What movies have you seen recently?

[NoleFan]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

You've gotta elaborate just a little bit man lol. What did you think about it? I'm thinking about seeing this one soon.

Oh. Lol Disregarding the fact that my jaw was clinched the entire 2 hours, it was a good film. I honestly wasn't familiar with Solomon Northrup's story of being sold into slavery as a free man from NY. I'll be buying and reading the book now.

[Quint75]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Saw All Is Lost tonight. Very solid movie starring Robert Redford (and only Robert Redford). He is fantastic in it. A really good movie about survival and perseverance.

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Croods.

Considering it's pedigree (the minds behind Lilo & Stitch, The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast), I found this to be 'pleasant' entertainment but not very inspired and I never lol'd once.

Nick Cage was good and Emma Stone would sound amazing reading the phone book...but it didn't quite live up to its potential.

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Saw All Is Lost tonight. Very solid movie starring Robert Redford (and only Robert Redford). He is fantastic in it. A really good movie about survival and perseverance.

I've heard about this movie but didn't know it was a one man film. I'll be looking forward to it.

Anywho over the last couple days i've been on a movie binge so I'll just give a couple lines of thought. The first movie will get an extended write up on my blog this evening:

Runaway (1984): Good techno thriller/sci-fi flick starring Tom Selleck and Cynthia Rhodes set in the "near future" as cops who are assigned to work cases involving malfunctioning robots. It turns out there's more to the story as the robots are killer machines manufactured with the oversight of Gene Simmons. (yes of KISS fame) The movie is a bit ahead of it's time and I'm surprised Michael Crichton didn't write it as a book first rather than writing and directing it strictly for Hollywood. Solid film though there's a logic hole that really distracted me ** 1/2 stars

Meatballs 3: Summer Job (1986) Hey look, more teen sex comedies! Actually this one is a bit of a sentimental favorite of mine as it was a staple of late night programming for Toronto station CITY-TV during the '80s and early '90s. This would be Patrick Dempsey's first starring role as he's the nerdy teen trying to get laid with the help of his "angel" recently deceased porn star Roxy DuJour played by Sally Kellerman. Lots of sophomoric humor that doesn't quite work but there's a charm to it. I can't give more than * star but if you have a penchant for schlock you might like this.

Jocks (1986) Another comedy in the teen sex comedy vein though it's more of a mashup of Bad News Bears and Revenge of the Nerds in its tone. The sport chosen for this is also a bit odd as it revolves around a lewd, loud and rambunctious college tennis squad. The movie sees Richard Roundtree in it and even the great Christopher Lee has a small part slumming it out as the college president. The protagonists are basically jerks and unlikeable idiots led by "The Kid" who's as much of a jerk as his real life namesake was often accused of being. (Gary "The Kid" Carter) The rest of the protagonists are played broad to the hilt with a big, powerful crazy man, an illegal alien who's more active than Speedy Gonzalez and always praying, A texan who only feels comfortable when money is on the line, a guy who teeters between being flamboyantly gay or extremely effeminate straight guy and The Kid's best pal Jeff, who's book smart, rich and uptight.

So yeah, not exactly the most likeable bunch which makes watching the movie a little trying at times. So again * star but indicative of the kind of fluff that was often put out in the '80s.


Last but not least an under the radar thriller....

Backfire (1988) This was a VERY intriguing little film starring Karen Allen, Jeff Fahey and Keith Carradine. Basically Fahey is a Vietnam vet going loco from PTSD while his wife may or may not still be involved with the man she cheated with while he was in the 'Nam. Fahey completely snaps one night while he's alone in the house and goes into a catatonic state with his wife having power of attorney. She ends up meeting Carradine who's a mystery man in town....

That's all i'll say about plot because there's a twist in there that I didn't see coming but in hindsight made a lot of sense. The first half of the movie drags horribly but once Carradine enters the picture it picks up. The movie (mostly) eschews the erotic side of the thriller convention that was prevalent at this point in time (there's one sex scene) in favor of mood the workings of the mind as it pertains to the events that unfold. The scene that ends the plot of the movie just before the actual end serves as a nice coda for Fahey's unhinging earlier so while it's a deceptively simple film it's not devoid of intelligence.

** 1/2 stars. The movie can be found for 13 bucks on Amazon if you're interested.

[daflyboys]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I remember seeing Runaway and it being quite credible at the time. Not sure how well it held up, but I recall thinking of Simmons as playing a very believable bad guy role.

[SPTO]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I remember seeing Runaway and it being quite credible at the time. Not sure how well it held up, but I recall thinking of Simmons as playing a very believable bad guy role.

Yeah it was quite credible for the time. The technological aspects are a bit cheesy but it was a well done flick. Simmons was pretty good as the heavy. The movie is ripe for a more cynical/jaded remake IMO.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Croods.

Considering it's pedigree (the minds behind Lilo & Stitch, The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast), I found this to be 'pleasant' entertainment but not very inspired and I never lol'd once.

Nick Cage was good and Emma Stone would sound amazing reading the phone book...but it didn't quite live up to its potential.

I felt the same way about the story (though the end does come together nicely and with that Disney tear-jerk quality), but did have some chuckles throughout. The visuals (particularly the jungle in the beginning) were amazing.

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I'm on a mission to see the new Thor this week. I'm loving the Marvel films ever since 'Iron Man'.

[Quint75]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Finally saw Oldboy last night. I had heard a lot about it (and unfortunately that included the surprise at the end). What a crazy movie. Of course it doesn't hold up to any sort of scrutiny but I love this style of film coming out of South Korea. If you can stomach it, it's worth a watch.

Spike Lee has an American remake coming out soon with the excellent Josh Brolin in the lead. I can't really see this working though; the story definitely has an Asian sensibility running throughout it and old Spike lost his fastball a long time ago. We'll see.

[dsallupinyaarea]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Goodfellas (yes, I know I'm super late.) - 9/10. Amazing film. Currently working through a huge backlog of films.

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Goodfellas (yes, I know I'm super late.) - 9/10. Amazing film. Currently working through a huge backlog of films.

That's okay, I'm 46 and didn't see 'ET' until about 8 years ago....and by then it was too late for that movie for me.

Goodfellas is amazing, though.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

That's okay, I'm 46 and didn't see 'ET' until about 8 years ago....and by then it was too late for that movie for me.

Goodfellas is amazing, though.

"I'll be right here."


If that doesn't move you you have no soul.

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

"I'll be right here."


If that doesn't move you you have no soul.

Man, Spielberg usually makes me cry when he wants to (AI, Schindler's List, Empire of the Sun, Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan...even Jaws when the shark died (jk).

However, ET just didn't do anything for me. I'm sure I would have gotten a lot more from it if I'd seen it when I was younger.

[Beantown]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I don't think I've ever seen ET in a single sitting.

Or if I have (I'm sure I must've when I was a kid), I forget it.

[Quint75]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Man, Spielberg usually makes me cry when he wants to (AI, Schindler's List, Empire of the Sun, Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan...even Jaws when the shark died (jk).

I always cry when the shark dies in Jaws. It means the most magnificent of movies is over.