Topic: "What Movies Have You Seen Lately?" Thread

[Xessive]

I don't know man, I thought it was rubbish. It just made no sense, kinda like Crank except less action.

[Quemaqua]

Well first of all, I'm guessing you didn't see it in a theater, which immediately disbars you from debating either Grindhouse film.  Those things were *made* for theaters.  Seeing it with a bunch of friends and an enthusiastic audience is what made both of them.  Sure, they're cool on their own in their own sort of way, but not nearly so great as when you get the full experience.

[Xessive]

Well first of all, I'm guessing you didn't see it in a theater, which immediately disbars you from debating either Grindhouse film.  Those things were *made* for theaters.  Seeing it with a bunch of friends and an enthusiastic audience is what made both of them.  Sure, they're cool on their own in their own sort of way, but not nearly so great as when you get the full experience.

Yeah, I watched it at my friend's place. I get what you mean, but I feel if a movie depends too heavily on the awe of a theatre then it's not a good movie, just a good demo reel.

As far as I'm concerned Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have successfully sold a 2-part B-movie wrapped in a high budget façade.

[PyroMenace]

Yeah, I watched it at my friend's place. I get what you mean, but I feel if a movie depends too heavily on the awe of a theatre then it's not a good movie, just a good demo reel.

As far as I'm concerned Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have successfully sold a 2-part B-movie wrapped in a high budget façade.

Number 1) I don't think Grindhouse sold very well according to what I've heard from box office sales and number 2) its a surprise to me that the movie or movies would have such a high budget judging by the intentional focus of the"retro" style theme.

[idolminds]

I just watched Dead or Alive. So bad its hilarious, yet kinda fun to watch.

[nickclone]

Children of Men - Loved this movie, I loved the cinematography, the acting, story, music, all of it. At first I had the impression this was more action oriented, but I wasn't disappointed when it wasn't.

Next - This movie could've been so much cooler, it's actually pretty boring with a few impressive parts in between.

Idiocracy - People seem to hate this movie, I thought it was hilarious, check it out.

Blood Diamond - One of the best movies of the year...its relevant too.

Death Proof - The biggest disappoint of the year, if not a few years. I'm actually happy that I didn't see this in theaters, I probably would've walked out. I expect long dialog in Tarantino flicks, but this dialog was just mind numbingly boring. I paused this movie so many times that it took me about 4 hours to watch the whole, painful thing.

[Cobra951]

I like the concept of Idiocracy.  I subscribe to it, sort of.  The constant celebration of idiocy and ridicule of intellect just have to have some longterm effect on society.  The problem with the movie is that it should have been an hour-long special on TV, including 20 minutes of commercials.  There isn't nearly enough there for a whole movie.

[MysterD]

I like the concept of Idiocracy.

Agreed.

The constant celebration of idiocy and ridicule of intellect just have to have some longterm effect on society.  The problem with the movie is that it should have been an hour-long special on TV, including 20 minutes of commercials.  There isn't nearly enough there for a whole movie.

I thought the movie was too long for what it did, as well.

I would've liked more substance, joke and story-wise; as I felt a good portion of it was hit and miss.

[gpw11]

Fracture - Highly enjoyable, but nothing terribly memorable.  Great performances all around though.

I liked the first 2/3 of this movie quite a bit, but the rest was pretty much garbage.  They set it out so elaborately, yet in the end wrapped it up in the most retarded way ever.

[spoiler]You could first tell something was amiss when buddy went to the chick's house for thanksgiving right after he hooked up with her for the first time.  That's pretty much the point where it all started to go downhill, but the way they wrapped up the story is such a fucking joke on so many levels it pretty much ruins the entire movie.  The gun switch - cheesy and a little predictable, but whatever.  The fact that the ADA could even get a single judge (one he knows) to sign an injunction on pulling the plug is retarded, but in the end didn't matter.  What did matter the last five min. of the movie.  As soon as you see him hitting the books and reading up on double jeopardy that it's going to be a sloppy and stupid fucking ending. 

My main problem with it is that they build up this entire concept of Anthony Hopkins being very intelligent and cleaver.  That's basically the entire basis of the movie, yet he's 'outsmarted' in the stupidest way imaginable.  It's cheap and easy, and as far as I'm conern is in stark contrast with the entire character of the movie.  The second part is how fucking unrealistic from a legal perspective the ending is.  Fair enough - it's a movie, but it's probably just as unrealistic as if she just awoke from a coma and pointed the finger midway through the first trial.  It's just stupid.

[/spoiler]

[MysterD]

Death Proof - The biggest disappoint of the year, if not a few years. I'm actually happy that I didn't see this in theaters, I probably would've walked out. I expect long dialog in Tarantino flicks, but this dialog was just mind numbingly boring. I paused this movie so many times that it took me about 4 hours to watch the whole, painful thing.

The version in the theatres w/ Grindhouse was around 90 mins.

The DVD version I think is like 127 mins.

Does the DVD version like you select b/t Theatre Cut and Extended Cut?
Some DVD's do that....

[TheOtherBelmont]

Damn, why all the hate for Grindhouse?

I'm pretty much on the same boat as Que concerning the movie, seeing it in theaters with the fake trailers in between made it a great experience.  What made it even more awesome for me was that a large majority of the films were filmed in Austin(where I am from and went to go and see the movie at), especially evident in Death Proof during most of the bar and restaurant scenes, so I was super familiar with all of the places they went, I've been to Guero's and the Texas Chili Parlor several times, both in downtown Austin.  What made it even more cool was that during one of the driving scenes they drove right by the Alamo Drafthouse Theater on 4th and Colorado that I was watching the movie in.

I still did like Planet Terror more than Death Proof though.

[MysterD]

Damn, why all the hate for Grindhouse?

I'm pretty much on the same boat as Que concerning the movie, seeing it in theaters with the fake trailers in between made it a great experience.

Agreed.

What made it even more awesome for me was that a large majority of the films were filmed in Austin(where I am from and went to go and see the movie at), especially evident in Death Proof during most of the bar and restaurant scenes, so I was super familiar with all of the places they went, I've been to Guero's and the Texas Chili Parlor several times, both in downtown Austin.  What made it even more cool was that during one of the driving scenes they drove right by the Alamo Drafthouse Theater on 4th and Colorado that I was watching the movie in.

Wow, that's pretty cool.

I still did like Planet Terror more than Death Proof though.

I preferred Death Proof over Planet Terror, myself.

[Cobra951]

. . . men are weak but he is strong.
Jesus loves me, yes I know,
Jesus loves me, yes I know,
Jesus loves me, yes I know,
for the Bible tells me so.

That's from Phantoms (1998), story and screenplay by Dean Koontz.  I keep seeing Bioshock in everything these days.  I remember renting this movie a few years ago.  It's one of the very few modern creature features and bio-shockers that I actually like.  It happened to be on satellite TV earlier today.  I don't recall that singsong from before.  It didn't mean anything special to me then.

[Quemaqua]

I've been watching lots of old movies.  Mostly Hitchcock.  Not entirely sure why.  Just sick of most of the crap that's out now, I guess.  It seems movies I want to watch get fewer and farther between every month.

[Cobra951]

Pickings have been slim.  I like to watch good old movies too, mostly from the 1940s.  There's a certain quality to them that was lost by the 60s.  I love TCM.

[nickclone]

Stranger Than Fiction: I thought this movie would be more funny, but it wasn't. On top of that, it had a cop out ending. Its good for a date movie, but avoid if watching alone.

Deja Vu: I liked this movie, yes it was a time traveler, but it was much smarter than what you're usually forced to believe.

[MysterD]

I caught Reign On Me.
A lot better than I expected.

Was pretty good.

[Cobra951]

I saw Stranger Than Fiction also.  It was strange alright.  The concept makes no sense, even as a metaphor or allegory (not to me anyway).  Plus the chick with the intentionally skanked arm didn't do a thing for me, and I don't like what's-his-face to begin with.  No emotional connection for me at all.

I sort of watched Running with Scissors, a 2006 release.  I wanted to bitch-slap Annette Bening's character so bad that I could not sit through the whole movie.  I kept skipping past her psychotic rage.  I guess that says a lot about her acting ability--it's too real to take sitting down.  I didn't much care for the whole situation at all, even if based on real events.  The only reason I'm glad I suffered the experience is that it brought back Al Stewart's Year of the Cat.  The hauntingly familiar piano opening transfixed me as it came on over a budding scene, repeating a good deal more than it does on the album.  The lovely song built up from there, complementing the unfolding drama very well.  I had not listened to it for many years.  I can't believe I had almost forgotten it.  Maybe I should have posted this in the thread about what music I'm listening to.

[Pugnate]

I saw order of the phoenix. The ending was fantastic... and I disliked the first two Harry Potter movies.

[nickclone]

The Prestige: Definitely one of the cooler movies I've seen all year! I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but its basically about two magicians going to extreme measures to outdo each other.

[Quemaqua]

Prestige was indeed cool.  I liked the other magician-movie of the time, The Illusionist, a little better though (it's a bit more of a fairy tale, so your mileage may vary).

[Pugnate]

I liked them both. I found the Illusionist to be the better movie, yet I enjoyed the Prestige more. How does that sound hehe.

[nickclone]

I liked them both as well, but I liked The Prestige better. I think its because the plot twist caught me off guard even though it was in my face the whole time and many hints were given. In The Illusionist, I could see the plot twist before half of the movie was even done.

[spoiler]Also, I thought it was inconsistent of The Illusionist to explain all of the tricks except for the one thats impossible to pull off. It makes it seem like the movie kind of got in over it's head.[/spoiler]

[Pugnate]

I agree that the Illusionist was very very predictable, yet I could still enjoy it even if I knew what was coming.

[Xessive]

I agree that the Illusionist was very very predictable, yet I could still enjoy it even if I knew what was coming.

I read the short story when I was younger, but that didn't deter me in any way. It was a great movie, and arguably Paul Giamatti's best performance!

[MysterD]

I saw Mr. Brooks.

I really liked it -- yes, a lot.

Kevin Costner and William Hurt were just great in this movie.

[Pugnate]

I saw Wild Hogs. Hadn't heard anything about it, so didn't know what to expect. While I wouldn't call it a good movie, I enjoyed it for the most. Watching men go through a midlife crisis made me identify with them, even if a lot of the movie resorted to cliches. Still, I enjoyed it for the first 75%, though it took a predictable nose dive towards the end.

[Pugnate]

I saw 88 minutes and I liked it. It is very sad that Al Pacino is nearing the end of his career.

[nickclone]

I saw Mr. Brooks.

I really liked it -- yes, a lot.

Kevin Costner and William Hurt were just great in this movie.

I saw Mr. Brooks and I thought it was ok, here are my three main gripes:

[spoiler]1. There wasn't much killing in this movie, especially since the movie is supposed to be about a serial killer.The movie is more about his personal life than anything else, which can get kinda boring.

2. Mr. Brooks is a whiny little bitch for a serial killer, always asking for forgiveness and crying about shit. Dexter knows that what he does is wrong, but he doesn't go sniffling over it all the time like Mr. Brooks.

3. The part where his daughter kills him and it turns out to only be a dream was a complete cop out of an ending. The movie did something really cool and then it took it away like a sneak thief in the night![/spoiler]

[Pugnate]

Since I had no intention of watching this, I read the spoilers. The ending sounds so stupid.

[MysterD]

In Regards to Nick on The Ending to Mr. Brooks...
[spoiler]

3. The part where his daughter kills him and it turns out to only be a dream was a complete cop out of an ending. The movie did something really cool and then it took it away like a sneak thief in the night!

On one hand, yes, it does seem like a "cop out"...

...But, on the flip side, there's at least some sort of reason for such a "cop out" -- unlike most movies where they do a "cop out" to give no reason story-wise for it but to do it basically to just facilitate plans for a possible sequel.

I thought the ending of him dreaming his daughter killed him proved exactly to me why he decided to kill Dane Cook, in the first place -- that Mr. Brooks was going to stay alive to try and stop his daughter from getting worse and turning into the serial killer that he has already become; or maybe stop her from possibly becoming even worse than him.

Or maybe he'd fail in such an attempt, like his dream showed could happen...[/spoiler]

Regardless of what is a double-edged sword of an ending, an ending which I do like on one hand and dislike on another, I still really liked the movie a lot.

[Pugnate]

Saw The Simpsons movie. Very enjoyable and had funny moments.

Spider Pig was hilarious, and the part where Homer is whipping wolves on the sleigh was extremely funny.

[Quemaqua]

Eh.  That movie failed.  I wanted to like it, and while it wasn't terrible, it did not in the least touch the times when the Simpsons were truly great.

[Pugnate]

I watched Ocean's 13, which was the first of the three I actually liked. The first two I found dull.

[Quemaqua]

Just out of curiosity, why would you watch the third after not liking the first two?

[ScaryTooth]

Just watched "Grindhouse". I loved it. Don't understand why it gets all the hate. Very cool homage.

[JacksRag(e)]

Saw 30 Days of Night.

Was pretty cool and different for a vampire movie.

[Raisa]

Just out of curiosity, why would you watch the third after not liking the first two?

cause he's pug.

I started to watch Ella Enchanted but didn't get very far.

[Pugnate]

Just out of curiosity, why would you watch the third after not liking the first two?

Cause I am Pug. Also because I had nothing better to watch while having lunch. My sister had it, so I thought... meh.

It is a very fair question actually haha.

[Xessive]

Really? Ocean's 13 is the one I didn't like! hehe I think we need to re-evaluate our likes/dislikes chart!

I just watched Day Watch yesterday. Weird. Good special effects. Zhanna Friske is so ~Haawwwt~! It's still a weird movie though.