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

[ceiling_fan]

I watched part of it, and I am now dead inside.

 

[Diego440]

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) -- Like many other Coen movies, this one pays tribute to an era of cinema. This one refers to the 1950s, and does it really well. The characters, screenplay, camera angles and sound editing reminisce the era very well. As for the plot itself, it's classic Coen, with the old 'everything that can go wrong will go wrong' motto and many twists and turns that keep you glued to the plot throughout the whole movie. Up to a point I've been very skeptical about Jennifer Jason Leigh as an able actress, though in this movie she acts very well, too bad her character wasn't stronger; but then again, most female characters in 1950s movies weren't. There are endless references to classics by Capra, Billy Wilder or John Farrow. The biggest value of the movie are the little bits of great wisdom in dialogues and scenes. 8.5/10




The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) -- This time the Coen brothers pay tribute to film noir, and Billy Bob Thornton plays it prefectly. His lines and his overall characters are very well written an acted. The movie is about a chain-smoking barber who blackmails his wife's boss and lover for money to invest in dry cleaning, but his plan goes terribly wrong. Though as well as Thornton acts, the movie isn't just him. The cast is superb, and if you're a Coen fan, you'll notice a lot of familiar faces... though weirdly enough, John Turturro isn't around. The movie is in black and white and sometimes the attention to detail seems too much; but still, the movie is very good. A tad slow for what we're used to, but still very enjoyable. 7.5/10



Hauru no ugoku shiro (a.k.a. Howl's Moving Castle) (2004) -- Seriously, how does Miyazaki do it? Where on earth does he get his ideas from? Every movie I've seen by him seems to be thought up from different dreams (kinda reminds me of Kurosawa), but he crafts them so well that they have a consistency that I wish I could have in my dreams as well... Unlike the other Miyazaki movies I've seen, this one jumps straight into the weirdness, unlike others that put in a bit of 'reality' time. Also, the movie seems more fast-paced than the rest. In the end, although it's a great movie, it's not Miyazaki's best. The story is less imaginative in terms of character development and emotional depth, than other Miyazaki greats. I had to watch the English dub, and it was surprisingly okay... I'm reading through the IMDb entry and found what I suspected: Christian Bale and Billy Crystal are part of the voice cast. I'm also seeing Lauren Baccall and Jena Malone... great work. 8.5/10



Bekushiru: 2077 Nihon sakoku (a.k.a. Vexille) (2007) -- Remember when the Final Fantasy movie came out and we all though CGI couldn't get better? Well, think again. Unlike FF, not every single hair is animated, but the movie's cinematography is just amazing. Stunning realism for and a great storyline: In the year 2077, Japan has cut itself off the rest of the world and has furthered research and development of bio-mechanical engineering. The result is a race of supra-human people. Now Japan wants to further their investigation to the rest of the world and the UN/America wants to avoid it... or something like that. In general, what you want to see is the amazing graphics and the action sequences, which don't disappoint. The movie's music is by Paul Oakenfold, so that adds a bit more enjoyablity. 7/10

 

[FoolKiller]

Thank You for Smoking - (8/10)
I watched this last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't expect it to be as good as it was, but it is. The story was fun and entertaining and the actors did a good job of playing up the shtick. Don't expect the Big Tobacco version of Blow, as this is more comedy than serious. But it works well, as the simple concept of a lobbyist defending tobacco companies is funny in itself.

I think the tone reminded me a lot of State & Main. The inclusion of William H Macy made that stand out to me.

 

[FoolKiller]

Interception - (3.5/10)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0977658/
Full Disclosure: My brother-in-law plays the main villain in this independent film. I saw this almost a year ago pre-final cut. I was not allowed to discuss it then, but last week it was released on Netflix and Amazon. Last night my in-laws had a family and friends showing at their house. My brother-in-law wants to be an actor and this is his first feature film.

Basically, the creators of this film, the Clay Brothers, are Michael Bay fans and so wrote a fairly typical action film. A new type of nuclear device is stolen, terrorists want to use it, average Joe gets sucked into the middle of it all, he must save the day. The twist is that the developer of the bomb is the father of both the terrorist and the female FBI agent trying to stop it. The pre-cut version explained all of this well, despite bad acting and some very boring scenes. The final cut leaves out the family connections and leaves you to catch on to that fact in later scenes where it is briefly mentioned. It also leaves out the shock of seeing the criminal kill his father heartlessly and the explanation of why he is angry at his father. The opening credits slightly touch on this by showing newspaper clippings. As I understand it the cut was the publisher's decision, not the Clay Brothers'. A little more careful editing could have created less confusion, but as the cuts nearly completely removes the two actors with the absolute worst Kentucky accents I am guessing the publisher was more concerned with the idea of a nuclear weapons designer with a southern drawl than they were continuity.

No, it isn't a good film. It is an action film complete with explosions and car chases all done for $12,000. At best it looks like a bad made for Cable TV film. I will say that I honestly believe my brother-in-law was the best actor in the film. It may be bias, but I have seen some of his plays he did in college and I thought he was horrible in those. It seems his film and acting classes have paid off some.

Oh, and as I did see the full version of the film, I would give that a (5/10). It still suffers from the poor writing and acting that any independent film made in Kentucky and using only aspiring Kentucky talent will suffer from. It does lack most of the continuity issues though. The full version won some awards at a few small film festivals.

And here's my brother-in-law, Bret Hopkins, as Jack Bradford.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2567476/

And a local newspaper article on him.
http://www.state-journal.com/news/article/4507807

 

[Slick Rick]

I saw memento a few days ago, read up about it and going to watch it again. Its a very complex movie...

 

[boiltheocean]

Thrillbillies 2 - DoubleWide.

 

[ExigeEvan]

7 Pounds - A really good movie that leaves you out in the open for a while untill you get just enough info to work out what's happening. Well for some people anyway, my girlfriend left still abit unsure what was happening Good emotional seens, the odd funny bit to keep you going and should serve as a good advert for a great cause.

8/10

 

[Jondot]

Twilight - went to see it with my BF today and... meh. It left me pretty cold, to be honest. I mean, yeah, it's not your typical thriller, but I walked out wondering where my 2 hours had been used up. I still can't work it out. 5/10 from me, as I suppose it wasn't that dreadful. Just forgettable. I guess I need to read the book first...

 

[mcsqueegy]

I've seen a few movies lately...

Gran Torino: My mother took me to this one. A quite unique storyline, and possibly one of Clint Eastwood's last movies. Although the end was a little sudden, it was great; the best movie i've seen him in, except maybe Million Dollar Baby. The attitude his character takes is perfect for the movie. 9.5/10 from me.

Yes Man: Quite honestly, I was confused with this movie. It was funny in bits, but when it wasn't funny it was awful. I expected more from Jim Carrey. 6.5/10.

Curious Case of Benjamin Button: The layout of this was great. There were a few little surprises, which made the movie all the better. But the ending was rather abrupt. 8.5/10.

Seven Pounds: I don't cry in movies, but this had me the closest so far. The end especially, some kind favours and excellent acting made this a great movie to sit down for. I rate it 9/10.

Taken: Very impressed with this one. Some of it was stunningly realistic. In other words, what the character does is perfectly within the law of physics! The actual storyline was a cliche, but everything else had my heart rate up so much, I rate this... 9/10.

Trust me, i've seen more, but the others aren't worth mentioning.

 

[Diego440]

I really hate watching films because I have to... did you at least have liberty to voice your opinions with your in-laws or were you required to give a thumbs up?

 

[FoolKiller]

I really hate watching films because I have to... did you at least have liberty to voice your opinions with your in-laws or were you required to give a thumbs up?

Was that directed at me?

Anyway, the main family was all being positive, but talking to my brother-in-law in person he was honest about the quality himself.

 

[Pupik]

The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) -- This time the Coen brothers pay tribute to film noir, and Billy Bob Thornton plays it prefectly. His lines and his overall characters are very well written an acted. The movie is about a chain-smoking barber who blackmails his wife's boss and lover for money to invest in dry cleaning, but his plan goes terribly wrong. Though as well as Thornton acts, the movie isn't just him. The cast is superb, and if you're a Coen fan, you'll notice a lot of familiar faces... though weirdly enough, John Turturro isn't around. The movie is in black and white and sometimes the attention to detail seems too much; but still, the movie is very good. A tad slow for what we're used to, but still very enjoyable. 7.5/10

I saw this one about 3-4 years ago, and it was very slow-paced, but I guess the moral of the story was "don't try to be an individual in the 1950s". Thornton played one of the most depressing characters I've ever see on film, since he could have explained himself, or spoken up for himself, but never felt the need to. Too wrapped up in occasional small-talk to bother with important big-talk, I suppose.

As a vestige, I call the department store my wife likes to shop at, "Nerdlinger's", and I have to remind her of the joke each time. Meh.

 

[Diego440]

Was that directed at me?

Umm, yes it was. The having so see the movie. Still, rarely you see someone shine in a first role movie, especially low budget action flicks.

I saw this one about 3-4 years ago, and it was very slow-paced, but I guess the moral of the story was "don't try to be an individual in the 1950s". Thornton played one of the most depressing characters I've ever see on film, since he could have explained himself, or spoken up for himself, but never felt the need to. Too wrapped up in occasional small-talk to bother with important big-talk, I suppose.

I agree, but most Film-Noir characters are like that. Making smart-ass remarks, not talking about the big picture but more like nitpicking little details and makind odd analogies: "her hair was black... black like the inside of a coffin, buried 6ft underground, on a moonless night... she wore it with passion... and knew how to."

Also, film-noir leads usually are chain smokers and wear the little funny hats. Thornton nailed it perfectly, I think.

 

[seckcimike]

Watch yes man, its pretty funny and plus it potrays a message, to live life its very touching. I usually hate jim carey because i think he over exaggerate, but this one really is a master piece of comedy/slice of life.

 

[Diego440]

Watch yes man, its pretty funny and plus it potrays a message, to live life its very touching. I usually hate jim carey because i think he over exaggerate, but this one really is a master piece of comedy/slice of life.

uhhh... what's the name of the movie?


I watched this masterpiece:



Mononoke-hime (a.k.a. Princess Mononoke) (1997) -- I've always thought Spirited Away to be Miyazaki's best... Mononoke is just as good. Excellent movie-making and creative as his best work. I didn't find it as emotionally-charged as Spirited Away, though it makes up for it with the whole story. The story itself is perhaps more mature than the others and the analogies are deeper, but Miyazaki's signature is still there. I'm not going to say it's better than Spirited Away, but at least it shares first place as his best work. It's also #126 in IMDb's Top 250. 9/10

 

[seckcimike]

"yes men"

 

[TB]

"yes men"

Man. Singular.

 

[FoolKiller]

Umm, yes it was. The having so see the movie. Still, rarely you see someone shine in a first role movie, especially low budget action flicks.

He was far from shining, but he was the only actor who didn't stumble over simple lines like, "Oh here it is...I thought we..I...had lost it." He only stumbled on poorly written one-liners that were no fault of his own.

He was also one of the few actors that didn't sound like he just walked out of a tobacco field.

All that said, he over acts. He is better than when he did some local and college plays, but it is still there.

 

[Diego440]

Sorry if I sounded judgemental, nothing further from it... I haven't seen the movie... and to be honest I doubt I'll be able to find it. I was just generalising.

 

[FoolKiller]

Sorry if I sounded judgemental, nothing further from it... I haven't seen the movie... and to be honest I doubt I'll be able to find it. I was just generalising.

If you can get Netflix they have it. Being independent I assume it will eventually land on their instant viewing list.

EDIT: But I should save you the trouble and tell you not to bother, unless you just want to be nice to my family.

 

[Diego440]

EDIT: But I should save you the trouble and tell you not to bother, unless you just want to be nice to my family.

Can you catch a venereal disease from a movie?

 

[555]

Taken - 2nd time around. Just as good, maybe even better! Liam Neeson is clearly doing a Jack Bauer impression. Right down to the daughter being called Kim! But great fun and pretty brutal.
8/10

Eden Lake - The did such a bad job selling this movie to me. I didn't know it was English, didn't know it had a "producer of The Decent" and i didn't know it had the kid from This Is England. And in the end it was entertaining, if very un-believable. All the characters seem thick as hell and don't do anythin you would do in real life. And the ending was a bit cack. But it was a fun 89 mins.
7/10

Journey to the CENTRE of the earth - Sorry for uppercasing centre, but it bugs me that they can't change the spelling to the proper English spelling on the dvd case. It suprised me how much i enjoyed this. Yes it was crap, but it was fun crap, and Brendan Frazer is just great to watch.
6/10

 

[Delphic Reason]

You sure seem to like crap... Hahaha!

 

[slims]

Finally got around to watching You Don't Mess With The Zohan. OK I did laugh a few times but the movie is pretty much a waste of time. Unless you like Middle Eastern sterotypes and lame sex jokes. 3/10

Also watched Sex Drive and loved it. Yeah sure if you've seen one teenage sex comedy you've seen them all but still, it was hilarious. Couldn't stop laughing. 👍 7/10

 

[Speedy Samurai]

Journey to the CENTRE of the earth - Sorry for uppercasing centre, but it bugs me that they can't change the spelling to the proper English spelling on the dvd case.

But that is the proper spelling.

 

[555]

I know centre is the proper spelling...... S'why i did it

I do tend to like alot of crap, and hate lots of allegedly good movies. But apart from journey, i dont think the films i did there was crap.
Why i'm here though.

Prom Night (remake) - Now this is crap. Ok the main girl is quite nice and the 1st girl to die (don't know her name) is uber hot! But this is so PG13 its unbelievable. No tention at all. Barely any on screen violence. Amazingly though it went very fast.
4/10

 

[Solid Lifters]

The Great Race - 1965 Film staring Jack Lemmon, Perter Falk, Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood. A family-style comedy based on a car race from New York to Paris set in 1909.

This movie definitely influenced the cartoon show Wacky Races and the movie Blazing Saddles. A classic film that shouldn't be missed, even though it has Tony Curtis in it. Jack Lemmon was fantastic, which more than made up for it. A little long at 2.5 hours and the comedy is rated G, but still a great, classic flick. 8/10

 

[Diego440]

The Great Race - 1965 Film staring Jack Lemmon, Perter Falk, Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood. A family-style comedy based on a car race from New York to Paris set in 1909.

Similar to It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World?

I saw these over the weekend:



C'era una volta il West (a.k.a. Once Upon a Time in the West) (1968) -- Epic story of a mysterious stranger with a harmonica who joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad. Classic Sergio Leone movie and possibly the 2nd best Western of all time (at least according to IMDB). When I was watching it I kept thinking of how many movies have taken the trademarked characters from this one... and also Henry Fonda acting as a tough guy was a nice touch. And to top it all off, one of the best looking women from the 1960s: Claudia Cardinale. It's #19 in IMDb's Top 250, and I give it a 8.5/10



King of California (2007) -- An unstable dad who after getting out of a mental institution tries to convince his daughter that there's Spanish gold buried somewhere under suburbia. Michael Douglas takes a good break from his usual millionaire character and plays an unstable but lovable father who looks like a psycho. The movie is funny at times, but it doesn't get much better than that. All in all, it's a sweet and funny light story... sort of a weekend rental. More than a treasure hunt, as the plot suggests, it's more about a hunt for the relationship and love between a misguided father, and his prematurely grown-up daughter. 6/10



Lars and the Real Girl (2007) -- Lars is a socially retracted guy who doesn't relate to anyone and doesn't like to be touched. Lars orders himself a Real Doll (sex doll) and thinks of her as his girlfriend, and assumes everyone else will. Once you get over the awkwardness of it all and stop laughing at people's reactions, you see it's a film about love and friendship, and about how a whole town tries to help Lars in his obvious mental illness. The whole town accepts Lars' girlfriend because they love Lars, and thus, Lars finds love. Once they start accepting her (it?), Lars becomes more socially adaptable: he goes to parties, talks with his friends, has deep moments with his family... all to a point where you're left to wonder (along with the characters) if such a delusion is harmful or not for Lars.

I remember reading about this movie and trying very hard to find it, which I finally did. The film does a great job of questioning normality and the treatment of the mentally ill. If you watch it and just knock it for being unrealistic, then I think you completely missed the point. The movie has an incredibly powerful and positive message about the ability of a community to heal and nurture someone by treating his illness with acceptance and compassion. It's a great movie to watch when you're feeling alone in the world. 10/10

 

[Solid Lifters]

Similar to It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World?

Similar, but IAMMMMW had a better story, MUCH better characters and was a lot more funny, which is why I rate that movie a 10.

Lars and the Real Girl (2007) -- Lars is a socially retracted guy who doesn't relate to anyone and doesn't like to be touched. Lars orders himself a Real Doll (sex doll) and thinks of her as his girlfriend, and assumes everyone else will. Once you get over the awkwardness of it all and stop laughing at people's reactions, you see it's a film about love and friendship, and about how a whole town tries to help Lars in his obvious mental illness. The whole town accepts Lars' girlfriend because they love Lars, and thus, Lars finds love. Once they start accepting her (it?), Lars becomes more socially adaptable: he goes to parties, talks with his friends, has deep moments with his family... all to a point where you're left to wonder (along with the characters) if such a delusion is harmful or not for Lars.

I remember reading about this movie and trying very hard to find it, which I finally did. The film does a great job of questioning normality and the treatment of the mentally ill. If you watch it and just knock it for being unrealistic, then I think you completely missed the point. The movie has an incredibly powerful and positive message about the ability of a community to heal and nurture someone by treating his illness with acceptance and compassion. It's a great movie to watch when you're feeling alone in the world. 10/10

Sounds good. Gotta look out for this one. It reminds me of 'Feck 'n Elly' in the move River's Edge.

 

[Diego440]

Sounds good. Gotta look out for this one. It reminds me of 'Feck 'n Elly' in the move River's Edge.

Keep in mind although the trailer and the plot make it sound like a comedy, it's not really one. It has its moments, especially at the start when people make weird faces whenever Lars is hanging around with his doll, but the rest is pure, raw drama.