What movies have you seen recently?

[SlimKibbles]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I went back and watched movies I hoped I would enjoy. I succeeded.

Adventureland
I gave this one a 4/5. I'm a sucker for these kinds of comedies that aren't laugh out loud funny, but still have their comedic moments tied into a dramatic piece.

Lots of familiar faces as a television fan, but really liked the performances from Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart.

One thing that gives this film a 4 rather than a 3 is the more realistic portrayal of emotional break up. Rather than seeing people cry excessively to the point of making it uncomfortable for the audience, the characters walk away from the situation or become distraught. I personally believe very few people would ever cry as much as people cry in movies. Thankfully, this film believed the very same.

Also, I love movies that take place in the 80s because it's such a ragtag time.

Good review. I loved Adventureland. I'm a big fan of movies that take place in the 80's too. Ended up tracking it down on BR recently. The end credits song is fantastic too. Until I saw the movie, I don't think I had heard that INXS song in a long time.

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Went to see this on Friday, and was utterly disappointed. I would advice no one to see this.

.5 out of 5 rating. And it gets a .5 because of Connie Britton.

I figured it would be crappy just based on the ads.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Good review. I loved Adventureland. I'm a big fan of movies that take place in the 80's too. Ended up tracking it down on BR recently. The end credits song is fantastic too. Until I saw the movie, I don't think I had heard that INXS song in a long time.

I take it you have seen Hot Tube Time machine. It was pretty good.

[Aggies7]

Just picked up 21 Jump Street from Redbox while I was at work can't wait to go home and watch it.

[sven]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Just finished Our Idiot Brother. LOVED IT! The cast was phenomenal, it was really funny at times, and it really cheered me up.

[Kanobi]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Perfect Host - Enjoyed this one. Don't think I can watch 'Frazier' the same again

Wrecked - Great but tragic twist. Great performance by Adrien Brody

Both are on netflix

[CMH]

HUNGER GAMES

2/5.

I'm not gonna say much because I already know many will disagree but the movie pretty much sucked.

I know someone will say something about comparing it to the books and I can promise you I'm not. As an individual movie, viewing it as if it were an original work, it sucked. The only saving grace for the film is the book.

I would have walked out more upset and confused if I hadn't read the books. Thanks to the books I know why certain characters behaved as they did, why they had particular motivations.

The film does a horrible job of explaining anything. We are simply told to accept actions without any base or foundation to those actions.

It's disgusting that audiences are treated in such a way that films believe no one cares about motivation and response. Maybe audiences don't. Shame.


Sent from my mobile device.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I thought it was okay - far from the worse thing I've seen this year, but I have no qualms about never seeing it again and have little interest in the sequels. What parts did you have problems with?

[CMH]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I thought it was okay - far from the worse thing I've seen this year, but I have no qualms about never seeing it again and have little interest in the sequels. What parts did you have problems with?

Oh, yea, I wouldn't call it the worst film. I gave it a 2/5 because I think the actual Hunger Games were interesting to watch. It's not as if I was bored while watching the film. I just can't deal with two things in films:

1. Lack of character/group motivation
2. Telling not showing.


I'll give an example of each in spoilers for those that didn't watch the film:

Spoiler

1. Lack of character/group motivation.
The actions of District 11 are perhaps the greatest example for lack of motivation.

When Rue dies it creates a rebellion. But, why does Rue's death do this? Is Rue special to her people? I don't know. The film never says anything about Rue or District 11. I never know they are angry or even on the brink of rebellion because it's never mentioned.

The Games have been going on for 73 years prior. No one ever did a thing during those 73 years. At least I have to believe no one has because all I know is that the Games were created to keep peace. No one mentions any attempts to break that peace in 74 years. So why now? Why does it suddenly matter that Rue dies?

Making this even more problematic is that the only example of emotions we see when a challenger is chosen is at District 12. Did you see their faces? Those people looked defeated, as if the entire process of the Games is just an everyday part of life. They've accepted that once a year one of them will likely die.

So the only example I have of how people feel about the Games is the example shown to me at District 12. No one cries (except Prim), no one gets angry, no one does a thing except Katniss. And perhaps that's on purpose to show us how triumphantly heroic Katniss is. The girl on fire is also the only one that gives a damn. But, it hurts the rest of the plot because I'm taught to believe that no one gives a damn.

However, suddenly someone does. And why? I don't know. Oh, if you read the books you know why. It's because the Districts are poor, they are treated like crap, they have no true liberties or freedom. President Snow is an *** (more on this in a bit). Except the movie never mentions those things. Ever.

And President Snow...is a villain? When? He never does anything villian-like. He just stands around looking evil, but never does or says anything evil. He's just a guy. Terrible writing or acting, I don't know. But, you shouldn't just stand around trying to look evil to make me believe you are evil. Do something evil! So because I can't believe he's evil, I never have a reason to believe or understand why people would dislike him.

So why in the hell are they rebelling in District 11?!


2. Telling Not Showing
Too many examples of the film telling us things that they could have shown. Film is a visual experience. We are there to see things, not to hear or read them.

The first offense is the very first minute of the film when they have to show us in words why the Games exist. Goodness, how horrible is that? Now I have no real emotional tie to the situation. There could have been many ways to do this. I don't know, how about using President Snow in a scene to show us why the Games exist? Guess what, now I would know why the games exist and I'd know that President Snow is an ***.

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

CMH, my friend has reason to believe that more storytelling expansion of the districts will be explained in the next sequel.

[CMH]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

CMH, my friend has reason to believe that more storytelling expansion of the districts will be explained in the next sequel.

I don't want to make this a Hunger Games thread, but the storytelling expansion of the districts isn't what was needed; character motivation was needed.

They wouldn't have to tell me the entire background of each district so I could understand the reasons for their actions. They could have just shown me something about them.

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

HUNGER GAMES

2/5.

I'm not gonna say much because I already know many will disagree but the movie pretty much sucked.

I know someone will say something about comparing it to the books and I can promise you I'm not. As an individual movie, viewing it as if it were an original work, it sucked. The only saving grace for the film is the book.

I would have walked out more upset and confused if I hadn't read the books. Thanks to the books I know why certain characters behaved as they did, why they had particular motivations.

The film does a horrible job of explaining anything. We are simply told to accept actions without any base or foundation to those actions.

It's disgusting that audiences are treated in such a way that films believe no one cares about motivation and response. Maybe audiences don't. Shame.


Sent from my mobile device.

Oh, yea, I wouldn't call it the worst film. I gave it a 2/5 because I think the actual Hunger Games were interesting to watch. It's not as if I was bored while watching the film. I just can't deal with two things in films:

1. Lack of character/group motivation
2. Telling not showing.


I'll give an example of each in spoilers for those that didn't watch the film:

Spoiler

1. Lack of character/group motivation.
The actions of District 11 are perhaps the greatest example for lack of motivation.

When Rue dies it creates a rebellion. But, why does Rue's death do this? Is Rue special to her people? I don't know. The film never says anything about Rue or District 11. I never know they are angry or even on the brink of rebellion because it's never mentioned.

The Games have been going on for 73 years prior. No one ever did a thing during those 73 years. At least I have to believe no one has because all I know is that the Games were created to keep peace. No one mentions any attempts to break that peace in 74 years. So why now? Why does it suddenly matter that Rue dies?

Making this even more problematic is that the only example of emotions we see when a challenger is chosen is at District 12. Did you see their faces? Those people looked defeated, as if the entire process of the Games is just an everyday part of life. They've accepted that once a year one of them will likely die.

So the only example I have of how people feel about the Games is the example shown to me at District 12. No one cries (except Prim), no one gets angry, no one does a thing except Katniss. And perhaps that's on purpose to show us how triumphantly heroic Katniss is. The girl on fire is also the only one that gives a damn. But, it hurts the rest of the plot because I'm taught to believe that no one gives a damn.

However, suddenly someone does. And why? I don't know. Oh, if you read the books you know why. It's because the Districts are poor, they are treated like crap, they have no true liberties or freedom. President Snow is an *** (more on this in a bit). Except the movie never mentions those things. Ever.

And President Snow...is a villain? When? He never does anything villian-like. He just stands around looking evil, but never does or says anything evil. He's just a guy. Terrible writing or acting, I don't know. But, you shouldn't just stand around trying to look evil to make me believe you are evil. Do something evil! So because I can't believe he's evil, I never have a reason to believe or understand why people would dislike him.

So why in the hell are they rebelling in District 11?!


2. Telling Not Showing
Too many examples of the film telling us things that they could have shown. Film is a visual experience. We are there to see things, not to hear or read them.

The first offense is the very first minute of the film when they have to show us in words why the Games exist. Goodness, how horrible is that? Now I have no real emotional tie to the situation. There could have been many ways to do this. I don't know, how about using President Snow in a scene to show us why the Games exist? Guess what, now I would know why the games exist and I'd know that President Snow is an ***.

I think you make a lot of fair points here. I would've had many of the same complaints in regards to those things if my GF and I didn't have long extensive conversations about the books before I even saw the movie so even though I never read a word of the books I had a good idea of the backstory coming in.

I will pick up on one general point and then a spoilerish one. I agree with you that character motivation and seeing the actions of characters in tandem with good motivation is something that's been lacking in film for the last 5-6 years. I think a lot of it has to do with the poor attention span of the average viewer these days. People want things to move quicker rather than delving into the meat and potatoes of what makes these characters tick. At least there are still some filmmakers and script writers that DO try to give at the very least a thumbnail sketch of why people think and do the things that they do.

As for the spoilerish aspect:

Spoiler

I agree that the whole District 11 thing was a little confusing with Rue's death. I only really figured it out after talking to the GF. My impression from watching it was that district is completely made up of black people and it's almost like a slave colony so seeing one of their own die like that finally put them over the edge with having gone through 74 years of struggle.

As for the rich/poor dynamic of the Capitol and the districts I think that was adequately shown enough without spending a lot of time on WHY the districts are so poor. It doesn't take a giant leap of faith to realize that TPTB have their thumb over these people and that the actual Hunger Games works on the whole "bread and circuses" aspect of totalitarian dictatorships. TPTB set up the Games to build a false notion of one district being able to puff up their chest and say they've done well and to keep the people's mind off of the reality of their squalid life.

I do like the fact that the sequels will expand on the district situation but like you say there also needs to be some real character definition without resorting to a broad generalization.

[CMH]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Spoiler

My impression from watching it was that district is completely made up of black people and it's almost like a slave colony so seeing one of their own die like that finally put them over the edge with having gone through 74 years of struggle.

Eek, see I didn't want to bring this part up, but that's exactly what ran through my head. I thought: "OMG, people are going to think this." And how horrible is that because that's not even the point of their action.

But, what can you do but think that when that's what's shown? I can't say more without knowing for sure you read the other books, but if people are going to walk in believing the above then they are going to be confused when they see Catching Fire.

Spoiler

Also, lest we forget that these people have watched their own die for 73 years. I can understand being angry watching someone die. But, they never rebelled the previous 73 years. Why is Rue's death so significant? Actually, the book says so. It makes it pretty clear why District 11 rebels when Rue dies. The film ignores it completely because it never mentions anything about Rue or District 11.

So, the film forces us to believe that District 11 is rebelling because Rue dies. But, if you stop and think about it, you have to ask yourself: Why rebel over her and not the previous 73 (or at least 72...Gotta figure even Rue has a mentor that survived the Hunger Games once a time ago) people that died. What makes Rue so special to begin this rebellion. Why are these Hunger Games in particular so important?

The entire point of Katniss beginning this rebellion is completely ignored in the film. By trying to give us force-fed reasons the film ruins the essence of the story: Rebellion of the Capitol.

[DJ]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

CMH, I'm with you on The Hunger Games. I saw the movie a month ago, right after I had finished watching the book. I commented to my wife that if I had gone to this alone, without having read the book, I would've walked out. So much integral stuff was glossed over or ignored from the book that I was amazed.

I guess they figured that everyone had already the book, so they didn't need to develop the characters in any way. I wish I could make a movie like that and rake in the bucks.

The thing that bothered me the most was:

Spoiler

At the end of the movie, there's no mention of Peeta having to have his leg amputated due to his injury sustained in The Hunger Games and that he now has AN ARTIFICIAL LEG. Seriously, how does that not make the movie? It's definitely something that comes up later in the series.

[DJ]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Dial M For Murder.

I'm a big Hitchcock fan, but it had been a long, long time since I had seen this film. What an amazing piece of storytelling, nearly all of which takes place in a single apartment. How many movies today could do that?

I like the subtle twists and turns in the story and Hitchcock's use of lighting, camera angles (as well as character staging) and music just adds to the suspense.