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Re: Last movie you watched

Last one I saw was just the other day. this flick on Netflix called The Reef. I had NO idea what the hell it was about except people+water and then sharks. It turns out there was only one shark but I have to say I really enjoyed it. I'm a horror fan and there was a point where I jumped. Good ol' fashion "You're in a shitty situation deal with it." I do recommend it. I believe it was an Australian movie.

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1,077

Re: Last movie you watched

Tomahawk wrote:

If you're gonna continuously add in characters that are seemingly of importance, make me remember them. I don't remember the names of half these characters, and I don't care for less of them.

True, but it's more than just that I think. The first time I saw LOTR, I didn't remember who a lot of the important characters were, because there were so many of them. But it was still a great movie. DoS is kind of a mess of a film, and I think it has most to do with the intense focus on the visual grandeur rather than... well, everything else. The visuals are beautiful, yes, but they're so quixotic and phony that they suck the heart out of the movie.

I know the book is more light-hearted than LOTR, but when you go bubbly with dwarves, elves and goblins, things start to get real silly real quick; and that overarching tone brings down the more serious moments. It would also help if the leader of the pack had some redeeming qualities.

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Re: Last movie you watched

Sam F wrote:
Tomahawk wrote:

If you're gonna continuously add in characters that are seemingly of importance, make me remember them. I don't remember the names of half these characters, and I don't care for less of them.

True, but it's more than just that I think. The first time I saw LOTR, I didn't remember who a lot of the important characters were, because there were so many of them. But it was still a great movie. DoS is kind of a mess of a film, and I think it has most to do with the intense focus on the visual grandeur rather than... well, everything else. The visuals are beautiful, yes, but they're so quixotic and phony that they suck the heart out of the movie.

I know the book is more light-hearted than LOTR, but when you go bubbly with dwarves, elves and goblins, things start to get real silly real quick; and that overarching tone brings down the more serious moments. It would also help if the leader of the pack had some redeeming qualities.

I'm still mixed on Desolation of Smaug. On the one hand, it had a more serious tone with the Orcs, and spiders (yuck) as well as the revelation of Smaug. I think Bilbo is well done, showing more energy and pep and initiative, possibly because he does not want to be left behind by the company. I think the seen in Mirkwood helps establish his ability to think differently than the Dwarves.

On the other hand, I do miss the more light hearted tone of the first one, but the story is getting darker so we will call that a wash.

I agree that there are too many characters, a fault I am finding with movies more and more. Radaghast was an odd insert again, same thing with Bolg-Azog should have been Bolg from the beginning. I didn't mind the Gandalf in Dol Guldur-actually enjoyed that more than the end of the movie.

Did not enjoy Laketown, mostly because that is like twenty more characters to keep track off.

Overall, enjoyable, but I can understand the frustration.

God loves you!

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Re: Last movie you watched

Been on a bit of a World War 2 kick of late, and finally got around to watching Defiance (not that it's the sort of film that one is eager to see). Sobering film, really well made and greatly acted, as a generally clueless Englishman the accents from Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber sounded really genuine (I mean, they speak Russian a fair amount I think).

http://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Defiance-is-a-combination-of-both-a-TV-show-and-a-video-game.jpg

Wait, that's not it.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5e/Defianceposter08.jpg

Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere. - Carl Sagan

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The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) - 4/10

http://img.moviepilot.com/assets/tarantulaV2/long_form_background_images/7798-the-amazing-spider-man-2-2014_1386321612.jpg

Just got back from seeing it and striking while the iron is hot.
This is a mess, which seems to be getting more and more common these days.
Very much the kind of mess screenwriters Orci and Kurtzman have been involved with in the past.
Very contrived and convenient plot, tone problems, no real throughline guiding you through the movie. You never know or have a sense of what is important or what is at stake most of the time (something happens and you know that is probably bad or good, but that's about it). You have to sit around and just wait for many actions to have their meaning explained or their connection to something else revealed.

Multiple instances of characters being stuck plot-wise, and then just at that moment finding, through more or less contrived ways, that an item they have had in their possession holds the key for moving forward (a la the shard sliver in Witwickys jacket that starts off Transformers 2, or a better example being Iron Man 2 with Starks father having already provided him with the pieces he needs when he is stuck plot-wise.

Annoying slow-motion moments that do little to clarify geography and are just there for style mostly. The score from Zimmer has extended dubstep-beat sections (just think the Inception horn but add a medium/slow-tempo dubstep beat to it).

Some charismatic moments with Garfield and a great moment for Aunt May (Sally Field).

Direction overall is extremely bland, almost nothing pops or stands out in my mind after seeing it.

Every theme or idea, or even origin story, seems either identical in execution or idea from the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films. Nothing new at all. Some token "is spidey good or bad" is mentioned, including a "citizen-interview" montage, which is never mentioned again and doesn't even come close to being relevant in any situation.

At one point the action actually almost reaches Transformers levels of CGI eyebleed, and couple that with Zimmers dubstep-inspired backbeat theme for a villain and I zoned out several times just due to lack of interest. The character actions between action beats and sometimes during just suck out any tension. For example, people on New York streets gather and cheer as Spider-Man gets a good blow in on heavily armed bad guys that just blew away several police cars not 20 feet from them and clearly could wipe them out with one seconds notice if they so desired. I guess the people there checked the script and MPAA rating beforehand and figured they were pretty much safe. Spider-Man at several points, while chasing armed bad guys who are clearly endagering people, will stop and talk light-heartedly with people he just saved, momentarily ignoring the action which just rolls along without him at the same pace and level of destruction as before.

Overall a completely forgettable film.

Last edited by TechNoir (2014-04-18 20:40:48)

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Re: Last movie you watched

http://mountainx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/under-the-skin-poster.jpg

Mas. Ter. Piece. Full stop. See this movie, guys.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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Re: Last movie you watched

^^^ I'm really excited for this one too, glad to hear you loved it

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Re: Last movie you watched

http://i.imgur.com/TeBhwzN.jpg

8/10




http://i.imgur.com/X4j6zgm.jpg

8/10




http://i.imgur.com/YSwBrRN.jpg

7.5/10




http://i.imgur.com/AFdwBO6.jpg

5.5/10

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Re: Last movie you watched

http://www.harveyvoices.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Red-Tails-e1339088357918.jpg

All the characters wear plot armour and after the nth time they've escaped unscathed from encounters with the Germans (whilst simultaneously winning everything), I realised the lack of danger had robbed the film of almost all of its drama. What remains is a rather cringe-inducing romantic subplot with the Maverick pilot, a wasteful subplot about the squadron commander drinking alot (I say wasteful because it has little to no bearing on his flying performance, sure the film wants us to think it caused an accident by it doesn't), and the 'oh noes aren't White people racist' theme that despite the caricature level probably lends the film its best moment by far. There's also this scarred and blond German ace who likes to shoot down the American bombers [that are trying to kill German civilians] and is sort of developed into an antagonist, but since he doesn't actually do anything of import (like, say, shoot anyone down), he too ends up just being a caricature.

It also suffers from that rather unpleasant African-American movie tradition of having virtually every black character be wise-cracking, loud and arrogant.

Last edited by redxavier (2014-04-22 08:00:07)

Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere. - Carl Sagan

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1,085

Re: Last movie you watched

This week I've been watching quite a few movies!

Kill Bill Volume 1 and 2
"The Bride wakens from a four-year coma. The child she carried in her womb is gone. Now she must wreak vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her - a team she was once part of."
Watched them back to back with a few friends and I still love it. I always point to the burial scene as a prime example of just how powerful sound design can be whenever someone tells me that sound in movies or games aren't important. I think its a great duology (is that the right word?) and it annoys me that we don't have more female action hero leads (hurrah for Katniss!) as these two films are a great example to use for that debate.

The Crow
"A man brutally murdered comes back to life as an undead avenger of his and his fiancée's murder."
Quite the cult classic as I'm sure everyone here is aware of. Not much to say but I really liked it! A tragedy to what happened to Brandon Lee and the instance of digitally stitching together Brandon in his final scene is well done for the time (though if you look carefully, you can see the edges of the footage and whatnot) Brandon as Eric owns the role and I couldn't see anyone else playing him.

Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run)
"A young woman in Germany has twenty minutes to find and bring 100,000 Deutschmarks to her boyfriend before he robs a supermarket."

Another cult film! I watched it in the original German language. I've seen it a few times and I still find it an enjoyable film. It feels like one of those films where giving it a bigger budget would have made the film worse. It plays to its strengths because of its lack of money.

I always like time travel stories and this has an interesting video game "reload the level" style of time travel that I've not really seen elsewhere except for maybe The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

Good Bye Lenin!
"In 1990, to protect his fragile mother from a fatal shock after a long coma, a young man must keep her from learning that her beloved nation of East Germany as she knew it has disappeared."

Not sure if this is a cult film or not but this film has a lot of heart in it. Again, I saw it in the original German language. Obviously takes inspiration from a huge historical point in Germany's history with the rejoining of the east and west. It follows a family who was on the eastern side having to rapidly adapt to western life then having to pretend that none of it had happened. How can you find communist jarred pickled gherkins if all the shops around you no longer supply them because of all the western chain stores moving in? Etc.

In some regards, its similar to other films where a character tells a lie to protect someone and that lie gets bigger and bigger until its starts to get impossible to keep the lie going. Fortunately there is no 2nd act misunderstanding that plagues movies but it does culminate in a very memorable and visually striking scene for the film.

Very much a slice of life with bits and pieces of comedy, it has a very melancholy feel to it. It doesn't have a happy ending nor a sad ending. It's very introspective and I like that the film makes you think.

All in all, I'd recommend all the films I watched this week!

Re: Last movie you watched

redxavier wrote:

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BNDQ5MTg2NzI4OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMDM2NzQzNg@@._V1_SY317_CR0,0,214,317_AL_.jpg

All the characters wear plot armour and after the nth time they've escaped unscathed from encounters with the Germans (whilst simultaneously winning everything), I realised the lack of danger had robbed the film of almost all of its drama. What remains is a rather cringe-inducing romantic subplot with the Maverick pilot, a wasteful subplot about the squadron commander drinking alot (I say wasteful because it has little to no bearing on his flying performance, sure the film wants us to think it caused an accident by it doesn't), and the 'oh noes aren't White people racist' theme that despite the caricature level probably lends the film its best moment by far. There's also this scarred and blond German ace who likes to shoot down the American bombers [that are trying to kill German civilians] and is sort of developed into an antagonist, but since he doesn't actually do anything of import (like, say, shoot anyone down), he too ends up just being a caricature.

It also suffers from that rather unpleasant African-American movie tradition of having virtually every black character be wise-cracking, loud and arrogant.

Oh, wait, wait...I think i can guess this one...uhhhh. Cars 2??

/yes, if you've been around this thread long enough, I will absolutely berate and make fun of you for not making sure your picture works and having the title

ZangrethorDigital.ca

Re: Last movie you watched

Last seen: Snowpiercer.
Anyone?
It´s quite unknown scifi flick from 2013.

"In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine"

Magic bean is strong in this one, but I will go ahead and recommend it.

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Re: Last movie you watched

It's not out in the states yet. I know it's highly anticipated by some because Bong Joon-Ho is a popular director, but I didn't like The Host at all so I'm not all that interested in it.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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Re: Last movie you watched

What a coincidence, I just happened to watch another Bong Joon-Ho film just yesterday for the first time, "Memories of Murder". Excellent film. Review at 11.

"The Host" I remember being a bit too unconventional for what I was expecting, or wanting at the point when I saw it.

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Locke

http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/2Ao2r6qD22A/maxresdefault.jpg

90 minutes of Tom Hardy on the phone in his car driving down the highway is one of the most riveting movies I've ever seen and I'm not kidding. Trailer's weird, don't watch the trailer.

Calvary

It's all dark and contemplative and philosophical and painfully funny with a felching joke and a drunk guy taking a piss on a renaissance painting.

Tom at the Farm


http://im.ft-static.com/content/images/03c02ed4-8a6c-4355-a346-5c772547e212.img

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film … eview.html

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http://media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/tumblr_mav987IFNU1qbluruo1_500-300x450.png
Jodorowsky's Dune
I'm surprised at how well received this doc has been (it's 98% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 62 reviews). It's a cool story, especially if you're a sci-fi person who loves looking at rarely seen Giger concept art and the like. But as a documentary I don't think it's what many people would classify as run-don't-walk great. It's okay, not bad, not a waste of time. Is there anyone who has seen this who feels its anything more than a slightly above average doc?

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There are docs who are rated on their subject and not their quality, and this is probably one of them. I just want the information: if it's put together well, bonus!

I write stories! With words!
http://www.asstr.org/~Invid_Fan/

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Re: Last movie you watched

Meghan and I saw it, both thought it kicked ass.

It functions best as a piece of film history, or non-history, the subject at hand isn't really this movie that never got made, or that the concept art is cool, but Jodorowsky himself and how the production echoes thorughout the cinematic landscape today.

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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Yogi_Bear_Poster.jpg

A generic kids' movie with a clichéd plot that we've already seen countless times. Just like Garfield, Yogi Bear offers cute, furry CGI creatures and not much else. Totally forgettable.

Some of my earliest memories are related to Yogi and other Hanna-Barbera cartoons. I can't say that this movie raped my childhood (it's an overused phrase... and it would be a little too harsh in this case), but I feel severely disappointed.

As we may have suspected, a sequel is already in the works wink

So honor the valiant who die 'neath your sword
But pity the warrior who slays all his foes...

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Re: Last movie you watched

Said it before and I'll say it again, Warner Bros need to take a punt and produce a full length animated Hanna-Barbera cartoon again. Something that isn't a known money maker (so no Scooby Doo). An all-action Jonny Quest movie could be pretty darn awesome. This live action stuff with CG H-B characters just doesn't work. The voice casting on Yogi Bear was good, though, who knew Justin Timberlake did a great Boo-Boo impression?

(the awful Top Cat movie doesn't count as that was produced by a Mexican animation company who had the rights and something was clearly lost in translation)

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1,096

Re: Last movie you watched

Can we remember that most HB cartoons were not that good, and in no way can sustain a half hour story let alone a full movie? Jonny Quest, sure, even the 90's version, but apart from that?

I write stories! With words!
http://www.asstr.org/~Invid_Fan/

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Re: Last movie you watched

Jimmy B wrote:

The voice casting on Yogi Bear was good, though, who knew Justin Timberlake did a great Boo-Boo impression?

I haven't had the chance to hear the original soundtrack (the TV broadcast was dubbed into Polish). Our voice actors did the best they could, but nothing could salvage the uninteresting plot.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/ManofSteelFinalPoster.jpg

The franchise desperately needed a reboot after Superman Returns. Chris Nolan and Zack Snyder seemed like the right people for the job, but the result turned out to be a mixed bag.

What works:
— The serious approach. One of the biggest problems with previous Superman films was the campy humor. No such silliness in Man Of Steel.
— The Kryptonian designs. The first Superman movie came out a year after Star Wars, but its Krypton visually resembled the earlier sci-fi era (the Logan's Run aesthetics mentioned by Trey a few times). The new Krypton feels much richer and more realistic (one exception is the "hatchery" - it looks like right out of The Matrix).
— The acting. It's pretty solid across the board.

What doesn't work:
— The score. It's simply not distinctive enough. The old Superman theme by John Williams was instantly recognizable. Man Of Steel has fairly generic movie music.
— The story as a whole is not strong enough (feels like many other movies we've seen for the last few years).

To sum it up: I was expecting something better from the guys who gave us Watchmen and the Dark Knight trilogy.

Last edited by MartyJ (2014-04-24 23:23:43)

So honor the valiant who die 'neath your sword
But pity the warrior who slays all his foes...

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1,098

Re: Last movie you watched

Invid wrote:

Can we remember that most HB cartoons were not that good, and in no way can sustain a half hour story let alone a full movie?

No.

Last edited by Jimmy B (2014-04-25 01:50:47)

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Re: Last movie you watched

Jimmy B wrote:
Invid wrote:

Can we remember that most HB cartoons were not that good, and in no way can sustain a half hour story let alone a full movie?

No.

Seconded.

God loves you!

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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/eb/Percy_Jackson_%26_the_Olympians_The_Lightning_Thief_poster.jpg

Apparently, this movie is very controversial among fans of the Percy Jackson books. Having never read those books, I neither know nor care what this controversy is really about.

I was expecting a bad Harry Potter ripoff and, while there's an undeniable resemblance to Philosopher's Stone (directed by the same guy), The Lightning Thief isn't a totally worthless imitation. It isn't particularly good either, but much more watchable than Eragon.

SPOILER Show
Since the story is meant for teenagers, we got a horny satyr and Rosario Dawson's dirty jokes. I don't mind.

The most annoying mythology trope (portraying Hades as an analog of the Christian devil) was only partially averted (when he doesn't look like a rock star, he takes the form of a demon-like monster).

Casting Uma Thurman as Medusa was truly ingenious, right now I can't imagine that creature with any other face.

The Lightning Thief is a harmless one-time watch, but it doesn't make me want to watch the sequel or read the books. It's just another teen franchise.

So honor the valiant who die 'neath your sword
But pity the warrior who slays all his foes...

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