Review the last movie you viewed (NO LISTS) II

[SeattleVertigo]

I've had a few Netflix movies collecting dust, and finally decided to watch them over the past week.

Letters from Iwo Jima
I won't deny that it's a beautiful film, but I yawned a lot. I'll admit, some of the performances were very good, and I can certainly feel sympathy for ordinary Japanese who were sent to war. I would have preferred a one-hour documentary. It takes a lot to get me to like a war movie.
6/10

Paradise Road
I rented this for Glenn Close and Frances McDormand -- two of my favorite actresses. Another WWII movie, about women who are taken prisoner after the Japanese overrun Singapore. The music was beautiful, and the performances were very good. The story dragged a bit.
7/10

City of God
The cinematography in this film was just gorgeous. A gripping tale about kids, gangs and drug dealing in the Rio de Janeiro slums. It's a world of violence that I don't relate to at all, but I found it fascinating.
8/10

Next up: The Candidate with Robert Redford (I like almost any Redford movie) and Equilibrium, a sci-fi thriller that I'm almost regretting renting after digging deeper into the Netflix customer reviews! <gasp>

 

[got_edge]

PREMONITION

 

[LMP]

Why, Sandra Bullock, why?

Most of her movies suck anyway though, except for Demolition Man and Speed.

Keanu

 

[elevation2u]

The worst thing to me about Premonition (and there wasn't anything good about it), was the staple time traveling loophole ending. Jesus christ, can't any writer come up with something fresh, they probably feel all witty when they write it too!
12 monkeys, the i inside, deja vu etc...

 

[elevation2u]

"Almost Famous"

9/10

I may be the only person around here
who doesn't think much of this film, Kate Hudson's acting is so awful it just ruins it all for me not even Billy Crudup could save the film. The story of the main character is great, it's easy for us music geeks to relate to.

which just reminded me that I saw Cameron Crowe last month at Ryan Adams concert!

 

[LMP]

The worst thing to me about Premonition (and there wasn't anything good about it), was the staple time traveling loophole ending. Jesus christ, can't any writer come up with something fresh, they probably feel all witty when they write it too!
12 monkeys, the i inside, deja vu etc...

It's not that the concept is bad, when it's done right it's pretty badass, but when it's handled poorly it sucks.

The best execution of this idea is The Back to the Future series, without a doubt.

 

[SeattleVertigo]

The Candidate
6/10
I guess I was spoiled by The West Wing, but I found this film uninspired and amateurish. (Then, a lot of those early 1970s movies feel that way.) Robert Redford was decent as the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat from California, but he's had better roles. Redford's top aide did remind quite a bit of the West Wing's Toby -- I thought that was pretty cool.

 

[elevation2u]

i haven't seen Back to the Future since I was wee little,

I couldn't even tell you what it's about, guess I should add that to the movie queue

 

[AchtungBono]

HAIRSPRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

John Travolta is absolutely ASTOUNDING in this movie and if this doesn't give him an Oscar then I don't know what will!.

The movie is AWESOME and I can't recommend it strongly enough!

GO SEE IT!!!!

 

[thesuburbskill]

Atame!

8/10

Comedy (i guess you could call it a black comedy considering the subject matter) directed by Pedro Almodovar. It stars antonio banderas back when he was still cool - he plays a guy who just got out of a mental institution who falls for and kidnaps an ex junkie/porn star. For a film that was released about 17 years ago, the film looks amazing and doesnt feel at all dated.

 

[AchtungBono]

HAIRSPRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

John Travolta is absolutely ASTOUNDING in this movie and if this doesn't give him an Oscar then I don't know what will!.

The movie is AWESOME and I can't recommend it strongly enough!

GO SEE IT!!!!

Silly me....forgot to rate:

of course - 10/10!!

 

[corianderstem]

I love Almost Famous.

"I dig music .............. AND I'M ON DRUGS!!!!!"

The Celluloid Closet

8/10

Really interesting look at the history of homosexuals in the movies. Good stuff in there about the Hayes code and writing/viewing between the lines.

 

[got_edge]

Atame!

8/10

Comedy (i guess you could call it a black comedy considering the subject matter) directed by Pedro Almodovar. It stars antonio banderas back when he was still cool - he plays a guy who just got out of a mental institution who falls for and kidnaps an ex junkie/porn star. For a film that was released about 17 years ago, the film looks amazing and doesnt feel at all dated.

Almodóvar + Banderas

 

[LMP]

i haven't seen Back to the Future since I was wee little,

I couldn't even tell you what it's about, guess I should add that to the movie queue

the first one's my favorite movie and the other two are solid, go for it!

I love Almost Famous.

"I dig music .............. AND I'M ON DRUGS!!!!!"

I AM A GOLDEN GOD!

 

[Lancemc]

Wet Hot American Summer - 7/10

Solid cast, lazy performances here or there, hit or miss comedy, but still funny enough to make it a worthwhile viewing experience every time.

 

[MsMofoGone]

The Warriors 10/10


The Warriors are a gang from Coney Island who went to a meeting in the Bronx to hear the head leader Cyrus speak. Little did The Warriors know that another gang member( his name was Luther) blamed the Warriors for the death of Cyrus, who was shot during his speech of how all the gangs could "control/take over" the city. The Warriors had to high-tail-it back to Coney (without weapons and with a few obstacles that lie in their way ... for one ... every gang was out to get them ... they had absolutely no place to hide) The classic part was at the end of the movie ... the 'big showdown' between the gang member Luther, who was actually the one responsible for shooting Cyrus, and The Warriors fight against him and his gang.



"Warriors ... come out to play"

"Warriors ... come out to play"

"WARRIORS ... COME OUT TO PLAY"



This movie was gang fighting at it's BEST !!

For those of you who have seen this movie ... you might remember the actor who played Luther (David Patrick Kelly) ... he was also in the movie 48 Hrs (with the same character name ... Luther).

 

[SeattleVertigo]

I think Jesus Camp might be one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. Not scary because of special effects or plot twists but scary because it's true.

That was an awesome film that made me a bit sick to my stomach, for the reasons that you mention. Not often that a movie affects me so viscerally. I come from a very different America.

 

[SeattleVertigo]

Equilibrium
5/10

I'm not sure why I rented this one. Future anti-utopia where peace is maintained because people take a drug that prevents them from feeling emotion. Lots of Matrix-like gun scenes -- lotsa suspense there. Christian Bale did a passable job and I was moderately interested to see how they tied the story together, but I don't find much reason to recommend it to anybody.

 

[U2girl]

Bourne Ultimatum - unlike much hyped sequels this year, this one delivers. The realistic, gritty and above all SMART action movie. I liked all three movies a lot so 8/10.
The only letdown was the ending. Can't a Hollywood movie not do that for once ?

 

[Pearl]

Well, I finally saw "The Simpsons" movie. I liked it, I found it very funny. I have it admit the movie has made me dislike Homer, because it showed him at his worst. But it was still good, I had a lot of laughs

 

[Lancemc]

Election - 7/10

Solid comedy from Alexander Payne. Not much else to it, sadly.

The General - 9.5/10

Classic comedy from Buster Keaten from the great silent era. Awe-inspiring filmmaking going on here, with a lot of gags that still work today. Highly recommended to anyone interested in film.

 

[hardyharhar]

I saw the last hour or so of a film called Pan's Labyrinth. Excellent. A young girl retreats into a secret fantasy world to escape the horrors of living under Nazi trained Franco fascists in 30's Spain. Subtitles. Very surreal and extremely well made.

 

[AtomicBono]

Death Sentence

dude this movie was fucking badass. Sure the plot isn't terribly original - it's a revenge flick with some definite nods to Taxi Driver. But Kevin Bacon kicks ass. I loved it. THATS MY DADDY

 

[SeattleVertigo]

Notes on a Scandal
9/10

Loved it! A delightfully twisted performance by aging lesbian teacher Judi Dench, who yearns for new art teacher Cate Blanchett (also an excellent performance)...who yearns for her, um, 15-year-old student. I was captivated the whole way through. High marks for the cinematography, the Philip Glass score and the supporting performance by Bill Nighy.

Judi Dench can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned.

 

[dsmith2904]

I finally saw "Once" and it's awesome. It was sweet and simple, the music is amazing and it made me miss Dublin so much. It's been far too long since I was there last.

 

[U2girl]

Pirates of the Caribbean III - 6/10. Much as part II, it suffers from too many sidestories and the "bigger is better" Hollywood sequel syndrome. Jack Sparrow totally saves this one. The "open" (aka yes there will be more) ending shtick is getting old with these type of movies.

Meet the Fockers - of a sequel.

 

[Lancemc]

Superbad - 9/10

The most true-to-character teen comedy I've ever seen. Definitely my favorite comedy of the year (not a whole lot of competition, but I can say I enjoyed this just a bit more than Knocked Up). Even and Seth reminded me of not only myself, but of people I'm currently living with, especially Evan. Hell, I live with a guy named Evan, who is almost exactly like Cera's character in the film. Nutso.

I've heard plenty of people trash the film for how vulgar or unrealistic the conversations are, but you know what? That's bullshit. Some of the stuff in this film (outside of the McLovin+Police subplot, which incidently delivered my biggest laughs of the whole film) features the most realistic and frighteningly true-to-life situations and conversations I've ever seen in a comedy. I know these kids. We are that vulgar. We do make stupid cock and ball jokes all the time for no reason. We do say 'fuck' every 5 words. We are awkward and insecure like these guys.

Like I said, one of the worst criticisms I've seen over and over again was how unrealistic the film was. And I can't believe it. I guess some people just lived different lives, obviously. What else can I say. This was my life, to a frightening degree of accuracy. The two party scenes were amazingly funny, because of how familiar they were. I don't want to hear another person tell me that parties aren't exactly like that, because they are.

"Jim's brother with the amazing voice!" Holy shit I laughed so hard. And even when the situation wasn't very realistic (certain things involving the cops), the dialog was always amazingly grounded. "Dude, you just cockblocked McLovin..."

Excellent film. Easily my favorite comedy since The 40-Year Old Virgin.

 

[monkeyskin]

The Lookout

Following on from Brick (watch it!) Joseph Gordon Levitt delivers the goods again in another not quite as noirish thriller. He really is turning into a great young actor. Anyway, this film placed character well and truly above anything else, with the plot not kicking in for a good half hour and even then it almost feels incidental to the main leads.

The style and tone of the film is similar to Memento and a more downbeat Out of Sight and if you liked them then this is definitely worth a look, as is anything else featuring Mr Levitt (Killshot certainly looks promising).

 

[JCOSTER]

Mr. Beans Holiday.............DON"T.

 

[corianderstem]

[I've heard plenty of people trash the film for how vulgar or unrealistic the conversations are, but you know what? That's bullshit.

Well, it WAS vulgar. I can appreciate that some people find it pretty true to life. I have to say, that's not the high school world I lived in. .... but please bear in mind I was a band geek.

However realistic the conversations and situations might have been, I wouldn't have found it all that funny in real life either.

Except Michael Cera singing "These Eyes" - that would be comedy gold in any setting.