What movies have you seen lately? Now with reviews!Movies

[Diego440]

I'd be willing to raise that number to a 2.23, but no more!

I'm not a big fan of musicals per se, but I really enjoyed the ones starring Gene Kelly, like Singin' in the Rain and An American in Paris. Anything below that level of quality shouldn't be allowed to be called a musical.... unless it's an acid, tragic musical like Von Trier's Dancing in the Dark.

 

[TheCracker]

The only two musicals i could really sit through (and often have) are Rocky Horror and Grease. Generally i can't stand them.

 

[RUI]

The only two musicals i could really sit through (and often have) are Rocky Horror and Grease. Generally i can't stand them.

I kind of like some of the Dennis Potter stuff I guess because the singing is so much against the general mood of most of his stories.

 

[Diego440]

The only two musicals i could really sit through (and often have) are Rocky Horror and Grease. Generally i can't stand them.

Have you seen Dancer in the Dark? Definitely recommend it.

 

[TB]

The only two musicals i could really sit through (and often have) are Rocky Horror and Grease. Generally i can't stand them.

So no Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog?

Which, coincidentally, I watched again last night. It's a outstanding way to kill 45 minutes but the end leaves you wanting more.

"I have a PhD in horribleness!"

8/10

 

[Public'sTwin]

I wasn't sure about what I thought of Burton's Sweeney Todd. I wouldn't say I disliked the film, but it takes a lot of pressure for me to recommend it.

 

[Neal]

The only two musicals i could really sit through (and often have) are Rocky Horror and Grease. Generally i can't stand them.

I'm not into musicals either but South Park The Movie is all kinds of awesome and is technically a musical

 

[Blitz187]

I'm not into musicals either but South Park The Movie is all kinds of awesome and is technically a musical

+1 Agreed.

 

[Diego440]

Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009) -- Great low budget sci-fi doesn't really get better than this, however hard it may be to avoid crappy aliens and paper thin plots. Moon does it great! The movie is about an astrtonaut who works on the moon for a corporation. His work consists of maintaining the facility and the automated machines that harvest energy for the Earth. Sam is on the last leg of a 3 year contract and quite anxious to return home to his wife and daughter, as long as there are no incidents. Of course, there are.

I'll leave it at that plotwise, but San Rockwell does a tremendous acting job and Kevin Spacey does the voice of the mobile talking robot (a nod to Hal?). With that said, I recommend you watch this movie, but don't expect aliens, spaceships and monsters. Expect excellent acting and a very original plot from a very underrated movie. 8.5/10

 

[Omnis]

Sweet moire pattern on that cover.

 

[TheCracker]

Moon's a great film 👍

Had plenty of nods towards 2001, but reminded me more of Silent Running without so much of the tear-jerking element.

 

[Diego440]

reminded me more of Silent Running without so much of the tear-jerking element.

And less cheesy scenes and stupid robots 👍

 

[TheCracker]

And less cheesy scenes and stupid robots 👍

It was the seventies after all. A much more innocent time for sci-fi

 

[Diego440]

It was the seventies after all. A much more innocent time for sci-fi

uh-uh! The 60s weren't as cheesy/innocent. Though I'm noty sure but I'm thinking Silent Running had a Disney feature? Either way, it was pretty sad.

 

[TheCracker]

It wasn't a Disney film. Are you thinking of 'The Black Hole' which was a cheesy sci-fi adventure.

 

[Diego440]

Yeah, I was. But I've seen both, so it's not like I'm at a complete loss here.

 

[Diego440]

Araburu tamashii-tachi (a.k.a. Agitator) (Takashi Miike, 2001) -- A decent take on the mafia/yakuza theme, though as deadly, violent, bloody and somewhat predictable as most mobster movies become. It's a story about values, moral, and ethics within the yakuza organisations, but doesn't go over the top explaining them. Maybe a tad slower than most European and US movies of the sort, but it also adds to give it an extra vibe... to bad that vibe translates into 150+ minutes of clocktime. This could be a decent introduction into Japanese cinema, in the sense that it's not too heavy on the Japanese side, but still something a US director would never do. 7/10

 

[TB]

Well. I just finished watching Antichrist. Right. Um. Very hard call to make on a rating, to say the least.

Realism and visually it's very high on the scale. Unfortunately, with that, due to the subject of this movie, comes a price to pay and that price is that some of the scenes appear to be there purely for shock value and little more.

Short of giving away a whole gaggle of spoilers for any who attempt this film, which I wouldn't strongly advise against, but I'm certainly not encouraging, either, I'll stop there.

Bottom line - imagery - 9/10, movie as a whole - 5/10

 

[Diego440]

Well. I just finished watching Antichrist. Right. Um. Very hard call to make on a rating, to say the least.

Wow.... never figured you to be one to watch such movies. I'll have to agree with you on the shock value part.

Spoiler

The part with the tree trunk to the groin and everything after that really made me jump in my seat

Bottom line - imagery - 9/10, movie as a whole - 5/10

Cool. I gave it a 5.5 overall. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the works of Andrei Tarkovsky, but at the end credits of Antichrist, Von Trier dedicates it to him. Tarkovsky filmed a lot of his scenes in forests and the lighting and filming techniques were emulated by Von Trier on this one. 👍

 

[TB]

Wow.... never figured you to be one to watch such movies.

I've been known to step out of my sheltered, Mid-Western US existence on occasion. It's flicks like this that remind me why I live a sheltered, Mid-Western US existence.

With a couple of you (you, TM and P'sT, off the top of my head) saying you had seen it or were going to, and since it was available for streaming on Netflix, I figured why not.

I'm not sure if you're familiar with the works of Andrei Tarkovsky, but at the end credits of Antichrist, Von Trier dedicates it to him. Tarkovsky filmed a lot of his scenes in forests and the lighting and filming techniques were emulated by Von Trier on this one. 👍

I noticed his name at the beginning of the credits and in reading the wiki page for Antichrist I came across his name again. I've seen the Clooney remake of Solyaris (it's been too long but I don't recall liking it much) but I might have to give the Tarkovsky version a look.

 

[Diego440]

Trois Couleurs: Bleu (a.k.a. Three Colours: Blue) (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1993)
Trzy kolory: Bialy (a.k.a. Three Colours: White) (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994)
Trois couleurs: Rouge (a.k.a. Three Colours: Red) (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994)

As many of you may have determined by now, I like watching movies. A lot. And this has been something I've liked since when I was about 10 years old. because of that I also happen to own a decent amount of movie-related books, some focusing on a filmmaker, a genre or general topics. Among some of my most general books there's some that talk about the 'best of the best' types of movies, including the Best Trilogy. Most of the Trilogy rankings put this movie at the very top, even above the Indiana Jones, The Godfather and even Star Wars trilogies. Yeah, it's that good.

Now, I'm not going to say it's better or not than the previously mentioned ones, but I'll say it's at the same level of excellence. The movies focus on three different lives in French society, and while the first movie centers in Paris, the second one in Poland and the third one in Geneva, they are all based in France.

Each part of the trilogy is an expression of the French national motto: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. I'm not going to go that much more into it since I'd probably be hitting the character limit per post aand I just finished watching the third one, so I'd want to mull about a bit thinking about them, which I surely will.... for a long time. Flawless movie. 10/10

 

[RUI]

👍 Great trilogy! I'd give it 10/10, too.

 

[breakpoint]

You watch allot of movies Tom! I just watched The Believer again for the prob 10nth time, haven't seen it in a year or so, great movie.

 

[Diego440]

You watch allot of movies Tom! I just watched The Believer again for the prob 10nth time, haven't seen it in a year or so, great movie.

The Believer is an awesome flick... haven't watched it since it came out. I ought to look for it. Thanks for reminding me of it!

Just watched:



The Rocketeer (Joe Johnston, 1991) -- One of the most underrated movies of the 90s, probably because it came out at the same time as Terminator 2, +rendering it grossly overkilled. Still, I love the retro technology of the era and how it was portrayed in this film, even if it's a Disney movie. It's always fun to watch older semi-successful movies and have a look at artists who now are big, including Terry O'Quinn (Locke from LOST) and a barely legal but gorgeous Jennifer Connely. In the end it regretfully gets too American when the hero defeats the Nazis three years before the US went to war. But still, it's a nice remnant of my late childhood and a movie I always liked. 8/10

 

[breakpoint]

The Rocketeer was a great movie, I remember pizza hut had all kinds of promo stuff for it when it came out like cups and all that.

 

[Horde_R35]

just saw SOLOMON KANE! Good effects and good story but i had the felling it could be better... something was missing!

 

[Blitz187]

Now this is a movie I TOTALLY forgot about... I did see it in the movie theatre when it came out though.... in '91 I was exactly 10 years old... Now that you have reminded me of this movie I'm going to see if I can get my hands on it again! 👍 Only ever saw it once in my life...

 

[magburner]

I just watched 2012, last night, and whilst I was impressed with the special effects, the plot itself left a lot to be desired.

The premise that the world could somehow end because of solar flares was reasonable, but the fact that a guy could transport his family to safety during an extinction level event was ridiculous. They cheated death so many times, that the film became nothing more than a roller coaster of action. overall, I liked the film, but I'm going to give it an average score for its 'on rails' plot. 👍

6/10

 

[mr_geez]

Trois Couleurs: Bleu (a.k.a. Three Colours: Blue) (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1993)
Trzy kolory: Bialy (a.k.a. Three Colours: White) (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994)
Trois couleurs: Rouge (a.k.a. Three Colours: Red) (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994)

As many of you may have determined by now, I like watching movies. A lot. And this has been something I've liked since when I was about 10 years old. because of that I also happen to own a decent amount of movie-related books, some focusing on a filmmaker, a genre or general topics. Among some of my most general books there's some that talk about the 'best of the best' types of movies, including the Best Trilogy. Most of the Trilogy rankings put this movie at the very top, even above the Indiana Jones, The Godfather and even Star Wars trilogies. Yeah, it's that good.

Now, I'm not going to say it's better or not than the previously mentioned ones, but I'll say it's at the same level of excellence. The movies focus on three different lives in French society, and while the first movie centers in Paris, the second one in Poland and the third one in Geneva, they are all based in France.

Each part of the trilogy is an expression of the French national motto: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. I'm not going to go that much more into it since I'd probably be hitting the character limit per post aand I just finished watching the third one, so I'd want to mull about a bit thinking about them, which I surely will.... for a long time. Flawless movie. 10/10

Considering the fact that Kieślowski was not only my fellow countryman but also finished film school in my home city I feel obliged to give you one recommendation. You should watch special, 10 part, "TV movie series" he created in late 80's called "The Decalogue". I can only hope you'll find a version which will be translated properly. And of course don't miss out on his other work like "Camera Buff" or "Blind Chance". Not only they are great movies but you can learn a lot about Poland in the dawn of communism.

 

[Diego440]

Now this is a movie I TOTALLY forgot about... I did see it in the movie theatre when it came out though.... in '91 I was exactly 10 years old... Now that you have reminded me of this movie I'm going to see if I can get my hands on it again! 👍 Only ever saw it once in my life...

That's exactly what moved me to watch it. I saw it for the first time in a movie theater with some friends. I was about 15 and we were trying to get into a R-rated flick, so we bought the tickets to this one and planned on sneaking in to the other one 10 minutes after or so, but after seeing a bit of this one, I decided to stay in the theater.

Considering the fact that Kieślowski was not only my fellow countryman but also finished film school in my home city I feel obliged to give you one recommendation. You should watch special, 10 part, "TV movie series" he created in late 80's called "The Decalogue". I can only hope you'll find a version which will be translated properly. And of course don't miss out on his other work like "Camera Buff" or "Blind Chance". Not only they are great movies but you can learn a lot about Poland in the dawn of communism.

Oh yeah, I've already seen Przypadek and The Double Life of Veronique and Bez konca. Veronique is probably the one I liked less, but the other two are amazing. I've heard about Dekalog, but haven't been able to find a decent copy of it.