What movies have you seen recently?

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Hangover: Part II

It was kind of strange when I didn't understand how literally every member on this message board was able to say "it was the exact same as the first one," but after watching it I now understand it. Plot point by plot point, character revelation by character revelation, and shocking comedic instance by shocking comedic instance, this movie was a carbon copy of the first one.

Truth be told, I'm not sure if there is really any other way that this film can make a sequel and be successful doing it in any other format. I first asked that question when it was announced to come out. How could it even be good? What would they have to do to make it rival the first one? Well, I don't quite think it got up there with the first one personally. It might have to do with the fact that we don't know how the first one should play out, plus Vegas really helped out IMO.

It certainly was a little more over-the-top, Ken Jeong fits less and less into the picture even though he's in the story (honestly, just keep him out of there), and the characters are still a sweet bunch. Alan is a little dumber, but is definitely still not without his hilarious antics.

I laughed at some one-liners in this one, but as an overall, I didn't crack up as much as in The Hangover. It might be because I was in a theater to see that, and that wasn't the case here. I don't know if it was a "worthy" sequel or not, but as far as making one for this franchise, it can be easy to do much worse.

I'm wondering what they have in store for us when they make Part III. Will it be more of the same? Time will tell on that one...

[daflyboys]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Ring - started getting kind of bored mid way in, then by the time the turning point happens

Spoiler

when she discovers the well and finds the body

I got really bored and switch channels.

WTF! Keep watching!

I guess I'm biased toward my favorite scary movie, though.

I never really thought The Ring was anything special, though its been several years since I've watched it.

I'm in the "are you serious" camp, especially when I found out that...

huge>

Spoiler

I could be okay if I had a dubbed VCR tape

Death at a Funeral (2007 - British version) .... definitely British comedy, but not "overly" British. You'll recognize "Steve the Pirate" from Dodgeball (tremendous role.... very funny) and the little guy who played the children's book writing consultant in "Elf" (sorry...don't feel like looking up names right now) who was also great in his role. Pay attention to the slightly chubby actor who has to pick up the uncle for the funeral.... his character is great and his conversation with the priest is hilarious. You'll also recognize his skeezy friend who has been in some bit roles.

I actually saw this before and thought that since I knew what was coming it wouldn't have kept my interest. I would say that even if you saw the 2010 crappy re-make, you'll really like this one.

[Scott]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Men Who State at Goats - Basically everyone I've talked to about this hated it. So I finally decided to see it for myself. Overall it wasn't as bad as the reviews I heard, but wasn't good. Great cast but I didn't enjoy the script and felt it should of been much better with the given cast. Still a decent movie overall.

Passengers- Good suspenseful movie. One of those endings that really surprise, or it surprised me at least.

I watched this yesterday as well, thought it was pretty entertaining.

[CMH]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Tron: Legacy

Watched Tron last week and saw Legacy last night. Amazing how much better this version looks especially when Tron clips are shown during Legacy.

I liked the story, and though I wish they just gave The Dude brown hair, some make up and said be done with it, I can't be too mad about the CGI younger face direction. You end up just accepting it after you notice how disturbing it is.

The world of Tron is great. I don't understand how the world was never explored until now. There's so much can be done with it. I hope that Legacy opens a lot more doors for writers to expand on it. I see there's an animated series coming out soon (unless it's already out?) and I'm going to make sure to watch it.

Worlds like Tron are why I want to be a writer. To flesh out these grand ideas and open the potential for more, it's a dream.


edit: I don't know why, but The Ring is one of my favorite horror films. I mostly hate them all, but a select few make sense to my head, for whatever reason. The Ring is one of them. Can't explain it.

[marshallfever]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Thor- 8.5

Finally got a chance to watch the movie and i have to admit it wasn't bad. I was expecting a decent flick but sort of walked away impressed.

Spoiler

I thought the movie was entirely going to take place on Earth with the boring humans and Thor roaming around like an idiot.

Although that did happen halfway through the movie, the scenes with Asgard were impressive. The scenery there as well as the Frost Giants was a welcomed idea. I liked that they gave us a bit of back story before force feeding us the stupidity of Natile Portman's character.

I also liked how they portrayed Loki's character. He did need more character development however they gave us a reason to respect him and hate him at the same time

I guess I see how this will link up with the Avengers which is awesome that they tied it in so well.

I'm gamed to watch Captain America now lol

[Jonesy]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Finally got around to seeing Super 8 last night and while I can see why people loved it I felt it was a bit slow at times and I was left feeling under whelmed.

It really did have the feeling of a movie from a bygone era almost and reminded me of the type of movie I would have loved as a kid but it just took too long to develop imo. A solid movie but not something I would want to own on BR or watch multiple times or anything. 6.5/10 from me.

[goh]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I never really thought The Ring was anything special, though its been several years since I've watched it.

I played the game long before they made the movie for NA. I liked the game better. Of course playing the game the concept was still new.

I see there's an animated series coming out soon (unless it's already out?) and I'm going to make sure to watch it.

Still quite a while,next summer.

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I played the game long before they made the movie for NA. I liked the game better. Of course playing the game the concept was still new.

They made a game for The Ring?

EDIT: Just found the Wikipedia article for it. Doesn't sound interesting, and definitely wouldn't help somebody who wanted the concept to feel "new" when going into the film (either the U.S. or Japanese versions).

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Batman Begins - I think this was the first time I had watched Batman Begins since TDK came out on blu-ray. I remember watching Batman Begins two times the day before I saw TDK in theaters. Anyway, I have to say that this definitely holds its own against TDK. It is executed very well on all fronts and is a very tight film. Revisiting all those nuances Bale puts into Bruce/Batman is amazing as Begins really devotes time to develop them and TDK just kind of paces through those moments.

[IndianBird]

Our Idiot Brother, loved it. Paul Rudd is one of my favorites. Just seems like a cool guy.

[goh]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

[REC] and [REC] 2
I had already seen Quarantine so [REC] wasn't a suprise. However Quarantine 2 has jack all to do with the first. Unlike [REC] 2 which is a direct sequel. I have no idea why they did that as a shot for shot english remake of [REC] 2 would've made a lot more sense. The 2 [REC] movies combine for one really fantastic one. I'd suggest watching back to back as one. They were packaged together so yah. You can also watch Quarantine then watch [REC] 2.

The first is about an old lady that falls down and the fire crew come to help out. There was a TV crew with the firemen filming along for a show. The 2nd picks up minutes after the first ends. A very nice man from the health deparment comes in to check things out.

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Apollo 18

I suppose the best term I could use to describe it is "uneventful." Yes, things happen and yes, there are moments of intensity every once in a while, but in the end, it's exactly what you would think... the events that occur while two astronauts are grounded on the moon.

As one might assume from the previews, this film is a bit like "Paranormal Activity on the moon." I can both agree and disagree with that. It certainly takes the "less is more" approach, Paranormal Activity is about eradicating that which is haunting our main characters, while Apollo 18 is more about evacuating from the mysterious wonders of the moon (once realized, of course). I won't speak about what may or may not have been encountered with this movie, but you can rest easy tonight knowing that the thoughts of anything being beyond ridiculous that your crowd will just scoff at are not present in this mockumentary. In most all ways, this is good... but something that's eventfully poor might still be more intriguing to some than something that is strictly uneventful.

I thought this did have some pretty glaring weaknesses, though. We've seen films use the POV cameras like Paranormal Activity, Quarantine, Cloverfield, Blair Witch, and one thing they all did well was that they were supposed "recovered" footage that was, for the most part, left "untouched." This time, it is instead leaked footage that was purposely spliced and edited from 84 hours into 84 minutes. This means that they have the ability to jump to any camera and audio that they want to, which leads to somewhat sporadic moments. This is especially tough to grasp in the beginning. What this also means is that the "editor" was then allowed to input their own music and sound effects, for pure showmanship. This takes you out of that feeling of only hearing what the astronauts hear, and gives it a slight Hollywood aspect as a result.

I'm not yet sure if I would recommend this to people. The younger crowd will be beyond uninterested with it, and I think as long as you want to go into a movie that clouds both mystery and the attempt(s) of survival, as opposed to wanting to find something that will scare you (though it is not without a couple of nice jumpy moments), you can at least appreciate the effort that went into this. If anything, it's at least a nice change of pace by being on the moon, as opposed to the Earth.

Actually, that reminds me. If you do see this film, you'll notice some shots that actually get a glimpse of the Earth as well. I think that these shots were actually a bit spine-chilling, because I felt that the director was trying to portray the message that, you are in plain view of billions of people, but they are of no aid, assistance, or concern for your whereabouts and predicaments. It is the ultimate feeling of helplessness, in my opinion. I thought that was well crafted.

Anyway, it wasn't quite the thriller that the trailers hyped it up to be, but in the end I think this was the only way it could have worked anyway. It doesn't make for a very fun experience (it took roughly a half-hour to pick up at all, in fact), but it was a nice change of pace, and was some interesting storytelling.

[IndianBird]

Shark Night 3D, much better than I figured. Apollo 18, slow, but about like I expected.

[daflyboys]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Memento (again). Awesomeness.

[marshallfever]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Fright Night (1985) 8.7

Just finished watching the original and boy was it pretty awesome. I hear the new one is alright but that before seeing it, i should see the original. I have to admit, the 80s was very cheesey, but that worked so well for the movie. The movie started very predictable and for the most part still kept the audience active.

The best part is because technology wasn't advanced, the transformations and costumes were amazing realistic looking because it wasn't CGI. Movie wasn't horrifying but still kept me on the edge of my seat. Now i sort of can't wait to see the remake. Should i also do Fright Night 2? or just go straight to the remake?