Recently viewed movie thread - Rental Edition (6 Viewers)

[jdoggydogg]

I really need to see more Walter Matthau movies.

"The Sunshine Boys" was on one of the Encore channels recently. Matthau and George Burns as ex-vaudeville performers coaxed into a reunion after a falling out. .I usually dislike Neil Simon because you can see the set-up of his jokes coming from a mile away. That was mostly true in this story, but Matthau's angry charisma elevated the flimsy premise.

"En-TAH!"It's a good one.Also a fan of Hopscotch.

Sweet.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Watched Carnage last night.

Obviously a great case with Foster, Riley, Winslett and Waltz and I was intrigued with the concept (parents of kids who fought try to "work it out" between themselves). But the writing for this... it was from a play, right? It had moments where the characters and writing felt amazingly true, but then devolved into "Play" artifice clap/trap, particularly when used for the driving the action and trying to tell a bigger story- endless mvoes to keep the action in one place/set and cheap devices to make the characters talk and act in ways nobody ever would- especially the quickest sober-drunk drinking session to loosen tongues. Ultimately a mess, and the director (was it really Polanski?) and writing didn't do the actors any favors.

I often appreciate movies that are script-driven, so I'm glad I saw it. But it could have been better.

 

[jdoggydogg]

The Thing...Remake from last year. Certainly not as good as the original, but not near as bad as I expected. While it has more action and gore than the original, it lacks the tension and real scares. Also quite a few plot holes, such as saying the Thing cant replicate inorganic materials yet apparently it can replicate all clothing, but I was entertained enough. Ensemble cast was pretty good, and having a lot of foreigners I think did give it some character. Joel Edgerton always seems to put on a solid performance. Id say better than most box office sci-horror these days...2.9/5

I'm not opposed to reboots and sequels for the most part. But I don't know why someone would attempt this given that the Carpenter version is practically perfect in every way.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

Wasn't the carpenter version a remake?

Cary grant made some awesome movies, btw

 

[Dr. Awesome]

I really need to see more Walter Matthau movies.

My favorite is Charade. One of my all time favorites. Slightly cheesy romance (which is Cary Grant's shtick) with some fun mystery but I watch this movie every couple years and love every time.

that's a good, if slight, film. grant was an idol of mine as a kid and i have probably watched this film 50 times. it's a pretty good cast with george kennedy and audrey hepburn (whom i adore). fun and easy from stanley donen. it got remade a few years ago with thandie newton actually.

James Coburn (another one of my all time favorites) does a great job in it as well. I hated the Mark Wahlberg/Thandie Newton remake. Just felt it was lacking the charm of the first and didn't make up for it with added suspense. It felt like it was a cheap, heartless, hollow knockoff. Recently watched

Those familiar with Robert E. Howard (author of Conan) will definitely enjoy this. I'd LOVE to see this movie really get a big budget and some spectacular creative talent. It could be breathtaking. Still, this version is plenty good in its own right. I was entertained. Nothing I'll remember a year from now but you could do a helluva lot worse. Heavy shades of LOTR.

 

[wazoo11]

The Boxer (with Daniel Day-Lewis) 2.5/5

Disappointing film that could - and should had a better story.

The acting is very good though.

 

[El Floppo]

The Boxer (with Daniel Day-Lewis) 2.5/5 Disappointing film that could - and should had a better story.The acting is very good though.

I haven't seen it since the theaters, but I remember the story being pretty compelling. IRA, hunger-strike and whatnot, right? I don't remember how Emily Watson figures- DDL's wife/SO?

 

[El Floppo]

Watched Carnage last night.

Obviously a great case with Foster, Riley, Winslett and Waltz and I was intrigued with the concept (parents of kids who fought try to "work it out" between themselves). But the writing for this... it was from a play, right? It had moments where the characters and writing felt amazingly true, but then devolved into "Play" artifice clap/trap, particularly when used for the driving the action and trying to tell a bigger story- endless mvoes to keep the action in one place/set and cheap devices to make the characters talk and act in ways nobody ever would- especially the quickest sober-drunk drinking session to loosen tongues. Ultimately a mess, and the director (was it really Polanski?) and writing didn't do the actors any favors.

I often appreciate movies that are script-driven, so I'm glad I saw it. But it could have been better.

I'm with you- but in this case I found the script frustrating due to it's reliance on devices to make the characters speak and behave in ways nobody- nobody- every would.Was the play by Labute (sp?)?

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

I really need to see more Walter Matthau movies.

"The Sunshine Boys" was on one of the Encore channels recently. Matthau and George Burns as ex-vaudeville performers coaxed into a reunion after a falling out. .I usually dislike Neil Simon because you can see the set-up of his jokes coming from a mile away. That was mostly true in this story, but Matthau's angry charisma elevated the flimsy premise.

"En-TAH!"It's a good one.Also a fan of Hopscotch.

Sweet.

I thought "IQ" was a pretty good flick. Although Matthau was about a foot taller and maybe seventy pounds heavier than Einstein.

 

[El Floppo]

I really need to see more Walter Matthau movies.

"The Sunshine Boys" was on one of the Encore channels recently. Matthau and George Burns as ex-vaudeville performers coaxed into a reunion after a falling out. .I usually dislike Neil Simon because you can see the set-up of his jokes coming from a mile away. That was mostly true in this story, but Matthau's angry charisma elevated the flimsy premise.

"En-TAH!"It's a good one.Also a fan of Hopscotch.

Sweet.

I thought "IQ" was a pretty good flick. Although Matthau was about a foot taller and maybe seventy pounds heavier than Einstein.

Oh. wow. I thought IQ was pretty horrible- more from the story point of view than anything Matthau brought.

 

[gump]

Speaking of sci-fi....watched Tron the other night.

Doesn't hold up well over 30 years. But was interesting and moved quickly. Cycles were cool and brought back some video game memories. I can see why Lacy Underall's career didn't take off.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Wasn't the carpenter version a remake?

Cary grant made some awesome movies, btw

Yep.

 

[KarmaPolice]

The Thing...Remake from last year. Certainly not as good as the original, but not near as bad as I expected. While it has more action and gore than the original, it lacks the tension and real scares. Also quite a few plot holes, such as saying the Thing cant replicate inorganic materials yet apparently it can replicate all clothing, but I was entertained enough. Ensemble cast was pretty good, and having a lot of foreigners I think did give it some character. Joel Edgerton always seems to put on a solid performance. Id say better than most box office sci-horror these days...2.9/5

I was surprised by this one and was entertained by it, but my beef was that they were going for a prequel as was made obvious by the ending scene, etc.., but it really felt like they didn't have anything original to bring to the table and in the end fell into just making it like the Carpenter flick. Just felt like it lacked an identity.

 

[jdoggydogg]

The Boxer (with Daniel Day-Lewis) 2.5/5 Disappointing film that could - and should had a better story.The acting is very good though.

I haven't seen it since the theaters, but I remember the story being pretty compelling. IRA, hunger-strike and whatnot, right? I don't remember how Emily Watson figures- DDL's wife/SO?

I remember liking it, but I have forgotten a lot of it.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Watched Carnage last night.

Obviously a great case with Foster, Riley, Winslett and Waltz and I was intrigued with the concept (parents of kids who fought try to "work it out" between themselves). But the writing for this... it was from a play, right? It had moments where the characters and writing felt amazingly true, but then devolved into "Play" artifice clap/trap, particularly when used for the driving the action and trying to tell a bigger story- endless mvoes to keep the action in one place/set and cheap devices to make the characters talk and act in ways nobody ever would- especially the quickest sober-drunk drinking session to loosen tongues. Ultimately a mess, and the director (was it really Polanski?) and writing didn't do the actors any favors.

I often appreciate movies that are script-driven, so I'm glad I saw it. But it could have been better.

I'm with you- but in this case I found the script frustrating due to it's reliance on devices to make the characters speak and behave in ways nobody- nobody- every would.Was the play by Labute (sp?)?

Yeah, it felt very writerly sometimes. Aaron Sorkin has the same habit.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Friends with Kids:

Oof. Felt like it was trying to be a grown up Knocked Up. Couple funny parts, but not nearly enough to justify wading through all the other bitterness to get those jokes. The basic plot is: long time group of friends are loving their lives. 2 of the couples have kids and turn into angry #######s who yell all the time. The other 2 friends who never got together decide they can have a kid and do it right without all the relationship BS getting in the way. *gasp* as you could imagine, they start having feelings for each other..... Pass on this one. 4/10.



Three Stooges:

Sorry, I couldn't make it though 30 mins of this. Don't have a clue how people could think this is remotely funny. 2/10

This is what I get for feeling bad that I am not watching the new releases at the store. Back to my list of older movies I've been wanting to watch....

 

[wazoo11]

The Boxer (with Daniel Day-Lewis) 2.5/5

Disappointing film that could - and should had a better story.

The acting is very good though.

I haven't seen it since the theaters, but I remember the story being pretty compelling. IRA, hunger-strike and whatnot, right? I don't remember how Emily Watson figures- DDL's wife/SO? Maggie was his S/O.

I remember liking it, but I have forgotten a lot of it.

I'll try to give The Boxer a second viewing later this week.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Three Stooges:

Sorry, I couldn't make it though 30 mins of this. Don't have a clue how people could think this is remotely funny. 2/10

This is what I get for feeling bad that I am not watching the new releases at the store. Back to my list of older movies I've been wanting to watch....

That Stooges was doomed from the start. How do you improve on perfection?As for new releases, these last few months have felt pretty lean for new releases.

 

[jdoggydogg]

The Right Stuff

Corny at times, but a lot of good scenes in this movie. At more than three hours, though, this movie could use some edits.

 

[Kenny Powers]

The Thing...Remake from last year. Certainly not as good as the original, but not near as bad as I expected. While it has more action and gore than the original, it lacks the tension and real scares. Also quite a few plot holes, such as saying the Thing cant replicate inorganic materials yet apparently it can replicate all clothing, but I was entertained enough. Ensemble cast was pretty good, and having a lot of foreigners I think did give it some character. Joel Edgerton always seems to put on a solid performance. Id say better than most box office sci-horror these days...2.9/5

I was surprised by this one and was entertained by it, but my beef was that they were going for a prequel as was made obvious by the ending scene, etc.., but it really felt like they didn't have anything original to bring to the table and in the end fell into just making it like the Carpenter flick. Just felt like it lacked an identity.

Yeah, there's that too. Definitely felt more like a remake than a prequel. Its been awhile since Ive seen the Carpenter version, but I dont recall any new/different discoveries in regards to the alien. The Thing did seem somewhat careless and less stategic in killing/replicating in this version, but Im guessing that wasnt by design.

 

[Dr. Awesome]

The Horseman



I typically love action revenge movies, but this one was just a little too much for me. Possibly the most violent movie I've ever seen. Sledgehammers to legs, hammers to head, burning alive, about 15 throats being slit, it's pretty much got it all. If you like the genre, worth checking out, but make sure you have a strong stomach.

3/5

Holy hell was this a violent movie. I thought it was a very good movie but you're right - you need a strong stomach to sit through this one. All the fbg's who typically rant about all the things they'd do to someone if that person hurt their kid...well, this is the movie for you. Takes the Mel Gibson/Liam Neeson/Harrison Ford rescue/avenge my family shtick to a terrifying new level.
Blitz. Jason Statham doing Jason Statham stuff. This time he's a cop trying to catch a cop killer. If you like most of Jason's films you'll enjoy this. Trailer

 

[jamny]

I thought The Grey was pretty good, not great. Beautifully shot, some solid acting but the wolves themselves could have been better. The funniest part was the glowing eyes. First there's just one set of eyes, then there are like 30 sets at once. What, did they all have their eyes closed or were they looking down and looked up at the same time? Then they all back out together in perfect unison. None of them turned to leave, they all left going backwards. Even the attack scenes could have been better. I think they pumped up the sound to distract from what was happening on screen. Some of Liam Neesons dialogue was cheesy as well. Could you just shut up for a moment without having to interrupt with some story every two minutes. I know the movie was about him but they could have used a little more time to develop some of the other characters.

Those complaints aside, it was an entertaining flick that had a good pace throughout. The whole plane ride was stressful and the accident was impressive. Neeson continues to be a great bad-### in movies and I thought that guy that gave up at the end was a really good actor too. The ending was fine by me and I think the little scene after the credits actually took away from it. Solid rental. 3/5

 

[packersfan]

Watched "Wonderland" for the first time last night. I think it succeeds best as a curiosity piece as to what might have happened with those murders as opposed to a truly compelling drama or look into the life of John Holmes. It also stands out for me since it's one of the last good performances Val Kilmer has given in the last decade. This has nothing to do with the film itself but it's frustrating that we'll never know what really went down with the murders, whether Holmes was a forced accomplice as he claimed or whether he engineered the whole thing himself. Given what a wreck of a human being he was at the time it's difficult for me to believe the latter was true.

 

[Dr. Awesome]

Oh, and to jump into the Science fiction discussion,

should definitely be mentioned. It's a low budget flick but I felt it was a tremendous movie and easily one of the best of its genre from this past decade. A middle aged average guy named Hector is on vacation with his wife. While lounging in the backyard and enjoying nature, he spies a hot young woman stripping in the woods. Wanting to get closer, he wanders to the scene. Upon arriving at the location it appears the woman is dead. He's attacked by a strange man whose face is covered in bandages. Fleeing for his life, he arrives at a building which turns out to be a laboratory operated by a peculiar scientist. The scientist lets Hector hide inside a giant machine. Hector emerges from the machine to discover he's been thrown back in time only moments before the attack repeats itself.

 

[gump]

The Right Stuff

Corny at times, but a lot of good scenes in this movie. At more than three hours, though, this movie could use some edits.

I still haven't gotten it done with the wifey....remembered it was long....you think it will keep the interest of a non movie buff?

 

[saintfool]

The Right Stuff

Corny at times, but a lot of good scenes in this movie. At more than three hours, though, this movie could use some edits.

oh, see, i think it moves really well for the story it tells. i always kind of geek out watching it though.tried watching an early michael fassbinder film the other night. "centurion" tells the tale of the 9th roman legion among the savages of briton back in the day. it's pretty terrible even for a dumb movie. i cut it off after maybe 45 minutes.

later watched the 80's aussie "the year my voice broke", which i liked quite a bit. same guy wrote/directed "flirting" as this with noah taylor in the lead. this film and "flirting" both do a good job of capturing different moments of growing up for a young man. "flirting" is a more mature, complex film but this has its moments too.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Watched "Wonderland" for the first time last night. I think it succeeds best as a curiosity piece as to what might have happened with those murders as opposed to a truly compelling drama or look into the life of John Holmes. It also stands out for me since it's one of the last good performances Val Kilmer has given in the last decade. This has nothing to do with the film itself but it's frustrating that we'll never know what really went down with the murders, whether Holmes was a forced accomplice as he claimed or whether he engineered the whole thing himself. Given what a wreck of a human being he was at the time it's difficult for me to believe the latter was true.

good film The Right Stuff is in my Top 10. Wish they'd do an Apollo version.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Watched the new Ghost Rider last night... thankfully I fell asleep about 30 minutes into it.

 

[hooter311]

Watched "Wonderland" for the first time last night. I think it succeeds best as a curiosity piece as to what might have happened with those murders as opposed to a truly compelling drama or look into the life of John Holmes. It also stands out for me since it's one of the last good performances Val Kilmer has given in the last decade. This has nothing to do with the film itself but it's frustrating that we'll never know what really went down with the murders, whether Holmes was a forced accomplice as he claimed or whether he engineered the whole thing himself. Given what a wreck of a human being he was at the time it's difficult for me to believe the latter was true.

Have you seen the Salton Sea with Kilmer? Recommended if not.

 

[TylerRoseFan]

The Last Circus. Well it was...well...it was French, or some other language w/ subtitles. Basically a new circus clown who's trying to live in his dead father's shadow falls in love w/ a chick, runs away and goes "wild" living in the woods until he finally gets captured and has his revenge. Yep.

2/10

 

[JZilla]

Ted was pretty funny, about what I expected. Stupid and formulaic but still plenty of laughs. I'm not a fan of MacFarlane's awful cartoons but I mostly enjoyed this, similar humor but the jokes were a little more focused. Plus there was a scene that made me think of Smoo.

 

[packersfan]

Watched "Wonderland" for the first time last night. I think it succeeds best as a curiosity piece as to what might have happened with those murders as opposed to a truly compelling drama or look into the life of John Holmes. It also stands out for me since it's one of the last good performances Val Kilmer has given in the last decade. This has nothing to do with the film itself but it's frustrating that we'll never know what really went down with the murders, whether Holmes was a forced accomplice as he claimed or whether he engineered the whole thing himself. Given what a wreck of a human being he was at the time it's difficult for me to believe the latter was true.

Have you seen the Salton Sea with Kilmer? Recommended if not.

I'll check it out. Thanks.One other observation about "Wonderland." Kilmer looked to be far less haggard than Holmes was supposed to be at the time. Holmes was a pretty thin guy to begin with but all the drugs had him wasting away by the 80s. Not sure what the real-life characters looked like but Josh Lucas and Dylan McDermott looked to be in pretty good shape for a couple of guys who did as many drugs as they supposedly did.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Three Stooges:

Sorry, I couldn't make it though 30 mins of this. Don't have a clue how people could think this is remotely funny. 2/10

This is what I get for feeling bad that I am not watching the new releases at the store. Back to my list of older movies I've been wanting to watch....

That Stooges was doomed from the start. How do you improve on perfection?As for new releases, these last few months have felt pretty lean for new releases.

I am sure that was the big stumbling block - I have never found the Three Stooges funny in any era. Agree on the new releases - July usually seems like a crappy month for releases. The Oscar stuff usually comes out before then, and these are the DVD releases of the crap the studios dumped in February at the theaters.

 

[Chaka]

Three Stooges:

Sorry, I couldn't make it though 30 mins of this. Don't have a clue how people could think this is remotely funny. 2/10

This is what I get for feeling bad that I am not watching the new releases at the store. Back to my list of older movies I've been wanting to watch....

That Stooges was doomed from the start. How do you improve on perfection?As for new releases, these last few months have felt pretty lean for new releases.

I thought they did a great job with the Stooges film. It was very loyal to their legacy.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Watched "Wonderland" for the first time last night. I think it succeeds best as a curiosity piece as to what might have happened with those murders as opposed to a truly compelling drama or look into the life of John Holmes. It also stands out for me since it's one of the last good performances Val Kilmer has given in the last decade. This has nothing to do with the film itself but it's frustrating that we'll never know what really went down with the murders, whether Holmes was a forced accomplice as he claimed or whether he engineered the whole thing himself. Given what a wreck of a human being he was at the time it's difficult for me to believe the latter was true.

Have you seen the Salton Sea with Kilmer? Recommended if not.

Definitely recommend SS. Vincent D'Onofrio knocks it outta the park in that film.

 

[Papa Georgio]

Oh, and to jump into the Science fiction discussion,

Loved this, it wasn't overly convoluted like some of these types of movies can be. The final scenes back at the house are very entertaining.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Watched "Wonderland" for the first time last night. I think it succeeds best as a curiosity piece as to what might have happened with those murders as opposed to a truly compelling drama or look into the life of John Holmes. It also stands out for me since it's one of the last good performances Val Kilmer has given in the last decade. This has nothing to do with the film itself but it's frustrating that we'll never know what really went down with the murders, whether Holmes was a forced accomplice as he claimed or whether he engineered the whole thing himself. Given what a wreck of a human being he was at the time it's difficult for me to believe the latter was true.

This is a good one. Forgot about Dre.

 

[jdoggydogg]

The Right Stuff

Corny at times, but a lot of good scenes in this movie. At more than three hours, though, this movie could use some edits.

I still haven't gotten it done with the wifey....remembered it was long....you think it will keep the interest of a non movie buff?

Definitely. It's an entertaining historical drama akin to Apollo 13.

 

[jdoggydogg]

The Right Stuff

Corny at times, but a lot of good scenes in this movie. At more than three hours, though, this movie could use some edits.

oh, see, i think it moves really well for the story it tells. i always kind of geek out watching it though.tried watching an early michael fassbinder film the other night. "centurion" tells the tale of the 9th roman legion among the savages of briton back in the day. it's pretty terrible even for a dumb movie. i cut it off after maybe 45 minutes.

later watched the 80's aussie "the year my voice broke", which i liked quite a bit. same guy wrote/directed "flirting" as this with noah taylor in the lead. this film and "flirting" both do a good job of capturing different moments of growing up for a young man. "flirting" is a more mature, complex film but this has its moments too.

Flirting is very underrated.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Caught Prometheus over the weekend. Man, what a mess. It felt like a 10 hour miniseries that got cut at random to make a 2.5 hour flick. I liked the premise and most of the cast, but it seemed like Scott was trying to do too much. Several character arcs felt really truncated and their motivations were fuzzy at best. The whole thing felt extremely sloppy.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

The Raven: It is what Sherlock Holmes was trying to be. A little over the top on some of the amazing detective work but quite entertaining. 3.5/5

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Watched the new Ghost Rider last night... thankfully I fell asleep about 30 minutes into it.

For a guy that watches so many movies, I'm surprised you're not better at avoiding ones that you would clearly hate.

 

[heckmanm]

I thought gattaca was supposed to be terrible?nevermind, I see it was pretty well received -- of course, so was prometheus.I really liked the first half of minority report, but thought it fell apart as it went along.

Thinking of Gymkata, perhaps?

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Watched the new Ghost Rider last night... thankfully I fell asleep about 30 minutes into it.

For a guy that watches so many movies, I'm surprised you're not better at avoiding ones that you would clearly hate.

It was the girlfriends night to pick, so she picks two movies and I have to pick out of them... the other option was The Vow.

 

[saintfool]

I thought gattaca was supposed to be terrible?

nevermind, I see it was pretty well received -- of course, so was prometheus.

I really liked the first half of minority report, but thought it fell apart as it went along.

Thinking of Gymkata, perhaps?

one of the most criminally under-rated dumb movies of the 80's.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Watched the new Ghost Rider last night... thankfully I fell asleep about 30 minutes into it.

For a guy that watches so many movies, I'm surprised you're not better at avoiding ones that you would clearly hate.

It was the girlfriends night to pick, so she picks two movies and I have to pick out of them... the other option was The Vow.

Oof. Caught between the scylla and charybdis there.At least with The Vow you'd get to look at Rachel McAdams for an hour and a half.

 

[NCCommish]

I hate to reignite the is it sci-fi argument. Sci-Fi can go so many different ways that the genre is hard to pin down. It can be a detective story like Blade Runner. It can be an homage to spaghetti westerns like Star Wars. It can have rockets, aliens and spacemen or not. It may never leave Earth or even the relatively present day. To quote Potter Stewart "I know it when I see it".

 

[Andy Dufresne]

I also saw it yesterday. Agree on the character motivations. Plus, you didn't ever really care about any of the characters, so it didn't matter when they got offed.

Spoiler

And what was the robots motivation? Was it just programmed to be evil? I didn't really get that.

Spoiler

Of course. Robots are amoral. Or at least no more moral than their creators. Which, incidentally, is one of the big themes of the show.

 

[[icon]]

Jeff Who LIves At Home



I'd give it a 8.5 out of 10. Very solid little flick. Rated as a comedy but is very atypical of the genre. More of an arsty little thinker than a comedy. I enjoyed it though.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

I also saw it yesterday. Agree on the character motivations. Plus, you didn't ever really care about any of the characters, so it didn't matter when they got offed.

Spoiler

And what was the robots motivation? Was it just programmed to be evil? I didn't really get that.

Spoiler

Of course. Robots are amoral. Or at least no more moral than their creators. Which, incidentally, is one of the big themes of the show.

Spoiler

I understand amoral, but he seemed to be actively evil, which is outside most robot behavior. Maybe it was all the movies he watched and the "kill your parents" theme he kept repeating. Just didn't know why he killed the doctor guy.

He didn't by choice. He was under orders.