What movies have you seen recently?

[SlimKibbles]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Saw "Looper" for the first time the other night. Great movie. Kind of weird seeing JGL with that prosthetic on the bridge of his nose to pull off a young Bruce Willis look but it worked. Anyway definitely recommend it.

Also watched "Star Trek: Into Darkness" over the weekend. I thought it was pretty good. Not sure what a lot of people out on the interwebs were complaining about with it. Some were saying it was he worst Star Trek movie ever. It wasn't the best but far from the worst, IMO. Will be interesting to see what ideas a new director comes up with for the third installment.

[daflyboys]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Will be interesting to see what ideas a new director comes up with for the third installment.

Already saw new Klingon look....time for a look see of the new Romulans.

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Hangovers Part III

I really enjoyed it. Alan still cracks me up in the other 2 Hangover movies and in this one he is no different. I don't know about ya'll but Chow has got to be the coolest nerd ever in a movie. Hahaha

I plan to sit down and watch all three films in one sitting next month. Is it me or did the 3rd film go a bit under the radar/bombed at the box office?

[Jr.]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Saw Now You See Me the other night. It was okay.. the acting was pretty poor overall, which was surprising given the cast. All of it felt so forced for some reason.

I did like the story, though.

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I've been feeling a little down the last little while so I skipped Modern Movie Monday this week so in lieu of that I published a review I wrote earlier in the month that's slated for this week anyways:

20 Mule Team (1940)

A very good Wallace Beery western and probably the only Western ever that centers around the shipment of Borax of all things. This isn't your typical western though as the genre serves as backdrop to a pretty interesting dramatic tale of a mother and her daughter wanting to bust out of the boring life she's living. Of course with the beer swilling Beery around there's also some comedic touches but he also has a quality of pathos and a resignation of the life he's lived.

It's quite a good character study in its own subtle way. Even the somewhat racist portrayal of native Indians in the personage of Beery's tracker and partner is blunted a bit by the genuine friendship the two characters have for each other which pays off nicely towards the end of the film.

Honestly, a lot of Beery's western output deserves a re-examination as he provides the kind of emotional baggage and look of a hardened man that would be mined to great effect a decade later with Randolph Scott's great westerns with directer Budd Boeticher.

Recommended film if you could catch it on TCM or something as there doesn't seem to be a DVD release of it.

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

From the SPTO List , I watched 1959's 'On the Beach' last night. It is a Stanley Kramer film, with Fred Astaire, Gregory Peck, Anthony Perkins and Ava Gardner. It's an apocalypse film.

This was made during the height of 'dive under your desk' drills in schools during the Cold War. Some even went on to say that it played a part in saving the world (as was also said about 'The Day After' two decades later).

Basic plot...a US submarine pulls into Australia to seek harbor after someone pushed the button in the Northern Hemisphere and everyone was wiped out. The radiation is drifting south in the winds and tides to Australia, and everyone is trying to lead a semi-normal life before the end arrives.

The tonal changes in the film (especially the music cues) can be a little jarring but I realize this was to help drive the point home. Some happy music in a briefly happy sailing scene only underscored the menace that is still inexorably approaching. The ending was pretty damn cool.

There's still some of the classic Hollywood acting going on...you know what I mean. But Peck was quite good and Astaire was absolutely great in this as an Oppenheimer-type racked with guilt.

Any issues I might have with the old-school acting by some of the cast (though it's still strong) is overwhelmed by the story itself and it's almost agonizing delivery. There was some stuff touched on here that must have really blown away 1959 audiences.

Recommended viewing!

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I'm not the biggest fan of On The Beach and really, with Stanley Kramer I find you have to be in a certain mood to watch his films. He tended to enjoy making overly long overwrought productions but at least he gave the world Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) which is just a masterstroke of dramatic film making. He also helmed one of my favorite film comedies ever in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963).

[Herky]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Finally got around to watching Machete yesterday. It had been on my DVR for months and I don't know why it took me so long to watch it. Great mindless fun and loved the over the top kill scenes.

Going to see Machete Kills for sure in the theater.

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

"Machete don't text."



One of the best lines (and delivery) ever.

[UWfan206]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I plan to sit down and watch all three films in one sitting next month. Is it me or did the 3rd film go a bit under the radar/bombed at the box office?

Yes it did but I really enjoyed it despite others knockin on it

[Beantown]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Watched World War Z last night.

As a zombie movie fan, I freaking loved it.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Saw a free screening of Don Jon last night. The picture quality/sound quality left a bit to be desired (but I'm pretty sure it was just because it was a free screening and it was probably downloaded or something.

The actual movie was great though. JGL continues to really impress me as an actor. He's become one of my favorites. Any movie that has him in it will get interest from me.

Julianne Moore was also fantastic, and even Scarlett Johanson wasn't too bad for what her character was.

Tony Danza was also great in my opinion; he and JGL were a very believable father and son.

Very interesting, though sometimes predictable, plot. I thought it was cool that JGL used some subtleties in terms of the characterization and stuff. He had some interesting points to make in the movie, and rather than being blatantly obvious about them, he sort of subtly snuck them in, like the emphasis on "thing" when he tells a girl that she's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen in his life. Everyone thinks it's super sweet, but he's subtly hinting at the fact that a lot of guys see women as a thing/property/bragging chip rather than just a person.

What makes this movie shine in my opinion is the way that it's able to pass on the message that JGL wants, while not being over the top sexual, and while still making you laugh out loud at times (mainly at the family dinners).

Also, a lot of people will probably not like the ending very much, but I personally thought it made sense, and was happy with it. More detail about the ending here:

Spoiler

While the romantic interest in the second half of the movie is predictable, I really liked how they didn't end the movie with them getting engaged and getting married and all that stuff. I like how they ended it as a kinda-sorta couple that is just having fun with each other for now, because to me, it kinda shows that Jon (JGL's character) is finally comfortable with himself and finally knows what he wants/doesn't want to race into anything.

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Money and the Woman (1940) This is how a programmer should be done unlike the Fay Wray film I reviewed a while ago where it was a total mess. This packs a lot of story into 60 minutes and has some comedic touches to what was essentially a crime story. The acting was pretty good across the board even if I had no clue who the two leads were. The movie was helped by having a lot of familiar character actors involved.

A solid ** stars (my default rating for movies of this type)

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

World War Z. Loved it....wish I had caught this while it was still in the theaters.
Wall to wall zombie action. This is CGI work done right.

A very believable ending....relatively speaking.

[goh]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I Spit on Your Grave 2
Terrible. Not "oh no,this stuff that's happening is disturbing and unwatchable" type of terrible. NHL 14/Walking Dead Survival Instinct/F&F Showdown type of terrible. I really can't think of anything good to say about it.