Recently viewed movie thread - Rental Edition (4 Viewers)

[fasteddie_21]

Layer Cake - damn, that's one tough ending. good flick though

on both points!

 

[facook]

Flags Of Our Fathers7.5/10I liked it. It's an interesting anti-war film in that it doesn't beat you over the head with its message. And the battle scenes, though short, are phenominal - even more immersive than Saving Private Ryan.

Andy,Would you say the message of FOOF was against war in general, including WWII? Or against WWII specifically?TIA

 

[whoknew]

Flags Of Our Fathers7.5/10I liked it. It's an interesting anti-war film in that it doesn't beat you over the head with its message. And the battle scenes, though short, are phenominal - even more immersive than Saving Private Ryan.

Andy,Would you say the message of FOOF was against war in general, including WWII? Or against WWII specifically?TIA

I'm not sure anti-war was really the right way to describe it. I mean, nobody is pro-war, but it was more a movie about the effect Iwo Jima, the war and gaining fame for raising the flag had on the guys who raised it. It was how some in the gov't used them to sell war bonds and how each of them reacted to that. But the message wasn't that we shouldn't have gone to war, or it was a bad war or we could have avoided it. I've read a lot where it had a negative message, or anti-American or anti-veteran. I think people who say that didn't really get it.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Flags Of Our Fathers7.5/10I liked it. It's an interesting anti-war film in that it doesn't beat you over the head with its message. And the battle scenes, though short, are phenominal - even more immersive than Saving Private Ryan.

Andy,Would you say the message of FOOF was against war in general, including WWII? Or against WWII specifically?TIA

I think that the message is "War is a necessary evil but evil nonetheless. As much as we wish there were, there's ZERO glory in it, even if you're on the side of the righteous."

 

[Darth Cheney]

Flags Of Our Fathers7.5/10I liked it. It's an interesting anti-war film in that it doesn't beat you over the head with its message. And the battle scenes, though short, are phenominal - even more immersive than Saving Private Ryan.

Andy,Would you say the message of FOOF was against war in general, including WWII? Or against WWII specifically?TIA

I'm not sure anti-war was really the right way to describe it. I mean, nobody is pro-war, but it was more a movie about the effect Iwo Jima, the war and gaining fame for raising the flag had on the guys who raised it. It was how some in the gov't used them to sell war bonds and how each of them reacted to that. But the message wasn't that we shouldn't have gone to war, or it was a bad war or we could have avoided it. I've read a lot where it had a negative message, or anti-American or anti-veteran. I think people who say that didn't really get it.

Yeah......I think that the messages within FOOF were solely on Ira Hayes...... that the reality of war cannot be comprehended by those not involved, that war can kill even those who survive it and that men cannot handle fame when it comes by the blood of others.

 

[jdoggydogg]

The Third Man (1949) - noir film set in post-War Vienna. Orson Welles and Joe Cotten (both of Citizen Kane) star. The movie sort of plods along for the first half until one of the major characters is introduced. For the times, the cinematography was excellent. One of the few movies of the period with a lot of outdoor shots. That most of these were done at night gave Vienna a sort of sinister and mysterious feel. Some shots actually reminded me a lot of Citizen Kane (I just saw that for the first time last weekend). Anyways, it's regarded as a classic, and I can see why, but I don't think I'll ever watch it again.

this is one of my very favorite movies, honestly. it has some of the most iconic single shots in film history, i think. there is the gorgeous black and white cinematography too. welles is pitch perfect for the role (so much so that he did a radio series based on the character). same with cotten. originally, cary grant and noel coward were considered but the studio felt it would be too homoerotic in tone. graham greene wrote the screenplay. it is a wonderful film.

LOVE this movie. Pretty sure I wrote something in here a while ago... the single best ending scene ever.

OK OK, maybe I'll give it another view. In the meantime, here's another review:Citizen Kane (1941) - Saw this a week and a half ago, so it's had some time to sink in. I've also seen a few contemporaneous films since then to help give it more perspective. I loved the rather simple plot device of a quest to find the meaning of a dead man's last words. Kane is allegedly an amalgam of several real life Americans, most notably publishing magnate Hearst. Welles gave a dynamic performance, brilliantly portraying the rise and fall of a great man. The psychology behind the role is quite interesting, sort of a parable on how power corrupts and blinds one to his own faults. Beyond the story and the acting, the cinematography was great. Several beautiful shots, I am already starting to recognize its influence from watching films such as The Third Man. It also gave me an appreciation for black and white film. I now view it as a different art form than color film rather than a less desirable, primitive film medium. Also the makeup was impressive for the time period, Kane and others aged quite believably. In sum, a great film deserving of its praise. I'll definitely come back to it again.

I don't know if you listened to Roger Ebert's audio commentary (it's on the deluxe DVD along with a seperate track by Peter Bogdonovich). But I was stunned at the work that went into the visual effects. There were scenes I just assumed were real that were done with effects. Incredible.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Just watched Tenacious D- the Pick of Destisty.

Has to be one of the worst movies ever committed to film. Horrible piece of ####, and I fan of the first album at least. I wasn't expecting an academy award winner, but this thing has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

 

[jamny]

Babel

moments of greatness overshadowed by too many very annoying/aggravating/infuriating senseless scens.

 

[SmoovySmoov]

I watched two last night.

Lady Vengeance - The third in Park Chan-wook's revenge trilogy. Not as good as Oldboy, but few movies are, in my opinion. It was good, though. Not great.

Unknown - Somebody posted this earlier, and their only comment was "Meh." I liked it. I thought it was pretty good. Good building of tension. A couple of surprise twists. Pretty Good.

 

[Shooter McGavin]

The Departed - Awesome. Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. A few little minor things that they didn't wrap up, but I loved it.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Just watched Tenacious D- the Pick of Destisty. Has to be one of the worst movies ever committed to film. Horrible piece of ####, and I fan of the first album at least. I wasn't expecting an academy award winner, but this thing has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

Some really lame moments, but I at the line "We're going to #### in your ear ####ies."

 

[KarmaPolice]

Just watched Tenacious D- the Pick of Destisty. Has to be one of the worst movies ever committed to film. Horrible piece of ####, and I fan of the first album at least. I wasn't expecting an academy award winner, but this thing has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

Some really lame moments, but I at the line "We're going to #### in your ear ####ies."

That was one thing I laughed at. Others were the reference to his "wrinklestick" and the 'legs' guitar that KG was playing (maybe in JB's dream). I still wouldn't ever watch the movie again though.

 

[facook]

Flags Of Our Fathers7.5/10I liked it. It's an interesting anti-war film in that it doesn't beat you over the head with its message. And the battle scenes, though short, are phenominal - even more immersive than Saving Private Ryan.

Andy,Would you say the message of FOOF was against war in general, including WWII? Or against WWII specifically?TIA

I think that the message is "War is a necessary evil but evil nonetheless. As much as we wish there were, there's ZERO glory in it, even if you're on the side of the righteous."

Hmm. Very interesting. Thanks for the response.

 

[kblitz]

The Station Agent

 

[QUEZILLA]

BABEL- 5.5/10 A cross between Crash & Syrianna, but with a huge underlying political theme. Very slow.

I watched Beerfest again, and it was funnier the second time. If you like funny / stupid movies like old school this is a must see.

I bump it up to 8/10

Babel - 5.5/10Beerfest - 8/10

Being an FSU fan...priceless.

I am comparing them to movies in the same genre. If Old School is a 10/10, Beerfest would be an 8. I would give Crash about a 7, and Syrianna about a 6.5. Babel was worse than both of those, and quite frankly it was

 

[Buckychudd]

The Prestige Very well done. Not quite what I was expecting but entertaining, quality acting and a couple of decent twists.

Although I figured out the ending about half way through, I really liked this one. The themes of revenge, obsession, and self destruction were really well done.Excellent flick.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Little Miss Sunshine

I'm conflicted about this movie. On one hand, I like the innocent underdog angle. And there are a few genuinely LOL moments in it. Arkin was great (not BSA great, but whatever) and so was Carrell.

On the other hand, I also wound up sort of agreeing with the pageant organizer lady (Mrs. Sparkel Motion herself). As stupid as kid beauty pageants are, it's important to the participants. They and their families spend time & money preparing and then this outsider and her loser family show up and ruin it all just so they can have some sort of catharsis and make themselves feel good if only for a moment? Seems anti-success to me.

I know...Lighten up Francis.

7/10

 

[Buckychudd]

Little Miss SunshineI'm conflicted about this movie. On one hand, I like the innocent underdog angle. And there are a few genuinely LOL moments in it. Arkin was great (not BSA great, but whatever) and so was Carrell.On the other hand, I also wound up sort of agreeing with the pageant organizer lady (Mrs. Sparkel Motion herself). As stupid as kid beauty pageants are, it's important to the participants. They and their families spend time & money preparing and then this outsider and her loser family show up and ruin it all just so they can have some sort of catharsis and make themselves feel good if only for a moment? Seems anti-success to me.I know...Lighten up Francis.7/10

They weren't trying to ruin it.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Little Miss SunshineI'm conflicted about this movie. On one hand, I like the innocent underdog angle. And there are a few genuinely LOL moments in it. Arkin was great (not BSA great, but whatever) and so was Carrell.On the other hand, I also wound up sort of agreeing with the pageant organizer lady (Mrs. Sparkel Motion herself). As stupid as kid beauty pageants are, it's important to the participants. They and their families spend time & money preparing and then this outsider and her loser family show up and ruin it all just so they can have some sort of catharsis and make themselves feel good if only for a moment? Seems anti-success to me.I know...Lighten up Francis.7/10

They weren't trying to ruin it.

I know. But there are times where we are judged by our outcomes, not our motives.

 

[Shooter McGavin]

I would give Crash about a 7

Crash was garbage. 2, at best.

 

[Steelnation]

The Station Agent

Just watched this Saturday night, wasn't bad yet it wasn't great.I'd give it a strong 2.5 out of 4

 

[Sundays Rule]

The Third Man (1949) - noir film set in post-War Vienna. Orson Welles and Joe Cotten (both of Citizen Kane) star. The movie sort of plods along for the first half until one of the major characters is introduced. For the times, the cinematography was excellent. One of the few movies of the period with a lot of outdoor shots. That most of these were done at night gave Vienna a sort of sinister and mysterious feel. Some shots actually reminded me a lot of Citizen Kane (I just saw that for the first time last weekend). Anyways, it's regarded as a classic, and I can see why, but I don't think I'll ever watch it again.

this is one of my very favorite movies, honestly. it has some of the most iconic single shots in film history, i think. there is the gorgeous black and white cinematography too. welles is pitch perfect for the role (so much so that he did a radio series based on the character). same with cotten. originally, cary grant and noel coward were considered but the studio felt it would be too homoerotic in tone. graham greene wrote the screenplay. it is a wonderful film.

LOVE this movie. Pretty sure I wrote something in here a while ago... the single best ending scene ever.

OK OK, maybe I'll give it another view. In the meantime, here's another review:Citizen Kane (1941) - Saw this a week and a half ago, so it's had some time to sink in. I've also seen a few contemporaneous films since then to help give it more perspective. I loved the rather simple plot device of a quest to find the meaning of a dead man's last words. Kane is allegedly an amalgam of several real life Americans, most notably publishing magnate Hearst. Welles gave a dynamic performance, brilliantly portraying the rise and fall of a great man. The psychology behind the role is quite interesting, sort of a parable on how power corrupts and blinds one to his own faults. Beyond the story and the acting, the cinematography was great. Several beautiful shots, I am already starting to recognize its influence from watching films such as The Third Man. It also gave me an appreciation for black and white film. I now view it as a different art form than color film rather than a less desirable, primitive film medium. Also the makeup was impressive for the time period, Kane and others aged quite believably. In sum, a great film deserving of its praise. I'll definitely come back to it again.

I don't know if you listened to Roger Ebert's audio commentary (it's on the deluxe DVD along with a seperate track by Peter Bogdonovich). But I was stunned at the work that went into the visual effects. There were scenes I just assumed were real that were done with effects. Incredible.

Welles was way ahead of his time. Kane used techniques that are still used today.

 

[Irregardless]

watched Little Miss Sunshine last night and loved it

laughed out loud throughout the movie especially the final scene

sufjan stevens on the soundtrack was a nice touch also

[hijack] VERY underated artist IMHO, beats the hell out of Dave-Jack-John Matthewsjohnsonmayer anyday[/hijack]The movie was good, too.

 

[Sundays Rule]

Just saw In the Heat of the Night, and while im home sick today might take in Dr. Zhivago which ive had from netflix for like 3 months.

 

[Sundays Rule]

They call me Mr. Tibbs! Poitier is fantastic in that role, him and Steiger had some kind of chemistry that sparked off the screen.

 

[Shooter McGavin]

Just saw In the Heat of the Night, and while im home sick today might take in Dr. Zhivago which ive had from netflix for like 3 months.

Omar Sharif = Speed

 

[QUEZILLA]

I would give Crash about a 7

Crash was garbage. 2, at best.

It's been a while, I do recall it sucking pretty bad.

 

[perry147]

Watched Pulse last night - I thought it was very good - well worth the rental.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I would give Crash about a 7

Crash was garbage. 2, at best.

It's been a while, I do recall it sucking pretty bad.

Ok, I think giving it a 2/10 is a little harsh. How would you grade out a Pauly Shore or Ernest movie??

 

[Nigel Tufnel]

I would give Crash about a 7

Crash was garbage. 2, at best.

It's been a while, I do recall it sucking pretty bad.

Ok, I think giving it a 2/10 is a little harsh. How would you grade out a Pauly Shore or Ernest movie??

8/10

 

[Organized Chaos]

We just rented The Prestige , I really enjoyed this movie, had a great story line, plus Scarlett Johansson isnt bad to look at.

One of the better endings to a movie that I have seen in a long time IMO.

 

[bryhamm]

Cube - It was interesting. I thought it was a good idea, and it was ok, but I think there was something missing. They didn't quite pull it off. Not bad, though.

I think someone like David Fincher could have made this an A+ film. But considering it was low-budget with minor actors, I thought it deservered a solid B.

, on all accounts. I just watched this over the weekend and would agree with your assessment.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Just watched Tenacious D- the Pick of Destisty. Has to be one of the worst movies ever committed to film. Horrible piece of ####, and I fan of the first album at least. I wasn't expecting an academy award winner, but this thing has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

Some really lame moments, but I at the line "We're going to #### in your ear ####ies."

That was one thing I laughed at. Others were the reference to his "wrinklestick" and the 'legs' guitar that KG was playing (maybe in JB's dream). I still wouldn't ever watch the movie again though.

Cleanse your palate and watch their Complete Masterworks DVD.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Little Miss SunshineI'm conflicted about this movie. On one hand, I like the innocent underdog angle. And there are a few genuinely LOL moments in it. Arkin was great (not BSA great, but whatever) and so was Carrell.On the other hand, I also wound up sort of agreeing with the pageant organizer lady (Mrs. Sparkel Motion herself). As stupid as kid beauty pageants are, it's important to the participants. They and their families spend time & money preparing and then this outsider and her loser family show up and ruin it all just so they can have some sort of catharsis and make themselves feel good if only for a moment? Seems anti-success to me.I know...Lighten up Francis.7/10

This was a bad movie. I liked Alan Arkin, I liked Carrell, I liked the girl. Heck, I liked almost all the actors. But this story was weak. This was a Disney film with cuss words.

 

[jdoggydogg]

I would give Crash about a 7

Crash was garbage. 2, at best.

Crash was preachier than an after school special. Sophomoric.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Species 1 & 2

No. They aren't great. But they are at least entertaining and they were free on Comcasts HD on demand.

Natasha Henstridge is flat out gorgeous and bumps the rating up half a point just on her "looks" alone.

The second one is pretty gory. But there is a special effect involving re-generation of a blown-off-with-a-shotgun head that made me say "wow" out loud.

6.5/10

I forgot that I capped off the trilogy by watching Species 3 over the weekend.I can think of two absolutely perfect reasons that you should watch this movie. :X

Again, for what it is, it wasn't terrible. 6.5/10

 

[Shooter McGavin]

I would give Crash about a 7

Crash was garbage. 2, at best.

It's been a while, I do recall it sucking pretty bad.

Ok, I think giving it a 2/10 is a little harsh. How would you grade out a Pauly Shore or Ernest movie??

9/10.I wouldn't watch crap like those, but something stupid like that, you know to expect a crap-fest. Crash had a great cast, which led me to expect something good, but it sucked out loud.

 

[SmoovySmoov]

The Prestige Very well done. Not quite what I was expecting but entertaining, quality acting and a couple of decent twists.

Although I figured out the ending about half way through, I really liked this one. The themes of revenge, obsession, and self destruction were really well done.Excellent flick.

Yeah, I saw the ending coming a mile away, but I still came away liking the movie.

 

[kblitz]

Million Dollar Baby, excellent movie, liked it a lot.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

World Trade Center

8/10

Kudos to Oliver Stone for keeping the movie completely apolitical.

 

[On The Rocks]

This past weekend we rented:

Flags Of Our Fathers. Not sure what I was expecting but I was disappointed. It was an interesting story but it just left me feeling that the story wasn't very well told. It was an ok movie but seems to me it could have been great.

Illusionist. This movie was cheesy entertainment. Easily figured the ending before it came along, but it was fun. Nothing like driving an innocent man to suicide.

Hollywood Land. Another movie about nothing really. Raising questions about murder that aren't really logical questions. Lots of holes and not a lot of substance.

 

[perry147]

Watched "The Cave" last night- it was one of those cheap movies from Walmart. It was not bad much better than I expected - kinda like Decent

 

[Minotauro]

Watched "The Cave" last night- it was one of those cheap movies from Walmart. It was not bad much better than I expected - kinda like Decent

That's a funny sentence.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Illusionist. This movie was cheesy entertainment. Easily figured the ending before it came along, but it was fun. Nothing like driving an innocent man to suicide.

Who was that?

 

[Nigel Tufnel]

Illusionist. This movie was cheesy entertainment. Easily figured the ending before it came along, but it was fun. Nothing like driving an innocent man to suicide.

Who was that?

Is that a ####### spoiler? C'mon!

 

[RC94]

The Vanishing (from 1993) with Jeff Bridges and Kiefer Sutherland has been on cable lately. If you like mystery/thriller/suspense types of movies with a very disturbing twist, it's pretty good.

 

[The Gator]

Illusionist. This movie was cheesy entertainment. Easily figured the ending before it came along, but it was fun. Nothing like driving an innocent man to suicide.

Who was that?

Is that a ####### spoiler?

 

[On The Rocks]

Illusionist. This movie was cheesy entertainment. Easily figured the ending before it came along, but it was fun. Nothing like driving an innocent man to suicide.

Who was that?

Is that a ####### spoiler? C'mon!

i am really sorry.

 

[QUEZILLA]

The Prestige Very well done. Not quite what I was expecting but entertaining, quality acting and a couple of decent twists.

Although I figured out the ending about half way through, I really liked this one. The themes of revenge, obsession, and self destruction were really well done.

Excellent flick.

Yeah, I saw the ending coming a mile away, but I still came away liking the movie.

to all

7.5/10 Would have been an 8 if I had not seen illusionist first. What is the deal with Hollywood always coming out with 2 films of the same genre at once? They did this with those crappy volcano movies, and Tombstone & Wyatt Earp. I don't ever recall seeing a movie about magicians, and now I see 2 in the same month Kind of spoiled Prestige for me, because it didn't seem original.

 

[The Man With No Name]

The Maltese Falcon (1941) - Mystery/crime film starring Humphrey Bogart. This is my introduction to the renowned actor, and I can certainly appreciate his charisma. He played detective Sam Spade as a cunning and brutish man that is always a step ahead of the bad guys and the women in his life. But to be honest, I was disappointed by the film. The characters, even Sam Spade, seemed one dimensional, their motivations unclear and often unbelievable. I did however appreciate the atypical (for this period in Hollywood) ending.

Of all the "classic" movies, this was one of the most disappointing.

Ironically we recently saw another classic Bogie film , The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, which was absolutely outstanding.

Bruce Bennett, who played James Cody in Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, died Saturday. He was 100 years old.