I first watched Schindler's List in AP European History. Bawled like a baby at the end. Still haven't had the guts to revisit it.

Yeah, call me a pansy (whatever) but I cannot bring myself to watch that.

Escape From Planet Earth

A friend of mine in film school actually did effects work on this, so I'm kinda a bad friend cause I haven't seen it til now, whoopsie, but in my own defence I haven't seen the movie I worked on either so fair's fair.

Anyways, I loved it. It was fun, there was a couple of "ooookay then?" moments, but I think that comes down to comedic sensibility more than anything (The bizarre 15 second joke spent on Simon Cowelll...was...uh...intersting). There's some really great moments spread throughout. And being done by a smaller, new studio (This is the first feature animated movie done by Rainmaker Animation) it definitely has a different vibe and feels a little edgier than most of the stuff we get from the bigger studios like Pixar or Dreamworks.

All in all, I'd say if you're looking for something fun and light, definitely check it out.

The Rescuers Down Under

This is one of the classic renaissance Disney's that just never got on my radar when I was growing up or since.

I really enjoyed it, it was a nice little vacation getting to have a little nostalgia with something I hadn't seen before. There's not really much more to say, it's a solid movie, classic renaissance Disney.

Although the one thing that really struck me, especially coming directly off of Escape From Planet Earth is how fracking brutal this movie is, and really by extension all of this era of Disney. But they really didn't pull any punches when it came to the fear and scariness of things. By today's standards it's terrifying, but I loved it. I never really realized how much I miss it. It really does feel like a completely different style of movie that we don't get anymore.

Although on a side note, I love how people so often deride movies like Madagascar for having these massive ridiculous CG shots that go from the middle of the ocean to the pupils of the guy standing on the beach, and deride it as some ridiculous invention of the CG movie, when the opening shot of this, is one massive shot that speeds across miles of flower fields, and Australian outback and goes inside the kids house in one shot.

Last edited by BigDamnArtist (2013-10-16 13:36:34)

Absolutely agree. I don't think I was ever outright scarred by a movie, but I definitely grew up in this era of Disney (Rescuers Down Under was '90, I was '91), and I remember some of them being pretty scary, but I also really like looking back at those times, I don't know why but I do.

Happy-Go-Lucky          9/10     

Ah, Mike Leigh. I could kiss the man, I really could. 

The movie stars Sally Hawkins as the persistently cheerful and optimistic primary-school teacher, Poppy. Happy-Go-Lucky is one of those films that makes you wonder if she's crazy or is she the most sane character on screen. It's typical of Leigh's style; no real script, just repeated improvisation and character work until each scene is fully fleshed out. The actors remain unaware of major plot points until they start work on that scene, so every laugh and grimace and look of surprise feels genuine.

The story follows Poppy through her various encounters with people and it can seem a bit mundane. But she is such an engaging and likable character that I was just enjoying watching her and her friends, until I suddenly realized that the plot had started long ago and the story was just carrying me along for the ride.

The performances are wonderful, particularly Eddie Marsan as Scott. He's said that he thought he was preparing for a drama, because Scott is such an intense character, and it wasn't until he started working with Sally Hawkins that he realized how funny it was. Scott really does feel like a character from a serious drama who gotten sucked into Poppy's lighthearted comedy and has his world turned upside down. The scene with Poppy's pregnant sister, Helen, was also really great, as we watch how some of those around Poppy react to her upbeat and carefree manner. The one slightly disappointing aspect for me was Poppy herself. She didn't get quite fleshed out the way I'd hoped. But overall it was an enjoyable little film.

Tell No One          7/10

I don't know about this one, maybe the book is better. Although the author has said that he likes the movie's ending better.

I started this one feeling rather excited. It feels like an adaptation of a novel, but not in a bad way. Everything was building so well, it was seamless. It was fast paced, exciting, and smart. Not revolutionary or genius, but very smart. Like, our hero doesn't make the myriad of stupid mistakes so common in this kind of story, and the police are competent and intent on doing their jobs rather than being a bunch of bumbling idiots. Mika'ela Fisher plays a total badass. And all throughout the clues seem to be leading to something spectacular. At least, I made it to the climax thinking whatever came next was going to be so awesome.

And my goodness, what I got was... lame.

The reveal is just totally unworthy of everything that led up to it. The villain's motives are weak and his actions are insanely excessive, which is fine if the movie acknowledges that he's kind of crazy. But instead gives him one very short scene that tries to justify what he's done. The mystery behind the death of the lead character's wife is far-fetched, and none of the answers we're given satisfactorily explain anything. The cloak & dagger shit feels like it belongs in a James Bond film or the next movie in the Bourne series; it's completely out of place here. And when I think about the "inciting incident," the body count in this movie is kind of ridiculous.

But despite its problems, I know what a harsh judge I can be, and I can't say I didn't enjoy myself for first 120 minutes. For the last ten, your mileage may vary.

Rango          5/10

I really, really, really don't like the "liar revealed" plot line. Most of the time it's lazily done and the character essentially has absolutely no reason to lie in the first place. In Rango, there's no character-based reason for him to lie, the circumstances don't really call for it, the lie itself isn't really pertinent or useful, his execution of the lie is incompetent, and when the lie is finally revealed, the payoff is underwhelming. They should've just stuck with the fish-out-of-water theme it had going at the beginning rather than tacking on the dumb "liar revealed" plot.

Other than that, the movie is internally inconsistent and confusing. Much like Teague's complaint of Tropic Thunder, it vacillates between spoof and satire, which makes for some good visual gags but also makes it a lot harder to invest in what's going on. Why on Earth do some animals act mostly like animals while the townsfolk are drinking out of tiny chameleon-sized glasses and wearing dresses? Why does Beans have hair? Whatever happened to Mr. Merrimack? That never got properly explained. Why are the fox and raccoon characters the same size as everyone else while Rattlesnake Jake and the hawk are gigantic? And why do Rango's eyes never move in different directions? One of the coolest things about chameleons and he never does it once!

Although I did like some of the side characters and some of the humor in the film, overall I just couldn't get into it. I must add, though, that it is very, very pretty.

re: Backdraft... this is a useless and random bit of trivia.  The music from the movie ("show me your firetuck" - ha) was actually used in the original Iron Chef tv show.

This has been a turning point for me in watching films is having kids. While I won't shy away from films that I would have watched before becoming a parent, I certainly am more choosy about what films I watch because I want to be able to take the time with the kids and talk about it. Even simple discussion points can be meaningful.

And yeah, Disney had no qualms about villains getting gruesome deaths. Here you go: http://www.cracked.com/article_16795_th … eaths.html

Also, my daughter fairly recently watched Rescuers Down Under and it is still one of my favorites. George C. Scott, now that I know that it is him, is great as the villain, but is truly villainous. John Candy is fun too with some great one liners.

The Rescuers Down Under has always been one of my favourite Disney movies

Been on a Shakespeare kick so I watched a bunch of Hamlet adaptations. Olivier's is still the best. Very dynamic and probably the least stagey film version barring Branagh's. Found one with Kevin Kline which is literally a filmed stage version. It was pretty dull. There was also a TV version directed by and starring Campbell Scott, aka the son of George C. Scott. It's a more modern version and it works surprisingly well. The culture of royalty is replaced by high-society WASPs. I have yet to see the Ethan Hawke version. Heard mixed things.

Yeah, that should be good

In recent years people scrunch their faces up when I mention this, but I rather liked Mel Gibson's 1990 portrayal of Hamlet (with Glenn Close as Gertrude, Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia). I dig Mel's take on the famous "To be or not to be" scene (he seems to emphasize the confusion of the moment more than the other actors I've seen do it, playing it in mostly hushed tones, like someone who truly is thinking out loud and doesn't want people in the next room to hear).