Review the last movie you viewed (NO LISTS) IV

[anitram]

Two words: James McAvoy.

I don't find him attractive - just not my type at all.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I don't find him attractive - just not my type at all.

does not compute

 

[deep]

I liked him better in

Last King of Scotland
and bought him as a leading man in that film

much more than in Atonement

 

[anitram]

does not compute

Don't like that body type on a man - I prefer taller, athletic than slight. And I find his lips kind of weird. Just not my cup of tea.

Into the Wild. 8/10.

8/10 for the movie, and a big fat ZERO for McCandless. I couldn't STAND him. I can't even put into words how awful of a person I felt he was. The ridiculous, pretentious verbal diarrhea that came out of his mouth made it almost unbearable to me. The evils of the big, generic "society" and so on - it's honestly like this masturbatory tale directed at upper class white kids at college who will sit there and think what a cool thing he'd done.

The poor, suffering upper middle class smart kid graduated without debt and was on his way in life. Imagine the difficulty! What a horrible home life he had, only the same one millions of others do. His reckless disregard of the feelings of his family - what the hell, why not at least call his sister?? - really bothered me. It is as if he had absolutely no empathy with another human being who didn't buy into the same crap that he did.

I disliked him so much that the only positive thing I could take from the movie is that in the end, Darwinism prevailed, so at least we know that theory holds true. There was no class, no nobility in him whatsoever. He really, really represents almost everything I find distasteful about human beings.

 

[Lancemc]

anitram, you echoed my feelings toward that character perfectly. I give the movie a 5 or 6 though. I didn't even think Penn put together that competent of a film. The only think I really liked about it was the hot 16-year-old he thought he was too noble to bone. God I hate that guy.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Don't like that body type on a man - I prefer taller, athletic than slight. And I find his lips kind of weird. Just not my cup of tea.

Oh, me too, for sure--at 5'8" plus the usual 2-3" heels, I like 'em tall. I just find his facial expressions to be very charming, and I think he's a really good actor. I thought he was the best thing about Atonement and the otherwise forgettable Becoming Jane. And I loved him in Last King of Scotland. Not my type to be with, but I like watching him on screen.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Into the Wild. 8/10.

8/10 for the movie, and a big fat ZERO for McCandless. I couldn't STAND him. I can't even put into words how awful of a person I felt he was. The ridiculous, pretentious verbal diarrhea that came out of his mouth made it almost unbearable to me. The evils of the big, generic "society" and so on - it's honestly like this masturbatory tale directed at upper class white kids at college who will sit there and think what a cool thing he'd done.

The poor, suffering upper middle class smart kid graduated without debt and was on his way in life. Imagine the difficulty! What a horrible home life he had, only the same one millions of others do. His reckless disregard of the feelings of his family - what the hell, why not at least call his sister?? - really bothered me. It is as if he had absolutely no empathy with another human being who didn't buy into the same crap that he did.

I fully agree. This is almost exactly what I said to a group of my colleagues, and they all thought I was nuts. I didn't even much like the peripheral characters either except for the Hal Holbrook character, mainly because I couldn't respect them for falling for McCandless' bullshit charm. I liked other things about the movie, though.

 

[anitram]

I liked other things about the movie, though.

Me too. I liked Eddie Vedder's music and I also really liked the cinematography. I think it's the same guy who did Motorcycle Diaries? Anyway, I hope I'm right because that's the movie I immediately thought of.

 

[RavenBlue]

Wisegirls 5/10

The ending was

 

[Lancemc]

BOND-A-THON HAS CONCLUDED!!!

Look for a thorough ranking and review somewhere around here in the next couple days.

 

[mysterious_jen]

I liked him better in

Last King of Scotland
and bought him as a leading man in that film

much more than in Atonement

loved him in both.

although last king of scotland i think the constant threat of death over his head is more palpable,

but atonement is just such a gorgeous film.


on all fronts really , and made of WIN.

 

[RedRocksU2]

Enchanted

10/10....yup, a 10.

I loved this movie. Amy Adams is fantastic. She was also the "Hot Girl" in one of the episodes from "The Office".

 

[Carek1230]

I've heard a number of adults now say that this movie was really good and how much they enjoyed it. I thought it was kind of a kids movie but I guess not. Amy Adams was good hosting SNL too, she's got a really great sense of humor. I think I will see this when it hits PPV.

 

[Muldfeld]

I saw "Snow Angels" which was pretty interesting and thought-provoking and very naturalistic, but quite depressing and bleak as well. I won't spoil it for the rest of you, mostly because I'm too tired to go over the emotionally-charged nature of the story, but I suppose it's worth seeing.....more so than the awful "In Bruges" anyway, which was neither comedically original, nor dramatically interesting; just a bunch of comedy and mafia cliches. Awful, awful film.

 

[lazarus]

Yeah, I saw Snow Angels last week in Los Angeles, and really should have mentioned it here. I love David Gordon Green's films, which include All The Real Girls and Undertow (as well as George Washington, which unfortunately I still have yet to see). He was a great eye for observation with characters as well as the environment around them. This film is very simple in terms of plot, dealing with the connected lives of a handful of people in a small, unnamed northern town, and shows the various ways they are coming together, falling apart, healing and failing to heal.

Kate Beckinsale was probably better here than anything I've ever seen her in, and Sam Rockwell continues to amaze me with every distinct role he takes on. Compare his work here to what he did in Jesse James/Robert Ford, and then with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and then with Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He's a very versatile and fearless actor.

A powerful film, despite being bleak as Muldfield stated. However, with every loss there is a gain, and Green never allows one to despair at a complete lack of hope. It ends in a very similar way to All The Real Girls, including the final shot.

 

[monkeyskin]

Jackass Number 2
Well you pretty much know what to expect going into this. Personally I haven’t laughed at a film as much as I did during this for a loooong time. When the promotional materials appeared I thought it was just so that everyone not called Johnny Knoxville could get a payday and that the stunts would be lacklustre, but they came up with some gems here. Sure, some fall flat (Spike Jonze as an old naked lady was rubbish) but so many of them had my brother and I in stitches. Right from the start, when the gang were coaxing a large snake to bite Chris Pontious’ penis dressed up like a mouse, we loved it. But it’s even the small sketches that work, mainly due to the sheer stupidity of the performers. Case in point: Bam Margara walks up to the camera with a skateboard, rolls his eyes, climbs up a ramp facing it, then skates down and slams right into a plexiglass sheet we didn’t realise was there. Priceless.

Happiness
Bit of a U-turn here, with an ensemble drama based around the lives and relationships of three sisters (and their parents). Banish all thoughts of Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters from your mind though, this film look at the sad, lonely, seedy and despicably perverse sexual needs of its characters. It has more in common with the style of some of Robert Altman’s famous films, particularly Short Cuts. Interestingly it never focuses on just one class of people, such as the jaded, well-off family units that Wes Anderson favours, instead placing each sister into a different social position. The film strips all of the characters bare and allows all of them scenes where they can truly open up to each other and it’s to its credit that the film never sags in any of the plotlines.

I don't know how widely this will be promoted or even released in America, but keep an eye out for it.

Son of Rambow
Charming British comedy drama that reminded me of last year’s This Is England with the early 80s setting and sense of belonging, but also invokes the whimsical spirit of Gregory’s Girl. Two schoolboys, one from a pious and conservative family, the other a bullied tearaway from a broken home, strike up an unlikely friendship in order to film one’s entry for a competition that turns into an unofficial sequel to First Blood after their imaginations are ripped open. Directed by those behind The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, their follow up (originally meant to be their debut) sheds the flashy special effects in favour hand-drawn animation and DIY props. Not that it is anything like Be Kind Rewind though. Both of the child leads are great and feel very natural in their roles, and the kid playing Lee Carter is cocky and brash enough to take on TIE’s Thomas Turgoose in a movie scrap. The period (lol) setting also feels natural and realistic, working by simply serving as the backdrop and never calling attention to itself. But not that I’d know for sure, I’m glad to say I’m just too young to remember those fashion disasters firsthand.

The Sea Inside
Touching and very compassionate true-life story on a very tricky subject, euthanasia. Javiar Bardem is excellent as quadriplegic Ramon Sampedro who, after being confined to a bed for 28 years following a diving accident, is actively seeking the legal authority with which to end his life. Whilst the film invariably ends up siding with Ramon it does give both sides of the debate a decent amount of time both to state their cases and square off against one another, with Ramon occasionally speechless when confronted with a rebuttal he can’t argue against. However, the film mostly fails in the depiction of those opposing Ramon outside his family in his ‘right to die’ quest as narrow-minded preachers and politicians. But such heavy handedness can be overlooked with such beautiful cinematography; an impressive feat given much of the film takes place in a bedroom. Ramon’s flights of fantasy are lovingly realised and never come off as cheesy or cheap ways of tugging at the heartstrings. In fact they allow us to get into Ramon’s head more than he allows most people and along with the story behind his paralysis lets us see just what his life means to him. Overall, it seems like one of those films where personal opinions will shape the viewer’s thoughts on the outcome for the two main characters.

 

[JCOSTER]

Enchanted

10/10....yup, a 10.

I loved this movie. Amy Adams is fantastic. She was also the "Hot Girl" in one of the episodes from "The Office".

Loved this too! McPrincey!!!

We Own the Night: Mark Walberg/Joaquin Pheonix.
Excellent.

 

[LMP]

I saw a few meh-filled movies over the break (Balls of Fury, Mr. Magorium's Shitfilled Emporium, and Dan in Real Life), and one pretty good one: The King of Kong.

It's a doc about two guys (the new guy and record holder since '82) vying for the high score in Donkey Kong. It seems like it would be a bore, or too nerdy for some, but it's pretty interesting and lets the situation develop itself. Definitely check these out.

 

[lazarus]

My god, with all the great old films out there you're wasting your time on this crap?

 

[LMP]

I was on a cruise and my room didn't have a DVD player. Had to kill time somehow.

 

[Lancemc]

You don't have to explain
humiliation
of the teenage station.

 

[joyfulgirl]

 

[impy13]

Yeah, I saw Snow Angels last week

Are you sure it wasn't this?

 

[LMP]

Lance's Mom has a pretty coat in that picture.

Third from left, bottom row.

 

[impy13]

I thought she was the one inexplicably having sunglasses. The one that's not a Snow Dog™ at all

That just goes to show my Lance's Mom IQ isn't up to par with that of your average laz.

 

[WinnieThePoo]

Death Wish 4 , happy hardcore , trigger happy
10/10 , too bad the girlfriend gets shot , again
charles bronson is a jedi

 

[LemonMelon]

Taxi Driver

After one viewing, I honestly wasn't that crazy about it. Acting? Great. Cinematography? Superb. Doesn't get much better than those late-night taxi scenes. The problem was that it took me a long time to get what the point of the film was, and once I did the payoff wasn't as great as I thought it would be. Travis Brinkle is a good character, and using him as an example of a hero who was a misanthrope at heart is a smart idea, but I just didn't like him. It was difficult to sympathize with him, and I mostly just watched the film blankly without really being able to get into it. Regardless, it had a great cast and was technically superlative, so it gets a good rating. I just don't see what all the fuss is about.

7/10

Pulp Fiction

Amazing, of course. There isn't really much more to say that hasn't been said. The script is sharp and generally hilarious, the cast is among the best ever assembled in a single film, and the storytelling is brilliant. Slowed down a bit for me during the Gold Watch segment, but came right back to life as soon as Jules and Vincent popped back on-screen.

"English, muthafuka! Do you speak it?"

9/10

 

[Lancemc]

Lemon Melon is all phull of phail.

 

[lazarus]

I can see where he's coming from to an extent. But I don't know that a character needs to be likable to be worth watching. You have a Vietnam vet who's clearly had trouble integrating back into society, and is really just trying to form a connection with someone. He's touched by the tenderness of the Shepherd character, but has no clue what to do with her. The Foster character is one he can figure out easier--she needs to be saved. He believes that this good deed can somehow make a difference in the world of shit he's living in.

As a snapshot of post-Watergate, post-Vietnam, post-JFK assassination America, it's pretty chilling. And briliant.

 

[lazarus]

I was on a cruise and my room didn't have a DVD player. Had to kill time somehow.

Between this and the raves I think we're losing him, folks.

How did I miss this and the Snow Dogs jokes two days ago?

I'm getting rusty.