Recently viewed movie thread - Rental Edition (2 Viewers)

[Chaka]

Bought Pacific Rim on DVD the second I could and did movie night with my son. Girls in bed, lights off, TV volume at 50+. The mancave was a warzone of monsters and robots for 2 hours. Still an awesome movie.

Watched this weekend. Not sure how anyone could possibly be disappointed in this movie.

I FF'ed through the robot battles and the only thing that made any of the rest of it watchable was the dude from Sunny. I'm over pointless action movies though.

Brilliant!

 

[cstu]

Bought Pacific Rim on DVD the second I could and did movie night with my son. Girls in bed, lights off, TV volume at 50+. The mancave was a warzone of monsters and robots for 2 hours. Still an awesome movie.

Watched this weekend. Not sure how anyone could possibly be disappointed in this movie.

I FF'ed through the robot battles and the only thing that made any of the rest of it watchable was the dude from Sunny. I'm over pointless action movies though.

Brilliant!

I watched the first couple and then I realized it was the same thing over and over again. There was no drama and you knew the good guys were going to win. Even if the good guys lost, who cares none of them were likeable anyway.

 

[Drifter]

I saw Mama this weekend. Really, really bad. Horribly cast and poorly written, it borrows elements form other successful movies in the genre (mainly The Ring and The Grudge) and doesn't do them nearly as well.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Before Midnight:

Really enjoyed this one, but there is a change of tone with this one (which is a logical progression of their characters) that I could see taking people by surprise. I am sure that people have seen previews, but just in case:

Spoiler

This one takes an interesting look at what happens when you make difficult choices and end up getting what you want. This one is more emotionally charged and a bit darker than the other two. Looking in on their two days together was lighter and had the more classic romantic feeling than us catching up with them after 9 years of being together and dealing with the consequences of their actions. Just like I could relate to the emotions of the 2nd movie, there is a lot of stuff that rings true as well having a kid and being married for 8 years too.

Really liked it, and would consider it one of the better movies of the year. Great continuation of the series, but the sappy guy in me still loves #2 the most. 8/10

 

[jdoggydogg]

Bought Pacific Rim on DVD the second I could and did movie night with my son. Girls in bed, lights off, TV volume at 50+. The mancave was a warzone of monsters and robots for 2 hours. Still an awesome movie.

Watched this weekend. Not sure how anyone could possibly be disappointed in this movie.

I know it's a facile argument, but if you're disappointed with Pacific Rim, you were in the wrong theater in the first place.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Bought Pacific Rim on DVD the second I could and did movie night with my son. Girls in bed, lights off, TV volume at 50+. The mancave was a warzone of monsters and robots for 2 hours. Still an awesome movie.

Watched this weekend. Not sure how anyone could possibly be disappointed in this movie.

I know it's a facile argument, but if you're disappointed with Pacific Rim, you were in the wrong theater in the first place.

as long as you guys realize that these were exactly the types of arguments fans of the ####ty transformer movies were giving too. "what did you expect?- its a movie about giant fighting robots"

 

[Yankee23Fan]

Bought Pacific Rim on DVD the second I could and did movie night with my son. Girls in bed, lights off, TV volume at 50+. The mancave was a warzone of monsters and robots for 2 hours. Still an awesome movie.

Watched this weekend. Not sure how anyone could possibly be disappointed in this movie.

I know it's a facile argument, but if you're disappointed with Pacific Rim, you were in the wrong theater in the first place.

as long as you guys realize that these were exactly the types of arguments fans of the ####ty transformer movies were giving too. "what did you expect?- its a movie about giant fighting robots"

Transformers as a group of movies doesn't deserve the love showered on Pacific Rim because it didn't stay true to the actual underlying story of Transformers. It was a comedy in one installment that wasn't that funny and the special effects weren't as good as they could have been. HAving said that, I am ok with them. I wish they were better, but I'm not boycotting them.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Bought Pacific Rim on DVD the second I could and did movie night with my son. Girls in bed, lights off, TV volume at 50+. The mancave was a warzone of monsters and robots for 2 hours. Still an awesome movie.

Watched this weekend. Not sure how anyone could possibly be disappointed in this movie.

I know it's a facile argument, but if you're disappointed with Pacific Rim, you were in the wrong theater in the first place.

as long as you guys realize that these were exactly the types of arguments fans of the ####ty transformer movies were giving too. "what did you expect?- its a movie about giant fighting robots"

Transformers as a group of movies doesn't deserve the love showered on Pacific Rim because it didn't stay true to the actual underlying story of Transformers. It was a comedy in one installment that wasn't that funny and the special effects weren't as good as they could have been. HAving said that, I am ok with them. I wish they were better, but I'm not boycotting them.

Exactly. Transformers had a history to live up to and it had no idea what it was trying to do in any of the movies. Pacific Rim was about a bunch of CGI beasts kicking the crap out of each other.

 

[Chaka]

The Transformers movies raped my childhood.

Nah, just kidding. It's a metaphor. But that actually happened, though.

 

[Gr00vus]

I finally saw The Dark Knight Rises this weekend. I liked it despite:

1) Some minor plot holes

2) I still don't really get why Gotham is the focus of the bad guys' attention given the backstory exposed

3) The Bane accent/voice processing was silly along with Bale's Batman voice (which I sort of get since he's trying to hide his identity, but still)

None of that stuff was bad enough to keep it from being enjoyable, and unlike some others I think it's up to par with the previous two. I think I actually liked it better than 2, maybe that's just because Hathaway and Cotillard were about a million times hotter than Gyllenhall, but I think this one was a bit better focused than 2.

 

[El Floppo]

Bought Pacific Rim on DVD the second I could and did movie night with my son. Girls in bed, lights off, TV volume at 50+. The mancave was a warzone of monsters and robots for 2 hours. Still an awesome movie.

Watched this weekend. Not sure how anyone could possibly be disappointed in this movie.

Thought the writing was pathetically bad- from the dialogue to the overall story. Thta pretty much diminished it for me. Pacing and tone also felt off and all over the place. Also felt like Del Toro was just in the mood to make robots, so came up with this vehicle for his monsters (which I'm tired of) and robots.

 

[El Floppo]

I saw Mama this weekend. Really, really bad. Horribly cast and poorly written, it borrows elements form other successful movies in the genre (mainly The Ring and The Grudge) and doesn't do them nearly as well.

Just read the movie title and for some reason thought of Where's Poppa. So there you go.

 

[sports_fan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fupWquPNoTc

 

[El Floppo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fupWquPNoTc

awesome.

 

[badmojo1006]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fupWquPNoTc

 

[Daywalker]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fupWquPNoTc

Pew, pew, pew.

 

[Chaka]

I saw Mama this weekend. Really, really bad. Horribly cast and poorly written, it borrows elements form other successful movies in the genre (mainly The Ring and The Grudge) and doesn't do them nearly as well.

Just read the movie title and for some reason thought of Where's Poppa. So there you go.

Still dead, Ma.

 

[Apes with Guns]

Pacific Rim battle in lego: http://io9.com/pacific-rims-kaiju-battles-recreated-entirely-out-of-l-1450821209

 

[Sarnoff]

In the "Gravity" thread, I brought up how rare it is to see a purely original major Hollywood movie that isn't "based on a book, TV show, comic book, toy, theme park ride, video game, real-life event, a sequel, a prequel, a reboot, or a remake of a foreign-language film." I don't remember a big movie like this since "Inception". Just out of curiosity, I checked wikipedia for the most recent Oscar nominees for best "original" screenplay. I was surprised at how many, since the year 2000, wouldn't meet that standard...

Spoiler

2000: "Almost Famous" is semi-autobiographical, "Erin Brockovich" is a true story, "Billy Elliot" is a from the UK and "You Can Count on Me" was a small indie film.

2001: "Gosford Park" & "Amelie" were foreign, "Memento" and "Royal Tenenbaums" were small budget films... but at least everything from this year seems to be original.

2002: "Talk to Her" & "Y tumama tambien" were foreign, "Big Fat Greek Wedding" was independent, and "Gangs of New York" was based on true characters from a book that Scorcese had the rights to

2003: "The Barbarian Invasions" was foreign and a sequel, "Dirty Pretty Things" was British, and "In America" was autobiographical.

2004: "The Aviator" and "Hotel Rwanda" were based on true stories. "Vera Drake" was British.

2005: "Good Night, and Good Luck", "Squid and the Whale", and "Syriana" are all based on true stories ('Syriana' being a loose adaptation of a memoir). "Match Point" was a non-hollywood Woody Allen movie.

2006: "Babel" was part of a trilogy, "Letters from Iwo Jima" and "The Queen" were based on true stories. "Pan's Labyrinth" was foreign, "Little Miss Sunshine" was a low-budget indie movie.

2007: "Juno" and "The Savages" were indie non-Hollywood films.

2008: "Milk" was based on a true story. "Happy Go Lucky" was British and "Frozen River" was indie.

2009: "The Messenger" was a non-Hollywood indie film

2010: "Another Year" was British, "The Fighter" and "The King's Speech" were based on true stories, "The Kids are all Right" was indie.

2011: "Midnight in Paris" was a non-Hollywood Woody Allen movie, "Margin Call" was indie and "A Separation" was foreign.

2012: "Amour" was foreign, "Moonrise Kingdom" was indie and "Zero Dark Thirty" was based on a true story.

Compared to the movies that were nominated in this category in the 90s, very few recent ones qualify as Original Hollywood Movies. If you take out the kids movies from this century (Up, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and Wall-E) the list is even shorter.

 

[Time Kibitzer]

The Way Way Back:

I just adored this movie. Again, nothing completely new, and fairly predictable - quiet teen is forced to go to his mom's new boyfriends' beach house for the summer, hates who he is stuck with but finds people at the dumpy water park in down who let him be himself. The actors had a lot to do with it, but this movie hit every note for me. Sam Rockwell is great as always, and Steve Carrell is also good at the prickish new boyfriend. For me, this is exactly what a movie like Adventureland wanted to be, but whiffed on. Could have clicked with me more, having a quiet son (only 7, but could see him turning out like this), but this one might be one of my favorite releases of the year so far. Came out of nowhere for me, as I had not heard of it until very recently. 8/10

A rather predictable crowd-pleaser, but I agree that the cast and characters really save the film from being a complete redux and makes it end up being a satisfying watch. All the characters were great and felt totally real, except for the super unbelievable and forced romantic relationship of the main kid, just like in Mud from earlier this year. Every director seemingly has to force a bull#### romantic relationship into their film if it stars a teenage kid apparently.

Also, Sam Rockwell is the man.

 

[Kenny Powers]

The Place Beyond The Pines...I can understand the complaints Ive read from reviews of this here and elsewhere, and its usually the same few things because so much of this film was excellent, but I personally disagree with the complaints Ive seen most frequently. I am surprised by many disliking the last act of Pines. While I would agree its not as riveting as the first 2 acts, with how the storyline and the path of the main characters went, as well as the jump in time, I thought the final act fulfilled its purpose masterfully. Without it, the major themes of the first two acts - namely family relationships & the consequences our decisions have on them - would never have been fully realized. The last act to me is what takes this film to the next level and made it great. If Pines is only 90-100 minutes, it is instead just a well made character drama that ultimately falls short with its screenplay. Each act was about 45 minutes, and all of them took some time to really heat up. The last act was no different, and with a focus on newly introduced characters, naturally it took some time to build. While it is 2 hours15min, I didnt think there were wasted scenes here and I have a hard time understanding those who think this film wouldve been better if it was considerably shorter. Last but not least, the length of it also didnt bother me because this was carried by a strong ensemble cast. Gosling and Cooper will get a lot of credit and rightly so, but Dane DeHaan (Gosling's son) and Ben Mendelsohn really stood out in smaller roles, IMO. This will certainly end up being one of my favorites of 2013...4.5/5

I don't like introducing characters near the end of the movie whose sole purpose is to add a little more dramatic weight to what happened before. Doesn't flow well and comes off as a structural error, at least to me.

In general, I agree, but this is almost like 3 separate short films if you will, wrapped into one. I thought the flow from 2nd to 3rd act was fine despite the time jump because of Cooper's aspirations. However, if they just continued where the 2nd act was going - or in another direction with the same characters - with more detail instead of having the final act, youre left with a film whose first 45 minutes would be, for the most part, useless. If they went that route, really the 1st act couldve just been the final bank robbery scene because Cooper knew nothing about Gosling's character, so that entire first act is rendered irrelevant to the film except for that scene in regards to the 2nd act. If you believe the final act and new characters was just to add dramatic weight, then I dont see why you wouldnt say the same about the 1st act had the film stuck with the path it was on.

As I said in my post you replied to, without the final act Pines would just be an above average character drama that is well made but with an incomplete screenplay. The overall key to the movie and what IMO elevated it was the storyline and what it conveyed to the viewer and made you think about. That picture was being painted in the first 2 acts, and completed with the final act.

Saw this and thought it was very good. The only weakness was the AJ character who really overacted.

I think AJ's character was supposed to be like that, as well as unlikeable, I don't think it was the actor overacting. He was using/taking advantage of Gosling's son and that persona sort of went hand in hand.

 

[Kenny Powers]

"World's End" with Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and company.

Mildly amusing but little else. Interesting enough premise but mostly squandered. I felt like the writing was weak and thinly plotted for an already pretty spare one. Still, there were laughs to be had and the soundtrack was a gem from like 1992-3. Probably the least effective of the trilogy with Shaun>Fuzz>World's End.

I liked it a lot and recommend it heartily.

I'm not saying it's a classic, but how many truly great comedies are there?

The first 30-45 minutes are the funniest on screen this year. The second half is average. They should have ditched the end of the world stuff and just done a buddy pic.

Are talking about World's End of This Is The End? I havent see WE, but Id say pretty much the same thing about TITE.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Only God Forgives

I don't get the disdain that this most recent Winding Refn film got from critics. It seems most of the hate it has gotten is due to its pacing, but it's really no different than Drive in that regard and the critics loved that movie.

Really great casting/cinematography/soundtrack, etc. etc. I like Winding Refn's description of the film as a 'Western set in the Far East with a modern cowboy hero'; it's a pretty apt description as well imo. A bit more surreal than Drive, but I'd still definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Drive.

One of the best films of 2013 so far imo.

I had the opposite reaction last night. I agree that it is beautifully shot, and live refn's style, but didn't enjoy watching this one at all. could be the surrealistic style I wasn't expecting or maybe that I didn't like or care about what happened to any of the characters. even being 90 mins, I found myself checking the time. curious to see other reactions as more of us see it.

I saw it a few months ago and would be more in your boat, not only disappointed but hard to make it to the end of the film. However I had a few that night and want to watch it again without any beer goggles to see what I think because I the first time I saw Drive I was also drunk and was disappointed with it. Watched it again and it ended up being probably my favorite film of 2011. I dont think that will happen with Only God Forgives, but Im going to give it another shot.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I saw Mama this weekend. Really, really bad. Horribly cast and poorly written, it borrows elements form other successful movies in the genre (mainly The Ring and The Grudge) and doesn't do them nearly as well.

I thought it was decent but not as good as the buzz it seemed to be getting. I liked the feral child angle for a horror movie, which made it somewhat unique. I also liked Jessica Chastain in an atypical role for her as a bassist in a punk band and thought she was good.

I watched Sinister again the other night. Probably one of my favorite horror movies of the last few years and Im surprised more people haven't seen it/talk about it.

 

[KarmaPolice]

The Way Way Back:

I just adored this movie. Again, nothing completely new, and fairly predictable - quiet teen is forced to go to his mom's new boyfriends' beach house for the summer, hates who he is stuck with but finds people at the dumpy water park in down who let him be himself. The actors had a lot to do with it, but this movie hit every note for me. Sam Rockwell is great as always, and Steve Carrell is also good at the prickish new boyfriend. For me, this is exactly what a movie like Adventureland wanted to be, but whiffed on. Could have clicked with me more, having a quiet son (only 7, but could see him turning out like this), but this one might be one of my favorite releases of the year so far. Came out of nowhere for me, as I had not heard of it until very recently. 8/10

A rather predictable crowd-pleaser, but I agree that the cast and characters really save the film from being a complete redux and makes it end up being a satisfying watch. All the characters were great and felt totally real, except for the super unbelievable and forced romantic relationship of the main kid, just like in Mud from earlier this year. Every director seemingly has to force a bull#### romantic relationship into their film if it stars a teenage kid apparently.

Also, Sam Rockwell is the man.

agree about the movie romances lately. this one didn't seem as forced as others though- felt more like a genuine friendship.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I saw Mama this weekend. Really, really bad. Horribly cast and poorly written, it borrows elements form other successful movies in the genre (mainly The Ring and The Grudge) and doesn't do them nearly as well.

I thought it was decent but not as good as the buzz it seemed to be getting. I liked the feral child angle for a horror movie, which made it somewhat unique. I also liked Jessica Chastain in an atypical role for her as a bassist in a punk band and thought she was good.

I watched Sinister again the other night. Probably one of my favorite horror movies of the last few years and Im surprised more people haven't seen it/talk about it.

there seem to be a few horror movies lately that I liked, but really should have stayed from showing the "monster". sinister was one of those, and the ending of mama was just silly.

 

[Bob Magaw]

rewatching a few leone spaghetti westerns (dollar trilogy - but he also did once upon a time in the west, and america)...

his extreme close ups and eye for casting unusual or interesting faces were like the spectacular monument valley landscapes were to john ford.

 

[cstu]

The Way Way Back:

I just adored this movie. Again, nothing completely new, and fairly predictable - quiet teen is forced to go to his mom's new boyfriends' beach house for the summer, hates who he is stuck with but finds people at the dumpy water park in down who let him be himself. The actors had a lot to do with it, but this movie hit every note for me. Sam Rockwell is great as always, and Steve Carrell is also good at the prickish new boyfriend. For me, this is exactly what a movie like Adventureland wanted to be, but whiffed on. Could have clicked with me more, having a quiet son (only 7, but could see him turning out like this), but this one might be one of my favorite releases of the year so far. Came out of nowhere for me, as I had not heard of it until very recently. 8/10

A rather predictable crowd-pleaser, but I agree that the cast and characters really save the film from being a complete redux and makes it end up being a satisfying watch. All the characters were great and felt totally real, except for the super unbelievable and forced romantic relationship of the main kid, just like in Mud from earlier this year. Every director seemingly has to force a bull#### romantic relationship into their film if it stars a teenage kid apparently.

Also, Sam Rockwell is the man.

agree about the movie romances lately. this one didn't seem as forced as others though- felt more like a genuine friendship.

Really enjoyed it.

The funny thing about the 'carry a laser' scene is that I was watching it with subtitles on and my thought at the beginning was 'Oh, that's what they lyrics are?'

It also took me awhile to realize that it wasn't supposed to be set in the 80's/early 90's with the lack of cell phones.

Hopefully Rockwell wins some awards this - very difficult role to pull off trying to combine funny with sensitive and he knocked it out of the park.

 

[Bob Magaw]

great dialogue from the spy/mountain climbing combo movie eager sanction...

"my superior wants to see you."

"well that doesn't narrow the field down much, does it?"

 

[Kenny Powers]

I saw Mama this weekend. Really, really bad. Horribly cast and poorly written, it borrows elements form other successful movies in the genre (mainly The Ring and The Grudge) and doesn't do them nearly as well.

I thought it was decent but not as good as the buzz it seemed to be getting. I liked the feral child angle for a horror movie, which made it somewhat unique. I also liked Jessica Chastain in an atypical role for her as a bassist in a punk band and thought she was good.

I watched Sinister again the other night. Probably one of my favorite horror movies of the last few years and Im surprised more people haven't seen it/talk about it.

there seem to be a few horror movies lately that I liked, but really should have stayed from showing the "monster". sinister was one of those, and the ending of mama was just silly.

Agree with all of these points. Watching Sinister again recently I got the same feeling as the first time I saw it, and as much as I like it, the weakest part is the ending because it sort of dulled down the creepiness of the whole film by showing "boogey". I still think it has a lot of good things going for it though and is sort of a throwback and one of the best horrors of recent memory.

ETA: Been on a horror kick recently and have seen some good ones, that time of year and all. I'll post on them in the next few days, but Im bout to start watching another

 

[jdoggydogg]

Cloud Atlas

I'm only 30 minutes in, but this is some whacky, ####ed up ####.

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

World War Z

As an action flick it works well. I enjoyed it as such. As a zombie/horror it is awful, so look at it as a mindless action ride.

 

[Chaka]

rewatching a few leone spaghetti westerns (dollar trilogy - but he also did once upon a time in the west, and america)...

his extreme close ups and eye for casting unusual or interesting faces were like the spectacular monument valley landscapes were to john ford.

Don't forget Duck, You Sucker! then again perhaps it would be best to forget that one.

 

[Bob Magaw]

rewatching a few leone spaghetti westerns (dollar trilogy - but he also did once upon a time in the west, and america)...

his extreme close ups and eye for casting unusual or interesting faces were like the spectacular monument valley landscapes were to john ford.

Don't forget Duck, You Sucker! then again perhaps it would be best to forget that one.

aka - fistful of dynamite.

it was included in the dollars DVD collection, but not blu ray.

rod steiger = worst accent ever.

 

[Chaka]

rewatching a few leone spaghetti westerns (dollar trilogy - but he also did once upon a time in the west, and america)...

his extreme close ups and eye for casting unusual or interesting faces were like the spectacular monument valley landscapes were to john ford.

Don't forget Duck, You Sucker! then again perhaps it would be best to forget that one.

aka - fistful of dynamite.

it was included in the dollars DVD collection, but not blu ray.

rod steiger = worst accent ever.

Fun movie at times but there are long stretches of blah and it often misses the mark.

 

[El Floppo]

rewatching a few leone spaghetti westerns (dollar trilogy - but he also did once upon a time in the west, and america)...

his extreme close ups and eye for casting unusual or interesting faces were like the spectacular monument valley landscapes were to john ford.

Don't forget Duck, You Sucker! then again perhaps it would be best to forget that one.

aka - fistful of dynamite.

it was included in the dollars DVD collection, but not blu ray.

rod steiger = worst accent ever.

Fun movie at times but there are long stretches of blah and it often misses the mark.

Anybody ever see My Name is Nobody... or something like that? Pretty sure it was Leone, but a more Benny Hill version of Leone.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Went on a sci-fi action throwback marathon.

The Core - Awesome. 8/10

The Island - Awesomer. 8.5/10

Minority Report - Awesomest. 9/10

 

[Kenny Powers]

Went on a sci-fi action throwback marathon.

The Core - Awesome. 8/10

The Island - Awesomer. 8.5/10

Minority Report - Awesomest. 9/10

Minority Report is great, 1 of the best sci-fi's of recent memory IMO. Haven't seen The Core but I know it has its fans, been meaning to check that one out.

The Island...

 

[Chaka]

Went on a sci-fi action throwback marathon.

The Core - Awesome. 8/10

The Island - Awesomer. 8.5/10

Minority Report - Awesomest. 9/10

The Island was crap

Minority Report was mostly crap but I give it bonus points for one of the scariest scenes in movie history. Double bonus because of how likely it is to happen. But other than that it was kind of crap.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

The Core is a super-fun "B" movie. Available on Netflix too.

 

[Bob Magaw]

Went on a sci-fi action throwback marathon.

The Core - Awesome. 8/10

The Island - Awesomer. 8.5/10

Minority Report - Awesomest. 9/10

The Island was crapMinority Report was mostly crap but I give it bonus points for one of the scariest scenes in movie history. Double bonus because of how likely it is to happen. But other than that it was kind of crap.

not sure if have seen the core.

i agree i didn't find the island stood out, but than maybe i'm just not a fan of the director?

i liked minority report, thought it was one of the better philip k. **** adaptations (though ridley scott's blade runner towers over all the others, but i liked paul verhoeven's total recall ((original, not the remake)) and richard linklater's a scanner darkly, as well... with pay check, adjustment bureau, impostor, next and screamers increasingly shading into the vapid and inane adaptation spectrum)...

minority report had a few parallels with LA confidential* as a noir (in futuristic garb), and i thought LA confidential was one of the best neo-noirs or post-noirs (orson welles touch of evil ending the classic cycle, by the conventions of some critics) since china town in the '70s.

minority report's crime, and its uncovering, weren't exactly cliche (due to the expanded possibilities in a world where precognition was real... but the plot was consistent with such a world, no doubt some suspension of disbelief is needed ), in comparison to say, an admitted noir classic like double indemnity.

* LA confidential also had atypically good source material (from james ellroy novel - of which they squeezed in something like 20-30% of the sub-plots).

 

[Bob Magaw]

rewatching a few leone spaghetti westerns (dollar trilogy - but he also did once upon a time in the west, and america)...

his extreme close ups and eye for casting unusual or interesting faces were like the spectacular monument valley landscapes were to john ford.

Don't forget Duck, You Sucker! then again perhaps it would be best to forget that one.

aka - fistful of dynamite.

it was included in the dollars DVD collection, but not blu ray.

rod steiger = worst accent ever.

Fun movie at times but there are long stretches of blah and it often misses the mark.

Anybody ever see My Name is Nobody... or something like that? Pretty sure it was Leone, but a more Benny Hill version of Leone.

i think so, but it has been a while...

avail netflix streaming (also can be found at youtube)... check the name of the third and last studio or distributor in the titles, which reminded me of the unfortunate contraction on tobias funke's business card from being a combo analyst/therapist...

leone was involved (also has typically quirky but memorable morricone score), but more as a producer and writer, though he reportedly directed some scenes... i think he was a perfectionist, and didn't have a massive body of work in terms of numbers (somewhat like a few other visionary geniuses, kubrick and malick)*...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxqc4lae7bI

the co-lead in this with henry fonda (who was also in leone's once upon a time in the west, cast against type as a cold blooded killer) is terence hill... he helped start the "comedy spaghetti" genre parody style in the earlier films they call me trinity and trinity is still my name (latter also on youtube in full)...

the movie i initially thought you were talking about was actually one of these earlier films, which i remembered from the below scene, incorporating three stooges-like "slapstick" with a quick draw scene...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd8TpzioY6k

* one of leone's signatures was the extreme closeup (just the eyes of eastwood, or van cleef, or bronson)... that would be fun to reprise and extend to its extreme with modern camera technology in a gun fight scene, continuing to drill down until you got to the iris and pupil, than the actual blood vessells, down to microscopic detail and resolution...

 

[Kenny Powers]

Went on a sci-fi action throwback marathon.

The Core - Awesome. 8/10

The Island - Awesomer. 8.5/10

Minority Report - Awesomest. 9/10

The Island was crap

Minority Report was mostly crap but I give it bonus points for one of the scariest scenes in movie history. Double bonus because of how likely it is to happen. But other than that it was kind of crap.

Minority Report was pretty solid. Maybe you should watch it again, unless you despise Cruise.

 

[El Floppo]

rewatching a few leone spaghetti westerns (dollar trilogy - but he also did once upon a time in the west, and america)...

his extreme close ups and eye for casting unusual or interesting faces were like the spectacular monument valley landscapes were to john ford.

Don't forget Duck, You Sucker! then again perhaps it would be best to forget that one.

aka - fistful of dynamite.

it was included in the dollars DVD collection, but not blu ray.

rod steiger = worst accent ever.

Fun movie at times but there are long stretches of blah and it often misses the mark.

Anybody ever see My Name is Nobody... or something like that? Pretty sure it was Leone, but a more Benny Hill version of Leone.

i think so, but it has been a while...

avail netflix streaming (also can be found at youtube)... check the name of the third and last studio or distributor in the titles, which reminded me of the unfortunate contraction on tobias funke's business card from being a combo analyst/therapist...

leone was involved (also has typically quirky but memorable morricone score), but more as a producer and writer, though he reportedly directed some scenes... i think he was a perfectionist, and didn't have a massive body of work in terms of numbers (somewhat like a few other visionary geniuses, kubrick and malick)*...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxqc4lae7bI

the co-lead in this with henry fonda (who was also in leone's once upon a time in the west, cast against type as a cold blooded killer) is terence hill... he helped start the "comedy spaghetti" genre parody style in the earlier films they call me trinity and trinity is still my name (latter also on youtube in full)...

the movie i initially thought you were talking about was actually one of these earlier films, which i remembered from the below scene, incorporating three stooges-like "slapstick" with a quick draw scene...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd8TpzioY6k

* one of leone's signatures was the extreme closeup (just the eyes of eastwood, or van cleef, or bronson)... that would be fun to reprise and extend to its extreme with modern camera technology in a gun fight scene, continuing to drill down until you got to the iris and pupil, than the actual blood vessells, down to microscopic detail and resolution...

thanks bob- that's the one... will have to find time to watch that.

 

[Chaka]

Went on a sci-fi action throwback marathon.

The Core - Awesome. 8/10

The Island - Awesomer. 8.5/10

Minority Report - Awesomest. 9/10

The Island was crap

Minority Report was mostly crap but I give it bonus points for one of the scariest scenes in movie history. Double bonus because of how likely it is to happen. But other than that it was kind of crap.

Minority Report was pretty solid. Maybe you should watch it again, unless you despise Cruise.

Seen it probably three times because I really want to like it and the underlying premise is very interesting. I also wasn't kidding about the advertising scene, I think it is a very real potential outcome for us and I find it terrifying. Not sure if it would make me more suicidal or psychopathic if I had to live in that reality but those would likely be my only two potential reactions.

But despite the premise if devolves into formulaic Hollywood big-budget drivel pretty quickly. Mind you I don't necessarily despise formulaic big-budget Hollywood drivel but MR just didn't deliver anything of note IMO.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Yeah, Minority Report isn't all that good.

Has some cool concepts but it devolves into a pretty standard noir-wannabe with elements of action that aren't all that exciting.

 

[Bob Magaw]

Yeah, Minority Report isn't all that good.

Has some cool concepts but it devolves into a pretty standard noir-wannabe with elements of action that aren't all that exciting.

ebert liked it a lot.

I didn't always agree with him, but i found he was generally a good barometer or litmus test.

I agree the obligatory action sequences were among my least favorite parts.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Yeah, Minority Report isn't all that good.

Has some cool concepts but it devolves into a pretty standard noir-wannabe with elements of action that aren't all that exciting.

ebert liked it a lot.

I didn't always agree with him, but i found he was generally a good barometer or litmus test.

I agree the obligatory action sequences were among my least favorite parts.

He also disliked Fight Club and, IMO, he totally misunderstood the movie in crafting his criticism.

Overall, I liked Ebert though.

 

[Bob Magaw]

when you have thousands of reviews, to be expected there would be a few misses.

I think he still had a pretty high batting average, and signal to noise ratio.

 

[cstu]

Like Someone In Love

I could see people calling this boring since not much really happens (prostitute gets sent to an old man's house instead of meeting her grandmother), but I was interested the whole time. Hard to explain why I liked it so much given that it's such a simple movie but it's extremely well done. It's by Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami (probably best known for Certified Copy) and I'll be checking out more of his movies.