What movies have you seen recently?

[The Chef]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

Just watched Lincoln Lawyer. Nice riveting film. Definitely keeps you looking forward to what's going to happen next.



Sent from my mobile device.

Couldnt agree more, saw it a few weeks ago or so and loved it. Did you feel like they kinda sped through the ending though? It felt like they had a nice pace going throughout and then suddenly it went into overdrive and they sped through the ending. Other then that minor complaint I enjoyed it as well and will buy it day one when it comes out for sale.

[CMH]

Couldnt agree more, saw it a few weeks ago or so and loved it. Did you feel like they kinda sped through the ending though? It felt like they had a nice pace going throughout and then suddenly it went into overdrive and they sped through the ending. Other then that minor complaint I enjoyed it as well and will buy it day one when it comes out for sale.

Yes, the ending was rushed. Weird thing to say about a film but this one could have gone another 10 min to let us see the breakdown/result of the scene with the mother and I don't think anyone would have complained.


Sent from my mobile device.

[~LiverpoolRed~]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

Watched Tombstone again last night on AMC. Gotta love Doc Holliday!

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

Pulp Fiction. It never gets old. I might have to watch it again soon.

[DisIsDaGame]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

The Rite and I thought it sucked.

The Green Hornet was okay. Nothing memorable. Just another action movie I'll forget about in a few years. Alot better than The Rite though despite Seth Rogen being annoying and all.

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

Scream 4

Out of the box, a fresh tomato. Here I stand as one of the people who say that you never break a strong trilogy; that is, one whose ultimate goal was sought to be a three-movie story when they were created (and this is obvious by the self-referencing remarks in Scream 3). Needless to say, in the past two months I almost completely forgot that was the ground that they were breaking, and it nearly didn't matter anymore: I was happy they made a Scream 4.

Eleven years later, Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson still have it. The feel is different for this franchise though, of course. Everything is modern-day, meaning you have iPhones, web cams, the works. While watching it, I really felt like this was going to hinder the movie's performance, and by all accounts it may have. But when you look back and think about it, consider if they released the first Scream movie today. Technology-wise, they would just be far too outdated and you would hate the movie for the things that happened on-screen did so only because they were limited with their resources. Well this time they had to be very content-aware and had to write the script based on that. I honestly can't see another way to circumvent their use of today's technology in this movie.

The body count was very high, but the movie's scope was probably the smallest of the four movies. That is, you certainly break ground with new characters, but a lot of them remain internal and very close to Sidney most of the time. Yes there are some scenes at a school and there are news conferences, but when you get right down to it there are really only a few people you can pinpoint and suspect as actual killer(s) because there isn't a very wide array of locations or persons in the end (that's not to say this movie was not without its surprises). This was also a hindrance in what could have been some nice build-ups for killings or chase sequences, which were for the most part restrained... something I miss about the first three movies.

If there was really one thing to nitpick, it would be the same thing that most critics who gave this a rotten tomato sum up in their review synopses:

- "This one is so insistently self-reflexive that watching it is like watching a snake eating itself."
- "How easily self-reference can veer into accurate self-criticism."
- "Like its predecessors, Scream 4 replaces the values of storytelling and suspense with the value of being in on the joke."
- "The film makes painfully clear just how tired and tedious self-referencing horror films have become."

As you can tell, the problem is that they became so stern on making this movie about "horror movies," in this case remakes/reboots. That means every piece of dialogue is about how the rules change in a reboot, etc. We're trying to watch a movie about characters as if they're living out their lives, but instead they remain so adamant on it being as if they're making a movie. The other three movies heavily poke fun at this concept, but this one doesn't even bother beating around the bush, and it makes us very aware that they are in what they consider a reboot of the original Scream. If they lightened up on this tone and removed three awfully cheesy moments in this film (the three which I will not mention), I think the actual serious parts would definitely be taken a lot more seriously, giving the film a bit more grit that I feel it deserves to have.

The lovely trio that we've stuck with through the years are back, but unfortunately I think Neve Campbell has aged the worst of the three. I'll admit that back during the old Scream days she was young, hot, fierce, and believable. Not that she doesn't put up a good fight in this movie, but you feel that she appears second-fiddle in a sense just because you can't relate to her youth anymore. No one really phoned in this film per se, but their role reprisals were nothing short of a steadfast gimmick to bring the likes of people like myself back to the theater to watch Ghostface wreak havoc on screen. And I'll admit, it works. Seeing them together was a dream come true, and I'm glad they all signed on to give this another go. Without them, this film becomes a teeny-bopper Hollywood slasher.

I know where I like this film in my heart, but I don't know where it "compares" to the original three. It's like comparing Barry Bonds to Babe Ruth: same sport, different eras... makes for a rough decision on who was superior in which facets. Cinema has changed (I want to say "evolved" but I know many wouldn't agree) in the past eleven years that it would be unfair to give any of the original movies the edge over this one. Again, stick any of them in 2011 right now, and it just wouldn't work. If there was one thing this film definitely had over the others (and most horror movies), the characters were rather "smart" and made the same choices we would have made as opposed to kind of being idiotic about their decisions, even if they didn't end up surviving.

So keeping that all in mind, while I have to give it a lower mark because of the film series literally showing its age and how it impossibly cannot maintain the same unique style that the first three films gave us, I would say that cheesy moments aside this is a very strong horror film and contender for most entertaining of the year. There are many twists and turns along the way, and it keeps you on your toes for all 100 minutes (the length was fine, there was no reason for it to be longer given the material provided). As far as viewing all of the films my first time, I would leave ranking the films in this order:

- Scream
- Scream 4
- Scream 2
- Scream 3

But in the end, I still think my favorite one of the bunch is Scream 2 though I know many here would disagree. I felt it was more complete and ambitious than the first film, and paid good homage to it while being fresh enough to hold its own. It would seem very unfair for me to put Scream 4 above Scream at this point in time, yet at the same time it seems harsh to also consider Scream 4 "second worst." While I enjoy Scream 3 very much and while it delivered some great scenes, it has to sit at the bottom of the pile.

If you've watched the trilogy and you've been anticipating this one, go for it. I'm sure you'll love it. Even if you haven't seen the first three movies, you might not be "in on the joke" as far as what kind of movie this really is and how they play things out, but you'll get caught up enough with the characters to understand what they're going through (though you might not understand the killer's motives very much unless you watch the first movie beforehand).

I don't know if there are plans for more sequels. It would seem tiresome if they did it at this point, but you can bet as long as Dimension brings Craven and Williamson back, I will be there at midnight.

[Gibbz]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

Watched A Time to Kill in a sociology class. We've gotta write a paper over it.

The movie was pretty entertaining but it was just too ridiculous:

Spoiler

Samuel L. sits in a courthouse overnight and the next day unloads on two white guys with an M16 because they raped his daughter. A cop loses his leg from a shot that went stray. In the end he's found innocent because the jury "would've done the same thing in his shoes." Stupid...

[trobinson97]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

Curse of the Golden Flower, man oh man what an amazing movie.

[RockinDaMike]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

Just saw Hanna. Loved it, I loved the action scenes especially when Chemical Brothers did the score the whole time. Sick! I thought the story was well developed and thought Saoirse Ronan did amazing job.

If you like Bourne esque movies where the main character is a perfect soldier then you might want to check it out. I'm now scared of skinny blond girls.

Spoiler

I really hope they make the sequal, and maybe find another super soldier baby that she hasn't met. I really liked how she was so oblivious to everything and the character building they did with her through out the movie.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

Pulp Fiction...again.

Everybody be cool, this is a robbery!

[kingkilla56]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

Scream 4 was the biggest letdown ever

[IndianBird]

Scream 4 was the biggest letdown ever

I thought it was the best 4th movie I have ever seen.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

I thought it was the best 4th movie I have ever seen.

I think that title goes to Rocky 4.

[IndianBird]

I think that title goes to Rocky 4.

Close, they both did follow a crappy 3 well

[Bellsprout]

Re: What movies have you seen recently? Part 1

Se7en: It's not a particularly scary movie, but I've not in my life seen a more disturbing and suspenseful movie. I've never had a movie stick with me the day after like this. It's all I can think about today. It's just such a dark, powerful, and thought-provoking film. Horrifying in some ways (the way the Lust victim dies is not a image I'll soon forget), but so damn interesting and suspenseful you just can't look away.

And I think what makes it so disturbing is that they don't bludgeon you over the head with the crimes. They don't show it. And invariably your head will end up conjuring up an image of the crime they're describing and it's THAT image, the one you create for yourself in your own head, that will end up sticking with you.

An utterly fantastic film that is decidedly not easy to watch. I could not possibly recommend it any more. Go rent it now if you're like me and have somehow managed to not see this in the 16 years it's been out.