What movies have you seen recently?

[Leon]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World - the trailers make it look more funny than it is when it is more drama than comedy. Don't let that turn you off though because wow was I surprised at how good this movie was! I felt this sense of depression throughout the movie but I still had fun at the comedic bits. Carrel and Knightley really carry the film and its their performance that turns an okay film into a really good one. 9/10.

Beginners - just, WOW. 10/10. Amazingly heartfelt; pulls of a talking dog (thru subtitles); Ewan McGregor/Christopher Plummer/Melanie Laurent are amazing. I also have this movie to thank for introducing me to Melanie Laurent; she makes it absolutely easy to fall in love with her character Anna. Beginners may just have dethroned 500 Days of Summer as my favorite romantic movie.

Hanna - really cool, dreamy action flick. I can see why this was Saorse Ronan's breakout role, she absolutely owns this movie. 7/10

The Campaign - funny, but not laugh-out-loud funny (except for the part with the baby). Good jabs at the american political system and the Koch brothers, but nothing that really stings. 6/10.

[legendkiller5]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Butler was very good.

A lot of big names in that movie, too.

[Bellsprout]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World - the trailers make it look more funny than it is when it is more drama than comedy. Don't let that turn you off though because wow was I surprised at how good this movie was! I felt this sense of depression throughout the movie but I still had fun at the comedic bits. Carrel and Knightley really carry the film and its their performance that turns an okay film into a really good one. 9/10.

Beginners - just, WOW. 10/10. Amazingly heartfelt; pulls of a talking dog (thru subtitles); Ewan McGregor/Christopher Plummer/Melanie Laurent are amazing. I also have this movie to thank for introducing me to Melanie Laurent; she makes it absolutely easy to fall in love with her character Anna. Beginners may just have dethroned 500 Days of Summer as my favorite romantic movie.

Hanna - really cool, dreamy action flick. I can see why this was Saorse Ronan's breakout role, she absolutely owns this movie. 7/10

The Campaign - funny, but not laugh-out-loud funny (except for the part with the baby). Good jabs at the american political system and the Koch brothers, but nothing that really stings. 6/10.

If you want more Melanie Laurent, and you should, check out Inglourious Basterds.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Scary Movie 5 and House Party: Tonight's The Night. Had some free redbox rental promo codes. Should have known better....3 hours I can't get back.

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Butler was very good.

A lot of big names in that movie, too.

I'm going to be seeing that for my birthday. Should be interesting viewing I think.

[legendkiller5]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I'm going to be seeing that for my birthday. Should be interesting viewing I think.

It reminded me of Django in a sense that there were parts that made you lol and then plenty of parts that made you want to hate everything.

I'm not usually in these types of movies (mother wanted to go), but I definitely enjoyed it.

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)


I'll be doing a more in depth review of this movie on my blog in a couple weeks as I want to wait for it to be in theatres for more than a couple weeks but I must say It kinda went in a direction I didn't quite anticipate. I enjoyed the movie immensely though I thought the story didn't lend itself to the most emotive acting ever as most of the actors were a bit wooden at times. Saying that though, Forest Whittaker was AWESOME! The more I see him the more I like how he completely inhabits his role to the point that you almost forget it's him on the screen.

There's a lot of concepts and juxtaposition that is ripe for interpretation and commentary but again it's too soon in the film's release to really get into it but I have to say that Lee Daniels displayed those in a very strong way. The only overdoing of it might have been when the freedom rider bus was attacked by the KKK. I thought the slo-mo method employed in that scene made it a little over the top when playing it fully at regular speed would've worked better.

The only other complain i'd make is that out of the 5 presidents we saw played by actors only one really captured the body and spirit of the president (Alan Rickman as Reagan) and one had the spirit but didn't quite capture the physical looks. (Robin Williams as Eisenhower) The somewhat unsuccessful casting of the presidents took me a little out of the film especially John Cusack as Nixon though his last scene he completely nailed it.

The ending left a bit of a sour note only because of events in the 2nd term of Obama's presidency as the symbolism of hope that he brought to America in '08 has been replaced by cynicism and mistrust of the Government vis a vis the NSA scandal etc etc. You can't fault the film makers for it and thematically the ending DOES make a lot of sense.

I give this a strong *** A further discussion on some of the themes and concepts of the movie will be on my blog in 2-3 weeks.

[TCM]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Just saw Trouble With The Curve for the first time, absolutely fantastic movie. I enjoy anything with Clint Eastwood in it but this one is definitely one of my favorite movies ever.

[BlueNGold]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Pain & Gain - I didn't really know the general story of the real life events this is based off of, so it was surprising to me how dark and twisted this was. I thought it was pretty good. The Rock was fantastic.

[Beantown]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Pain & Gain - I didn't really know the general story of the real life events this is based off of, so it was surprising to me how dark and twisted this was. I thought it was pretty good. The Rock was fantastic.

Felt the same way.

[goh]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Colony

I don't use scores much with movies but this one is perfect for it. The first 60 minutes is worth an 8. The last 30 is a 2. Therefore this gets 6/10. It's very nice to look at and it has a decent Fallout vibe...then it all goes downhill. If this were a game you'd think a different studio did the last 30 minutes.

[SweetPS3GamerGirl]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I just saw "You're Next". I luv scary movies & this one made me jump several times in my seat

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Definitely one of those movies that I'll have to see again to pick up on everything that I wanted to. It doesn't necessarily have that many layers of depth, but each part of this film is definitely layered. So much dissonance from what's on screen to what's coming out of your speakers, that multitasking and "recalling" ends up being the big issue here.

I don't see too many sci-fi dramas out there that are critically acclaimed, and this one was only so fortunate to get as much. Many people might walk into this film not knowing what they're supposed to get out of it, and some might walk away being too weirded out. Others (most) will accept the elements of this film over time and appreciate the story that's being told, because if you take out the sci-fi stuff (or treat dreams as dreams and make them metaphors), the relationships and inner-workings are strong.

Speaking of strength, how about that cast! The only way a movie like this will work is if the cast can truly understand what's going on as well, and a lot of them played out of their own elements. Carrey, Winslet, Dunst, Ruffalo, and Wilkinson were a cohesive group, and each played integral, likable roles where it didn't matter if one was on screen while the other wasn't.

One thing I was immediately forced to do was compare this to Inception. Not the films, but the artistic views of how the dreams should be portrayed. While I appreciate Nolan and how he grounds things, I think he could have kept most of his creativity "in camera" and done some of the things that I saw in ESOTSM, without being too weird or out of place. I think some things were perhaps a bit too weird in this film, but someone like me doesn't care about that.

Anyway, Jim Carrey really should have done more roles like this instead of wasting time with some ridiculously stupid less serious roles. For a film where he didn't make me laugh once (as he wasn't supposed to), he was a superior lead and well worth the spot he had. I don't love the movie as much as I love the performances, but it was pretty good and I will probably re-watch it soon. Nothing I'll buy, though. Once I decrypt it all, I think I'll be set with this one.

[Cabke]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Jim Carrey really is a fantastic actor. See, The Truman Show. He was amazing in that.

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Jim Carrey really is a fantastic actor. See, The Truman Show. He was amazing in that.

Saw it several years ago, but I was thinking of just that when I reconsidered what other "serious" roles he's been in.

I still have to see Man on the Moon.