Recently viewed movie thread - Rental Edition (3 Viewers)

[The Juggernaut]

Lions for Lambs: Three seperate, but connected, stories weaved into one. A statement flick aimed at the US government and the war on terror for the most part. Streep and Cruise are on screen together for a good bit of the movie and both did a great job. I thought that Streep might bury Cruise, but he was able to hold his own and they really played off each other really well. Redford was decent. His direction didn't strike me as anything special though. Overall, I liked the movie pretty well, but I could see where the message might turn some folks off. 3.5/5

 

[Carver]

Resurrecting the Champ: The story of a hungry newspaper journalist's report on a down and out former Heavyweight boxing contender that is now living on the streets of Denver. Strong father/son themes. A bit ham-fisted story telling. Interesting performance from Samuel L. Jackson. Alan Alda is good. I didn't hate Josh Hartnett. 3/5

Hated that movie. I think it may have been because I set my expectations too high though.

 

[joffer]

Lions for Lambs: Three seperate, but connected, stories weaved into one. A statement flick aimed at the US government and the war on terror for the most part. Streep and Cruise are on screen together for a good bit of the movie and both did a great job. I thought that Streep might bury Cruise, but he was able to hold his own and they really played off each other really well. Redford was decent. His direction didn't strike me as anything special though. Overall, I liked the movie pretty well, but I could see where the message might turn some folks off. 3.5/5

i think this is the first review i've seen that didn't hate this movie

 

[jdoggydogg]

28 Weeks Later

Generally well made, but there's a scene so offensive in this movie I would recommend the movie to anyone.

mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("

When Robert Carlyle gets infected and murders his wife, that was the most horrible, gratuitous thing I've seen in a movie in a long time. No thanks.

*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***");document.close();

Just watched this sequal yesterday, and I couldnt agree more. I liked 28 Days (although I thought the movie lost something when it switched to the military compound towards the end.)This scene didnt make any sense at all. Not to spoil any of the movie, but the "zombies" are supposed to be ravenous, mindless killers. There was nothing mindless about this scene. More like "Im gonna think of the most grueling way to kill someone, and do it".

Im sure the director was going for the "shock" value of the moment. But it didnt make any sense in the movie.

Overall I liked both flicks. They are like the "Night of the Living Dead" flicks on steroids.

edited do delete some plot points

To clarify, I liked 28 Days Later a lot.

 

[fsufan]

28 Weeks Later

Generally well made, but there's a scene so offensive in this movie I would recommend the movie to anyone.

mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("

When Robert Carlyle gets infected and murders his wife, that was the most horrible, gratuitous thing I've seen in a movie in a long time. No thanks.

*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***");document.close();

Just watched this sequal yesterday, and I couldnt agree more. I liked 28 Days (although I thought the movie lost something when it switched to the military compound towards the end.)This scene didnt make any sense at all. Not to spoil any of the movie, but the "zombies" are supposed to be ravenous, mindless killers. There was nothing mindless about this scene. More like "Im gonna think of the most grueling way to kill someone, and do it".

Im sure the director was going for the "shock" value of the moment. But it didnt make any sense in the movie.

Overall I liked both flicks. They are like the "Night of the Living Dead" flicks on steroids.

edited do delete some plot points

28 weeks later entertained me

 

[Bogart]

A bit behind, but finally saw Juno this weekend. I really enjoyed it. Could have gone without the "tension" between Bateman's and Page's characters (esp after seeing Hard Candy), but overall it was a good solid flick.

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

Two recent ones:

I Am Legend I really enjoyed this. Nearly jumped out of my skin a few times. One of my favorite subjects (viruses) - kinda wished they had gone into more detail on its mutations and the cure. They really should have cast Will Smith in Castaway. I especially loved the "God told me" - "There is no God" scene (they were both correct).

Mr. Brooks Wow. I think this may have been Kevin Costners best film ever (of course he's only been in 3 good ones). I cannot believe how great this story was. A good balance of giving you info and letting you figure things out. William Hurt was awesome. I loved the interaction between him and Costner - especially when they made each other (himself) laugh. Demi Moore did a great job with a role that was interwoven just the right amount. Really enjoyable twists without going hollywood-over-the-top with coincidences beyond belief.

 

[Boone22]

Resurrecting the Champ: The story of a hungry newspaper journalist's report on a down and out former Heavyweight boxing contender that is now living on the streets of Denver. Strong father/son themes. A bit ham-fisted story telling. Interesting performance from Samuel L. Jackson. Alan Alda is good. I didn't hate Josh Hartnett. 3/5

Wasn't this based on a true story?

I believe so.

From what I read the basics of the story was true but apparently in real life the writer got in touch with the son BEFORE getting the article published so he found out about the hoax and never went public with the story. So in real life, he actually did his fact finding correctly.

 

[snogger]

Two recent ones:

I Am Legend I really enjoyed this. Nearly jumped out of my skin a few times. One of my favorite subjects (viruses) - kinda wished they had gone into more detail on its mutations and the cure. They really should have cast Will Smith in Castaway. I especially loved the "God told me" - "There is no God" scene (they were both correct).

Mr. Brooks Wow. I think this may have been Kevin Costners best film ever (of course he's only been in 3 good ones). I cannot believe how great this story was. A good balance of giving you info and letting you figure things out. William Hurt was awesome. I loved the interaction between him and Costner - especially when they made each other (himself) laugh. Demi Moore did a great job with a role that was interwoven just the right amount. Really enjoyable twists without going hollywood-over-the-top with coincidences beyond belief.

I agree with this guy.I was entertained by both.

 

[The Juggernaut]

Lions for Lambs: Three seperate, but connected, stories weaved into one. A statement flick aimed at the US government and the war on terror for the most part. Streep and Cruise are on screen together for a good bit of the movie and both did a great job. I thought that Streep might bury Cruise, but he was able to hold his own and they really played off each other really well. Redford was decent. His direction didn't strike me as anything special though. Overall, I liked the movie pretty well, but I could see where the message might turn some folks off. 3.5/5

i think this is the first review i've seen that didn't hate this movie

I would've given it a positive review on the basis of the scenes between Streep and Cruise alone.

 

[SmoovySmoov]

The Savages: Meh. Good performances. Nothing much to recommend for or against it. 2.5/5

Ditto.

 

[Anonymous Internet User]

28 Weeks Later

Generally well made, but there's a scene so offensive in this movie I would recommend the movie to anyone.

mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("

When Robert Carlyle gets infected and murders his wife, that was the most horrible, gratuitous thing I've seen in a movie in a long time. No thanks.

*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***");document.close();

Just watched this sequal yesterday, and I couldnt agree more. I liked 28 Days (although I thought the movie lost something when it switched to the military compound towards the end.)This scene didnt make any sense at all. Not to spoil any of the movie, but the "zombies" are supposed to be ravenous, mindless killers. There was nothing mindless about this scene. More like "Im gonna think of the most grueling way to kill someone, and do it".

Im sure the director was going for the "shock" value of the moment. But it didnt make any sense in the movie.

Overall I liked both flicks. They are like the "Night of the Living Dead" flicks on steroids.

edited do delete some plot points

ABSOLUTELY agree. I loved both movies, but the character of the wife in 28 weeks later was just so tragic and sad that I couldn't enjoy the rest of the film.

 

[Drifter]

Just watched Crank. Completely mindless and dumb but it doesn't pretend to be anything different. If you like Jason Stratham and the first Transporter (second sucked) it's worth a view if you're up for some mindless action and some interesting direction.

 

[YSR]

Two weekends worth here - but am tired and not up for full reviews:

There Will Be Blood: could definitely see why it was acclaimed and DDL certainly put in quite a performance. I probably didn't give this movie a fair shot in that I was a little distracted while watching it, but I didn't love it. 4/5

Gone Baby Gone: I felt a little ambushed by this movie, only because I hadn't read a whole lot about it before watching it. It was a really tough movie to watch, but I think it was done well. I'm a Casey Affleck fan and have been for some time, so it was good to see him with a bit of a meatier role. 4/5

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: yes, I'm about a year behind, but I wanted to watch this so I could go see the next one in the theater. Wow, just wow. I loved everything about this movie and am sad that I didn't see it before. 4.5/5

Atonement: I've seen mixed reviews here. Keira Knightley bugs me in general but I was very visually taken away in this movie. Thought the other actors did good work and I just really enjoyed the film. 4.5/5

 

[Anonymous Internet User]

Two recent ones:

I Am Legend I really enjoyed this. Nearly jumped out of my skin a few times. One of my favorite subjects (viruses) - kinda wished they had gone into more detail on its mutations and the cure. They really should have cast Will Smith in Castaway. I especially loved the "God told me" - "There is no God" scene (they were both correct).

Mr. Brooks Wow. I think this may have been Kevin Costners best film ever (of course he's only been in 3 good ones). I cannot believe how great this story was. A good balance of giving you info and letting you figure things out. William Hurt was awesome. I loved the interaction between him and Costner - especially when they made each other (himself) laugh. Demi Moore did a great job with a role that was interwoven just the right amount. Really enjoyable twists without going hollywood-over-the-top with coincidences beyond belief.

I agree with this guy.I was entertained by both.

On the basis of this I bought Mr Brooks for $10 while at Target. Great movie, glad it's added to the collection and that I don't have to lump it with the 2 or 3 other movies in the category "wish I hadn't bought without seeing first"

 

[jdoggydogg]

Just watched Crank. Completely mindless and dumb but it doesn't pretend to be anything different. If you like Jason Stratham and the first Transporter (second sucked) it's worth a view if you're up for some mindless action and some interesting direction.

You should see The Bank Job when it comes out on video. He was in that, as well. Excellent flick.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

The Savages: Meh. Good performances. Nothing much to recommend for or against it. 2.5/5

I thought it was a great flick. The plot was conventional, but Linney and Hoffman delivered excellent performances.And I loved the ending.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Juno - was looking forward to it, but the girl's personality threw me off. She always had to have some hip, smart new term for everything. They overdid it. But still a good movie.

That is exactly my one complaint.She overplayed her role. It especially stood out when compared to JK Simmons and Jason Bateman, and how low key they were.

 

[The Juggernaut]

The Heartbreak Kid: Ben Stiller vehicle. Boilerplate Farelly Brothers. With that said, the wife and I enjoyed it. There was some decent laughs in it. Not as good as There's Something About Mary. 3/5

 

[fsufan]

28 Weeks Later

Generally well made, but there's a scene so offensive in this movie I would recommend the movie to anyone.

mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("

When Robert Carlyle gets infected and murders his wife, that was the most horrible, gratuitous thing I've seen in a movie in a long time. No thanks.

*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***");document.close();

Just watched this sequal yesterday, and I couldnt agree more. I liked 28 Days (although I thought the movie lost something when it switched to the military compound towards the end.)This scene didnt make any sense at all. Not to spoil any of the movie, but the "zombies" are supposed to be ravenous, mindless killers. There was nothing mindless about this scene. More like "Im gonna think of the most grueling way to kill someone, and do it".

Im sure the director was going for the "shock" value of the moment. But it didnt make any sense in the movie.

Overall I liked both flicks. They are like the "Night of the Living Dead" flicks on steroids.

edited do delete some plot points

ABSOLUTELY agree. I loved both movies, but the character of the wife in 28 weeks later was just so tragic and sad that I couldn't enjoy the rest of the film.

so 28 DAYS later was the first movie

 

[snogger]

Rented "American Gangster" over the weekend..

We watched the 3 hour extended version so not sure how it relates to the released version but we enjoyed the depth of the story and the acting from both Washington and Russell Crowe.

 

[krista4]

Watched two very good movies today: The Orphanage and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Been trying to catch up on my foreign movies and neither of these disappointed. I am a fan of the thriller/ghost stories, so really loved the Orphanage and got into that one quite a bit. Really wish Hollywood would stop spending so much time trying to rip off the foreign thriller/horror movies and infuse them with crappy CGI effects and take the time to study what makes the originals effective - story and build up/pacing (imagine that)

Still have a bunch on deck- Pan's Labrynth, Lives of Others, The Host, Downfall and a few others - just wanted to get a couple of the newer ones out of the way for some reason.

We just got The Diving Bell... really looking forward to seeing it, as I was doing almost everything in my (pretty limited) powers to catch it in the theaters. Does it count as a foreign movie, with Julian Schnabel directing- was it made in France? I'm always amazed by people like Schnabel who have the balls to just go out and make things they want, regardless of medium... pretty sure he's dabbled in architecture as well, the *******.

Just watched this one last night. Wow. I agree with you about Schnabel, and his direction of the movie was fantastic. This was a tough, tough movie to watch, but well worth it. Absolutely beautiful. 5/5

 

[Bob Magaw]

visited ebert's site today & saw re-post of his top 10 movies of all time...

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...Y/40308035/1023

a few of interest to me that i hadn't seen but my interest has been piqued...

floating weeds by japanese master ozu... i have never seen anything by him, but i revere kurosawa, & ozu uses cinematographer from rashomon... criterion version has original silent version from '30s & remake from '50s...

28 up, documentary that follows children during their lives at 7 year intervals (there are many others in series, but this got highest rec)...

i have seen & highly recommend gates of heaven (not days of heaven), by noted documentarian errol morris, ostensibly about a pet cemetary, but a fascinating character study of the owners...

 

[jdoggydogg]

28 up, documentary that follows children during their lives at 7 year intervals (there are many others in series, but this got highest rec)...

I love this series. I've seen them all.

 

[Socrates11]

I know I'm late to the game on The Mist, but I thought it was a pretty decent flick. The ending was pretty cool although due to recent developments it really disturbed me. Just wanted to say though that Ollie steals this movie.

 

[facook]

I've seen three movies recently that I really enjoyed:

Juno - fun, touching, etc. I agree with the guy who said he didn't care for the "tension" between Bateman and Juno. Should have let the tension between the adoptive parents be the story...

Cloverfield - Didn't see it in theaters based on bad reviews (WHY do I listen to critics?), but REALLY enjoyed this movie. There's some cheese, and the guy doing the documenting annoyed me by saying "Rob" 1 trillion times, but the tension was high and I kept thinking "What would I do?" I like movies that make me put myself in the situation.

Ironman - Not a rental, obviously, but fun, funny, and a thoroughly cool guy movie.

 

[snogger]

I've seen three movies recently that I really enjoyed:Cloverfield - Didn't see it in theaters based on bad reviews (WHY do I listen to critics?), but REALLY enjoyed this movie. There's some cheese, and the guy doing the documenting annoyed me by saying "Rob" 1 trillion times, but the tension was high and I kept thinking "What would I do?" I like movies that make me put myself in the situation.

There was one part where Hud fit in perfectly.. As they are running through the subway tunnels:

Hud: Do you guys remember a couple of years ago when that guy was lighting homeless people on fire in the subways?Rob Hawkins: Jesus, Hud! Maybe not the best time for this conversation down here!Hud: Right.[awkward silent pause]Hud: I just can't stop thinking how scary it'd be if a flaming homeless guy came running...Rob Hawkins, Lily Ford, Marlena Diamond: HUD!Hud: I'm just saying. Sorry.

 

[Socrates11]

I've seen three movies recently that I really enjoyed:

Juno - fun, touching, etc. I agree with the guy who said he didn't care for the "tension" between Bateman and Juno. Should have let the tension between the adoptive parents be the story...

Cloverfield - Didn't see it in theaters based on bad reviews (WHY do I listen to critics?), but REALLY enjoyed this movie. There's some cheese, and the guy doing the documenting annoyed me by saying "Rob" 1 trillion times, but the tension was high and I kept thinking "What would I do?" I like movies that make me put myself in the situation.

Ironman - Not a rental, obviously, but fun, funny, and a thoroughly cool guy movie.

Question about Cloverfield-

 

[Socrates11]

I've seen three movies recently that I really enjoyed:

Cloverfield - Didn't see it in theaters based on bad reviews (WHY do I listen to critics?), but REALLY enjoyed this movie. There's some cheese, and the guy doing the documenting annoyed me by saying "Rob" 1 trillion times, but the tension was high and I kept thinking "What would I do?" I like movies that make me put myself in the situation.

There was one part where Hud fit in perfectly.. As they are running through the subway tunnels:

Hud: Do you guys remember a couple of years ago when that guy was lighting homeless people on fire in the subways?

Rob Hawkins: Jesus, Hud! Maybe not the best time for this conversation down here!

Hud: Right.

[awkward silent pause]

Hud: I just can't stop thinking how scary it'd be if a flaming homeless guy came running...

Rob Hawkins, Lily Ford, Marlena Diamond: HUD!

Hud: I'm just saying. Sorry.

Two parts. The other was at the party when they found out that Rob and Beth did the nasty and Hud gets sworn to secrecy, only to roam around the party telling everyone "Hey, did you hear Rob and Beth had sex?"

 

[snogger]

I've seen three movies recently that I really enjoyed:

Juno - fun, touching, etc. I agree with the guy who said he didn't care for the "tension" between Bateman and Juno. Should have let the tension between the adoptive parents be the story...

Cloverfield - Didn't see it in theaters based on bad reviews (WHY do I listen to critics?), but REALLY enjoyed this movie. There's some cheese, and the guy doing the documenting annoyed me by saying "Rob" 1 trillion times, but the tension was high and I kept thinking "What would I do?" I like movies that make me put myself in the situation.

Ironman - Not a rental, obviously, but fun, funny, and a thoroughly cool guy movie.

Question about Cloverfield-

 

[facook]

I've seen three movies recently that I really enjoyed:

Juno - fun, touching, etc. I agree with the guy who said he didn't care for the "tension" between Bateman and Juno. Should have let the tension between the adoptive parents be the story...

Cloverfield - Didn't see it in theaters based on bad reviews (WHY do I listen to critics?), but REALLY enjoyed this movie. There's some cheese, and the guy doing the documenting annoyed me by saying "Rob" 1 trillion times, but the tension was high and I kept thinking "What would I do?" I like movies that make me put myself in the situation.

Ironman - Not a rental, obviously, but fun, funny, and a thoroughly cool guy movie.

Question about Cloverfield-

It was pretty ambiguous in "real time", but watching the special features cleared this up for me.

Hud definitely had some funny lines...Just annoyed me more than entertained me.

 

[Wrigley]

Watched Tooth and Nail

Um, just awful.

 

[pats3in4]

Just saw Lars and the Real Girl. Went in with very low expectations and was very pleasantly surprised. Definitely recommended. First post in this thread, so I don't know what's considered a spoiler so I've avoided elaboration.

 

[The Juggernaut]

Charlie Wilson's War: I loved this movie. It's funny. It's sad. It's thought provoking. I'm not normally a fan of Hanks, but he was great. PSH was better. I even liked Roberts in this one. It's a travesty that this wasn't nominated for best picture. It deserved it. It's close to NCFOM for me. 5/5.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

Just saw Lars and the Real Girl. Went in with very low expectations and was very pleasantly surprised. Definitely recommended. First post in this thread, so I don't know what's considered a spoiler so I've avoided elaboration.

I am a big Gosling fan, but I just couldn't get past the whole "doll" conceitReally affected my enjoyment of the film...

The performances were very good, but it never engaged me due to the disconnect with the plot



Just my two cents

 

[Tremendous Upside]

Charlie Wilson's War: I loved this movie. It's funny. It's sad. It's thought provoking. I'm not normally a fan of Hanks, but he was great. PSH was better. I even liked Roberts in this one. It's a travesty that this wasn't nominated for best picture. It deserved it. It's close to NCFOM for me. 5/5.

hought it was very good, and, ultimately, VERY re-watchable...I've seen it 2.5 times already, and I kind of have the feeling this is going to be one of those "stumble across on cable at 1 AM and can''t urn it off" films for years to come

BIG fan of PSH

"You're no James Bond."

"Well, you're no Thomas Jefferson"

 

[Fallerjw]

Lions for Lambs: Three seperate, but connected, stories weaved into one. A statement flick aimed at the US government and the war on terror for the most part. Streep and Cruise are on screen together for a good bit of the movie and both did a great job. I thought that Streep might bury Cruise, but he was able to hold his own and they really played off each other really well. Redford was decent. His direction didn't strike me as anything special though. Overall, I liked the movie pretty well, but I could see where the message might turn some folks off. 3.5/5

i think this is the first review i've seen that didn't hate this movie

I would've given it a positive review on the basis of the scenes between Streep and Cruise alone.

I agree with that. They did a nice job. The movie would have been much better if that was the concentration and not the political message.

 

[Wrigley]

Watched King of Kong tonight

Friggen awesome, dude

 

[Hov34]

Dan in Real Life

I liked it - a bit slow in parts and leans towards the chick flick side, but I thought it was touching and slightly funny. The whole Kennedyesq family was a bit much but I still enjoyed it.

 

[roadkill1292]

Watched Tooth and Nail

Um, just awful.

Poorly scripted, poorly directed, horribly acted. How did humanity's stupidest become the last survivors?

 

[TylerRoseFan]

Being John Malchovich-Finally got around to seeing it. Enjoyable. Good acting, interesting premise. Prolly won't watch it again. I'll give it 3/5

Stranger than Fiction-I thought it was a very entertaining. Will did a great job. Dustin Hoffman was great. 4/5

Walk Hard-Ok, TRF Jr went w/ his friends and bought this movie last night. Watching the previews, I had absolutely no interest in watching this. Well, all the teenagers stopped by last night and they threw it on. It flowed so well, I coldn't believe it was already over. I thoroughly enjoyed the knockoff music, the storyline, the southern stereotypes, etc. I'll prolly watch it again. I'll give this 4/5.

 

[SmoovySmoov]

Watched King of Kong tonight

Friggen awesome, dude

 

[SmoovySmoov]

Finally got to see I'm Not There. Beautifulness. Definitely NOT for those who do not like non-linear storytelling. (Eleventy billion/5)

 

[KarmaPolice]

Watched Tooth and Nail

Um, just awful.

Poorly scripted, poorly directed, horribly acted. How did humanity's stupidest become the last survivors?

Was that one of the Horrorfest movies?

 

[KarmaPolice]

Finally got to see I'm Not There. Beautifulness. Definitely NOT for those who do not like non-linear storytelling. (Eleventy billion/5)

Or for those that don't like Bob Dylan?

 

[pizzatyme]

Juno- 3.5-5 No girl is that hip and yet attracted to a doofus like the kid's role in the movie.

There Will Be Blood- 2-5 DDL was good but the movie dragged on forever!

The Brave One- 3.5-5 Jodie Foster is good, but the movie is poorly written.

No Country for Old Men- 4.5-5 Javier Bardem is a great bad guy!

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

I enjoyed this dark film.

 

[tdoss]

"Teeth"

If you enjoy horror mixed with some dark comedy and some serious social and religious undertones...watch this film...but do not invite any kids.

Don't read up on it...don't even look at the box...just rent it, sit back and be horrified in a whole new way.

 

[roadkill1292]

Watched Tooth and Nail

Um, just awful.

Poorly scripted, poorly directed, horribly acted. How did humanity's stupidest become the last survivors?

Was that one of the Horrorfest movies?

I think so but I have to admit that those previews confuse me.

 

[Big_Russel]

Beowulf was on the menu last night. Wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be. Actually enjoyed it. 3.5/5