Review the last movie you viewed (NO LISTS) II

[ewings]

Stardust

I don't care what anyone says

Purely fantasy -- "once upon a time" material. Plenty of magic - witches -- crossing the forbidden wall -- boy gets girl --

I think Robert DeNiro did a wonderful job with his role as a pirate on a flying ship.

I loved the musical score, too.

This is one I will buy.

 

[corianderstem]

Across the Universe

At least for now, I think it gets a 6/10

There were parts of it that were very stunning. Regardless of my status as a U2 fan, I thought Bono's bit was one of the best in the movie, because it brought comic relief and some much-needed charisma that some of the other actos seemed to lack.

I really liked the actor playing Jude, and also liked Max. Some of the other actors were kind of flat for me.

I might change my mind about how much I liked it over the next few days, but there were parts of it I thought were really well-done. The army screenings bit was really cool with all the little boxes opening up (but the Statue of Liberty thing was groan-worthy. I prefer metaphors that aren't quite so anvilly) and I also loved the bowling alley scene.

 

[angelordevil]

The Last Mimzy 7/10

Finally rented this last night to watch with my niece. She ended up leaving the room early into the movie to play with a puzzle...and I kept watching.

The plot centres around a brother & sister who find a connection to another dimension through a mysterious box. Weird little movie, because some of it was cheesy as hell, but the overall message about humanity carried it through. Also, the score was great, including the Roger Waters song. I kept wondering, however, how much better this film would've been if someone had thrown a few more million into the budget. Parts of it seemed like a Canadian movie-of-the-week.

 

[Lancemc]

Cannibal Holocaust - N/A

I don't really know how to rate this, so I won't. I'm still trying to figure out if it's more insane or more brilliant, but it's definitely at little bit of both. I...just don't know what to say. I've never seen anything like this before...not even close. It's easily the most provocative "horror" film I've ever seen though, if you can even call it that.

Damn.

Just damn.

 

[SeattleVertigo]

Cannibal Holocaust - N/A

............It's easily the most provocative "horror" film I've ever seen though, if you can even call it that.

I have a feeling I'm gonna skip this one. <wink>

 

[U2girl]

That would be Aikido.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aikido

Thanks. I never knew he had a belt and that he owned a aikido dojo.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

Cannibal Holocaust - N/A

I don't really know how to rate this, so I won't. I'm still trying to figure out if it's more insane or more brilliant, but it's definitely at little bit of both. I...just don't know what to say. I've never seen anything like this before...not even close. It's easily the most provocative "horror" film I've ever seen though, if you can even call it that.

Damn.

Just damn.

The problem I have with this "movie" if you want to call it that, is that quite a few live animals were slaughtered for it which I find rather distasteful and a waste...

 

[lazarus]

I've heard of Cannibal Holocaust, don't know if it's my thing. I'm definitely not a fan of the modern wave of "torture porn" films like Saw or Hostel; I think they're artistically meritless.

Does this film have any kind of subtext or point beyond the shock and gore?

 

[monkeyskin]

If it's the one I'm thinking of then I believe it's meant to raise a few interesting issues on human nature and violence.

But as much as I'm tempted to watch it I'm skipping it for the unnecessary animal cruelty that elevated_u2_fan referred to. I just can't abide that, especially when one of the animals (I think it was a turtle) was killed for a retake.

And rather than double-posting, here's what I watched on a plane a couple of days ago:

Fracture
Both Ryan Gosling and Anthony Hopkins are coasting here, but both make the film better than it should be. Hopkins especially steals every scene he's in and is great fun to watch. Not as twisty as I thought it would be, most are played out fairly on but it was still enjoyable.

300
What a load of wank. I didn't really want to watch this but figured it was the best time to give it a fair chance, but it was still crap. Rubbish plot (being adapted from a comic is no excuse), awful acting and oh my God I never thought so much slow motion could possibly exist in any one film. If there hadn't been so much of it then the film would have been half an hour shorter. Not a completely risible film, just bad.

The Science of Sleep
I really wanted to watch this, but I think I may have been too tired to appreciate it. Original and eye catching though it was, along with a great lead turn from Gael Garcia Bernal, I just couldn't connect to it at all. Shame, but I think I'll revisit it sometime in the future.

 

[Lancemc]

I've heard of Cannibal Holocaust, don't know if it's my thing. I'm definitely not a fan of the modern wave of "torture porn" films like Saw or Hostel; I think they're artistically meritless.

Does this film have any kind of subtext or point beyond the shock and gore?

This definitely wasn't on the same level as modern torture porn like Hostel. There's same real artistic merit to this film, it's just an issue of balances the value of the art and the brutality of the film. On the surface it definitely aims to shock (and is the most effective film with that goal I've ever seen) but there's also a profound and frightening subtext throughout the whole thing, which is really what I found the most terrifying part of the film.

You know I've always said I hated shallow torture porn and the like, but this is something I'd definitely recommend seeing to anyone who's a fan of film (provided they don't object for reasons regarding the production of the film, which I understand to an extent).

 

[lazarus]

Just got back from In the Valley of Elah, which I didn't realize was even out yet.

To preface my reaction, let me say that I am one of those people who were absolutely appalled when Crash won Best Picture, and certainly don't hold Paul Haggis in any high regard.

This film wasn't a masterpiece, but as a big-time liberal I'm going to be sympathetic to any film that questions the U.S. occupation of Iraq, as well as the dehumanizing effect of combat on soldiers, and the difficulties they face adjusting back to normal society. What I was suprised at was how little pandering there was, Haggis definitely brushed away at uncovering the themes and let you figure them out for yourself, as opposed to smashing you over the head with them repeatedly as he did in Crash. No magic bullet-repelling children's jackets in this one either! There's kind of a lame song that plays over the closing moments that's reminicent of that garbage at the end of that other film, but it doesn't do too much damage.

Tommy Lee Jones is great as always, and everyone wisely underplayed in this film. No histrionics at all. I'd like to give special mention to Charlize Theron, who just continues to impress with every role she takes. It goes beyond deglamming herself for something like Monster--it's that she doesn't appear to have the need to stick out in every film she's in. Here she's just a regular single mother who's a police detective. Yeah she's still pretty, but it's not emphasized in any way. She doesn't play larger than life. I can't remember the last time I didn't think she was great in a film, and I have a lot more respect for her than someone like Angelina Jolie, who appears to have more raw, natural talent, but aside from her recent turn as Marianne Pearl, has been making crappy Hollywood films since she won her Oscar.

Anyway, this isn't a war film and it isn't a political film. It's not filled with hankie moments either. It's a bit of a murder mystery that slowly makes its position known in an effective, subtle manner.

 

[LMP]

Is it pronounced EY-LAH, EE-LAH, or EL-AH? I swear, it's like the Kim Basinger (Baysinger, Bah-singer, Bay-sin-ger?) of movie titles.

The Patriot

I watched this for extra credit for AP American History; I was expecting it to be bad, but not as laughably bad as it was. I really don't know where to begin, the melodrama of Mel Gibson's revenge story versus the innately evil British colonel is a keeper, along with the scene where he goes apeshit on a bunch of Redcoats with a hunting axe. It had the subtlety of a lead brick, maybe it was mastercraftsman Roland Emmerich's direction, I'm not sure... it was no Godzilla.

I give it **1/2 sugartit stars, mainly because I was hoping Mel would drop a "GIVE ME BACK MY SON!" line at some point.

 

[FitzChivalry]

Nine 1/2 Weeks

8/10

So I was in 7th grade when this came out and a bunch of my friends got to see it, but my parents absolutely refused. I think they were right on this one, for a 7th grader at least.

Now at 33, and expecting just a soft-core erotica film, I was actually surprised that the movie had more to say and had depth to the performances (especially from Kim Basinger, which I wasn't expecting at all).

I thought it was a pretty good examination of one cautious, prudish woman's sexual awakening and sexual liberation vs. her limits of self-debasement and humiliation. I thought Kim Basinger played it perfect with just the right mix of hesitance, fear, curiosity, remorse and fun. I didn't know she was capable of so many levels all at the same time.

Mickey Rourke was harder to gage since he pretty much stuck close to the bone with the dark-mysterious-handsome-dangerous-stranger role the entire film.

All-in-all much, much better than I was expecting. (And the "You Can Leave Your Hat On" stripping scene was just pure 80s fun.)


Dead Man Walking
9/10

I was really tired when I saw this, so maybe I'll like it even more on a 2nd viewing.

Phenomenal, stellar performances from all actors involved. At least tried to show both sides of the death penalty coin and give some stage time to Pro-Penalty points of view. In that respect, much, much better than "The Life of David Gale" which I found was just a liberal, hit-you-over-the-head bombast of Anti- Death Penalty views, which I found to be much less effective due to its obvious bias.

I think Dead Man Walking understood that to have a chance to change people's minds, you have to show the validity of all the viewpoints, and then bring them on home on why yours is the best choice.

Bravo for Tim Robbins and co. understanding that.


The Brave One
7/10

Jodie Foster has said in interviews that this movie is more than just a basic revenge/vigilante film, that it is film dealing with philosophical and moral dilemmas. If that's true then:

1. What philosophy, exactly, is the ending of this film (which I will not give away) trying to impart?

and

2. Why then does the last 1/3 of the film feel like Charles Bronson's "Deathwish"?

Foster is a great, talented actress and she proves it again with this multi-layered, riveting role. Terrance Howard is good as well.

But I can't help but feel that the film Foster thinks she made, ends about 2/3 of the way through the film she actually made.

And the ending, though initially satisfying, left me troubled (due to its implications) long after the credits had stopped rolling.

 

[corianderstem]

I'd heard someone on TV pronounce "Elah" as "Ella." But hey, maybe they were wrong.

Re: 9 1/2 Weeks - I remember being pleasantly surprised by this movie. I expected just silly softcore porn, but it wasn't all that bad.

 

[lazarus]

Is it pronounced EY-LAH, EE-LAH, or EL-AH? I swear, it's like the Kim Basinger (Baysinger, Bah-singer, Bay-sin-ger?) of movie titles.

The Patriot

I watched this for extra credit for AP American History; I was expecting it to be bad, but not as laughably bad as it was. I really don't know where to begin, the melodrama of Mel Gibson's revenge story versus the innately evil British colonel is a keeper, along with the scene where he goes apeshit on a bunch of Redcoats with a hunting axe. It had the subtlety of a lead brick, maybe it was mastercraftsman Roland Emmerich's direction, I'm not sure... it was no Godzilla.

I give it **1/2 sugartit stars, mainly because I was hoping Mel would drop a "GIVE ME BACK MY SON!" line at some point.

In the film, Tommy Lee definitely didn't pronounce it as "EE-LAH". He may have said "EH-LAH", I'm not sure. But no long "e".

I think Mel and Harold Perinneau from Lost should appear in a film where both of their children are kidnapped at the same time. Who can say "Give me back my son!" with more power?

Lemon, did you get to watch Gangs of New York for that AP class yet?

 

[LMP]

I don't think Gangs is assigned until the 1840s, and we're in the 1780s/1790s right now.

If the extra credit is as easy as it was for The Patriot, I'll just watch it now and do it when the time comes.

 

[Lancemc]

The Patriot makes me hate movies.

 

[LMP]

It was beautifully shot though. Maybe the only thing it had going for it.

 

[Lancemc]

I don't know if I'd call it "beautiful". It was decent, though. Which is still quite the feat for an Emmerick film I suppose.

 

[LMP]

Well, if a director can make the colonial South look like shit, then that's got to be some type of skill.

My other favorite part of the movie, after Mel's dead wife's sister takes care of his children, he totally macks on her at the end. What?

How jarring is that for the kids, to see their father make-out with their aunt???

Danny Glover would've slapped some sense into him.

 

[lazarus]

The Patriot was shot by one of the best, Caleb Deschanel (Zooey's dad). He also shot Passion of the Christ; god knows why he likes working with or for Mel. Gave both of those films more crediibility than they deserved.

 

[LMP]

Talk about making chicken salad out of chicken shit.

 

[dsmith2904]

Saw "Stranger Than Fiction" yesterday and really enjoyed it. I'm not a Will Farrell fan, mainly because I think he's a little too over-the-top and hammy but in this he was very low-key and understated and great. My only complaint about the movie was that they didn't try to explain why an author was writing the main character's life. I thought it would be like "Truman Show" or "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and the story would make some kind of sense out of this strange occurance but it did not. Other than that, totally enjoyable.

And Emma Thompson is always brilliant as a crazy person.

 

[Tiger Edge]

I don't understand why you initially gave The Patriot 2 and a half stars (I'm assuming out of 5) and then five posts later you are calling it shit (or at the very least are ragging on it more than it appeared you first wanted to).
I don't like to let other people influence my like or dislike on a movie. I'll confess it sometimes happens and then I'll feel bad about it because I'm not trusting myself.

People have shit all over The Patriot (as well as a slew of other movies I thoroughly enjoy) and I still call them my favorites. (In fact, I recall seeing a huge billboard for The Patriot when I was in London and someone had graffitied "TRAITOR" on the bottom of it. I lol'ed.)

Anyway, I really enjoyed The Patriot and despite everything I hate about Mel Gibson, I enjoy his work a great deal. Ransom is another favorite Mel flick of mine and I get a lot of shit for liking that one too.

Mayhaps I'm just a sucker for historically inaccurate movies.
Maybe not, because I hated Troy and Alexander.

 

[Tiger Edge]

I just saw The Yards today. I'm really hoping that We Own The Night will pwn that movie. I think Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix have a good chemistry flowing and The Yards completely messed that up.

3/10

 

[Lancemc]

Troy was definitely less painful than The Patriot, and apparently the director's cut is actually quite good.

As for historical films, I've been watching snippits of The New World on HBO today, and an still dumbfounded as to how I've somehow avoided seeing any Mallick flick in full to this day. Every shot in this film is remarkably beautiful. How have I not just rented the damn thing yet. Oh well.

That's soon to be corrected as soon as my netflix order comes in. Days of Heaven will soon be mine.

 

[lazarus]

As for historical films, I've been watching snippits of The New World on HBO today, and an still dumbfounded as to how I've somehow avoided seeing any Mallick flick in full to this day. Every shot in this film is remarkably beautiful. How have I not just rented the damn thing yet. Oh well.

That's soon to be corrected as soon as my netflix order comes in. Days of Heaven will soon be mine.

WHAT?!?!

I eny and pity you at the same time. Envious that you get to see these for the first time, pitying because you haven't had them in your life longer.

Enjoy.

 

[Lancemc]

Oh, I fully expect to.

 

[LMP]

I don't understand why you initially gave The Patriot 2 and a half stars (I'm assuming out of 5) and then five posts later you are calling it shit (or at the very least are ragging on it more than it appeared you first wanted to).
I don't like to let other people influence my like or dislike on a movie. I'll confess it sometimes happens and then I'll feel bad about it because I'm not trusting myself.

People have shit all over The Patriot (as well as a slew of other movies I thoroughly enjoy) and I still call them my favorites. (In fact, I recall seeing a huge billboard for The Patriot when I was in London and someone had graffitied "TRAITOR" on the bottom of it. I lol'ed.)

Anyway, I really enjoyed The Patriot and despite everything I hate about Mel Gibson, I enjoy his work a great deal. Ransom is another favorite Mel flick of mine and I get a lot of shit for liking that one too.

Mayhaps I'm just a sucker for historically inaccurate movies.
Maybe not, because I hated Troy and Alexander.

I wasn't pandering, if that's what you're thinking. It had the basis for a good story, looked good, and the battle scenes were well-done, which warrants at least 2 and a half stars in my book (i'd consider watching it again.) What keeps it from being higher are problems I have with plot, character development, and some of the acting in general. The script has too many flaws, in my eyes, to be considered really good.

It's cool if you like it or disagree. Ransom is a pretty good movie, but that line... oh man, kills me every time.

 

[No spoken words]

Troy was definitely less painful than The Patriot, and apparently the director's cut is actually quite good.

As for historical films, I've been watching snippits of The New World on HBO today, and an still dumbfounded as to how I've somehow avoided seeing any Mallick flick in full to this day. Every shot in this film is remarkably beautiful. How have I not just rented the damn thing yet. Oh well.

That's soon to be corrected as soon as my netflix order comes in. Days of Heaven will soon be mine.

You started with his worst, so, it only gets better from there.