Movies You've Watched Recently

All this Breakfast Club talk made me think of this, for some reason:

@Avid: I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that.

With the new Apes movie out and the first on Netflix, would anyone else be interested in having a group watch for that?

Start a now watching. I didn't know it was on Netflix and the last time I saw it was when I bought the blu-ray on the cheap. I remember liking it but not much besides that.

Wal-Mart has the original 5 movies on blu-ray for $20.

And 4 of those are good. Well, 3 technically, but cheesiness and stupidness aside, I still love Beneath. Battle can go fuck itself though. Ended up getting that off Amazon though. I would so be down to go through all of these if anyone else wants to.

Bret, put those types of deals in the deals thread please. I might still jump on that but I all ready bought the first for $5

I don't remember any of them besides a little of the first. I used to watch them when they came on my granny's woodbox television on Sundays over 25 years ago. Well, I remember some of it frightened me. Anyway, deals thread stuff you see at work that looks like a good deal, please^^

Comes with $8 off movie cash for the new movie as well, so it's like an even more super deal!

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was great. Took a smart approach with the plot where for the first half there was no real side to root for, both the apes and humans had characters who wanted peace and those who mistrusted each other and played it out so you could see how the two could coexist, but know that this can never happened. Smart plot, well written characters, well directed action. What more can you want?

Watched 2 VASTLY different films in the last 2 days:

Muppets: Most Wanted -I loved hte muppets, this was a huge disappointment. I've literally been walking around for the last day telling my girlfriend all the gags they COULD have done. For a muppets movie I barely saw any of the muppets, and the muppets have always been so self-referential that I wanted SO many more stupid jokes/gags. A waste of good talent for sure.

Under the Skin - This is a movie I really want to like. Great performance by Johannson, some absolutely stunning imagery (including that finale...damn), amazing sound design (in spots). But something just didn't click for me. People were calling this director the new Kubrick but Kubrick was more playful with his use of music and cinematography. It was more Tarkovsky than Kubrick. IF you're the type of person who watches a LOT of films, and difficult ones at that I'd say check this one out and let's talk about it, it seems a good film to talk about. If you're the type who watches films, but not voraciously, give it a skip.

Saw Ghibli's new film When Marnie Was There and...well, it was OK. The animation was gorgeous, but that just goes without saying. I think when it comes down to it Ghibli films just don't have fun anymore, and even films like Totoro that were as much a slice of life as they were adventure stories still did an amazing job building their characters through small moments. The writers at Ghibli despite making a very noble attempt, just aren't as good at subtle drama, at least not in the literary sense and some of the "emotional" moments in the film fall flat since our character isn't really established from the get-go.

Always good to see Ghibli in nice big-well projected format though.

Watched Pan's Labyrinth. I knew nothing about it so I expected it to be some film where the first part was in real life and the rest took place in another land, like Narnia. I was expecting essentially a kids film with some kinda dark designs in a fantasy setting. So needless to say I got something completely different and was completely surprised, haha. Really enjoyed it, still letting it soak in really.

Watched True Lies. Was basically the movie I imagine I'm seeing whenever I watch something boring.

New Transformers was alright. Was an hour longer than it should have been and had too many plot threads, but man, for once Bay actually gave me robot fights where I can remember what happened five minutes after seeing it. Worth watching for John Goodman's robot.

I saw Amazing Spider-Man 2. The graphics and action are OK. The movie is really bad. Bad dialogue, bad plot, bad effects, bad characters. This challenges Batman and Robin for worst super-hero movie. I didn't expect much going in but what I got was a big mess. Jamie Foxx and Paul Giamatti are probably laughing together in a pile of money. This is the worst movie I've seen in a good long while and my wife makes me watch some really stupid shit.

Spiddy, I'm not trying to invalidate your opinion or talk down on it in any way when I ask this. I can see why you'd think this movie is that bad. It's just there's a lot of terrible superhero movies.

So you're saying this is worse than both Fantastic Four's, X-3, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Green Lantern, Daredevil, Electra, Catwoman, Superman 4, and Man of Steel (which I still like, but given your reaction)? Again, not judging, just glad I don't see what everyone who hates this movie does.

Honestly, the dialogue is as bad as Batman and Robin and the plot is as bad as Spider-Man 3. And how Jaime Foxx and Paul Giamatti, two very fine actors, were used is insane.

Spoiler:

I haven't seen Catwoman but everything else you listed has some redeeming quality. And with Man of Steel, At least I just didn't like it. Meaning it wasn't a bad movie, just not my taste. (Superman IV is great for the comedic clusterfuck it is) I understand where you're coming from, but I do feel this movie insulted me. Which I can't say for many movies.

I haven't seen it so I can't weigh in personally. but of my friends most people are more on spiddy's side of the scale on this one. Maybe not hating to the extent he does, but few can hate to the extent that spiddy does.

It seems like the type of movie I'd throw on in the background sometime.

I had an urge to rewatch The Bourne Identity again yesterday...I love that whole series of movies. Excellent stunts, great fights, chase scenes that actually have tension. I wish they didn't go into SHAKE THE CAMERA mode as much in the 2nd and 3rd one but there's some fine filmmaking in there. Remember how films can be super tense without CG? Not to say CG doesn't have a place, but it is refreshing to watch some old school stuff.

I also watched the second District 13 movie because I figured there might be some decent parkour/fight scenes. It was horrendously meh. I never understood martial arts movies, and I mean proper ones where it's a showcase for very talented martial artists having serious plots. Don't put these poor guys in situations where they have to act.

Kubert, you of all people should avoid ASM2. I love it, I'll defend it, and I know I'll watch it several times more. But damn you would hate that movie.

Expand on this. I LIKE HAVING FUN TOO, YOU KNOW! It's not all cocktail parties and reading the New Yorker in Kubert's apartment!

ASM2 would be perfect as a background movie because the action can be really good. A lot of the effects look like a last generation video game but they are entertaining enough. I'd still recommend turning off the AVS on your television. That way you can hear the action but won't be subjected to the dialogue or plot.

Well, movie does not really have a plot, nor do any of the characters have an arc. It's more a sequence of events that happen kind of like Iron Man 2. And both villains' stories are missing one scene which will give them a really good motivation. There is some creativity to it though, Electro's powers make a wonderful use of dubstep which just feels so creative and fun, and this is coming from a guy who hates dubstep.

I love that movie, but I can go on for days on how they could have improved it. It's mostly because I'm such a huge Spidey fanboy that I can look past all the stuff they get wrong and just enjoy what they get right. Don't agree with Spiddy at all on the effect though, I thought they were pretty great.

And I know you're not above "having fun" which is what I base 95% of my movie watching on. I remember you said how awesome Avengers was. Though my future self told me if you say one bad thing about Guardians of the Galaxy I'm disowning you and you'll have to find yourself a new pimp

AVS?

And you don't OWN me (I'msorrydaddyhere'stoday'spaymentdon'thitme)

AVS is the setting that is supposed to auto-level so the loud end is less intrusive for shit like commercials. Most new TVs come with it factory set to "on".

Ahhhhh. I don't have a telescreenvisionator machine, boy. Just a computational machine.

Krubixcube wrote:Ahhhhh. I don't have a telescreenvisionator machine, boy. Just a computational machine.

I use a telescreenvisionator as a computational machine monitor and I assumed most cool kids do too.

Yeah, but my sound's going through another set of speakers so usually it's well balanced enough as is.

Anyone see the trailer for Mad Max? It looks one of those movies that mixes goofiness with awesomeness to make something you just need to watch even if the script sucks. With this and the game coming soon I'll have to actually watch the originals

The Changeling (1980)

The kind of horror film that I like to see these days. No slime, gore or shocks. No creature or serial killer on the loose and no women in danger. An effective haunted house story about a spirit who has unfinished business with the living and how its actions greatly affect the lives of the three main characters. George C. Scott was fantastic, as expected, as a music composer reeling from personal tragedy and quietly, respectfully trying to move on with his life. Melvyn Douglas isn't in the film for very long but he's quite good, especially the scene between him and Scott.

It's very old-fashioned but its done with such care. The camerawork is great, especially those tracking shots. It provides the house (both the exterior and interior shots) with both a sense of mystery and menace.

Under The Skin

Every year at least one film is released that I treasure for a lot of reasons, one of which is that it provides me with something I've never seen before (Enter The Void, Melancholia, Cloud Atlas). Under The Skin had that vibe from the first teaser that I saw. Having just watched it, its easily one of those films. Even the opening sequence is something I could stare at multiple times and never know what is going on...and I love it. I love the mystery of this film. The vagueness. The fascination with nature, everyday life and all of the things that we take granted.

I even admire the film for its frank images of nudity (even from Johansson) that never fall into the trap of titillation. There is a palpable, seething air of wrongness about the proceedings that eroticism has no place in it. Its one of the most effective films about the experience of an outsider (and more than one, if you think about it).

Scarlet Johansson just blew me away here. I didn't think she had a performance like this in her. That she pulled it off so well settles the argument about her acting abilities. From her improvisational skills to (what I consider) her patience and concentration in those long takes...she's just fascinating to watch here.

Johnathan Glazer has been compared to Kubrick in some reviews and I'd say that's true only in that Glazer seems to make films only when he feels like it (or perhaps he's been more productive than I'm giving him credit for). I hope it isn't too long before he directs again.