is Sewell the recurring lead of this show or just the star of the pilot? Cant tell from imdb

He's the title xcharacter. Think it's a 3 week run.

 

[El Floppo]

Going to take Jr to see his first movie (in a theater) in a couple of hours- Winnie the Pooh. I hear it's getting good reviews.

Yikes. Raining here, so we might be hitting the theater soon too. The boy wants to see Cars 2.

I'll be taking my son to this soon.

Well, it took 10+ movies but Pixar managed to put out a movie I have 0 desire to watch again.

Did the kids like it at least?I think mine would've preferred it at this point. Pooh was cute, and I know he enjoyed the experience, but he'd be much more interested in something a bit racier at this point. Might do Rocky Horror later tonight.

 

[beer 30]

Went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II tonight. Nice wrap up to the story, good flick. Everything part I wasn't, part II was.

Saw the trailer for the new Sherlock Holmes flick, enjoyed the first one, second one looks just as good but what has got me absolutely geeked is Cowboys & Aliens. I can not wait for this movie to come out

 

[Chaka]

Going to take Jr to see his first movie (in a theater) in a couple of hours- Winnie the Pooh. I hear it's getting good reviews.

Yikes. Raining here, so we might be hitting the theater soon too. The boy wants to see Cars 2.

I'll be taking my son to this soon.

Well, it took 10+ movies but Pixar managed to put out a movie I have 0 desire to watch again.

Doh. Too bad. I think my son's going to love it, though.

Cars 2 was meh but the kids will enjoy it.

 

[Chaka]

PSA for those with kids: A friend of mine went to Harry Potter and their seven year old (girl) had problems with the violence and they had to leave early.

 

[jdoggydogg]

PSA for those with kids: A friend of mine went to Harry Potter and their seven year old (girl) had problems with the violence and they had to leave early.

Yeah, the last few Potters seem a bit much for a 7 year old.

 

[bosoxs45]

Any thoughts on the uk series Misfits?

 

[KarmaPolice]

Going to take Jr to see his first movie (in a theater) in a couple of hours- Winnie the Pooh. I hear it's getting good reviews.

Yikes. Raining here, so we might be hitting the theater soon too. The boy wants to see Cars 2.

I'll be taking my son to this soon.

Well, it took 10+ movies but Pixar managed to put out a movie I have 0 desire to watch again.

Did the kids like it at least?I think mine would've preferred it at this point. Pooh was cute, and I know he enjoyed the experience, but he'd be much more interested in something a bit racier at this point. Might do Rocky Horror later tonight.

Yeah, the kid liked it to a point. Lost interest as soon as he inhaled all the popcorn, but still laughed quite a bit a couple of times such as when the cars were doing karate, and during the last action scene.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Watched a couple of average comedies last night.



Take Me Home Tonight:

I think it was supposed to the rom-com that sent everybody back to the glory years of the 80s. Problem is, it's just an average teen hook-up movie that happens to use the 80s as a bad set piece instead of being a good throw back to that time. Stars Topher Grace as the geeky kid (I guess adult) who didn't do anything with his life and is still pining for the hot girl he almost kissed 7 years before. Of course she is back in town, of course there is a party, of course there is an annoying friend to tag along to the party, and of course they are going to try to hook up. Completely average, and now I know why I don't remember seeing many trailers for it when it came out. 5/10

Peep World:

Little bit above average dark comedy about a family who's youngest sibling writes a tell-all book about the family without their knowledge. The dysfunctional family gets together for a birthday party and have to deal with each other again. Was hoping for more with the cast - Rainn Wilson, Sarah Silverman, Micheal C. Hall, Judy Greer, etc.. Had a couple laughs, but wasn't much more than 'ok'. 6/10.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Gladiator

Big fan of this movie.

 

[wikkidpissah]

Gladiator

Big fan of this movie.

i wish i was in the mood for a fight, cuz this would do it. maybe tomorrow.

 

[Anonymous Internet User]

Gladiator

Big fan of this movie.

Big fan of gladiator movies, eh?

 

[wikkidpissah]

Rufus Sewell (a personal favorite) is starring in a new Masterpiece Mystery on PBS starting Sunday night called Zen. He is a detective in Rome. Show has gotten very good reviews.

Good, not great. Story was interesting but could have been executed in an American commercial TV hour, so 90 mins uninterrupted had them stretching. Be nice if they could get all the accents on the same page, too.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Saw Midnight In Paris this weekend. I'm not a Woody Allen fan. This was a very good movie. Once you realize the premise, you kind of know what the message will end up being, but the execution, writing and acting are all enjoyable. Owen Wilson shows he can play something other than the same guy he's played in his last 20 or so roles, channeling just enough of Allen's neuroses without going over the top.

I just heard an interesting stat: the movie has cleared the forty million dollar mark. It makes it Allen's biggest hit....ever. "Hannah and Her Sisters" was the previous high.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/sns-rt-us-woodyallentre76e5jk-20110715,0,20797.story

 

[KarmaPolice]

True Blood:

Watched 2-3 episodes of this over the past week. Really want to like this show, but not a huge fan of the mix they have going of interesting vs. over the top cheesy. A lot of the basic ideas of the show are good and how people are acting and reacting towards the vampires, but then you get terrible characters and acting such as the gay cook, and Sookie's brother. I am sure I'll trudge through the first season to see if it gets better, but my expectations have been lowered.

Breaking Bad:

See above. Love the idea of the show, and really like the lead character. However, I have only gotten a couple episodes into it and already find his partner in crime really irritating. I'll probably get through this faster than True Blood, but I am hoping I start to like the kid better or can at least ignore him more.

 

[Adebisi]

Take Me Home Tonight:

...Of course she is back in town, of course there is a party, of course there is an annoying friend to tag along to the party, and of course they are going to try to hook up...

 

[saintfool]

True Blood:

Watched 2-3 episodes of this over the past week. Really want to like this show, but not a huge fan of the mix they have going of interesting vs. over the top cheesy. A lot of the basic ideas of the show are good and how people are acting and reacting towards the vampires, but then you get terrible characters and acting such as the gay cook, and Sookie's brother. I am sure I'll trudge through the first season to see if it gets better, but my expectations have been lowered.

Breaking Bad:

See above. Love the idea of the show, and really like the lead character. However, I have only gotten a couple episodes into it and already find his partner in crime really irritating. I'll probably get through this faster than True Blood, but I am hoping I start to like the kid better or can at least ignore him more.

my wife really liked "true blood" while i don't much care for it. it just doesn't work for me. "breaking bad" is a slow building show, imo. the character of jesse grew on me but it took a while. he still annoys me but whatever. "BB" isn't a sure thing every week like some shows are but it's very good.

 

[hooter311]

True Blood:

Watched 2-3 episodes of this over the past week. Really want to like this show, but not a huge fan of the mix they have going of interesting vs. over the top cheesy. A lot of the basic ideas of the show are good and how people are acting and reacting towards the vampires, but then you get terrible characters and acting such as the gay cook, and Sookie's brother. I am sure I'll trudge through the first season to see if it gets better, but my expectations have been lowered.

Breaking Bad:

See above. Love the idea of the show, and really like the lead character. However, I have only gotten a couple episodes into it and already find his partner in crime really irritating. I'll probably get through this faster than True Blood, but I am hoping I start to like the kid better or can at least ignore him more.

If you don't enjoy Lafayette (the gay cook) and Snookie's brother you might as well give up on it, because they are the best part of the show. I got into Season 1 pretty quickly, didn't really dig the whole storyline to Season 2 and I'm in the middle of S3 right now.Jesse's character is pretty uneven in Breaking Bad. The dive into the character pretty deep, you won't hate him forever, but you don't really like him for long either. Stick with the series though, it's gold.

 

[Jutz]

Ok... I watched Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too this weekend. This was quite an amazing movie, not necessarily in the 'you have to see it' sense though. This movie left me with a lot of questions. Ok... so we all know women are crazy. Well, I think this movie basically is saying that beyond any reasonable doubt, black women are the bat #### craziest. I have no idea if this is true, but this is pretty much what the movie spells out.

Now here is the crazy part. The movie pretty much concludes that: even though black women are absolutely the bat #### craziest, and there is no explanation for it, black men must just deal with it and stay with them. The only reason they gave for why the men should just 'take it' is that life is too short. That's all. Life is too short. As far as I could tell.

Here are some questions:

How do black women feel about being depcited this way in a movie?

Is there ANY black man in the whole world that could possibly be on board with this?

Why is Janet Jackson in this movie? I kept waiting for her to say 'Mr's Jackson if you're nasty'.

Why did the Rock show up at the end of the movie?

Doesn't Oprah really push Tyler Perry? How does she feel about black women being portrayed as bat #### crazy?

Anyway, I was expecting a comedy. I guess I sorta got one, but in a different way. I swear I though Diary of a Mad Black Woman was good if you are wondering why I even attempted to watch it in the first place. Once I started, it was like watching a train wreck from there. The character Janet Jackson played was probably the craziest woman part I've seen in a movie... or close to it.

 

[saintfool]

his movies may suck but tyler perry is laughing all the way to the bank. he's found an audience - much like, say, uwe boll has - that connects with him. good for them.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Gladiator

Big fan of this movie.

Big fan of gladiator movies, eh?

Have you ever seen a grown man naked?

 

[jdoggydogg]

Gladiator

Big fan of this movie.

i wish i was in the mood for a fight, cuz this would do it. maybe tomorrow.

Fighting about the movie or watching the movie because it has good fighting?

 

[jdoggydogg]

Gladiator

Big fan of this movie.

I liked it. Too formulaic to win best picture imo, but still a decent flick.

If you look at the results over the years, I'm pretty sure "too formulaic" is a requirement for the Oscar winners.

 

[jdoggydogg]

True Blood:

Watched 2-3 episodes of this over the past week. Really want to like this show, but not a huge fan of the mix they have going of interesting vs. over the top cheesy. A lot of the basic ideas of the show are good and how people are acting and reacting towards the vampires, but then you get terrible characters and acting such as the gay cook, and Sookie's brother. I am sure I'll trudge through the first season to see if it gets better, but my expectations have been lowered.

Breaking Bad:

See above. Love the idea of the show, and really like the lead character. However, I have only gotten a couple episodes into it and already find his partner in crime really irritating. I'll probably get through this faster than True Blood, but I am hoping I start to like the kid better or can at least ignore him more.

True Blood is awful. Breaking Bad is brilliant. Give up on True Blood and devote yourself to BB

 

[jdoggydogg]

True Blood:

Watched 2-3 episodes of this over the past week. Really want to like this show, but not a huge fan of the mix they have going of interesting vs. over the top cheesy. A lot of the basic ideas of the show are good and how people are acting and reacting towards the vampires, but then you get terrible characters and acting such as the gay cook, and Sookie's brother. I am sure I'll trudge through the first season to see if it gets better, but my expectations have been lowered.

Breaking Bad:

See above. Love the idea of the show, and really like the lead character. However, I have only gotten a couple episodes into it and already find his partner in crime really irritating. I'll probably get through this faster than True Blood, but I am hoping I start to like the kid better or can at least ignore him more.

my wife really liked "true blood" while i don't much care for it. it just doesn't work for me. "breaking bad" is a slow building show, imo. the character of jesse grew on me but it took a while. he still annoys me but whatever. "BB" isn't a sure thing every week like some shows are but it's very good.

I've never seen a demographic breakdown of True Blood fans. But I'm fairly certain the large majority of the fan base is female.

 

[Jutz]

his movies may suck but tyler perry is laughing all the way to the bank. he's found an audience - much like, say, uwe boll has - that connects with him. good for them.

I kept thinking about 'the audience' when I watched that movie. I just kept thinking that he must have alienated most of it, and that's why I am somewhat confused. And I guess, it is probably just this movie, but there is no way ANY man would go along with the premise of this movie. And, I think he made women look horrible, in particular black women, so what audience does that leave? Maybe this was one of his 'branching out' movies, where he knows he has an audience, so he took some chances??? I don't know.

 

[hooter311]

Gladiator

Big fan of this movie.

Top of the head, hardest part of the body!

 

[jdoggydogg]

Gladiator

Big fan of this movie.

Top of the head, hardest part of the body!

Blech. Not THAT Gladiator.

 

[wikkidpissah]

Gladiator

Big fan of this movie.

i wish i was in the mood for a fight, cuz this would do it. maybe tomorrow.

Fighting about the movie or watching the movie because it has good fighting?

worst Best Picture since Greatest Show on Earth.