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

[JKgo]

...What a strange week, watching movies that compels me to make posts about them. Anyways...

Cinderella 6.5/10

Again, not my usual fare, but I had to watch it. And no, not gonna explain why.

Always thought Branagh was an interesting choice as the director. Whenever I see his name on the credits, I can't help but remember his rendition of Hamlet; and his numerous Shakespeare productions. Maybe it was only natural he'd make a film like this...

Alright, I'll be honest, Lily James was a complete miscast. The whole time she was on screen I was starring at her lush, thick eyebrows. No really. She is a beautiful, and no doubt talented, actress but I didn't get the kind of... fairy tale magic vibe off her. As matter of fact, Elle Fanning from Maleficent felt more at home as a "Disney princess".

Other big issue for me was the scenes with Bonham-Carter. The tone of the movie suddenly became goofy, as if those scenes were shot by a different crew for another movie altogether.

But, my oh my, what a sumptuous feast for the eyes. The customes and the sets were amazing. The cinematography in many scenes were pretty exceptional, especially the part mimicing the original animated film, which was executed perfectly.

Overall, another solid but somewhat forgettable film. I was somewhat glad to see Disney didn't try to "modernize" another classic tale like aforementioned Maleficent.

Next up, The Gunman, starring Sean Penn. Usual services will resume shortly...

 

[Lain]

A Thousand and One Nights (1945)

After making it through 21 films in my chronological quest, this is the first non-animated film to be in color. And from the looks of it, color won't be the norm for a little while yet.

Womanizer Aladdin and his hipster sidekick go on a fantastical and silly adventure. And it is quite amusing, even if the aforementioned sidekick is more annoying than he is funny. Enjoyable flick overall, much more entertaining than the older Alfred Green film in my collection (Baby Face).

8/10

Cencoroll (2009)

I decided to take a brief break from my chrono-quest to enjoy some anime. Cencoroll is a short about weird white monster blob things... there really isn't much to the story, but it's well executed and the art & animation is fairly solid. Not mindblowing by any stretch of the imagination, but it's cute and won't leave you feeling like you wasted the 27 minutes of your life it took for you to watch it. Impressively, it was almost single-handedly animated by Atsuya Uki, who is also the film's writer and director.

7/10

Colorful (2010)

Another anime film... Colorful tells the story about a deceased person given another chance at life by being allowed to temporarily assume the role of a boy who committed suicide. At over 2 hours long, it is a bit plodding at times. And I can't particularly say that all of the characters were well done. But there were several characters who were excellent and, despite the plodding and sometimes predictable nature of the story, I felt that the film overall was pretty damn good.

Sometimes with quiet dramas like these, the plodding parts almost feel necessary... live-action examples of which would be things like Nobody Knows, Tokyo Sonata and Toyko Story... or The Descendants, as a non-Japanese example. So I can't strictly knock it too hard on account of the sluggishness... just go in mentally prepared for something slow-paced, otherwise you might find yourself struggling to stay awake during the course of the movie.

8/10

The next three films in my chrono-quest are:
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Hamlet (1948)
Stray Dog (1949)

 

[JKgo]

The Gunman

So then, The Gunman, supposedly Sean Penn's "Taken" moment.

Except it's not even half as good.

Above poster will show this movie has some rather illustrious names attached to it. Hell, even the "From the Director of Taken" is slapped on it.
The truth is though, Elba is in this film for a grand total of... five minutes. Winstone's in it for a bit longer, but not by much. And Bardem? Oh lord.
The scenes with Bardem was the worst bits of this film. They did very little to serve the film's pace, and one particular scene set in a restaurant felt soooo eyeball-rolling I was tempted to skip it.

Next issue was the script itself. At no time it felt like I was watching a hardened, no-nonsense operative at work. Compared to Neeson's Brian Mills, Penn's character was a marshmallow. No really. And the shoe-horned "We need to save Africa!!" bit? Argh.
Penn had a producer credit so he must've slipped that one in...

This was allegedly based off of a book, although I'm not familiar with the source material, I get a feeling the author might not have been a happy customer...

4/10. Below average, unfortunately.

As a parting gift, if you are dead set on seeing this, I gotta warn you of two things:
1. Horrendous wardrobe early on for Penn's character.
2. Horrendous moustache early on Penn's mug.
Both nightmare inducing.

 

[Northstar]

Wolf of Wall Street

IT WASN'T THAT GOOD, I WONDER HOW LEO'S VOCAL CHORDS FELT AFTER FILMING IT!!!

Seriously, I was rather disappointed with this film, it just kept going on and on with really nothing to justify the length. It pretty much felt like they just wanted to make a movie where Leo yells alot, does a bunch of drugs and has sex alot. Hardly worth a single watch and very disappointing considering who directed it and who stars in it.

4/10

Gravity

I had no idea what this movie was even about apart from it being set in space. After watching it though I felt it was a rather good film with room to improve.

Spoiler

I wouldn't have minded them adding some time to the film in order to do a scene or two from mission control. I feel doing so would have added another dimension to the film since they didn't even give us any indication that they were looking for them. I would have also liked to hear a little more on the background of both main characters as all we got was that Dr. Ryan worked at the hospital and had a dead daughter.

Still, all things aside I still felt it was a very solid movie.

8/10.

Now for the embarrassing part, I've had both those movies since Black Friday and just now got around to watching them.

 

[JKgo]

Video Games Live Level 2

...Okay so technically this isn't a movie but instead a recorded concert but I did see it on DVD so cut me some slack, will you.

I own CDs by Video Games Live so when a chance to see the thing in "live format" I jumped at it. Afterwards though, I feel a little short changed. For one, the CD version has better, more packed set lists than the movie itself, with this film commiting a cardinal sin of cutting excellent renditions of Chrono Cross/Chrono Trigger in half, as well as certain songs not even making the cut. Boo.

Another big issue was how quaint the whole thing felt to me. I didn't expect the prodution values in the level of... say, Metallica's S&M concert but at least on par with Scorpions' Moments of Glory.

That didn't happen.

Maybe I pictured a far too grander scale for myself and ended up being disappointed.

There was also a massive cringe-worthy moment when an obviously fake Master Chief ran on to the stage waving a flag, with an ultra-plasticky toy gun. Urgh.

And... why was Jaime Lee Curtis doing an interview? Why was she singing the praises of WoW? Don't get the connection, really.

Thankfully, it wasn't all bottom-of-the-barrel stuff, though. The most crucial bit, sound, was excellent. There was one moment in Baba Yetu when the sound levels weren't mixed right but otherwise it had a great surround sound. Also the bit with Guitar Hero was cool as well. And the bit with the founding father of gaming? 👍👍 Awkward, but sincere.

Overall? ...Hmm, I'd say, 6 out of 10.

Now I'll hunt down other live concert experiences. I'm looking for the Big Four blu ray.
When I find it...hohoho...

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Whiplash 9/10

Finally squeezed this in. And boy am I glad that I did. The poster above have all the standard gushings of praise so I'll try to keep mine to a bare minimum.

What. A. Movie. Simmons was one of the most memorable "antagonist" I've seen in ages. Initially I wasn't too keen on how Teller came off the screen, but by half way through, he too was dominating his scenes, not losing out even to the older and admittedly more experienced actor when they were in one together.

Couple more things: gorgeous shots, subtle yet noticeable use of lighting, color, and textures. Editing was also very good, staying just long enough on a scenery, an actor, an object before moving on. No meandering here.

What's more, the trailer of this film is quite misleading - if you are expecting Disney-fied teacher/student relationship, and the Hollywood style neat resolutions, you'll be :censored:slapped off your face.

Only fault that I could pick on was it feels a little rushed in its portrayal of passage of time. I thought only a few days had passed, but it turned out a month or two had passed instead. That was slightly jarring.

There's a line in the movie, pretty early on, that stayed with me. It kinda typifies what Simmons' character is like, and the tone of the movie, at least for me.

Fletcher: I asked why you stopped playing, and your answer was to turn into a wind-up monkey?

Oh, this movie is emphatically NOT a comedy. Not a trace of humor. No-no.

I watched this over the weekend and thought it was excellent. My dad was a drummer the majority of his life and I also played quite a bit. So it hit home with me being based mainly on drums. I agree with everything you said. Especially the lack of humor and "non Disney fied" movie. Its relentless at times and so intense. Amazing ending.

My only complaint.

Spoiler: Spoiler

While I do understand Simmons pursuit to find the best musicians, I did not enjoy the physical and mental abuse. I simply cant even comprehend how depressing that would be. Clearly enough to drive one of his students to suicide. Hurling a chair and physically slapping your student is not something that would be tolerated.

Other than that, great movie.

 

[JKgo]

Amazing ending.

Spoiler

I know right? That extended "I'll lead you" Caravan performance was awesome. Yeah, Simmons was a genuine prick, but I think without his antagonistic behaviour the movie would've been a lot more generic.

 

[FoolKiller]

Um, isn't that the point? What will a person tolerate and give up in order to be one of the greats?

It was the other side of the coin of what Andrew gave up in his personal life.

 

[JKgo]

Predestination

...I see a ton of movies in my spare time, probably heck of a lot more than gaming, so when I'm compelled to write the experience I had with a film, it's gotta be something unusual from the norm. This film is it.

To be honest I hunted around for this flick for a while. Ethan Hawke is one of those there-or-there about type actor whose body of work is impressive but never quite the true leading man material for some reason or the other. I find him always compelling whenever he decides to do more gritty stuff so of course I'd want to see this. I mean, c'mon just look at the poster!!!

Time travel movies generally don't work too well, as there are just too many plots holes strewn about even with the best attempts by the film makers, so a lot of that are covered up with whiz-bang special effects or mind-numbing twists that you didn't see coming (or maybe did).

And as a general rule of thumb, most of these films are either in the camp of "Timecop" or "Primer" with stuff like Looper in between. This one falls much closer to "Primer" category, contrary to the messaging the poster above might convey. This is quite dense, head spinning tale told with subtle whisper and confidence from the Spierig brothers.

In fact, for more than half the film, Hawke isn't even the main protagonist. Sarah Snook takes the centre stage and she is excellent at her role of Jane Doe. Hawke too gives solid performance and leaves quite an impression.

The central plot of chasing the mysterious "Fizzle Bomber" though, isn't well fleshed out however - and since this is a small budget indie flick, there aren't any expensive set pieces to mask over some plot holes no doubt others will stumble onto.

A little more budget, and a bit more clearer antagonist would have added more to this film, I feel.

Overall, I'll give this a solid 7/10.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Wolf of Wall Street

IT WASN'T THAT GOOD, I WONDER HOW LEO'S VOCAL CHORDS FELT AFTER FILMING IT!!!

Seriously, I was rather disappointed with this film, it just kept going on and on with really nothing to justify the length. It pretty much felt like they just wanted to make a movie where Leo yells alot, does a bunch of drugs and has sex alot. Hardly worth a single watch and very disappointing considering who directed it and who stars in it.

4/10

After reading this and the other reviews, I'm not sure if I should watch it now.

Um, isn't that the point? What will a person tolerate and give up in order to be one of the greats?

It was the other side of the coin of what Andrew gave up in his personal life.

Yeah, that's what made the movie good. Otherwise, I could see this as a generic feelgood movie with the conductor leading some musician/band to a 1st place is some competition.

 

[Brett]

After reading this and the other reviews, I'm not sure if I should watch it now.

I found the movie to be 45 minutes to an hour too long. I was bored about half way through the movie because it was the same repeated drugs and sex, just maybe spiraled up a bit. It did not help that I knew how the movie would end, even though I knew nothing about the real person that Leo was acting as.

 

[Adamgp]

I Tivo'd Ronin earlier in the week and watched it last night. Hadn't seen in a long time, I forgot how good it is.

9/10

 

[niky]

After reading this and the other reviews, I'm not sure if I should watch it now.

If you have three hours to kill, it's a decent waste of time. Matthew McSmexy does a fine turn in his one important scene, the movie is very well-shot, sometimes dramatic, sometimes funny... there's lots of bewbs... and so many swear words you could get drunk within the first thirty or forty minutes if you turned them into a drinking game.

No need to watch it more than once, however.

 

[JR98]

Taken 3
Expendables 3
Transformers Age Of Extinction

All 3 were pretty good.

 

[niky]

Your definition of good is suspect.

If I'm being generous, TF: Age of Extinction is better than TF: Dark of the Moon and TF: Revenge of the Fallen, but it's far from being pretty good.

 

[JR98]

Well, I enjoyed watching it.

 

[JKgo]

Well, I enjoyed watching it.

...Yeah, "pretty good" may not be a proper way to describe those three. How about "pretty fun"?

After all in some cases, good =/= fun, right?

 

[FoolKiller]

I've only seen 2 out of the three listed.

Expendables 3 was another Expendables movie. Reminds me of being a child. Definitely fun, but as it is purposely cheesy and dumb, not good by any other measure than good fun.

TF: Age of Extinction. No. No. No. No. No. I have a giant laundry list of issues, at the top of the list is the justification of borderline pedophilia.

 

[JKgo]

I've only seen 2 out of the three listed.

Expendables 3 was another Expendables movie. Reminds me of being a child. Definitely fun, but as it is purposely cheesy and dumb, not good by any other measure than good fun.

TF: Age of Extinction. No. No. No. No. No. I have a giant laundry list of issues, at the top of the list is the justification of borderline pedophilia.

...Avoid Taken 3 like a plague. After watching it, I got migraine bigger than an elephant's bottom... and this is from a guy who thought Taken 2 didn't deserve such savage maulings by the critics.

 

[JR98]

...Avoid Taken 3 like a plague. After watching it, I got migraine bigger than an elephant's bottom... and this is from a guy who thought Taken 2 didn't deserve such savage maulings by the critics.

I watched it and thought it was alright, what's so bad about it?

 

[JKgo]

I watched it and thought it was alright, what's so bad about it?

...As long as you enjoyed it personally, nothing wrong with it. To ME, the film had a ton of issues.

In fact, I did review it a while ago. https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...now-with-reviews.75474/page-243#post-10613476

 

[JR98]

...As long as you enjoyed it personally, nothing wrong with it. To ME, the film had a ton of issues.

In fact, I did review it a while ago. https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...now-with-reviews.75474/page-243#post-10613476

Only problem I had with it was all the quick camera edits but apart from that I really liked it.

I also watched Ted 2 and thought it was pretty good too.

 

[MeanElf]

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.

Great title, superb film and one full of fun. I can't say too much about it without spoiling something, nor do I feel like doing a review - suffice it to say that it is Swedish, it has subtitles and was a complete surprise. It won't be giving too much away to say (because these things are on one of the film posters) that it contains a mushroom cloud, an Elephant, a police car and a bundle of dynamite sticks...oh yes, and a suitcase

Spoiler

of money

alongside the hundred year old man...

 

[PletdeKoe]

Birdman.

This movie was awesome! Top-notch acting and great dialogues. Loved it.

 

[Adamgp]

Watched the Gone in 60 Seconds remake last night.

Used to love it until I found the original version. Still mildly entertaining.

5/10

 

[TB]

I was going to watch a movie with the kids last night and they chose the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "to see how bad it is". Their words.

Was it good? No, it was not. But I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't absolute crap, either.

5/10

 

[MeanElf]

Monsters: Dark Continent

I thoroughly enjoyed the first, and whilst this was a bit different in pace and all that, it was as emotionally charged and very enjoyable. I think we may be getting a third film at some point, one to tie it all up with.

 

[Brett]

Chef (9/10)

Jon Favreau making an independent comedy. What can go wrong? Very, very little.

This is on Netflix, and I decided to check it out. It is clear that Favreau has cashed in on his Iron Man success. Half the stars from the Iron Man movies, as well as a few other big names, play a role in this. It is a well told, heart-warming tale of a chef whose life falls apart and he tries to rebuild his career, only now his son is along for the ride.

It was one of those films where you finish watching it and just feel good about having witnessed it. I knocked a point off because it feels like there was a secondary story that was left on the cutting room floor, but you don't really notice until near the end of the film.

Anyway, go watch it. It's on Netflix in the U.S., so it will cost you nothing but time. If nothing else, his blow up at a food critic is worth it.

I agree with everything you said. I had a chuckle at the George Foreman reference and laughed my butt off at the "Corn starch Hush puppy" scene.

Yep! Watched this a few months back and I don't remember the last time a movie left me feeling as good as this one did. Ending up buying the bluray for my Mom for her birthday afterwards, and continue to recommend this one to people.

I watched Chef over the Labor Day weekend and really enjoyed the movie. It was fantastic. 👍

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

I watched Chef over the Labor Day weekend and really enjoyed the movie. It was fantastic. 👍

Excellent. Glad you liked it.

I watched Wreck It Ralph after @DDastardly00 recommended it for me. What a really enjoyable movie. I highly recommend everyone check it out. Especially if you are into games and into racing. (most of us are) . I am actually going to buy the 3D version. Heard the 3d was really good.

 

[RacingPanda]

Straight Outta Compton

Quite an enjoyable movie, although I only recommend it if you are interested in the subject matter and have some background knowledge - especially towards the end, it can get very confusing for the casual viewer. However, it can't be denied that it's very subjective - therefore, don't expect to see an accurate depiction of their history. If you like this sort of music, don't mind the lifestyle they portray and want to be entertained, go and watch it - otherwise, save your money. And don't worry about the length ... it feels way shorter than 150+mins.