Rate The Last Movie You Watched

[weegeebored]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

The thing I liked about Gosling in Drive is that he isn't the typical action star--he's a borderline psychopathic killer who has retained just enough humanity to kinda make some acceptable decisions. I mean, his cold and quiet acting in this one is pretty damn chilling considering the level of killing he is doing.

You see him as chilling; I see him as a regular guy with flat affect. Chilling would be Nicholson in The Shining, Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs, or Bardem in No Country for Old Men.

Gosling may be a fine actor, I don't know. But in this role he was awful. He may have acted well -- maybe he's affable in real life -- but his character was bland and that did not help this movie which had a borderline screenplay to begin with.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by rowech

Ides of March -- 5/10 Found it boring. Premise was good but the lead sucked. Ryan Gosling continues to be a horrible actor. Probably won't ever give him another chance to earn my dollars.

I don't think Gosling was bad, as it was the story itself was just half baked. Gosling was pretty solid in Drive I thought. Of course, he didn't have to talk much in that flick.

[Young Drachma]

Being Elmo: It's the documentary of Kevin Clash, the guy who voices Elmo. Shows how he came up through the ranks as a puppeteer literally in his parents backyard. Fun story from start to finish. It's finally available on Netflix instant if you haven't caught it yet, worth checking out.

Safe House: Overall a pretty tepid flick. I mean, you know if Denzel is playing a bad guy then the bad guy will probably have some kind of humanizing component to him. This was basically what happens here. It wasn't a terrible flick, the action was well paced and stuff. Just wasn't especially rousing. Worth renting, not sure it's worth seeing in the movies though.

In Time: Implausibility aside, it wasn't the worst movie in the world. Timberlake won't even be mistaken for an action star anytime soon, but...I tend to like dystopian sci-fi flicks and so, while it wasn't especially memorable...it was good fodder for time killing (no pun intended.)

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

I don't think Gosling was bad, as it was the story itself was just half baked. Gosling was pretty solid in Drive I thought. Of course, he didn't have to talk much in that flick.

Maybe I haven't seen him in the right movies because as far as I can tell his entire acting portfolio consists of --

1. Looking stoic when he's in scenes on his own

2. Looking stoic in scenes when he's with someone else

3. Speaking as little as possible for fear of having to give voice inflection.

[Grover]

Apocalypto 8/10

Finally saw this, as I was skeptical to see it to begin with, but wow. Very visually impressive movie with non-stop action.

[Young Drachma]

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009)

It's on Netflix instant. It's a student film that was made into a full-length feature. Shot in 16mm b&w film rather than digital, there are stylistic homages to a different era of film, but it's not an anachronism. Not what I anticipated at first, but enjoyable if you're into the art-film musical. They blew their entire budget hiring the Bratislava Symphony to perform the score.

Well regarded by most pundits, but pretty hit or miss amongst casual film watchers you'll probably either love it or hate it.

[korme]

Wanderlust (2012)
First half - 10/10
As far as comedies go, I haven't been this close to tears in some time. It was absolutely outstanding, laugh wise.

Second half - 5/10
The plot was a little predictable and to drive the story forward the jokes had to come fewer and further between. However, Paul Rudd looking in the mirror (without giving it away) was probably the funniest part in the entire movie.

Overall, a good movie for what it was.

[stevew]

Birdemic:Shock and Terror

Pretty much impossible to rate, since this is one of those it's so bad it's good movies. I'd fast forward for the first 45 minutes, cause it takes forever for the birds to attack. But when they do....it's amazing. On Netflix.

[Grover]

X-Men: First Class 8/10

Easily the best of any of the X-Men films to date. Might be my second favorite super hero movie to Dark Knight.

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by stevew

Birdemic:Shock and Terror

Pretty much impossible to rate, since this is one of those it's so bad it's good movies. I'd fast forward for the first 45 minutes, cause it takes forever for the birds to attack. But when they do....it's amazing. On Netflix.

Watch the Rifftrax version of it.

[ISiddiqui]

Hugo - 7/10: It was good, but I think I expected much more. It was a fairly slow moving plot, but some good acting and fantastic visuals. Was surprised to find out that one of the characters was actually based on a real life person. In that regard, especially, the movie was well done putting the fictional story of Hugo in that real life story.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

Watch the Rifftrax version of it.

I've heard that's great. They broke down the movie with Weird Al on this week's How Did This Get Made? podcast and it was glorious.

[molson]

Jeremiah Johnson - 7.5/10

Very random movie choice for a weekday night, as I try to fill in some gaps in my 1970s movie knowledge. Robert Redford in a western/survivalist movie based on the life of legendary 1800s mountain man John "Liver-Eating" Johnston. A big commercial/critical hit that's kind of been forgotten - I feel like there's a lot of good 1970s movies which had the same fate, so I'm trying to see some of them. Beautiful scenery, simple story, solid watch.

[Grover]

Currently in the midst of watching Hard Candy, has anybody else seen this? Ellen Page is phenomenal in her role.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Grover

Currently in the midst of watching Hard Candy, has anybody else seen this? Ellen Page is phenomenal in her role.

Yep.

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Hard Candy
7/10

It was an interesting twist on the who pedophile/cyber-stalker as predator theme. I found some of it a bit far-fetched and over-the-top, but the two leads were excellent. I think there were 5 speaking roles in the entire movie, three of which have about a total of 3 minutes of screen time.

Ellen Page (who played Kitty Pryde in X-Men 3) was really, really impressive. I thought Patrick Wilson (who's been tabbed as Night Owl in the Watchmen movie) was excellent in a pretty thankless role. I have to say, knowing he was going to be Night Owl distracted me throughout the whole movie. (I think he'll make a great Night Owl, but he was a little young and far too fit to play him., but he had the right look and solid acting chaps).

Between the solid performances of the two leads what the director did with color in the film, there are just a ton of very vibrant primary colors throughout (I'm sure there was a rhyme or reason to them, but I'd have to watch it again to pick up the pattern), it was decent enough.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by Grover

Currently in the midst of watching Hard Candy, has anybody else seen this? Ellen Page is phenomenal in her role.

First role I saw her in. I loved the film.

[spleen1015]

The Usual Suspects - 7/10

I've had many people tell me this is a must see movie. I have always heard a lot of hype and after seeing it, I don't get what the hype was all about. It wasn't a bad movie, but it was a great as everyone seemed to make it out to be.

Spoiler

Maybe the hype lead me to look for the big reveal because I figured Spacey was Keyser whatshisname long before the end.

[Karlifornia]

The Woman In Black - 8/10

A superior ghost story that has an actual story. It's moody, atmospheric, has it's share of good jumps, and actually has a solid ending.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by molson

Jeremiah Johnson - 7.5/10

Very random movie choice for a weekday night, as I try to fill in some gaps in my 1970s movie knowledge. Robert Redford in a western/survivalist movie based on the life of legendary 1800s mountain man John "Liver-Eating" Johnston. A big commercial/critical hit that's kind of been forgotten - I feel like there's a lot of good 1970s movies which had the same fate, so I'm trying to see some of them. Beautiful scenery, simple story, solid watch.

Good flick. Have you seen McCabe & Mrs. Miller? '70s western from Robert Altman, with kind of a similar flavor, and one of my absolute favorite movies. Like you say about Jeremiah Jonhson, it's a flick that has kind of fallen into that gray zone...tons of acclaim and popularity at the time, still well known to anybody with even a small interest in movies, yet 9 out of 10 people have never heard of it.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

The Usual Suspects - 7/10

I've had many people tell me this is a must see movie. I have always heard a lot of hype and after seeing it, I don't get what the hype was all about. It wasn't a bad movie, but it was a great as everyone seemed to make it out to be.

Spoiler

Maybe the hype lead me to look for the big reveal because I figured Spacey was Keyser whatshisname long before the end.

I felt the same way honestly. Too many years of The Outer Limits always has me on my meta-fiction guard when going into a movie. I can't always guess the twist but something like this was easy

SI

[rowech]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I felt the same way honestly. Too many years of The Outer Limits always has me on my meta-fiction guard when going into a movie. I can't always guess the twist but something like this was easy

SI

I always felt Primal Fear did a much better job of hiding the ending. I was flored by the end of that movie. Just total shock.

[BillJasper]

Went to see John Carter. Decent flick.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by BillJasper

Went to see John Carter. Decent flick.

Yah, saw it yesterday. Enjoyable action/sci-fi which at least attempted to have a storyline too. I was surprised at the stretches of non-action to be honest, not that it bothered me but it might bother others. Probably a 7.5 out of 10 for me.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

The Usual Suspects - 7/10

I've had many people tell me this is a must see movie. I have always heard a lot of hype and after seeing it, I don't get what the hype was all about. It wasn't a bad movie, but it was a great as everyone seemed to make it out to be.

Spoiler

Maybe the hype lead me to look for the big reveal because I figured Spacey was Keyser whatshisname long before the end.

People have to be careful with recommendations for this movie...or any movie that has a twist to it. If you know to look for it, you can often find it before the reveal. If you don't go in expecting it, the storytelling will take you down a very logical path before it pulls the rug out from under you. If a review/recommendation alerts you to a twist, it has already been spoiled.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by BrianD

People have to be careful with recommendations for this movie...or any movie that has a twist to it. If you know to look for it, you can often find it before the reveal. If you don't go in expecting it, the storytelling will take you down a very logical path before it pulls the rug out from under you. If a review/recommendation alerts you to a twist, it has already been spoiled.

Spoiler regards The Usual Suspects specifically...

Spoiler

To me, even if you could somehow predict that Verbal would end up being Soze (despite no hints at that at all throughout the movie beyond the name, if you happen to know Turkish), the "reveal" of Keaton being Soze should elicit some reaction, no? And, again IMO, the more impressive "twist" isn't that it ends up being Verbal, but the revelation of the story being invented in the office and then debating what really happened and what didn't.

[Qwikshot]

The Long Goodbye - Robert Altman version

Someone was talking about Jeremiah Johnson which I love though its a heartbreaking story, I mean, the guy goes off the grid, just to in someway become more in touch with people only to lose it all again is kind of hard to watch, but damn if it wasn't beautiful to watch.

Someone else chimed in with McCabe and Mrs. Miller which brings us to Robert Altman. I love MASH, but the Long Goodbye while not as good is a pretty entertaining movie. Not so much a mystery but a great fish out of water piece where Elliot Gould actually seems to be Marlowe in the 1970's. It's a pretty enjoyable flick and it's funny to hear Gould yell that he's going to call Ronald Reagan to complain about the police (then governor of California) and then see a cameo by a famous future governor of California as without any lines intimidator.

It's on netflix instant right now.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by Logan

Spoiler regards The Usual Suspects specifically...

Spoiler

To me, even if you could somehow predict that Verbal would end up being Soze (despite no hints at that at all throughout the movie beyond the name, if you happen to know Turkish), the "reveal" of Keaton being Soze should elicit some reaction, no? And, again IMO, the more impressive "twist" isn't that it ends up being Verbal, but the revelation of the story being invented in the office and then debating what really happened and what didn't.

Spoiler

I do think that is the more impressive twist. Early in the movie someone comments that crimes are generally not all that complicated and if you think you know who the criminal is, you are going to find out that you are right. The whole movie provides a good exception to the rule, but the way the story is told and the growing complexity which encompasses the cops knowledge as that grows really hooks you into the story. You think you know who is in charge, but you don't.

[spleen1015]

Tron Legacy - 6/10

I've been sick since Friday with Bronchitis, so I've been watching some movies on cable.

I liked the special effects of this movie a lot. The story was so so. Olivia Wilde was pretty nice to watch throughout the movie.

[sterlingice]

I loved the visual style to it- very pretty. Was about as deep as the original Tron was, which is to say "not very".

SI

[stevew]

I liked the movie too. Was probably a 6 or 7/10

[Grover]

Mulholland Dr. 10/10

Hadn't seen this in years. Just an absolutely surreal, beautiful, twisting film.

The girl on girl ain't bad either.

[Grover]

Celda 211 - 10/10

Spanish movie about a prison riot and a guard who has to pose as a prisoner to try and survive. Incredible film.

[stevew]

Young Adult-8/10

Flew under the radar, but Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt were really great. Most of the laughs are brutally funny. Jason Reitman keeps making great movies.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Grover

Mulholland Dr. 10/10

Hadn't seen this in years. Just an absolutely surreal, beautiful, twisting film.

The girl on girl ain't bad either.

I'm actually not much of a Lynch fan as I prefer narrative cohesion in my films, but this one is so compelling that I can't help but be drawn in.

[stevew]

Girl With The Dragon Tattoo(american version) 7/10
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo(original version) 8/10


Fincher's on his A game as a director and did a really good job making his version of Girl. However, it's so similar to the original version and I think that is probably why he did not achieve greatness with this film. I don't think it was particularly a good idea to be so true to the original movie and book once you adapt the language to English. We end up with a fancier big budget version of the original film.

I would have preferred to maybe see this version set itself amongst the New England elites. I much preferred the original girl from the sweedish verison, and I have no idea how Rooney Mara got nominated for an oscar here. Some of the elements to the story, especially the libel part, really don't make much sense in a story for an American audience. The original version is subtitled, but I found that it was pretty easy to follow along.

Anyways, if they use Jaws in any of the new Bond movies, they absolutely have to get the one huge guy from the Dragon Tattoo sequels to play him.

[Grover]

One thing I can say about the American version... Reznor and Ross' soundtrack was phenomenal. Though I would expect no less from them.

[stevew]

Yeah, i bought that one How to Destroy Angels song after watching the movie.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by rowech

I always felt Primal Fear did a much better job of hiding the ending. I was flored by the end of that movie. Just total shock.

Finally broke down and saw it. A big +1.

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

I'm actually not much of a Lynch fan as I prefer narrative cohesion in my films, but this one is so compelling that I can't help but be drawn in.

I think I liked the film until the end were he went, "I need to remind people it's a David Lynch film." It just felt like far too random stuff tossed at the viewer in rapid session to where I have zero clue what it meant.

[Matthean]

The Hunger Games

I never read the books so I had little to go off of. It's solid. I think it works as a self contained film but knowing there are two more books certainly points as there being more to come. I think I only really had one issue with the film.

Spoiler

I never could buy into the love triangle. The female lead simply couldn't sell me on the idea that she was falling for the other guy. I know her character was emotionally distant, but I was waiting for the moment where her emotions lightened up for the other guy, and it simply never happened. Even if part of it was due to the severe nature of the games, she still was emotionally withdraw after it.

Pulling John

John Brzenk is the undisputed king of arm wrestling. Not only has he had a reign of nearly 25 years but in arm wrestling winning your weight division means going for the overall title regardless of class. John has made his name as being the guy in the lowest class beating even the heaviest of guys. He's nearing retirement and wondering how long he can go. The two other main arm wrestlers are a outspoken brash redneck American, who is raw but talented, and a 270lb. Russian who is the current standard for Super Heavyweight.



Card Subject to Change

Documentary on indie wrestling that's done on the regional level. It covers one regional promoter and a just about every type of wrestler from the guy who is doing his first match, to the talented guy who is stuck, to up-and-comers, and the old guard who are past their prime. FYI, The one extreme hardcore guy does have a scene that is rather graphic.



Following

Christopher Nolan's first film. It's short and as usual is more of a thinking person's film. I took some time to warm up to it, but once it started it click I enjoyed it a lot.



Jens Pulver: Driven

MMA fighter who is nearing retirement and on a losing streak. Jens had a difficult life growing up and he absolutely wears his heart on his sleeve so he's pretty much crying during a number of parts. It was a nice emotional counter to the Pulling John doc. It was partly interesting to watch the weight loss part just before weigh in. I think he was given 3 days to drop 15lbs. and then a day to drop 6. It was funded on a Kickstarter Project

College

1927 silent film featuring Buster Keaton. The opening part made me question why I was watching it as the premise of the film is pretty asinine. Once the scene moves to college things get better, and I slowly pick up on more and more of the physical comedy and then finally the name of Buster Keaton clicks. I did like in it in the end.

Harold and Maude

Just an odd little film. I would almost classify it as a dark comedy even if it wasn't. The Cat Stevens soundtrack felt completely out of place but in a way it added to the dark humor of it. I can see why it's a cult classic, but I'm not really sure how good I would say it is. Harold's pranks were my favorite parts.

[Autumn]

I know I'm late to the party, but I just watched Green Lantern with a friend who had it on HBO or some such. I expected it to be bad, but I was surprised what kind of bad it was. The visuals on that movie were horrendous! Not just like poorly done CGI, but everything about every shot in that movie looked really low budget. It looked exactly how I would expect a SyFy movie or a BBC production to look. I have never seen a Hollywood movie, particularly a tentpole big budget production, look like that. I can't even imagine how that happened. The music was noticeably horrendous too. They did spend a lot of money on this thing, didn't they? Unreal.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Matthean

The Hunger Games

I never read the books so I had little to go off of. It's solid. I think it works as a self contained film but knowing there are two more books certainly points as there being more to come. I think I only really had one issue with the film.

Spoiler

I never could buy into the love triangle. The female lead simply couldn't sell me on the idea that she was falling for the other guy. I know her character was emotionally distant, but I was waiting for the moment where her emotions lightened up for the other guy, and it simply never happened. Even if part of it was due to the severe nature of the games, she still was emotionally withdraw after it.

Spoiler

In the books, she's actually putting on an act so Haymitch can get her some sponsors. Her feelings are confused at best. The love triangle is more important in the 2nd book.

College

1927 silent film featuring Buster Keaton. The opening part made me question why I was watching it as the premise of the film is pretty asinine. Once the scene moves to college things get better, and I slowly pick up on more and more of the physical comedy and then finally the name of Buster Keaton clicks. I did like in it in the end.

I actually didn't like this one much at all. I'm not a huge Keaton fan and this is one of his lesser efforts. The 1925 Harold Lloyd film The Freshman is much, much better.

[Matthean]

RE: Spoiler

It's kind of what I assumed.

RE: College

I was watching clips of him afterwards and I came to the conclusion College was one of his lesser films. I still want to look for some other ones but there's not a huge need.

[korme]

Harold and Maude is great

[Grover]

Originally Posted by korme

Harold and Maude is great

+1 one of my favorites.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Matthean

I was watching clips of him afterwards and I came to the conclusion College was one of his lesser films. I still want to look for some other ones but there's not a huge need.

My favorite Keaton movies are The Navigator, Steamboat Bill Jr. and Sherlock Jr. Can't go wrong with any of those. I don't think I've got around to watching College yet, but looking it over, it does look like a straight rip off of The Freshman, which was very good (although I'd say Speedy was my favorite Harold Lloyd movie).

[k0ruptr]

Win Win - 7.5/10 - I really enjoyed this movie, starring Paul Giamatti as a lawyer/HS wrestling coach/funny family man. Trying to make ends meet he takes on a guardianship of a client, but not as honest as he could be. Things get a little crazy as the clients grandson/wrestling phenom shows up out of no where.

IMDB link:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1606392/

[Honolulu_Blue]

Your Highness - 3/10

This movie is horrible. I stopped watching before the end because it is not funny or entertaining. I give it a 3 because Natalie Portman is super hot in it. Watching her was the only reason I kept watching as long as I did. I usually find Danny McBride pretty funny, even in bad movies. That was not the case here. Do not watch this movie.

[stevew]

Cruel Intentions 6/10

SMG and Reese Witherspoon back when they were much younger and more attractive. Plot was kind of far fetched, but I think it works as a companion type piece to something like American Psycho. Loses a point for no nudity from either of the stars. Reese was blocked on one scene in an especially annoying manner as to almost show the goods, but to fall short.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by stevew

Cruel Intentions 6/10

Loses a point for no nudity from either of the stars. Reese was blocked on one scene in an especially annoying manner as to almost show the goods, but to fall short.

Cruel intentions, indeed.

[Young Drachma]

Salmon Fishing In The Yemen A british film about a yemeni prince with a ton of cash who love salmon fishing and decides he wants to create a salmon lake in Yemen. The story was a bit strange obviously, but a rom-com that despite that was very well acted so you almost were willing to ignore the holes in the storyline.

So no, you won't own the DVD but as far as entertaining full goes it was more robust than an American flick in that way. And certainly better than I think our alternative "Casa De Mi Padre" was going to be.