Recently viewed movie thread - Rental Edition (9 Viewers)

[GreatAmericanFF]

I have two movies to add to the list here.

A few weeks back I watched "The LookOut" which moved a little slow for a while, but had a very good ending. Overall, it was a pretty decent movie.

Tonight, I watched "Traffic" which had an all-star cast in it (Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Don Cheadle, Dennis Quaid). This movie was a little different than most as it had three separate story lines with all of them kind of tying together eventually, but not directly. This movie had really good reviews on RottenTomatoes (got a 92%), but I think that rating is a little high, IMHO. Still, it was decent a film.

 

[yinzer]

I have two movies to add to the list here.A few weeks back I watched "The LookOut" which moved a little slow for a while, but had a very good ending. Overall, it was a pretty decent movie.Tonight, I watched "Traffic" which had an all-star cast in it (Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Don Cheadle, Dennis Quaid). This movie was a little different than most as it had three separate story lines with all of them kind of tying together eventually, but not directly. This movie had really good reviews on RottenTomatoes (got a 92%), but I think that rating is a little high, IMHO. Still, it was decent a film.

Really liked The Lookout...JGLevitt was great in it (and I thought his character combined with the situation was pretty original) as was Jeff Daniels. I didnt find it slow at all because I thought they developed JGL's character fantastically and set up the whole bank scheme/using him. Last half hour was maybe even better though...I think theres a few haters of Lookout here, though I might be confusing that thought with BrickLove Traffic..Id give it a 9/10, so id say that rating is accurate. Pretty sure you dont need to explain that storyline to most people here

 

[krista4]

Brokeback Mountain: OK, so I'm three years late on this, but somehow this one just got by me. Finally watched it in hopes of generating some anger over its upset Oscar loss to Crash. But...meh. Definitely a beautiful movie--loved the scenery. And Heath Ledger was phenomenal, just really committed to that part and almost unrecognizable. Found the movie overall a bit boring, though, and the story not particularly believable. Also, my biggest issue was that I felt like Jake Gyllenhaal had accidentally wandered in from the City Slickers set. He was just not at all believable as a cowboy--couldn't get past the notion that he seemed like a somewhat effete, New York intellectual. 3/5

Ledger was very good. Gyllenhaal was totally miscast. Ledger aged on-screen convincingly. Gyllenhaal looked like a 17 year old boy put on a fake mustache. Awful. I think Crash and Brokeback are very flawed movies.I like Ang Lee. But Lee's The Ice Storm is 10 times better than Brokeback. Even Crouching Tiger is a far better film for me than Brokeback.

The Ice Storm was great, and definitely much better than Brokeback Mountain....I liked Ride With The Devil a lot too...Jeffrey Wright is one of the most underrated actors out there.I dont get all the love for Brokeback either....Switch Jake G's character for Maggie G, and it get nothing close to the buzz/acclaim it got because theres no gay guys. It would be regarded as an average movie that is shot beautifully and with a very good performance from Ledger, but not much else.

at the City Slickers reference

I haven't seen Ride with the Devil but thought The Ice Storm was terrific, too. Honestly I had forgotten that Ang Lee directed Brokeback until I got to the credits, and then I was horribly disappointed with him. I'm a fan of Eat Drink Man Woman and The Wedding Banquet, too.Jeffrey Wright is one of the BEST actors out there. I absolutely love this guy and can't say enough about him. You are right that he is woefully underappreciated. Can't emphasize enough how spectacular he is. He's also one of those guys that so owns a character that you don't even realize it's the same guy from movie to movie. One of the top five actors working today IMO.

 

[Musesboy]

I just watched The Shawshank Redemption again.

Perfection.

 

[saintfool]

"iron man" last night with the wife. god awful script but still a lot of fun. jeff bridges is surprisingly good as a villain. Downey is obviously having a lot of fun. Pretty good fun. Terence Howard and Paltrow need more to do in the sequel(s).

 

[joffer]

Vantage Point - not bad until the absurd ending. decent idea for an action flick gone horribly awry.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Hitman

 

[krista4]

Watched two documentaries yesterday:

Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten: I'd seen this in theatres but wanted to see again. Well worth a second viewing. I don't know why, but I seem to love all documentaries about punk. Makes a great bookend to The Filth and the Fury. 4.5/5

A Man Named Pearl: Nearly perfect documentary about a small South Carolina town where white residents are upset about a elderly black man moving into a certain neighborhood because they don't think he'll keep his yard up. So the guy becomes a topiary artist and wins not only the local awards but also has his work shown in art exhibits. Now thousands of visitors come to his yard just to see the topiary, and he will sit and talk with anyone who comes by. Really an inspiring story. The netflix description is misleading, as the man is not "angered" by the racist assumptions but is in every respect an incredibly positive person. The movie is fairly short, which really was perfect in this instance as they covered everything beautifully and didn't unnecessarily plump the movie up to 90 minutes. If you can't dedicate the time to the movie, at least check out the website: Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden. Can't recommend this enough. 5/5

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Traitor

A little too long and there feels like a lot of missed opportunities to make it better, but overall I'd give it a 7/10. Worth a watch.

 

[Balco]

Hitman

I saw it on HBO the other day. I went in with 0 expectations, and was surprised. Oscar Worthy? Solid action movie.

 

[Red Eyed and Blue]

Marley & Me 9/10

Heel The Love

 

[Red Eyed and Blue]

Brokeback Mountain: OK, so I'm three years late on this, but somehow this one just got by me. Finally watched it in hopes of generating some anger over its upset Oscar loss to Crash. But...meh. Definitely a beautiful movie--loved the scenery. And Heath Ledger was phenomenal, just really committed to that part and almost unrecognizable. Found the movie overall a bit boring, though, and the story not particularly believable. Also, my biggest issue was that I felt like Jake Gyllenhaal had accidentally wandered in from the City Slickers set. He was just not at all believable as a cowboy--couldn't get past the notion that he seemed like a somewhat effete, New York intellectual. 3/5

They also didn't age a lick in, what, 15-20 years? Even gay cowboys get wrinkles.

 

[Red Eyed and Blue]

Watched two documentaries yesterday:

Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten: I'd seen this in theatres but wanted to see again. Well worth a second viewing. I don't know why, but I seem to love all documentaries about punk. Makes a great bookend to The Filth and the Fury. 4.5/5

A Man Named Pearl: Nearly perfect documentary about a small South Carolina town where white residents are upset about a elderly black man moving into a certain neighborhood because they don't think he'll keep his yard up. So the guy becomes a topiary artist and wins not only the local awards but also has his work shown in art exhibits. Now thousands of visitors come to his yard just to see the topiary, and he will sit and talk with anyone who comes by. Really an inspiring story. The netflix description is misleading, as the man is not "angered" by the racist assumptions but is in every respect an incredibly positive person. The movie is fairly short, which really was perfect in this instance as they covered everything beautifully and didn't unnecessarily plump the movie up to 90 minutes. If you can't dedicate the time to the movie, at least check out the website: Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden. Can't recommend this enough. 5/5

I'll have to check these out, especially the second one.You ever see "Fast Cheap and Out of Control"? Fantastic. Also features a topiary artist.

 

[Red Eyed and Blue]

Rented Towelhead the other night. And though I was fearful I was going to get arrested for viewing child pron, it's a damn good movie from Alan Ball. Not for everybody, but if you like Ball's work, it's worth the rental.

Also rented:

Burn After Reading - Absolutely loved this. Hilarious.

Snow Angels - My first ever Kate Beckinsdale movie. Difficult movie to watch, but exceptionally well done.

 

[madshot31]

Vantage Point - not bad until the absurd ending. decent idea for an action flick gone horribly awry.

I liked this much more than I was expecting except for the foo foo fluff ending.

 

[krista4]

Rented Towelhead the other night. And though I was fearful I was going to get arrested for viewing child pron, it's a damn good movie from Alan Ball. Not for everybody, but if you like Ball's work, it's worth the rental.

Also rented:

Burn After Reading - Absolutely loved this. Hilarious.

Snow Angels - My first ever Kate Beckinsdale movie. Difficult movie to watch, but exceptionally well done.

I've hyped Snow Angels in here--one of my favorite directors and a fantastic (though horribly sad) movie. I've seen Fast Cheap and Out of Control, which was great. If you liked that, try Protagonist, which I also hyped earlier in this thread and think is even better (but skip the weird intermezzo parts with the puppets).

 

[yinzer]

Brokeback Mountain: OK, so I'm three years late on this, but somehow this one just got by me. Finally watched it in hopes of generating some anger over its upset Oscar loss to Crash. But...meh. Definitely a beautiful movie--loved the scenery. And Heath Ledger was phenomenal, just really committed to that part and almost unrecognizable. Found the movie overall a bit boring, though, and the story not particularly believable. Also, my biggest issue was that I felt like Jake Gyllenhaal had accidentally wandered in from the City Slickers set. He was just not at all believable as a cowboy--couldn't get past the notion that he seemed like a somewhat effete, New York intellectual. 3/5

Ledger was very good. Gyllenhaal was totally miscast. Ledger aged on-screen convincingly. Gyllenhaal looked like a 17 year old boy put on a fake mustache. Awful. I think Crash and Brokeback are very flawed movies.I like Ang Lee. But Lee's The Ice Storm is 10 times better than Brokeback. Even Crouching Tiger is a far better film for me than Brokeback.

The Ice Storm was great, and definitely much better than Brokeback Mountain....I liked Ride With The Devil a lot too...Jeffrey Wright is one of the most underrated actors out there.I dont get all the love for Brokeback either....Switch Jake G's character for Maggie G, and it get nothing close to the buzz/acclaim it got because theres no gay guys. It would be regarded as an average movie that is shot beautifully and with a very good performance from Ledger, but not much else.

at the City Slickers reference

I haven't seen Ride with the Devil but thought The Ice Storm was terrific, too. Honestly I had forgotten that Ang Lee directed Brokeback until I got to the credits, and then I was horribly disappointed with him. I'm a fan of Eat Drink Man Woman and The Wedding Banquet, too.Jeffrey Wright is one of the BEST actors out there. I absolutely love this guy and can't say enough about him. You are right that he is woefully underappreciated. Can't emphasize enough how spectacular he is. He's also one of those guys that so owns a character that you don't even realize it's the same guy from movie to movie. One of the top five actors working today IMO.

If you like Jeffrey Wright, definitely check out Ride With The DevilIm guessing youve seen both of these, but Broken Flowers and Basquiat are also must sees, not just for his performances either.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Snow Angels - My first ever Kate Beckinsdale movie. Difficult movie to watch, but exceptionally well done.

So glad I'm not the only one.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Hitman

I saw it on HBO the other day. I went in with 0 expectations, and was surprised. Oscar Worthy? Solid action movie.

I like Oliphant. But he did not belong in that movie.

 

[jdoggydogg]

You ever see "Fast Cheap and Out of Control"? Fantastic. Also features a topiary artist.

Excellent movie.

 

[jdoggydogg]

try Protagonist, which I also hyped earlier in this thread and think is even better (but skip the weird intermezzo parts with the puppets).

Exactly. The puppets are lame.

 

[yinzer]

Snow Angels - My first ever Kate Beckinsdale movie. Difficult movie to watch, but exceptionally well done.

So glad I'm not the only one.

 

[Red Eyed and Blue]

Snow Angels - My first ever Kate Beckinsdale movie. Difficult movie to watch, but exceptionally well done.

So glad I'm not the only one.

Am I spelling it wrong? Regardless, she is fantastic. Easily the most beautiful gal in movies today. I can't believe I've never seen her in anything prior.

 

[yinzer]

Snow Angels - My first ever Kate Beckinsdale movie. Difficult movie to watch, but exceptionally well done.

So glad I'm not the only one.

Am I spelling it wrong? Regardless, she is fantastic. Easily the most beautiful gal in movies today. I can't believe I've never seen her in anything prior.

Yeah, its Beckinsale with no "D"I saw KP do it multiple times, so I figured he thought it was her actual name so I called him out on it awhile ago.

I found it funny bc of that basically

 

[SmoovySmoov]

Marley & Me 9/10

Heel The Love

Oops

 

[jamny]

Marley & Me 9/10

Heel The Love

Oops

 

[krista4]

Marley & Me 9/10

Heel The Love

Oops

 

[Red Eyed and Blue]

Marley & Me 9/10

Heel The Love

Oops

 

[kblitz]

Poseidon (the new one): I loved the old version when I grew up. The new one was beside couple of nice effects to long. I miss Ernest Borgnine.

The Great Dictator: excelent

Moby **** (the one with Gregory Peck) my favorite version

 

[KarmaPolice]

Started watching Generation Kill.

Didn't like it at all. I think it was more because I read the book and less to do with the series. I really got into the book and loved it. I didn't feel anything from the actors at all and thought it came off a little cheesy. The casting job I liked the least was Colbert - felt like he was trying to hard to be the "iceman" describe in the book and it came off as wooden and emotionless to me. Also felt like things were set up too much just so they could squeeze in some of the funny lines from the book and that felt forced a little to me as well.

As I said, I think it was mostly due to the high hopes I had after reading the book. Watched the first couple episodes and don't plan on watching the rest.

 

[QUEZILLA]

Do Not Mess with Zohan - 6/10 - If you don't expect much it's worth a watch. It's not the greatest comedy, but the concept was funny. Sandler was an idolized Israeli fighter that could take out anyone, but wanted to style hair. Quite a few sex references, and the villain guy did a good job. I forgot his name, but he's funny.

 

[snogger]

Marley & Me 9/10

Heel The Love

Oops

That is wrong on so many levels.. Yet..

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Wanted - 7.5/10

Mix Fight Club with the over the top action of Crank (without being so completely offensive) and the preposterousness of Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull and you get Wanted. Except that wanted works better than the latter two.

When a movie makes no illusions that it's going to be unrealistic, I can go with it.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

Saw Kung Fu Hustle again - one of my favorite recent movies. It has everything going for it.

Based on the AFI listing McCabe and Mrs Miller as an all time great western, I rented it. What an overrated piece of mediocrity. The first hour is totally boring, Beatty who is usually pretty good, mumbles through the whole movie. The second half is a little better, but not much. Some good scenery and realistic sets but that's about all in it's favor.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Saw Kung Fu Hustle again - one of my favorite recent movies. It has everything going for it.

That movie is awesome. It's version of the Burly Brawl is better than that in the Matrix: Reloaded.

 

[saintfool]

Based on the AFI listing McCabe and Mrs Miller as an all time great western, I rented it. What an overrated piece of mediocrity. The first hour is totally boring, Beatty who is usually pretty good, mumbles through the whole movie. The second half is a little better, but not much. Some good scenery and realistic sets but that's about all in it's favor.

i believe altman intended on it being an "anti-western" and defying a number of conventions of the genre. for example, the final gunfight in a snowstorm where most things are obscured. altman has always been an acquired taste, i think.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

Based on the AFI listing McCabe and Mrs Miller as an all time great western, I rented it. What an overrated piece of mediocrity. The first hour is totally boring, Beatty who is usually pretty good, mumbles through the whole movie. The second half is a little better, but not much. Some good scenery and realistic sets but that's about all in it's favor.

i believe altman intended on it being an "anti-western" and defying a number of conventions of the genre. for example, the final gunfight in a snowstorm where most things are obscured. altman has always been an acquired taste, i think.

The gunfight was good.The rest of the boring crap wasn't.

It is different than a typical western, I'll give it that much.

 

[avoiding injuries]

Eagle Eye- 6/10

Action movie that kept my interest. Lot of plot holes and it didn't tie together very well. I'll probably never watch it again.

 

[Dexter Manley]

Juno

I thought this movie was very well written and directed, however, I think I only lol'ed once during the entire film (during the stink eye scene). I thought the film was pretty entertaining, but it definitely didn't live up to the hype, imo.

Juno's character was a little over the top -- I don't really see any 16 yo who's pregnant being so confident and self-sure. The dude who knocked her up, however, was very believable.

I detested Jen Garner's character, and I think the real hero of the movie was Bateman's character -- how many guys in real life have the onions to bounce out of a marriage in a similar situation, despite knowing it's the right thing to do?

3.5/5 stars

 

[yinzer]

JunoI thought this movie was very well written and directed, however, I think I only lol'ed once during the entire film (during the stink eye scene). I thought the film was pretty entertaining, but it definitely didn't live up to the hype, imo.Juno's character was a little over the top -- I don't really see any 16 yo who's pregnant being so confident and self-sure. The dude who knocked her up, however, was very believable.I detested Jen Garner's character, and I think the real hero of the movie was Bateman's character -- how many guys in real life have the onions to bounce out of a marriage in a similar situation, despite knowing it's the right thing to do?3.5/5 stars

pretty much how I saw the movieexpected it to be much more funny

 

[Darth Cheney]

Cloverfield. After about 10 minutes....I was really rooting for the monster. Decent effects, horrible characters in an unrealistic "realistic" format. They should have just filmed it in the traditional way, kept the cheesy, unrealistic story and let someone else take a real chance and have a real payoff with the style of filming.

 

[The Goat]

Southland Tales.Okay...I understand that the movie sucked. Someone please explain it to me. Did the world end (because pimps don't commit suicide)? What the hell happened to The Rock? What's with the stigmata?

Due to the lack of feedback, I forced myself to watch this AGAIN. Now my eyes are bleeding a little, but I think I got a better grip on the movie. Thanks herds.What sucks is that the story idea actually had decent potential, but the movie was tragically miscast aside from Scott, and had a director who was apparently more interested in being artsy than telling a story, and decided to leave far too much open to interpretation.

 

[yinzer]

Southland Tales.Okay...I understand that the movie sucked. Someone please explain it to me. Did the world end (because pimps don't commit suicide)? What the hell happened to The Rock? What's with the stigmata?

Due to the lack of feedback, I forced myself to watch this AGAIN. Now my eyes are bleeding a little, but I think I got a better grip on the movie. Thanks herds.What sucks is that the story idea actually had decent potential, but the movie was tragically miscast aside from Scott, and had a director who was apparently more interested in being artsy than telling a story, and decided to leave far too much open to interpretation.

After seeing a preview for this I really wanted to see it, looked like a guilty pleasure kind of movie. I even heard from a few people that it was just bad, not so bad its good, just bad.I didnt care and decided to watch it anyway....I think I lasted about 23 minutes before turning it off

 

[QUEZILLA]

Notorious - 7.5 - Guy did a good job playing Biggy. My only problem is it paints Diddy out to be a saint. Maybe he was a good influence on him, but I think it being produced by Bad Boy may have somehing to do with it. Solid movie, but if you weren't interested in hip hop during this era it may not be for you.

 

[The Goat]

Southland Tales.Okay...I understand that the movie sucked. Someone please explain it to me. Did the world end (because pimps don't commit suicide)? What the hell happened to The Rock? What's with the stigmata?

Due to the lack of feedback, I forced myself to watch this AGAIN. Now my eyes are bleeding a little, but I think I got a better grip on the movie. Thanks herds.What sucks is that the story idea actually had decent potential, but the movie was tragically miscast aside from Scott, and had a director who was apparently more interested in being artsy than telling a story, and decided to leave far too much open to interpretation.

After seeing a preview for this I really wanted to see it, looked like a guilty pleasure kind of movie. I even heard from a few people that it was just bad, not so bad its good, just bad.I didnt care and decided to watch it anyway....I think I lasted about 23 minutes before turning it off

It's bad. There are a few cool scenes, and it always seemed to be going SOMEWHERE...and it just never quite got there.I'd recommend watching the last half hour instead of the first half hour. One would pretty much get the idea, and save time.

 

[yinzer]

Notorious - 7.5 - Guy did a good job playing Biggy. My only problem is it paints Diddy out to be a saint. Maybe he was a good influence on him, but I think it being produced by Bad Boy may have somehing to do with it. Solid movie, but if you weren't interested in hip hop during this era it may not be for you.

might have to drink a 40 tonight and watch this illegally on my computer

 

[Red Eyed and Blue]

1st foreign film I remember seeing on my own in a theater was probably Cinema Paradiso.

My co-worker handed me this DVD a week ago. Still sitting on my coffee table. He says it's the best movie he's ever watched. I keep meaning to watch it...Your take?

 

[KarmaPolice]

Notorious - 7.5 - Guy did a good job playing Biggy. My only problem is it paints Diddy out to be a saint. Maybe he was a good influence on him, but I think it being produced by Bad Boy may have somehing to do with it. Solid movie, but if you weren't interested in hip hop during this era it may not be for you.

might have to drink a 40 tonight and watch this illegally on my computer

You gonna po' some out for yo' dead hommies?

 

[krista4]

1st foreign film I remember seeing on my own in a theater was probably Cinema Paradiso.

My co-worker handed me this DVD a week ago. Still sitting on my coffee table. He says it's the best movie he's ever watched. I keep meaning to watch it...Your take?

GB, you will LOVE this movie. Book it.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

1st foreign film I remember seeing on my own in a theater was probably Cinema Paradiso.

My co-worker handed me this DVD a week ago. Still sitting on my coffee table. He says it's the best movie he's ever watched. I keep meaning to watch it...Your take?

after seeing it in the theater the first time, I went back a few nights later and saw it again. I think it's an all-time great.