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

[LoneSage]

Children of Men -- godDAMN.

that's all I have to say about that

really, really regret not seeing it in the theater

 

[aria]

Children of Men -- godDAMN.

that's all I have to say about that

really, really regret not seeing it in the theater

I was just thinking about that movie yesterday. I got a chance to see it in theaters about a year ago, loved it --and the fact that I still occasionally think about it means a lot. It apparently did quite a rewrite of the book, where society isn't really violent anymore. I think Wikipedia has a summary of the novel version.

I need to see "There Will be Blood", but I'm probably going to see "Atonement" tonight... meh, but its apparently supposed to be really good.

 

[Rade K]

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

This film had so much potential, but it falls flat on it's face half the time. I'm a big John C Reilly fan, so I pretty much had to see this, but even his performance couldn't save this mess of a mostly unfunny film.

One of the biggest faults this movie has is the performance of the female cast. The women who played Dewey's wives (the girl from the US version of The Office played his second wife) have no comedic timing whatsoever, and live by the louder=funnier school of acting. It's embarrassing to watch.

The film is too long.

Too much of what the Dewey Cox character does is forced. John C Reilly is most hilarious when he's subtle, as in the scene where he complains about custody of his children being forced on him (I have to admit, seeing a half naked John C on a bad trip throwing a car a-la the 1970s TV Hulk was incredible, so it wasn't all bad).

The best thing in the film was Tim Meadows' frequent washroom drug scenes where he tells Dewey, "you don't want anything to do with [random drug]", only to convince him otherwise. Really brilliant stuff.

Other than that, this was John C Reilly's film, and if you want to see him go insane, you have to see it.

If I were to critically sum up Walk Hard (which I'm doing right now), I would have to say it's not as funny as it thinks it is.

 

[beatifik]

ok, so i'm going to see THERE WILL BE BLOOD for sure. but to balance it up i need to go to a more girly movie to please the lady.

would you go see

JUNO

or

I'M NOT THERE

?

 

[Rade K]

ok, so i'm going to see THERE WILL BE BLOOD for sure. but to balance it up i need to go to a more girly movie to please the lady.

would you go see

JUNO

or

I'M NOT THERE

?

Juno.

Women love Juno. Even if they say it looks stupid, they love watching shit like that.

 

[rarehero]

i watched pi the other day since my roomie had it.
i just didn't like it. too jarring. but a nice looking project.
black and white, very raw. but not really my cup of tea.
i'm not too big a fan of the directors other stuff either though.

 

[BIG]

ok, so i'm going to see THERE WILL BE BLOOD for sure. but to balance it up i need to go to a more girly movie to please the lady.

would you go see

JUNO

or

I'M NOT THERE

?

juno fo sho.

atleast it's funny.

 

[aria]

ok, so i'm going to see THERE WILL BE BLOOD for sure. but to balance it up i need to go to a more girly movie to please the lady.

would you go see

JUNO

or

I'M NOT THERE

?

Juno: One of the best movies of the year, surprisingly good.

The trailers for this movie looked like it might have something going for it (same director as "thank you for smoking"), but I got really interested once the first wave of (glowing) reviews came out several weeks ago. I arrived in Minneapolis last week, and I checked it out yesterday. I already went in with some hype, having read a half-dozen reviews. The movie still surprised. It's a comedy, but its characters are much deeper than you'd expect. The has a great opening moment, but then has a stretch that makes you nervous that its going to be too hip for its own good (it makes you think "I'll keep all of this material in a holding pen and see how this story turns out"). Then the script gets down to business, and by the time Juno confronts her parents, the movie changes into something very good. Characters defy expectations.

[highlight][START MINOR SPOILER] Jennifer Garner is probably the best example. I really didn't care about her character, it reminded me of a low-rent Charolette from Sex in the City, but there's a sequence where her performance will blow away your expectations. I now respect her as an actress (I had no opinion before) based on this performance. I was told the ending had a minor twist, and I thought I had it figured out only to be pleasantly surprised. [END MINOR SPOILER][/highlight]

The whole cast is exceptional: their performances bring out nuances in an already nuanced script. Ellen Page manages to bring herself over the rest by keeping the character believable (and the whole movie rests on her shoulders). The ending is particularly satisfying --and more affecting that you'd really expect. This movie is going to do well with nominations, it might not win --which is a damn shame-- but

5/5

I'd call this a "must see", this is possibly the best movie I've seen this (Oscar) year so far.

 

[aria]

Atonement: On a bunch of top-10 lists, but last night I wanted to start a chant of "Oh-ver-ray-ted (clap. clap. clap-clap-clap)..." The movie is competently told and acted, but the story just isn't that interesting. It's based off of a popular novel, but, as one review I read confirmed, it really reduces the book down to a cliff-notes summary that doesn't feel very powerful or compelling. The whole story hinges on a really lame (albeit believable) "mistake" that screws some of the characters. While I was hoping for some interesting resolution (good or bad), you get stuck with an ending that's a let down --an ending that's trying to have more emotional sway, but the problem is the movie never really builds enough care for any of the major characters. The whole thing feels like a bunch of stuck-up British people looking and acting constipated. A complete let down movie.

3/5, should not be nominated --or win, anything save for maybe one or two acting noms

 

[abasuto]

Saw No Country For Old Men tonight.

Javier Bardem was the movie to me. Total badass.

I also like how it ended.

As much as I like Woody Harrelson, I think his brief role in the movie was completely out of place. Entire movie has a grim raw vibe to it and my g/f pointed out how no one ever smiles in the movie, then Woody pops up and is all smiling and chipper at first (he gets serious though ). That first scene of him all smiling and happy acting just didn't fit with the rest of the movie.

Overall, a great job of taking a really simple plot and making a very atmospheric movie around it.

4.50/5

 

[Magician]

There Will Be Blood - Drama staring Daniel Day-Lewis, plays the role of a Texas oil tycoon who loves nobody else but himself. The picture is more proof that, aside from my dislike of Day-Lewis's choice in roles, the man can flat out act. Unlike say...Will Smith in I Am Legend, Daniel Day-Lewis doesn't need the crutch of comedy or action scenes to help carry a picture from beginning to end. Day-Lewis knows how to delve (pun intended) into the heart and soul of a character on paper and bring that person to life on screen like few others can. Also, Paul Dano as Eli and Paul Sunday, provides a few energetic scenes and adds some levity to an otherwise slowly paced movie.

4/5 - As dramas go, I was not enthraled. But Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano were superb enough to help curb There Will Be Blood's slow pacing.

 

[djdelly]

There Will Be Blood - Drama staring Daniel Day-Lewis, plays the role of a Texas oil tycoon who loves nobody else but himself. The picture is more proof that, aside from my dislike of Day-Lewis's choice in roles, the man can flat out act. Unlike say...Will Smith in I Am Legend, Daniel Day-Lewis doesn't need the crutch of comedy or action scenes to help carry a picture from beginning to end. Day-Lewis knows how to delve (pun intended) into the heart and soul of a character on paper and bring that person to life on screen like few others can. Also, Paul Dano as Eli and Paul Sunday, provides a few energetic scenes and adds some levity to an otherwise slowly paced movie.

4/5 - As dramas go, I was not enthraled. But Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano were superb enough to help curb There Will Be Blood's slow pacing.

It was long and the seats at the Uptown as soooooo uncomfortable, but I really enjoyed the movie.

5/5

 

[Nesagwa]

Saw FIDO last night.

I was surprised that it was a lot less of a comedy than I expected. More a look at how society would adjust if we actually did have a situation like this. I guess you could apply a lot of what it said to cloning and robotics, what it is to be human and where to draw the line between us and them, but maybe Im just reading into it too much. Its really bizarre how they used a simple boy and his dog type story set in a squeaky clean Leave it to Beaver society. Death is so common place it just feels.... odd.

A completely different experience than something like Shaun of the Dead, but still good.

 

[djdelly]

After being reminded....

The score was horrid... absolutely horrid. I know it can be hard to do period music with a period movie, but it was just a huge mess.... I'm sure it was done to represent Daniel Day-Lewis's character, but I didn't like it at all.

 

[melchia]

The Bucket List - It was funny but in a 'heart-warming' kind of way, reminding audiences that "it's never too late."

Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman did excellent jobs portraying the characters they were supposed to be, and the two primary supporting roles were excellent as well. My only problem with the film was its predictability - still a worthwhile movie, though.

 

[Segata_Sanshiro]

I also like how it ended.

You're the first person I've talked to who did Abbie. I think I might if I watched it again and were concentrating on it and managed to understand what the hell he was talking about.

This movie was great though. Not a total classic like Lebowski but more than worth seeing. I especially liked the setting, some of the landscapes (is that the right word?) are amazing

 

[aria]

After being reminded....

The score was horrid... absolutely horrid. I know it can be hard to do period music with a period movie, but it was just a huge mess.... I'm sure it was done to represent Daniel Day-Lewis's character, but I didn't like it at all.

The weird thing was it was by the guitarist from Radiohead...

since we're all chiming in (MN Crew movie night), here's my own opinion of

There Will be Blood: There was indeed blood, so the title alone gets an "A" for accuracy. I got a kick out of the fact it was set around where I grew up in and around Bakersfield (specifically western Kern County) --though it was obvious they didn't film it there (I stayed for the end credits and it was filmed in Texas). The plot was interesting, Daniel Day Lewis shows how you can be a great actor without subtlety, and the cinematography was solid... but to me it felt like film that reached, without holding anything back, for greatness but just fell a bit short. There's something about the movie that felt it could've been something a bit more... but I'll be damned if I can think of what. Yes, the ending is a bit off-putting, but I felt it was appropriate. I could tell it was very, very vaguely based off a famous USC donor Edward Doheny (he was nothing like the main character here), and that made the ending even more interesting --I thought they really did a good job of capturing that lesser-portrayed period of time in Southern California (the only other major flick I can think of is Chinatown). Satisfying movie, in a strange way --but I think I've seen better this year. 4.5/5

 

[aria]

You're the first person I've talked to who did Abbie. I think I might if I watched it again and were concentrating on it and managed to understand what the hell he was talking about.

This movie was great though. Not a total classic like Lebowski but more than worth seeing. I especially liked the setting, some of the landscapes (is that the right word?) are amazing

I actually liked the ending too. Not just the final monologue, but the stuff before it. It was evil, but it wrapped up the story as it was.

 

[GunstarHero]

I just watched Tremors in HD. First time I've seen the movie, fucking hilarious man. "God Damn underground monsters"...Michael Gross is superb.

 

[aria]

I just watched Tremors in HD. First time I've seen the movie, fucking hilarious man. "God Damn underground monsters"...Michael Gross is superb.

Tremors 2 was surprisingly watchable... I still laugh at the line "I think I was denied some need to know information" --which will not ruin the movie but people who saw it will probably remember.

 

[terry.330]

Boogie Nights- first time watching this in quite a while. Awesome, all star cast, great direction and art direction, soundtrack shit the whole thing is just great.

Best line: " I'm a simple man, I like simple pleasures like butter in my ass and lolipops in my mouth. Thats just me call me a pervert but thats what I like "

lol

4.5/5

 

[talks2wall]

Eastern Promises: I must have missed this when it was in theaters but I just finished it on DVD and really enjoyed it. Deals with the Russian mafia in London, but it is much more than just another gangster movie. Viggo Mortensen was great and I found Naomi Watts to be much more impressive than she was in King Kong. 4/5

 

[Hot Chocolate]

First Sunday
-Horrible

27 Dresses
-Horrible

P.S. I Love You
-Someone shoot me

 

[Steve]

The Bucket List - It was funny but in a 'heart-warming' kind of way, reminding audiences that "it's never too late."

Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman did excellent jobs portraying the characters they were supposed to be, and the two primary supporting roles were excellent as well. My only problem with the film was its predictability - still a worthwhile movie, though.

Just caught it today. Agreed, well worth seeing. Not the best ever, but very good, very enjoyable. Reminds me a bit of Reign Over Me.


As for Tremors, the last one, part 4, is a guilty pleasure for moi. From Black Hand Kelly to Michael Gross once more returning... pretty good for a low budget straight to video comedy monster flick. IIRC, he repeats that "Need to know" line.

 

[neobuyer]

Doctor Strangelove Special Edition: One of my top 5 films of all time (and one of two Kubrick flicks on that particular list) has finally come to me on DVD, via Christmas giving. The documentary is aces, the special features are quite nice. But really and truly- George C Scott and Peter Sellers are two of the brightest, most gleaming lights in movies ever. Strangelove is so good it's rediculous.

Alien Vs Predator: Requiem: This movie, oddly enough, is considerably worse than the first AVP movie. It sucks HARD. It's basically a movie with the plot of Dawn of the Dead or maybe ( an even more cringeworthy) Resident Evil. It's shit, the concept is shit and the direction is shit. Worst movie since Tim Burton's 'Planet of the Apes' remake. And that is saying something.