Recently viewed movie thread - Rental Edition (8 Viewers)

[Time Kibitzer]

Amour:

Everything that I expected going in, but still hard to watch. Fantastic acting, and Haneke takes his time and doesn't let the viewer escape the situation for a minute. One of the surprises was that he tipped his hand with the first couple shots of the movie. This is why I watch foreign movies. This subject matter, especially this realistically done, makes us queasy as a whole and there is no way this is made in the states. Something makes me think I missed something at the end -

Spoiler

Was he just imagining his wife at the end, was he slowing killing himself, did he leave to go kill himself, etc.. As they were coming into the apartment in the beginning there was just the one body and he was nowhere to be seen, right??

Spoiler

One of best movies of last year, and honestly surprised there wasn't more debate on this one, seems like it was universally loved. 8/10

Away From Her

Not technically made in the States, but Canada is close enough.

I think I posted my thoughts of Amour in here before, but I wasn't a huge fan of the film. Though maybe that's because I thought Haneke's previous 2 films are 2 of the best since the millennium, so perhaps my expectations were too great.

 

[sports_fan]

Castaway on the Moon

Third time viewing. Still one of my favorite little known movies. Recommended.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Monsters University

Very strong Pixar effort. Worth a rental.

 

[Bob Magaw]

good, bad and the weird...

from i saw the devil director...

pretty good homage to my favorite leone spaghetti western...

one of best scores i've heard in a while...

 

[jamny]

The HBO documentary Casting By is definitely worth checking out for film buffs. It primarily focuses on Marion Dougherty, who set a new standard in casting direction, but it offers lots of insight into the film industry. A fun watch that also hints at what's wrong with the movie industry today. 3/5

 

[saintfool]

finally got to the theater and caught woody's latest, "blue jasmine". it's one of his strongest films but i suspect that it is due in large part to the cast. it's funny to think of him as this formalist but that's what woody's become. cate is tremendous but, just as it is with almost every one of his film's, there is another actor to balance it all out. in this film, it is sally hawkins. she squeezes out a lot of life from this minor role and it's kind of fantastic to see. this is not woody's best script or looking film but it's major minor in the canon.

 

[cstu]

Saxondale

Ex-roadie now runs a pest control service. Highly recommended to Steve Coogan fans and fans of British comedy.

Thanks for the heads up on this, would never have caught it since it's not listed in his IMDB acting credits for some reason. Watched the series over the past week and it's easily my favorite Coogan role. I've always found him funny but Alan Partridge didn't wow me like this did. A perfect role for him really. In less talented hands Saxondale would have been an obnoxious ####### you hate rather than a guy you like and sympathize a bit for (i.e. The Office).

 

[Ministry of Pain]

West of Memphis: Good documentary, very one sided in a lot of ways but overall pretty compelling and a good review of what happened. Oh those man eating turtles.

 

[saintfool]

Saxondale

Ex-roadie now runs a pest control service. Highly recommended to Steve Coogan fans and fans of British comedy.

Thanks for the heads up on this, would never have caught it since it's not listed in his IMDB acting credits for some reason. Watched the series over the past week and it's easily my favorite Coogan role. I've always found him funny but Alan Partridge didn't wow me like this did. A perfect role for him really. In less talented hands Saxondale would have been an obnoxious ####### you hate rather than a guy you like and sympathize a bit for (i.e. The Office).

I think it's a great little series. All very gentle, Brit humor. It's not especially ambitious but I think he is a great character.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Saxondale

Ex-roadie now runs a pest control service. Highly recommended to Steve Coogan fans and fans of British comedy.

Thanks for the heads up on this, would never have caught it since it's not listed in his IMDB acting credits for some reason. Watched the series over the past week and it's easily my favorite Coogan role. I've always found him funny but Alan Partridge didn't wow me like this did. A perfect role for him really. In less talented hands Saxondale would have been an obnoxious ####### you hate rather than a guy you like and sympathize a bit for (i.e. The Office).

Funny. I just looked it up and Saxondale is listed on IMDB.

Anyway, loved the series.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

Anyone watch Castle? Wife started watching in syndication and I must say that we are both hooked. She likes cop shows that aren't too serious, and I like mysoginists as charecters and a hot chick to look at, so it works. Solid show. Nothing that will ever win an award and it feels like they know that (unless I'm wrong and they have actually won an award, which would be weird and cool). Eh, whatever, we are enjoying it. It's either that or Duck Dynasty lately on the tube.

 

[Todem]

So I was in Walmart the other day and saw the prequel of "The Thing" sitting in a $5 DVD bin.

I adore the Carpenter original so why not?

It was pretty damn good. It was nice to see the back story of the Norwegions camp. I though the acting was solid, pace was great, lot's of suspense. The effects were good.

Solid 3 star flick.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Call the Midwife

I'll continue to pimp this show as it's very underrated. Highly recommended to fans of British period dramas such as Downton Abbey.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Monsters University

I know that Pixar is getting battered by critics lately. That's largely due to the fact that this company set the standard for great animated stories. While MU isn't Toy Story great, it's definitely a solid mid-tier Pixar effort. Very enjoyable.

 

[saintfool]

Anyone watch Castle? Wife started watching in syndication and I must say that we are both hooked. She likes cop shows that aren't too serious, and I like mysoginists as charecters and a hot chick to look at, so it works. Solid show. Nothing that will ever win an award and it feels like they know that (unless I'm wrong and they have actually won an award, which would be weird and cool). Eh, whatever, we are enjoying it. It's either that or Duck Dynasty lately on the tube.

The ex-wife loved Fillion so we watched this a few times. We called it "Murder, He Wrote". Not bad but not especially good either.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

Anyone watch Castle? Wife started watching in syndication and I must say that we are both hooked. She likes cop shows that aren't too serious, and I like mysoginists as charecters and a hot chick to look at, so it works. Solid show. Nothing that will ever win an award and it feels like they know that (unless I'm wrong and they have actually won an award, which would be weird and cool). Eh, whatever, we are enjoying it. It's either that or Duck Dynasty lately on the tube.

The ex-wife loved Fillion so we watched this a few times. We called it "Murder, He Wrote". Not bad but not especially good either.

That's a solid description.

 

[cstu]

Saxondale

Ex-roadie now runs a pest control service. Highly recommended to Steve Coogan fans and fans of British comedy.

Thanks for the heads up on this, would never have caught it since it's not listed in his IMDB acting credits for some reason. Watched the series over the past week and it's easily my favorite Coogan role. I've always found him funny but Alan Partridge didn't wow me like this did. A perfect role for him really. In less talented hands Saxondale would have been an obnoxious ####### you hate rather than a guy you like and sympathize a bit for (i.e. The Office).

Funny. I just looked it up and Saxondale is listed on IMDB.

Anyway, loved the series.

I know what happened...I normally sort an actor's credits by rating and Saxondale doesn't show up his acting credits (on that page), only producer.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Saxondale

Ex-roadie now runs a pest control service. Highly recommended to Steve Coogan fans and fans of British comedy.

Thanks for the heads up on this, would never have caught it since it's not listed in his IMDB acting credits for some reason. Watched the series over the past week and it's easily my favorite Coogan role. I've always found him funny but Alan Partridge didn't wow me like this did. A perfect role for him really. In less talented hands Saxondale would have been an obnoxious ####### you hate rather than a guy you like and sympathize a bit for (i.e. The Office).

Funny. I just looked it up and Saxondale is listed on IMDB.

Anyway, loved the series.

I know what happened...I normally sort an actor's credits by rating and Saxondale doesn't show up his acting credits (on that page), only producer.

I dig. Did you see Coogan in The Trip? Good stuff.

 

[cstu]

Saxondale

Ex-roadie now runs a pest control service. Highly recommended to Steve Coogan fans and fans of British comedy.

Thanks for the heads up on this, would never have caught it since it's not listed in his IMDB acting credits for some reason. Watched the series over the past week and it's easily my favorite Coogan role. I've always found him funny but Alan Partridge didn't wow me like this did. A perfect role for him really. In less talented hands Saxondale would have been an obnoxious ####### you hate rather than a guy you like and sympathize a bit for (i.e. The Office).

Funny. I just looked it up and Saxondale is listed on IMDB.

Anyway, loved the series.

I know what happened...I normally sort an actor's credits by rating and Saxondale doesn't show up his acting credits (on that page), only producer.

I dig. Did you see Coogan in The Trip? Good stuff.

He was great in that and I saw they are filming The Trip in Italy.

BTW, 0I just watched a bit of Alan Partridge on Youtube and realized what it was I hated about it - the audience laughter. It seems so out of place and ruins it for me.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Saxondale

Ex-roadie now runs a pest control service. Highly recommended to Steve Coogan fans and fans of British comedy.

Thanks for the heads up on this, would never have caught it since it's not listed in his IMDB acting credits for some reason. Watched the series over the past week and it's easily my favorite Coogan role. I've always found him funny but Alan Partridge didn't wow me like this did. A perfect role for him really. In less talented hands Saxondale would have been an obnoxious ####### you hate rather than a guy you like and sympathize a bit for (i.e. The Office).

Funny. I just looked it up and Saxondale is listed on IMDB.

Anyway, loved the series.

I know what happened...I normally sort an actor's credits by rating and Saxondale doesn't show up his acting credits (on that page), only producer.

I dig. Did you see Coogan in The Trip? Good stuff.

He was great in that and I saw they are filming The Trip in Italy.

BTW, 0I just watched a bit of Alan Partridge on Youtube and realized what it was I hated about it - the audience laughter. It seems so out of place and ruins it for me.

Sure. I can see that. Overall, I liked Saxondale better. But Alan Partridge did have some good laughs.

Did you see Hamlet 2? Coogan's very funny in that.

 

[badmojo1006]

I am watching something I haven't seen in a long time.

Gone With the Wind

 

[badmojo1006]

I am watching something I haven't seen in a long time.

Gone With the Wind

As God as my Witness, I will never be hungry again!

 

[sports_fan]

Before Midnight

It builds on the first two movies, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. The story takes place 18 years after they first met. All 3 are quality movies. Excellent dialogue .

 

[Kenny Powers]

Side Effects...Although I have missed a couple of his movies over the last decade or so that look like theyre worth watching, I thought this was easily Soderbergh's best movie since Ocean's 11 (and likely better albeit hard to compare). What was interesting about this to me was how the the first half of it is a character based drama that did quite well with its focus/information on depression as well as the pharmaceutical industry, and kept those things in mind but turned into a psychological thriller for the 2nd half. Wont say anything else regarding plot because its too hard to without spoilers, and while the hints/twists started to get a little convoluted, overall it worked for me. I thought Rooney Mara was excellent. I was actually surprised looking at her resume because she hasnt had many roles at all, but I feel like her name is quite recognizable despite that, and thought Ive seen her a lot more than I have. On the other hand, Ive seen plenty of movies with Jude Law, and while I never thought he was bad and I like some of his starring roles/movies (Existenz, Enemy at the Gates) quite a bit, he never impressed me until now with Side Effects which Id easily say is his best performance. There's a lot more to like here than nitpick...3.9/5

 

[FUBAR]

Django unchained, loved it. Might be my new favorite Tarantino, but that's a close call.

Brave, better than i expected.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Yeah, I know that this is the movie thread (Hi, Krista!).

Been looking for a new show to watch. Took home the first seasons of Justified, Sons of Anarchy, and Boardwalk Empire to test out the first episode or so figuring I would easily weed it down to 1. Turns out I liked what I saw out of all three. Thought I'd ask the masses which were the better shows over the long run to keep watching.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Yeah, I know that this is the movie thread (Hi, Krista!).

Been looking for a new show to watch. Took home the first seasons of Justified, Sons of Anarchy, and Boardwalk Empire to test out the first episode or so figuring I would easily weed it down to 1. Turns out I liked what I saw out of all three. Thought I'd ask the masses which were the better shows over the long run to keep watching.

Havent seen SOA. Watched the 1st half of season 1 of Boardwalk, liked it, thought it could be better though but hard to say without seeing at least the whole 1st season.

As for Justified, I watched the first 2 seasons. If you can plug thru the 1st half of season 1 which is more stand alone episodes for some reason, its gets a lot better storyline wise and I really liked it. Justified doesnt take itself all that seriously and neither should you though.

 

[badmojo1006]

Yeah, I know that this is the movie thread (Hi, Krista!).

Been looking for a new show to watch. Took home the first seasons of Justified, Sons of Anarchy, and Boardwalk Empire to test out the first episode or so figuring I would easily weed it down to 1. Turns out I liked what I saw out of all three. Thought I'd ask the masses which were the better shows over the long run to keep watching.

I have only seen SOA. Have watched all the seasons. It is good, not in the upper tier of TV shows, but it is enjoyable

 

[jdoggydogg]

Yeah, I know that this is the movie thread (Hi, Krista!).

Been looking for a new show to watch. Took home the first seasons of Justified, Sons of Anarchy, and Boardwalk Empire to test out the first episode or so figuring I would easily weed it down to 1. Turns out I liked what I saw out of all three. Thought I'd ask the masses which were the better shows over the long run to keep watching.

Boardwalk Empire is on an entirely different level than the other two.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Star Trek (2?)

8/10

Liked it a lot. Not better or worse then the first reboot.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Star Trek (2?)

8/10

Liked it a lot. Not better or worse then the first reboot.

 

[mphtrilogy]

jack reacher

solid, very watchable...

 

[jdoggydogg]

jack reacher

solid, very watchable...

 

[Homer J Simpson]

Yeah, I know that this is the movie thread (Hi, Krista!).

Been looking for a new show to watch. Took home the first seasons of Justified, Sons of Anarchy, and Boardwalk Empire to test out the first episode or so figuring I would easily weed it down to 1. Turns out I liked what I saw out of all three. Thought I'd ask the masses which were the better shows over the long run to keep watching.

Havent seen SOA. Watched the 1st half of season 1 of Boardwalk, liked it, thought it could be better though but hard to say without seeing at least the whole 1st season.

As for Justified, I watched the first 2 seasons. If you can plug thru the 1st half of season 1 which is more stand alone episodes for some reason, its gets a lot better storyline wise and I really liked it. Justified doesnt take itself all that seriously and neither should you though.

Love Justified.

 

[sports_fan]

Dracula (1992)

Awful. I finished the book recently (brilliant) and looked for a movie adaptation faithful to Stoker's story. This missed the mark badly. Terrible overacting. I couldn't finish it.

 

[Daywalker]

Yeah, I know that this is the movie thread (Hi, Krista!).

Been looking for a new show to watch. Took home the first seasons of Justified, Sons of Anarchy, and Boardwalk Empire to test out the first episode or so figuring I would easily weed it down to 1. Turns out I liked what I saw out of all three. Thought I'd ask the masses which were the better shows over the long run to keep watching.

Havent seen SOA. Watched the 1st half of season 1 of Boardwalk, liked it, thought it could be better though but hard to say without seeing at least the whole 1st season.

As for Justified, I watched the first 2 seasons. If you can plug thru the 1st half of season 1 which is more stand alone episodes for some reason, its gets a lot better storyline wise and I really liked it. Justified doesnt take itself all that seriously and neither should you though.

I bailed on BE after the first five episodes. After season three finished, it started to get a renewed buzz. I went back and got caught up and I now rank it in my top 10. Season 2 & 3 are terrific.

I'm 10 episodes in on SOA. If you like Justified you'll like SOA in the same fashion.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Dracula (1992)

Awful. I finished the book recently (brilliant) and looked for a movie adaptation faithful to Stoker's story. This missed the mark badly. Terrible overacting. I couldn't finish it.

Im not really a bookreader, but it seems much more often than not people who enjoy the book think the film doesnt live up to it, to various degrees. Its been awhile since Ive watched Dracula in its entirety, but I really liked it. One of Gary Oldman's most underrated/underappreciated roles, Hopkins is solid, and Coppola did good work with it AFAIR. Sure, Keanu was still learning how to not give his Keanu face all the time, but that didnt bother me much here.

I could see how you might be disappointed based on the names involved here, but it certainly wasnt awful.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Yeah, I know that this is the movie thread (Hi, Krista!).

Been looking for a new show to watch. Took home the first seasons of Justified, Sons of Anarchy, and Boardwalk Empire to test out the first episode or so figuring I would easily weed it down to 1. Turns out I liked what I saw out of all three. Thought I'd ask the masses which were the better shows over the long run to keep watching.

Havent seen SOA. Watched the 1st half of season 1 of Boardwalk, liked it, thought it could be better though but hard to say without seeing at least the whole 1st season.

As for Justified, I watched the first 2 seasons. If you can plug thru the 1st half of season 1 which is more stand alone episodes for some reason, its gets a lot better storyline wise and I really liked it. Justified doesnt take itself all that seriously and neither should you though.

I bailed on BE after the first five episodes. After season three finished, it started to get a renewed buzz. I went back and got caught up and I now rank it in my top 10. Season 2 & 3 are terrific.

I'm 10 episodes in on SOA. If you like Justified you'll like SOA in the same fashion.

Yeah, I didnt really bail on BE, it was more that I got caught in between moving/school and havent got back to it yet. The mob and historical drama is my wheelhouse, so I will certainly get back at some point.

Also plan on getting back with Justified as I liked it but need to catch up.

Cant think of many FX shows Ive been disappointed with. Testees is the only one that comes to mind, I even enjoyed The Riches and Terriers. SOA is one of those shows on my backburner but definitely want to see.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Dracula (1992)

Awful. I finished the book recently (brilliant) and looked for a movie adaptation faithful to Stoker's story. This missed the mark badly. Terrible overacting. I couldn't finish it.

Im not really a bookreader, but it seems much more often than not people who enjoy the book think the film doesnt live up to it, to various degrees. Its been awhile since Ive watched Dracula in its entirety, but I really liked it. One of Gary Oldman's most underrated/underappreciated roles, Hopkins is solid, and Coppola did good work with it AFAIR. Sure, Keanu was still learning how to not give his Keanu face all the time, but that didnt bother me much here.

I could see how you might be disappointed based on the names involved here, but it certainly wasnt awful.

I was 13 and making out with a chick the entire movie in the back of the theater.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Dracula (1992)

Awful. I finished the book recently (brilliant) and looked for a movie adaptation faithful to Stoker's story. This missed the mark badly. Terrible overacting. I couldn't finish it.

Im not really a bookreader, but it seems much more often than not people who enjoy the book think the film doesnt live up to it, to various degrees. Its been awhile since Ive watched Dracula in its entirety, but I really liked it. One of Gary Oldman's most underrated/underappreciated roles, Hopkins is solid, and Coppola did good work with it AFAIR. Sure, Keanu was still learning how to not give his Keanu face all the time, but that didnt bother me much here.

I could see how you might be disappointed based on the names involved here, but it certainly wasnt awful.

You know what? The 1979 Frank Langella Dracula is pretty dope.

 

[Sarnoff]

Dracula (1992)

Awful. I finished the book recently (brilliant) and looked for a movie adaptation faithful to Stoker's story. This missed the mark badly. Terrible overacting. I couldn't finish it.

Im not really a bookreader, but it seems much more often than not people who enjoy the book think the film doesnt live up to it, to various degrees. Its been awhile since Ive watched Dracula in its entirety, but I really liked it. One of Gary Oldman's most underrated/underappreciated roles, Hopkins is solid, and Coppola did good work with it AFAIR. Sure, Keanu was still learning how to not give his Keanu face all the time, but that didnt bother me much here.

I could see how you might be disappointed based on the names involved here, but it certainly wasnt awful.

The interesting thing about this movie is that there are no computer visual effects. Everything was done "in camera". For example, for the shot at the beginning where Keanu is writing in his diary on the lower half of the screen, and the train is chugging along at the top of the screen, they literally shot exactly that... using a giant diary and a miniature train in the same shot. In the same scene, there's a shot of Dracula's evil eyes in the sky looking down on the train through the window; to do that, they filmed Gary Oldman's eyes, then did a rear projection of that over a miniature countryside. Then there was a rear projection of that through the window of the train with Keanu in front.

(When Coppola was told by the VFX team they couldn't do what he wanted without computers and CGI, he fired them all and had his 29-year-old son do everything using only the techniques available at the turn of the 20th century)

 

[sports_fan]

Dracula (1992)

Awful. I finished the book recently (brilliant) and looked for a movie adaptation faithful to Stoker's story. This missed the mark badly. Terrible overacting. I couldn't finish it.

Im not really a bookreader, but it seems much more often than not people who enjoy the book think the film doesnt live up to it, to various degrees. Its been awhile since Ive watched Dracula in its entirety, but I really liked it. One of Gary Oldman's most underrated/underappreciated roles, Hopkins is solid, and Coppola did good work with it AFAIR. Sure, Keanu was still learning how to not give his Keanu face all the time, but that didnt bother me much here.

I could see how you might be disappointed based on the names involved here, but it certainly wasnt awful.

The interesting thing about this movie is that there are no computer visual effects. Everything was done "in camera". For example, for the shot at the beginning where Keanu is writing in his diary on the lower half of the screen, and the train is chugging along at the top of the screen, they literally shot exactly that... using a giant diary and a miniature train in the same shot. In the same scene, there's a shot of Dracula's evil eyes in the sky looking down on the train through the window; to do that, they filmed Gary Oldman's eyes, then did a rear projection of that over a miniature countryside. Then there was a rear projection of that through the window of the train with Keanu in front.

(When Coppola was told by the VFX team they couldn't do what he wanted without computers and CGI, he fired them all and had his 29-year-old son do everything using only the techniques available at the turn of the 20th century)

Visually it is impressive. I'll give it that. It's a quality piece of softcore pron.

My main beef with it was that it completely altered the dynamic of the story. Dracula went from cunning and ruthless killer (novel) to a brokenhearted lover (film). Ruining his character. Mina was also poorly portrayed.

I went looking for a close adaptation and this was not it. Far from it.

 

[cstu]

Tattoo Nation

Nice doc which shows the history of tatooing in the U.S. since WW2. I'm not a fan of tattoos but some of the tattoos they showed that are being done today made me want to get one.

 

[cstu]

Clear History

It's Larry David.

Worth watching if you're a fan since there are some very funny moments but the story pretty awful.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Clear History

It's Larry David.

Worth watching if you're a fan since there are some very funny moments but the story pretty awful.

I loved it

 

[mphtrilogy]

django unchained

really did not want to like this, and avoided it for a long time, finally watched it and enjoyed it a lot..

 

[cosjobs]

You're Next

Not really a genre I like very much anymore, but I had a couple of hours to kill and this was starting as I walked up to the marquis.

I really liked it a lot. It managed to be thrilling, chilling, suspenseful, brutal and gory, but on a level that never made me so uncomfortable as I usually feel watching these things. If this last 20 of these I had watched had been half as good as this, I probably would have never left the genre.

4.1/5 stars

 

[Daywalker]

The Butler.

Like it more then I expected. The start and finish to the film was solid. The middle was a bit clunky as they tried to cover so many historical events. Thought the endless cameo's were a bit distracting. Don't see the need.

Whitaker and Oprah will likely get Oscar nom's.

Yaya Alafia is hot.

I'll be interested to see the box-office results this week. This one could have legs.

7.5/10

 

[cstu]

Dawn of the Dead (remake 2004)

Fun ride but that's about it.

 

[Bri]

Shameless; if you guys are watching seasons of shows.

I enjoyed Mud recently. Typical McConaughey (sp?) movie