Movie opinions thread (what have you seen, what did you think?)

[aria]

Someone had previously started a thread like this, but I couldn't find it after a search so I'll start this new one --especially since we're entering the time where the better movies are coming out for Oscar consideration.


I'll go first, I saw two this weekend:


American Gangster: Not bad: Denzel is good, so is Crowe. The supporting cast is also quite solid, Ruby Dee is getting up there in years but can still hold her ground. It was odd to see Cuba Gooding Jr. actually doing a non-shit movie, I didn't know what to think other than he's trying to put a salve on the wounds he's inflicted on his once-promising career (seriously --can anyone imagine casting him in Boyz in the Hood now?) I'm getting off topic: the bottom line is this movie is good, but not nearly as good as The Departed. A decent 4/5.


No Country for Old Men: Hot damn, the Coen Brothers surprised me here. The movie blends a clear love of the quite moments in the wide open spaces of rural TX, punctuated by moments of intense, brutal violence. The acting is just solid all around, and the cast is surprisingly small. Anton Chigurh is one of the most compelling psychopaths I've seen on the screen in a while --he's both awesome and horrible (I kept thinking he should have his own TV show... complete with minutes of awkward, anxious conversation and the traditional coin flip). The whole movie has a sense of anxious dread as you feel violence can break out at any time. [POSSIBLE SPOILER]The ending wasn't really the climax you'd expect, but is still "enjoyable" (in relative terms to the movie), if not a bit abrupt.[/POSSIBLE SPOILER END] I'd give this a strong 4/5, just because the movie wasn't 100% my thing.

 

[Blue Steel]

I'd like to see both of those movies, but since watching Denzel in "X" I feel like anything I see him in I just think of him as Malcolm X. But I have heard it's good, guess I just can't be bothered to head over to the cinema. Also want to see no country for old men, what the hell is that thing he carries around with him and kills people with? A pressurized nail//bolt gun or something? I wasn't really sure what it was when I watched the trailer but it looks like a nasty way to get murdered.

Latest movie I saw was Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters. Silly movie as you'd expect, not sure how to rate it 3/5 I guess.

I want to see "Lust, Caution" but still can't seem to find it. I also plan on watching "Blood Sport" since Mortal Kombat was inspired by it and I've been playing UMK on the DS here and there since last week.

Actually my weapon of choice for entertainment as of late has been "Kenny vs. Spenny", that show is fucking genius. However, I've now watched every episode and so now I have to wait a week between each 22 minute fix. All you guys in Canada should know what I'm talking about.

 

[Magician]

Beowulf - Lots of faces, passable screenplay, pretty CG; I was mildly entertained. 3/5 - Worth a video-on-demand view, but not a $9 movie ticket.

Saw IV - Love my "torture porn" every now and then.
3/5 - Nothing like a little squeamish inducing cinema to make you enjoy Halloween.

Michael Clayton - rock solid acting. It's a role tailor-made for Clooney's talent.
4/5 - Very enjoyable, though Clooney is not deserving of the academy nomination as some would say.

30 Days of Night - good old nosferatu. I do enjoy my vampire flicks.
3/5 - Solid, nothing wowing though.

Gone, Baby, Gone - the Afleck that can actually act, yipee. Ed Harris is riveting too.
4/5 - Probably my favorite I've seen this year.

 

[Xian Xi]

American Gangster: Not bad: Denzel is good, so is Crowe. The supporting cast is also quite solid, Ruby Dee is getting up there in years but can still hold her ground. It was odd to see Cuba Gooding Jr. actually doing a non-shit movie, I didn't know what to think other than he's trying to put a salve on the wounds he's inflicted on his once-promising career (seriously --can anyone imagine casting him in Boyz in the Hood now?) I'm getting off topic: the bottom line is this movie is good, but not nearly as good as The Departed. A decent 4/5.

I'm still wondering how the film would have been if the original director did it. Anton Fuqua was supposed to direct it but the budget was low and so they tried to get more money and Fuqua had to fulfill another project so Scott took his place as the director.

 

[aria]

I'm still wondering how the film would have been if the original director did it. Anton Fuqua was supposed to direct it but the budget was low and so they tried to get more money and Fuqua had to fulfill another project so Scott took his place as the director.

I still can't get King Arthur out of my head

Michael Clayton is on my list but I'll probably end up missing it in theaters because of this trip I have this weekend (I normally use the Thanksgiving weekend to catch up on movies)

 

[aria]

what the hell is that thing he carries around with him and kills people with? A pressurized nail//bolt gun or something? I wasn't really sure what it was when I watched the trailer but it looks like a nasty way to get murdered.

It's a captive-bolt pistol, also known as a cattle gun

I want to see "Lust, Caution" but still can't seem to find it.

Since its NC-17 its a bit harder to find as some theaters don't play them. I think the only NC-17 flick I saw in in theaters was the excellent and very unsettling L.I.E.

 

[BIG]

american gangster - i had high hopes for this film, but it fell way short of my expectations. denzel and crowe were great, but some of the supporting cast sucked ass. common looks, sounds, acts, and even DRESSES like himself and so did the RZA (his 'Wu-Tang' tattoo was clearly visible in one of the scenes)! come on people, it's supposed to be 1968! the story was okay, for the most part but it certainly wasn't the epic gangster-saga i had hoped for.

3/5 on the biggie scale.

 

[SouthtownKid]

I think the last new movie I saw in theater that really impressed me was Brick, and that was already a couple years ago. Since then, I can't think of anything that has done much for me.

Of old movies that I have just recently seen for the first time, the last one to impress me was Sergio Leone's 'Duck, You Sucker,' now finally released on dvd. Coburn rules.

I have also recently rewatched (and re-bought) all the Roger Moore Bond films, even though I already had all the old boxsets. The $9.99 single discs they've been releasing over the past year have commentary by Moore. That is definitely enough to get me to double-dip. He's the only Bond with the fucking grace to record commentary tracks, and except maybe for View to a Kill, they are very entertaining to listen to (and even that one has some good bits). Even 'Man With the Golden Gun,' my choice for far-and-away worst Bond movie in the series, is worth watching again with Roger Moore's commentary.

Roger Moore is cool as hell and a class act. His commentaries are peppered with occasional self-depreciating humor as he points out his own limitations as an actor. "Ah, here I am acting. I have two styles of acting: Left eyebrow up, left eyebrow down." As a Bond fan, it really means a lot to me that he chose to do this, when others, like Connery, can't lower themselves to doing commentary. For anyone who is even a casual Bond fan, I recommend checking these out.

 

[LoneSage]

Hey Kid, I've been wondering, what do you think of On Her Majesty's Secret Service (and your opinion on Lazenby's performance)?

 

[SouthtownKid]

Hey Kid, I've been wondering, what do you think of On Her Majesty's Secret Service (and your opinion on Lazenby's performance)?

Lazenby is not horrible in the role. And the movie is actually one of the best in the series... maybe tied with From Russia With Love as being closest to the original novel. Great story, great Bond girl, one of John Barry's greatest Bond scores, and a great climax and ending.

I think most Bond fans agree that if Connery had waited one more movie before leaving the role, Majesty's Secret Service would have been by far the best movie of the series.

And like I said, Lazenby isn't terrible. He's just not Connery (although he tries to play it like Connery). He's kind of the rebound girlfriend of the series. Having him come in and audiences reject him is what made audiences able to then accept Roger Moore. Kind of similar to Timothy Dalton soaking up all the negativity so that audiences could eventually accept Brosnan. Because Dalton suffered a lot for not being Roger Moore, even though he was actually an excellent Bond.

This is another subject I can ramble on about aimlessly, pretty much forever.

 

[DevilRedeemed]

I quite enjoyed the new Bond. such a nice change from Brosnan - who's a great actor but horrible, horrible Bond (IMO)

last film I watched: the Halloween Remake. what a bloody mess. just terrible. I mean I would have been somewhat entertained if I wasn't profoundly irritated. Rob Zombie missed big time here. what audacity to attempt to remake Carpenter's classic with uch little skill. the actors where little more than cardboard cutouts. child Micchael was ridiculous and pathettic - adult Michaael was only a site to behold when first introduced - the scene where he breaks out is amazingly dumb - this is not xmen.
very poor film that wanted to be something it had no clue how to be. the way it was filmed and the 'action' scenes where really bad.
Rob can't do horror movies to save his life. his music is rad though.


all this said - I'm off to watch Devil's Rejects.

 

[Darklighterx]

No Country For Old Men.
Simply fantastic! The acting was solid. Bardem was magnificent as always. Oscar nods for Brolin and Bardem on this.
Recommended.

 

[neobuyer]

3:10 to Yuma- QUITE good.

Christian Bale really is one of the coolest leading men working. Hard to believe he was a child actor. Gives a moody, taciturn performance that makes the role believable. Russell Crowe was really good, and likeable, as the outlaw leader. The kid that played Bale's older son was good. And the guy who played the outlaw's sadistic 2nd in command rocked. And it was nice because they didn't make him into some sort of rediculous super villain like they did Michael Beihn's (and Val Kilmer's) character in 'Tombstone'.

Near the end, it starts to get kind of (what feel like) rediculous- but then it all makes sense and you get to appreciate the power of the ending.

Best western since last years phenominal 'The Proposition' and better (by a bit) than Open Range.

 

[SouthtownKid]

I quite enjoyed the new Bond. such a nice change from Brosnan - who's a great actor but horrible, horrible Bond (IMO)

I thought Brosnan was pretty good (better than the movies they put him in) until the last one, when he seemed to go into Archie Bunker impersonator mode. Tomorrow Never Dies is my candidate for second-worst Bond movie of the series, but I liked Goldeneye some, and World in Not Enough a lot. Brosnan seemed to be trying to combine the Bond interpretations of Connery and Dalton, which I thought was an interesting mix when it was successful.

Full-on thread derail attempt. I blame lonestage.

 

[seba_boi]

Padora's Box (Pabst, 1928) - 8.0/10.0

It's a movie filled with a prostitute, a gambler, a lesbian, a drunkard, a murderer, a cheater, a blackmailer, yet they all never admit what they are... The story itself surrounds the infamous Lulu and the destruction she brings out to anyone she dare loves... She's one of the ultimate seductress for being totally innocent... This movie is all about the star... Louise Brooks is a shining gem that is forgotten among the mainstream but a remarkable face nontheless in the silent era...

Brick (Johnson, 2005) - 7.1

I really want to give this film a much higher score... But I just can't bring myself to... I've read and discussed on forums about how unconventional the dialogue is in this film; on how it follows the footsteps of hard-boiled detective stories (and film noirs) of Dashiell Hammett's and Raymond Chandler's of the 1930s... At first, I thought it might be highly unbelieavable and I would think the whole speaking thing's preposterous, but I was pleasantly surprised that this was not so!... I'm a big fan of film noirs of the past like The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, etc... And I can see where Brick draws its inspirations from... It even lifted some lines of dialogue off these stories... The colours as well were very limited that may be inspired by the gritty black and white tones of film noirs of the past... But this detective story is set in a highschool to give the movie a twist in settings... It's even complete with the femme fatale versions in highschool... But the difference in the old films I've found, is that I'm more immersed in the character interaction moreso than understanding the whole plot (took me about four times of watching to understand the 1946 version of The Big Sleep)... While at Brick, my care for these characters quickly dissipates and I end up trying to understanding the plot which is not good in detective film noirs... I don't think it's the actors' at fault--they all played their characters extremely well for a film noir "teen flick"... But there's really not much going on other than the thick plot and stylized acting... I can barely feel the chemistry between the characters and there's not many immersive scenes of character interactions and the witty word play put into solid use...

Metropolis (Lang, 1928) - 8.4

A movie I've seen years ago... I thought it was a little ho-hum at first... More of an historical artifact than entertainment... Well, after watching it again with the commentary and the DVD behind the making featurette, did I really appreciate the movie a lot more than the first time I saw it.... The music, the action, and especially the sets became more engaging and fascinating... The Tower of Babel in Metropolis looks like something out of a Final Fantasy game... The symbolisms were made more apparent and relevant thanks to the commentary as the direction of the film... Even the really hokey acting on some scenes seems easier to accept and appreciate the second time round as well--maybe because I was expecting it... Despite still having a large portion of the film lost, it's still worth a third or fourth or even more repeated viewings...

 

[Magician]

12 Angry Men (1957) - its been played alot on Turner Classic Movies these past couple months. What an excellent flick. 5/5 - must have, must see cinema.

 

[kernow]

I think the last new movie I saw in theater that really impressed me was Brick, and that was already a couple years ago. Since then, I can't think of anything that has done much for me.

Of old movies that I have just recently seen for the first time, the last one to impress me was Sergio Leone's 'Duck, You Sucker,' now finally released on dvd. Coburn rules.

I have also recently rewatched (and re-bought) all the Roger Moore Bond films, even though I already had all the old boxsets. The $9.99 single discs they've been releasing over the past year have commentary by Moore. That is definitely enough to get me to double-dip. He's the only Bond with the fucking grace to record commentary tracks, and except maybe for View to a Kill, they are very entertaining to listen to (and even that one has some good bits). Even 'Man With the Golden Gun,' my choice for far-and-away worst Bond movie in the series, is worth watching again with Roger Moore's commentary.

Roger Moore is cool as hell and a class act. His commentaries are peppered with occasional self-depreciating humor as he points out his own limitations as an actor. "Ah, here I am acting. I have two styles of acting: Left eyebrow up, left eyebrow down." As a Bond fan, it really means a lot to me that he chose to do this, when others, like Connery, can't lower themselves to doing commentary. For anyone who is even a casual Bond fan, I recommend checking these out.

yes! moore rocks, good taste sir

I'd rather watch a moore bond movie than any of the shit out today

 

[neobuyer]

I still think Roger Moore's bond was the 'horniest' Bond.

 

[Xian Xi]

I still think Roger Moore's bond was the 'horniest' Bond.

QFT. He was the Captain Kirk of the Bonds. Case and Point, Grace Jones. That is all the proof you need.

 

[Magician]

Cyrano de Bergerac (1950) - Jose Ferrer is phenominal in his role as the swordsman-poet, Cyrano de Bergerac. It's no wonder he won an Oscar for his effort. 5/5 a joy and delight to watch.

If Turner Classics keeps pumping out gems like this I may get hooked.

Theatre scene

 

[aria]

Finally saw two flicks (that I didn't have to pay for, and kept me busy on a long trans-Atlantic flight):


The Simpsons Movie: Others have put it perfectly: the first half is good, the second half is surprisingly lame. In a way, it's a microcosm of the TV series, which started out great and started to get lame around 2000. The movie's equivalent of the millennium is when they find themselves in Alaska and the whole thing just ceases to be interesting anymore. First half: 4/5; second half 2/5.

Transformers: Anyone who recommended this bullshit should be punished. I don't care how good the special effects were, this was classic awful screen writing, mindless Michael Bay direction, and a complete waste of time. I don't expect a high standard of logic in movies like this, but this was truly bottom-of-the-barrel on just about everything. I guess special effects just don't do it for me anymore. 1/5.

 

[norton9478]

I just watched Kickin it old school at a friend's house...

It is what it is.... But there is a nice 4 slot in there.

 

[Blue Steel]

"No country for old men" was really good. Other than that, I watched the Rambo trilogy and they left me really disappointed. Such dumb storylines and they bored me half to death.

 

[aria]

I watched the Rambo trilogy and they left me really disappointed. Such dumb storylines and they bored me half to death.

They work better when your mind isn't quite as formed --I liked them as a kid.

 

[Metal Slugnuts]

Transformers: Anyone who recommended this bullshit should be punished. I don't care how good the special effects were, this was classic awful screen writing, mindless Michael Bay direction, and a complete waste of time. I don't expect a high standard of logic in movies like this, but this was truly bottom-of-the-barrel on just about everything. I guess special effects just don't do it for me anymore. 1/5.

I'm surprised you even gave it that much.