Recently viewed movie thread - Rental Edition (2 Viewers)

[saintfool]

Tower Heist: Pretty boring. Was going to say that it was waaay to long for a comedy then checked and saw it was only 104 minutes . A couple laughs but completely forgettable. 2/5

colossal waste of comic talent, i thought. squandered a decent premise with shoddy writing and lazy direction.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Tower Heist: Pretty boring. Was going to say that it was waaay to long for a comedy then checked and saw it was only 104 minutes . A couple laughs but completely forgettable. 2/5

colossal waste of comic talent, i thought. squandered a decent premise with shoddy writing and lazy direction.

Agreed. I was really excited to see Eddie taking a role that wasn't rated G... oof.

 

[jamny]

Cyrus wasn't a bad little film. I remember it being portrayed as a straight-up comedy but it's definitely more of a drama with some subtle, dark comedic moments. I'm not a big John C Reilly fan but he carried the movie surprisingly well. Jonah Hill was good as the creepy son. It was an interesting movie that really needed to explore the subject matter with a little more depth. They probably could have taken out some of the stuff with his ex-wife and new husband to do it. Good movie, could have been more. 2.5/5

 

[Socrates11]

Big Monkees fan, but I've never seen their movie Head. Got a chance to watch it today.

Very strange. I understand it was an attempt to deconstruct their manufactured teen pop image, but I think all they ended up doing was confuse people. Jack Nicholson and Teri Garr make cameos, among others, but they don't really add anything.

Oh well, at least I can say I've seen it now.

2/5

 

[KarmaPolice]

Humpday:

Thought this was an interesting little film. Don't want to talk about it too much, but thought it was refreshing to see the frankness of the discussion about sexuality on the screen. Didn't love it, but think that it is worth the recommendation to a handful of people that frequent this thread.

The Evil Dead:

Been way too long since I have seen the first Evil Dead movie, and I don't know why. Love the hell out of this movie. Now I am going to have to watch the other 2 to verify that this one might just be my favorite of the 3 movies.

 

[hooter311]

Humpday:

Thought this was an interesting little film. Don't want to talk about it too much, but thought it was refreshing to see the frankness of the discussion about sexuality on the screen. Didn't love it, but think that it is worth the recommendation to a handful of people that frequent this thread.

I could see how its earnestly could be intriguing, but I despised this. Chuck & Buck addressed some of the same stuff a lot better.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Humpday:

Thought this was an interesting little film. Don't want to talk about it too much, but thought it was refreshing to see the frankness of the discussion about sexuality on the screen. Didn't love it, but think that it is worth the recommendation to a handful of people that frequent this thread.

I could see how its earnestly could be intriguing, but I despised this. Chuck & Buck addressed some of the same stuff a lot better.

Not sure they handled the 'climax' of the movie correctly, but I was intrigued by what the film was trying to do anyway. Again, not a high recommend - probably would give a 5/10 or so.

 

[belljr]

The League thread gets bumped so I do some browsing and now Cyrus and Humpday get mentioned both done by "Pete"

just a weird coincidence

 

[jdoggydogg]

The Evil Dead:

Been way too long since I have seen the first Evil Dead movie, and I don't know why. Love the hell out of this movie. Now I am going to have to watch the other 2 to verify that this one might just be my favorite of the 3 movies.

Big fan of this movie. You should listen to the commentary by Raimi and Campbell if you haven't. Very entertaining.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Humpday:

Thought this was an interesting little film. Don't want to talk about it too much, but thought it was refreshing to see the frankness of the discussion about sexuality on the screen. Didn't love it, but think that it is worth the recommendation to a handful of people that frequent this thread.

I could see how its earnestly could be intriguing, but I despised this. Chuck & Buck addressed some of the same stuff a lot better.

Haven't seen Humpday yet, but Chuck and Buck sure was a good, quirky movie.

 

[KarmaPolice]

The Evil Dead:

Been way too long since I have seen the first Evil Dead movie, and I don't know why. Love the hell out of this movie. Now I am going to have to watch the other 2 to verify that this one might just be my favorite of the 3 movies.

Big fan of this movie. You should listen to the commentary by Raimi and Campbell if you haven't. Very entertaining.

I ordered it with the intent of listening to Campbell's commentary, which I heard are great. The disc only listed Raimi and the producer for the commentary. Is there a special edition I need to look for?

 

[jdoggydogg]

The Evil Dead:

Been way too long since I have seen the first Evil Dead movie, and I don't know why. Love the hell out of this movie. Now I am going to have to watch the other 2 to verify that this one might just be my favorite of the 3 movies.

Big fan of this movie. You should listen to the commentary by Raimi and Campbell if you haven't. Very entertaining.

I ordered it with the intent of listening to Campbell's commentary, which I heard are great. The disc only listed Raimi and the producer for the commentary. Is there a special edition I need to look for?

I own the DVD, but I haven't watched it in a couple of years. It's possible that Raimi and the producer do one track while Campbell does another. Either way, as a fan, you'll love it. Really makes you appreciate the movie on a whole new level.What's fascinating to me about Evil Dead is that while it gets written off as a schlocky genre grinder, Raimi does some amazing camera moves in this movie that have been ripped off a thousand times.

 

[Copeman]

Anyone plan on seeing "Act of Valor", opening this weekend? It's that movie that stars real life SEAL team members.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Anyone plan on seeing "Act of Valor", opening this weekend? It's that movie that stars real life SEAL team members.

I'd like to see this just because I've been interested in the SEAL teams ever since I read Richard Marcinko's books. That said, I think once you get past the novelty of seeing real SEAL members acting in a film, the movie doesn't seem to be all that exciting. Clearly, the dialogue is very authentic. But I bet that's not enough to lift this movie beyond being another pedestrian action flick.

 

[Dr. Awesome]

Ink. Horrendous acting. Mostly terrible effects. The directing gets a bit sloppy at times. Clearly it's a limited budget. But despite all that this is actually a pretty solid movie. 79% RT score. When we go to sleep there are two groups - one which gives us nightmares and one that gives us sweet dreams. Nightmare group kidnaps a little girl which sends her into a coma. As she's dragged through the other world the two sides fight over her soul. Only his second movie directed (he wrote it as well though he's won awards for short stories) and it's been compared to early Terry Gilliam/Peter Jackson movies. I agree completely - he borrow very heavily from those playbooks. But those are two great acts to work from. If nothing else I'm going to pay attention to this director's next movie. If he can hone his abilities I think he could be something special. Rave review from Ain't It Cool News.

Currently showing on Hulu for free.Now something for the action movie fans. I saw this trailer and omgomgomgomg. Very early RT score has it at 100%. It won several film festival awards. 'The Raid' is getting limited release next month. The Raid.

 

[netnalp]

The Tree of Life. Not for me. I could have done without the first 45 minutes and the last twenty. Those parts reminded me of Kubrick's 2001, but seemed more out of place in this movie. Brad Pitts character reminded me of my father, the parts where he was being a ####. Especially the pulling weeds from the lawn and the insane punishments. The nastiness of the older brother was familiar as well, but I don't get how those things connect to the rest of the movie.



Dazed and Confused. I was expecting a comedy more like "Fast Times at Ridgemont High". Instead, for me this was like "Easy Rider" an honest depiction of a part of the culture at that period of time. I didn't find it funny, at most I'd smile when I'd recognize the same type of person portrayed in the movie that I encountered in my high school days in the late 80's. That just shows that other than the clothing, music and cars, not much has changed since the '70s, teens rebel against authority, they like to get drunk and many do drugs. So what? If the purpose was to show the different categories of people in high school, I feel "The Breakfast Club" did that better and was much more entertaining.

Matthew McConaughey is the character that most people seem to talk about but his character is pretty forgettable when compared to Sean Penn's Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times.

I'm surprised Dazed got an R rating since it doesn't have much sexual content or nudity.

 

[The Doctor]

The Tree of Life. Not for me. I could have done without the first 45 minutes and the last twenty. Those parts reminded me of Kubrick's 2001, but seemed more out of place in this movie. Brad Pitts character reminded me of my father, the parts where he was being a ####. Especially the pulling weeds from the lawn and the insane punishments. The nastiness of the older brother was familiar as well, but I don't get how those things connect to the rest of the movie.



Dazed and Confused. I was expecting a comedy more like "Fast Times at Ridgemont High". Instead, for me this was like "Easy Rider" an honest depiction of a part of the culture at that period of time. I didn't find it funny, at most I'd smile when I'd recognize the same type of person portrayed in the movie that I encountered in my high school days in the late 80's. That just shows that other than the clothing, music and cars, not much has changed since the '70s, teens rebel against authority, they like to get drunk and many do drugs. So what? If the purpose was to show the different categories of people in high school, I feel "The Breakfast Club" did that better and was much more entertaining.

Matthew McConaughey is the character that most people seem to talk about but his character is pretty forgettable when compared to Sean Penn's Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times.

I'm surprised Dazed got an R rating since it doesn't have much sexual content or nudity.

i am guessing its due to the constant references to drugsi like mcconaughey's few 1 liners but you are spot on with the spicoli comment.

anywho, has anybody ever known of that paddle tradition with the seniors on the freshman ever be true?

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Ink. Horrendous acting. Mostly terrible effects. The directing gets a bit sloppy at times. Clearly it's a limited budget. But despite all that this is actually a pretty solid movie. 79% RT score. When we go to sleep there are two groups - one which gives us nightmares and one that gives us sweet dreams. Nightmare group kidnaps a little girl which sends her into a coma. As she's dragged through the other world the two sides fight over her soul. Only his second movie directed (he wrote it as well though he's won awards for short stories) and it's been compared to early Terry Gilliam/Peter Jackson movies. I agree completely - he borrow very heavily from those playbooks. But those are two great acts to work from. If nothing else I'm going to pay attention to this director's next movie. If he can hone his abilities I think he could be something special. Rave review from Ain't It Cool News.

That's an accurate summary. Ink worked for me as well.

 

[jamny]

Made it about a half hour through Hall Pass with maybe a chuckle or two. Really bad. Maybe I'll give it more of a shot one day. Let me guess, Owen Wilson doesn't cheat. 1.5/5 I give it an extra .5 because of the Australian chick. Does she get naked?

 

[hooter311]

Made it about a half hour through Hall Pass with maybe a chuckle or two. Really bad. Maybe I'll give it more of a shot one day. Let me guess, Owen Wilson doesn't cheat. 1.5/5 I give it an extra .5 because of the Australian chick. Does she get naked?

Sure does.

 

[hooter311]

Ink. Horrendous acting. Mostly terrible effects. The directing gets a bit sloppy at times. Clearly it's a limited budget. But despite all that this is actually a pretty solid movie. 79% RT score. When we go to sleep there are two groups - one which gives us nightmares and one that gives us sweet dreams. Nightmare group kidnaps a little girl which sends her into a coma. As she's dragged through the other world the two sides fight over her soul. Only his second movie directed (he wrote it as well though he's won awards for short stories) and it's been compared to early Terry Gilliam/Peter Jackson movies. I agree completely - he borrow very heavily from those playbooks. But those are two great acts to work from. If nothing else I'm going to pay attention to this director's next movie. If he can hone his abilities I think he could be something special. Rave review from Ain't It Cool News.

 

[hooter311]

A Good Ole Fashioned Orgy

Jason Sudeikis is really beginning to grow on me. It's pretty bad, but there is something about crappy low key comedies that make them infinitely watchable for me. I've seen Grown Ups like 5 times even though I hate it.

2.5/5

 

[jamny]

Made it about a half hour through Hall Pass with maybe a chuckle or two. Really bad. Maybe I'll give it more of a shot one day. Let me guess, Owen Wilson doesn't cheat. 1.5/5 I give it an extra .5 because of the Australian chick. Does she get naked?

Sure does.

I knew I shouldn't have deleted it so fast. I'll have to set it to record again.

 

[KarmaPolice]

The Tree of Life. Not for me. I could have done without the first 45 minutes and the last twenty. Those parts reminded me of Kubrick's 2001, but seemed more out of place in this movie. Brad Pitts character reminded me of my father, the parts where he was being a ####. Especially the pulling weeds from the lawn and the insane punishments. The nastiness of the older brother was familiar as well, but I don't get how those things connect to the rest of the movie.

It's Sean Penn remembering his childhood - he is the older brother.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Anyone plan on seeing "Act of Valor", opening this weekend? It's that movie that stars real life SEAL team members.

I'd like to see this just because I've been interested in the SEAL teams ever since I read Richard Marcinko's books. That said, I think once you get past the novelty of seeing real SEAL members acting in a film, the movie doesn't seem to be all that exciting. Clearly, the dialogue is very authentic. But I bet that's not enough to lift this movie beyond being another pedestrian action flick.

How can there even be a movie starring active duty SEAL teams?

 

[hooter311]

Anyone plan on seeing "Act of Valor", opening this weekend? It's that movie that stars real life SEAL team members.

I'd like to see this just because I've been interested in the SEAL teams ever since I read Richard Marcinko's books. That said, I think once you get past the novelty of seeing real SEAL members acting in a film, the movie doesn't seem to be all that exciting. Clearly, the dialogue is very authentic. But I bet that's not enough to lift this movie beyond being another pedestrian action flick.

How can there even be a movie starring active duty SEAL teams?

They are on rotation. They would burn out pretty quickly otherwise.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Anyone plan on seeing "Act of Valor", opening this weekend? It's that movie that stars real life SEAL team members.

I'd like to see this just because I've been interested in the SEAL teams ever since I read Richard Marcinko's books. That said, I think once you get past the novelty of seeing real SEAL members acting in a film, the movie doesn't seem to be all that exciting. Clearly, the dialogue is very authentic. But I bet that's not enough to lift this movie beyond being another pedestrian action flick.

How can there even be a movie starring active duty SEAL teams?

They are on rotation. They would burn out pretty quickly otherwise.

But I thought they were supposed to kind of be faceless. How are they allowed to do this?

 

[netnalp]

The Tree of Life. Not for me. I could have done without the first 45 minutes and the last twenty. Those parts reminded me of Kubrick's 2001, but seemed more out of place in this movie. Brad Pitts character reminded me of my father, the parts where he was being a ####. Especially the pulling weeds from the lawn and the insane punishments. The nastiness of the older brother was familiar as well, but I don't get how those things connect to the rest of the movie.

It's Sean Penn remembering his childhood - he is the older brother.

I understood that and I assume the beach is heaven or something like that. But the most of the first 45 minutes isn't needed, the dinosaur stuff etc. Seems like the either the director was too close to the material that he didn't realize a large part of the audience wasn't going to follow his meaning or he wasn't clear what he was trying to say so he left things ambiguous.

 

[saintfool]

I understood that and I assume the beach is heaven or something like that. But the most of the first 45 minutes isn't needed, the dinosaur stuff etc. Seems like the either the director was too close to the material that he didn't realize a large part of the audience wasn't going to follow his meaning or he wasn't clear what he was trying to say so he left things ambiguous.

there is some chatter about how ToL is at least semi-autobiographical. that said, it's far more allegorical than that. the characters, as loosely as they are constructed and written within the film, follow the narrative that malick starts from the beginning. the VO points to this and the story doesn't really deviate:

[voice over] The nuns taught us there were two ways through life - the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you'll follow.

 

[Time Kibitzer]

I understood that and I assume the beach is heaven or something like that. But the most of the first 45 minutes isn't needed, the dinosaur stuff etc. Seems like the either the director was too close to the material that he didn't realize a large part of the audience wasn't going to follow his meaning or he wasn't clear what he was trying to say so he left things ambiguous.

there is some chatter about how ToL is at least semi-autobiographical. that said, it's far more allegorical than that. the characters, as loosely as they are constructed and written within the film, follow the narrative that malick starts from the beginning. the VO points to this and the story doesn't really deviate:

[voice over] The nuns taught us there were two ways through life - the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you'll follow.

Nuns are dumb.

 

[Time Kibitzer]

The Rum Diary is brutal.

I didn't think it was terrible, but I didn't think it was particularly good either. A few funny lines, Depp stellar as usual, Giovanni Ribisi was particularly funny in his supporting role (dude's an underrated actor methinks), and Amber Heard was gorgeous; overall making it decent enough. I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone though.

 

[Anonymous Internet User]

Just got Netflix streaming to replace my cable. First up, watched Limitless last night. For a movie centered about intelligence granting pills, this movie was anything but smart. All kinds of plot holes, inconsistencies, and vapid appeals to adolescent viewers

Spoiler

So what do you do with super intelligence artificially granted by pills? No, not learn chemistry at an advanced level and learn to produce the pills yourself without side effects, you bang women, make money, become a business mogul and run for the Senate. Really? Not to mention the idiotic side plot with the Russian gangster, which of course made no sense at all. And Van Loon, now in possession of the company that made the pills, doesn't use them? (And neither do any of the people manufacturing them ...)

5/10.

 

[Socrates11]

Just got Netflix streaming to replace my cable. First up, watched Limitless last night. For a movie centered about intelligence granting pills, this movie was anything but smart. All kinds of plot holes, inconsistencies, and vapid appeals to adolescent viewers

Spoiler

So what do you do with super intelligence artificially granted by pills? No, not learn chemistry at an advanced level and learn to produce the pills yourself without side effects, you bang women, make money, become a business mogul and run for the Senate. Really? Not to mention the idiotic side plot with the Russian gangster, which of course made no sense at all. And Van Loon, now in possession of the company that made the pills, doesn't use them? (And neither do any of the people manufacturing them ...)

5/10.

Spoiler

I can't remember if it was the regular ending or the alternate ending, but as Cooper is walking DeNiro out to his car he mentions that he's re-engineered the pill with the side-effects removed.

 

[hooter311]

The Rum Diary is brutal.

I didn't think it was terrible, but I didn't think it was particularly good either. A few funny lines, Depp stellar as usual, Giovanni Ribisi was particularly funny in his supporting role (dude's an underrated actor methinks), and Amber Heard was gorgeous; overall making it decent enough. I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone though.

I agree with Daywalker. Absolutely awful.

 

[Anonymous Internet User]

Just got Netflix streaming to replace my cable. First up, watched Limitless last night. For a movie centered about intelligence granting pills, this movie was anything but smart. All kinds of plot holes, inconsistencies, and vapid appeals to adolescent viewers

Spoiler

So what do you do with super intelligence artificially granted by pills? No, not learn chemistry at an advanced level and learn to produce the pills yourself without side effects, you bang women, make money, become a business mogul and run for the Senate. Really? Not to mention the idiotic side plot with the Russian gangster, which of course made no sense at all. And Van Loon, now in possession of the company that made the pills, doesn't use them? (And neither do any of the people manufacturing them ...)

Spoiler

5/10.

Spoiler

I can't remember if it was the regular ending or the alternate ending, but as Cooper is walking DeNiro out to his car he mentions that he's re-engineered the pill with the side-effects removed.

Spoiler

Don't know anything about alternative endings, etc. But it was pretty clear that in the version I saw he was bluffing.

 

[Jutz]

Saw Paul over the weekend. I enjoyed it not much to add really

I really liked this movie too. I can't really think of anything off the top of my head to say about it either other then I think it is worth a viewing.

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

Saw Paul over the weekend. I enjoyed it not much to add really

I really liked this movie too. I can't really think of anything off the top of my head to say about it either other then I think it is worth a viewing.

I found Paul to be entertaining.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I've been on a sci-fi kick lately, so from the late to the party file:

Sunshine

I really liked this, including the plot change. However I agree with some of the hang ups others had with the 8 characters not behaving as one would expect. I don't have much to add to what has already been said but I do think it is a must see for Sci-fi fans. 4/5

Serenity

A little cookie cutter feel to this but a very enjoyable film. It reminded me of several films I have seen mashed into one. For instance The Operative reminded me of a Cleric from Equilibrium. Not groudbreaking but a very enjoyable film. 3.75/5

Anyone have any sci-fi recommendations for me?

If you like Sunshine you would probably like both Event Horizon and Pandorum. Maybe Sphere too. Supernova (there are two flicks with that name, you want the one with James Spader and Angela Bassett) is interesting as well. Mission to Mars is a favorite of mine.

Despite a solid cast (Robert Forster, Robin Tunney, Lou Diamond Phillips in addition to the 2 you mentioned), I thought Supernova was pretty damn bad.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Caught Take Me Home Tonight on netflix w/ the wife yesterday. Terrible acting. Same plot as every other lost high school sweetheart movie. Poor character development. Perhaps it was the cheesy 80's sound track that brought me back to my youth, but I loved it.

3.5/5 for me. For everyone else it's easily a 1/5.

Yeah, this had its moments but Id probably go 2.5/5 thanks to Dan Fogler and the smoking hot chick.

 

[Kenny Powers]

The Postman.

Yeah, Kevin Costner needs to stick to baseball movies or true westerns and just leave the apocalypic stuff alone.

I like Waterworld. There. I said it.

Same, although I think both movies had such a reputation for being terrible that my expectations may have been so low that I thought they were decent. I think The Postman is better though.I somehow even thought that Eddie Murphy Adventures of Pluto Nash was even tolerable.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Cyrus wasn't a bad little film. I remember it being portrayed as a straight-up comedy but it's definitely more of a drama with some subtle, dark comedic moments. I'm not a big John C Reilly fan but he carried the movie surprisingly well. Jonah Hill was good as the creepy son. It was an interesting movie that really needed to explore the subject matter with a little more depth. They probably could have taken out some of the stuff with his ex-wife and new husband to do it. Good movie, could have been more. 2.5/5

Watched this a few days ago, cant disagree with any of this. I thought the first 15 minutes or so were hilarious and I think they missed on another 15-20 minutes following it that could have been very funny with JCR and Tomei casually dating, but instead the almost instantly turn into this serious couple. I also think the phase of the movie once JCR realizes Jonah Hill is ####ing with him and they both try to "one up" each other sort of was far too short and couldve added more laughs as well. Despite these complaints, its lack of extending these parts of the movie lead to a very fast 90min watch I thought. Was surprised to see it was written and directed by Mark Duplass (Pete from The League) and his brother. I still liked it although Id give it a 3/5 instead of the 4.2/5 that Netflix suggested.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Humpday:

Thought this was an interesting little film. Don't want to talk about it too much, but thought it was refreshing to see the frankness of the discussion about sexuality on the screen. Didn't love it, but think that it is worth the recommendation to a handful of people that frequent this thread.

Thought this was decent enough but dont think Id put it on a recommendation level.

 

[Kenny Powers]

A Good Ole Fashioned Orgy

Jason Sudeikis is really beginning to grow on me. It's pretty bad, but there is something about crappy low key comedies that make them infinitely watchable for me. I've seen Grown Ups like 5 times even though I hate it.

2.5/5

 

[jamny]

Cyrus wasn't a bad little film. I remember it being portrayed as a straight-up comedy but it's definitely more of a drama with some subtle, dark comedic moments. I'm not a big John C Reilly fan but he carried the movie surprisingly well. Jonah Hill was good as the creepy son. It was an interesting movie that really needed to explore the subject matter with a little more depth. They probably could have taken out some of the stuff with his ex-wife and new husband to do it. Good movie, could have been more. 2.5/5

Watched this a few days ago, cant disagree with any of this. I thought the first 15 minutes or so were hilarious and I think they missed on another 15-20 minutes following it that could have been very funny with JCR and Tomei casually dating, but instead the almost instantly turn into this serious couple. I also think the phase of the movie once JCR realizes Jonah Hill is ####ing with him and they both try to "one up" each other sort of was far too short and couldve added more laughs as well. Despite these complaints, its lack of extending these parts of the movie lead to a very fast 90min watch I thought. Was surprised to see it was written and directed by Mark Duplass (Pete from The League) and his brother. I still liked it although Id give it a 3/5 instead of the 4.2/5 that Netflix suggested.

Jonah Hill is just really impressive and I think JCR learned from Will Ferrell for that role.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Anyone plan on seeing "Act of Valor", opening this weekend? It's that movie that stars real life SEAL team members.

I'd like to see this just because I've been interested in the SEAL teams ever since I read Richard Marcinko's books. That said, I think once you get past the novelty of seeing real SEAL members acting in a film, the movie doesn't seem to be all that exciting. Clearly, the dialogue is very authentic. But I bet that's not enough to lift this movie beyond being another pedestrian action flick.

Im more intrigued to see it for the reality of there tactics to enter buildings, secure areas, kill targets, etc than the dialogue.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Chronicle....Really liked this a lot. Initially, I was worried the first hand camera usage ("found footage" style) that is probably 75% of the cinematography would get annoying, but after the first 10 minutes or so it really just blends in with the movie and I didnt find it problematic at all. In fact with how well done it was and the connection it provided with the lead actor, I thought it made the movie better than had it just used traditional filming techniques. I found Chronicle to be unique in this aspect with how well it was pulled off, but also because (superpowers aside) the characters and their relationships felt very realistic (think Elephant, although different), likely aided by an entire cast of unrecognizable actors, with Michael B. Jordan being the lone exception, although I think anyone who hasnt watched The Wire, Parenthood, or Friday Night Lights would lump him in with the rest of the cast here. Jordan and the lead teenager do solid work acting, and although the rest is average at best, interesting dialogue minimizes this as a problem. It had a roller coaster of emotions throughout, which also was quite effective and at times, exhilirating. Special effects arent anything special (namely the flying), but again I felt like this kept in line with the rest of the movie feeling authentic. I also thought there were numerous subtle things that elevated the movie as well (for instance, getting a nosebleed when they would overextend their powers or one of the other guys was in trouble/distressed; Tibet). At only 83 minutes, I left wishing it had been longer. All in all, I guess the simplest way to praise it would be its a movie that on the surface is sci-fi/fantasy but by the end it leaves the viewer feeling like they just watched a drama about a troubled teen...4.4/5

 

[jdoggydogg]

Going to see Safe House tonight. I don't have high hopes.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Going to see Safe House tonight. I don't have high hopes.

See Chronicle dude

 

[Daywalker]

Safe House.

Slightly entertaining due to Denzel. I like Reynolds in his romcoms but he wasn't convincing as a CIA badass type. It's a standard role which most up and coming actors should be able to do in their sleep. His wise-###/pretty boy persona is just too much at this point.

That being said you can see the plotlines coming a mile away and their wasn't enough savy cat and mouse tactics that you see in the better movies of the genre like Bourne/Spygame.

The Denzel character had a lot of potential. We need a good Denzel spy movie and this was a wasted effort.

2 out of 4 stars.

 

[Papa Georgio]

Chronicle....Really liked this a lot. Initially, I was worried the first hand camera usage ("found footage" style) that is probably 75% of the cinematography would get annoying, but after the first 10 minutes or so it really just blends in with the movie and I didnt find it problematic at all. In fact with how well done it was and the connection it provided with the lead actor, I thought it made the movie better than had it just used traditional filming techniques. I found Chronicle to be unique in this aspect with how well it was pulled off, but also because (superpowers aside) the characters and their relationships felt very realistic (think Elephant, although different), likely aided by an entire cast of unrecognizable actors, with Michael B. Jordan being the lone exception, although I think anyone who hasnt watched The Wire, Parenthood, or Friday Night Lights would lump him in with the rest of the cast here. Jordan and the lead teenager do solid work acting, and although the rest is average at best, interesting dialogue minimizes this as a problem. It had a roller coaster of emotions throughout, which also was quite effective and at times, exhilirating. Special effects arent anything special (namely the flying), but again I felt like this kept in line with the rest of the movie feeling authentic. I also thought there were numerous subtle things that elevated the movie as well (for instance, getting a nosebleed when they would overextend their powers or one of the other guys was in trouble/distressed; Tibet). At only 83 minutes, I left wishing it had been longer. All in all, I guess the simplest way to praise it would be its a movie that on the surface is sci-fi/fantasy but by the end it leaves the viewer feeling like they just watched a drama about a troubled teen...4.4/5

I watched this with my son, he is 9. I'm not sure we knew what we were going to be watching. I guess I thought it would be more kid friendly since it was about teenagers who acquire super-powers yes I know it was PG-13. He said it was weird and didn't know that he liked it. My point is that it is a pretty dark movie and while I enjoyed it I think it is mostly for adults. One thing he was able to understand though was that bullying had a lot to do with how things turnout.I think I need to watch it again without him.