NOW CLOSED ; List some movies you've watched recently. Theatre, rental, TV... and give a */10

[Locut0s]

Green Latern Blake Lively/10 Uhh I mean 6.5/10 - An enjoyable enough comic book film I suppose. Don't go in expecting too much and you should be ok. It get's a little too childish in places for my tastes but I can forgive it that given the source material. Didn't care for some of the CGI, like Hal Jordan's mask which tended to make him look like a cartoon character, but other aspects were well enough done. Acting is pretty cheesy in places. Paralax is a bit of a throwaway villain I must say. But yeah damn Blake Lively is smokin here!

Thor 7.5/10 - Another relatively good comic book adaptation. Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston do a good job realizing Thor and Loki respectively and I like the use of Loki as a somewhat subtler villain, well as comic book villains go anyway. They manage to walk the line between camp and dead pan well enough without overdoing either one too much. Can't say I cared all that much for the "Day the earth stood still" inspired protector robot but meh again it's a comic book film. The ending feels a little anticlimactic and makes you more aware than you should be that this is just a setup for the coming Avengers flick.

 

[Locut0s]

Source Code 8.5/10 - One of the best thrillers I've seen in a long time. The Sci-Fi concept of reliving the same moment in time over and over is not new. Groundhog day and numerous TV series have gone over this ground before. But none of them manage to capture the concept as concisely or in as gripping a manner as source code. Without giving anything away the concept is we have Captain Colter Stevens on board a Chicago bound train. His mission? To stop an imminent terrorist attack and save the lives of everyone onboard. Or at least that's what it seems to be on the surface. The reality is, well I won't give it away but suffice it to say a lot more is going on here than meets the eye and this much is apparent in oh say, the first 8 minutes Everything about the film is so tightly wound, and precisely timed, it's a joy to watch. Jake Gyllenhaal does a fantastic job here and thank goodness as the whole film rests on his shoulders. Michelle Monaghan, could she be cuter here? , who plays his love interest is equally good, though she's relegated to a supporting role. The rest of the cast is also strong, though I found Jeffrey Wright's Dr. Rutledge to be a little cliched. But I'm nit picking there. In any film of this type there are some issues of logic. There was a moment or two where I caught myself saying "okay given what you have told us that shouldn't be possible". But they are fleeting moments and the films momentum quickly carries you past them. Personally I would have preferred to have ended the film a few scenes earlier. The last "kiss" scene would have been a perfect cutoff point IMHO. The rest of the film after that only seems to serve to rap up loose ends that really don't need tying up and to set us up for possible sequels which frankly I don't want to see.

 

[pontifex]

Killer Elite - 7/10 - action scenes are pretty good. story is a bit weird.

 

[epidemis]

Community S1: 8 1/2 stars

Slow start but I think I became hooked around the time they introduced the greendale human being. In think in some ways it's a spiritual successor to scrubs, it's definitely zany enough

 

[KeithTalent]

Moneyball - 5/10: Boy, pretty disappointing and surprisingly boring movie, particularly after seeing last year's Social Network which moved along at a great pace. The first 15-20 minutes of this in-particular were very boring and as far as I'm concerned it never really recovered. When it did feel as if there was a bit of momentum building, with some interesting player analysis or trade work, the film would grin to a halt again with one of those painful flashbacks or a scene with his weiner kid. Brad Pitt was good as he always is, but he was far, far better in Tree of Life and as for Jonah Hill, who I generally really like, well he was ok I guess, but I think the role could have been done better by someone else, or maybe there was just not enough there to have an interesting character. Pretty forgettable film.

KT

 

[KeithTalent]

A Separation - 7.5/10:
Sigh. Big let down. This movie surely was not entertaining, so that puts all the pressure on the message, and it missed with me.

The movie started slow, the first third was basically setting the stage for the rest, showing us a bit about Iranian culture. I felt like it was trying a bit too hard to show that they aren't too different from the western world, but I'm not sure what it's really like over there. The middle of the movie gets a little interesting, I can't really explain why without giving anything away, but things happen and the movie picks up a little.

The rest sort of fizzles. There are some relatively powerful moments here and there, but not really. More like a few decent moments that actually convey some sort of message. What this message is, I'm not completely sure, nor did I really care. I wanted to, but unfortunately I didn't. Maybe this movie works as some sort of political message, but if so it went over my head. At least the acting was phenomenal all around

morning after edit: to expand a little bit, the whole thing was a little one note and very straight forward. Maybe I couldn't relate to the movie(as I couldn't with The Descendants) , or maybe this was an achievment in Iranian filmmaking. The story did feel very real but I found myself bored

Hmm, well that's a shame. I'm taking Monday off and am going to try and squeeze this one in. I've already seen two of the Best Foreign nominees, so may as well see the rest especially since this one is far and away the favourite.

The Tree of Life - 3.0 / 10

Oh gosh what a let-down.

I was hugely looking forward to this movie as sci-fi dramas are far and away my favorite movie genre. 2001 is fantastic of course, and a few years back Aronofsky's The Fountain left me dumbstruck and is now my favorite movie ever.

Tree of Life however I found dull and I just couldn't get invested in the characters or story. That, and the inclusion of lots of overly hazy metaphorical imagery made it feel as if someone was beating me over the head with firm pillow while yelling "This movie is profound!".

I think I see that the film was showing how all the stages of one's life, the events and emotions one experiences, and time and the greater cosmos are all connected; and indeed it was successful at that.

But man, it's a movie and you should enjoy watching it.

I imagine it's a slog if you are not invested by the first 20 minutes. Fortunately for me I was sucked right in and the film did not let me go until the end.

Source Code 8.5/10 - One of the best thrillers I've seen in a long time. The Sci-Fi concept of reliving the same moment in time over and over is not new. Groundhog day and numerous TV series have gone over this ground before. But none of them manage to capture the concept as concisely or in as gripping a manner as source code. Without giving anything away the concept is we have Captain Colter Stevens on board a Chicago bound train. His mission? To stop an imminent terrorist attack and save the lives of everyone onboard. Or at least that's what it seems to be on the surface. The reality is, well I won't give it away but suffice it to say a lot more is going on here than meets the eye and this much is apparent in oh say, the first 8 minutes Everything about the film is so tightly wound, and precisely timed, it's a joy to watch. Jake Gyllenhaal does a fantastic job here and thank goodness as the whole film rests on his shoulders. Michelle Monaghan, could she be cuter here? , who plays his love interest is equally good, though she's relegated to a supporting role. The rest of the cast is also strong, though I found Jeffrey Wright's Dr. Rutledge to be a little cliched. But I'm nit picking there. In any film of this type there are some issues of logic. There was a moment or two where I caught myself saying "okay given what you have told us that shouldn't be possible". But they are fleeting moments and the films momentum quickly carries you past them. Personally I would have preferred to have ended the film a few scenes earlier. The last "kiss" scene would have been a perfect cutoff point IMHO. The rest of the film after that only seems to serve to rap up loose ends that really don't need tying up and to set us up for possible sequels which frankly I don't want to see.

Wright was the worst thing in the film, but I enjoyed everything around it and Gyllenhaal was surprisingly charismatic. He is usually pretty bland, but I quite liked him here.

KT

 

[KeithTalent]

How I met your mother (S1)- WTF is this shit/10

Will post review later tomorrow.

Haha! I've only watched a few episodes of this, but it was terrible. Almost as bad as The Big Bang Theory. Almost.

KT

 

[slayer202]

Hmm, well that's a shame. I'm taking Monday off and am going to try and squeeze this one in. I've already seen two of the Best Foreign nominees, so may as well see the rest especially since this one is far and away the favourite.

KT

Clearly I'm in the minority so I'm interested in your opinion.

And it's good to know I shouldn't feel bad about skipping Moneyball.

 

[Imp]

Lost in Translation - 4.5 + ___ /10

I only watched the second half (again), so I'll give the other half a score once I get around to it. Simple, yet elegant and deep movie. Reminds me a little bit of Magnolia in terms of theme, but style is not remotely comparable. And ScarJo when she was still 19...

 

[Imp]

Well..it WAS based off a cartoon...

Guess I was hoping for a more "believable" adaptation. Transformers wasn't that bad in that regard.

 

[MustangSVT]

Last Emperor (HD). 1000000000000000/10

it was even more amazing than I remember. Great score as well.

 

[MustangSVT]

The Drive 8/10

I didn't like the cheesy "hipster" music that was cutout for each scene and over the top "oooh we love each other!!! sooo much", but the whole movie had much more character than anything in recent years. Love the 80s feel.

 

[MustangSVT]

Money Ball 6/10

It was ok.. but it felt like Brad pitt masturbating to himself the whole time.

 

[busydude]

Haha! I've only watched a few episodes of this, but it was terrible. Almost as bad as The Big Bang Theory. Almost.

KT

This thing went on for 7 seasons. WTF?

Ok, I liked NPH a lot. I think that is the only reason this show has been going on.

Jason Segel and Alyson make a pretty nice couple. That is everything what's good about this show. The central plot is so freaking idiotic.

That guy's obsession with Robin.. in real life.. he would have been branded as a psychopath. The only redeeming thing about this show is the hot girls.

 

[A Casual Fitz]

Haha! I've only watched a few episodes of this, but it was terrible. Almost as bad as The Big Bang Theory. Almost.

KT

How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men all garbage yet idiots love them.

 

[allenk09]

Jack And Jill - 0.1/10 - it made me laugh once, otherwise it was the worst movie I think I've ever seen.

 

[DirkGently1]

Hugo - 9/10

A totally spectacular movie! I wish there were more of this quality.

 

[Aquila76]

Haha! I've only watched a few episodes of this, but it was terrible. Almost as bad as The Big Bang Theory. Almost.

KT

Thank you for that; I thought I was alone. My wife thinks these two shows are the greatest things in the history of TV, and I just wanna punch the TV whenever either is on.

 

[Aquila76]

In the Netflix movie system, the worst sci-fi movies are handled by Instant Streaming. These are their ratings. (I was also on a Law & Order: Criminal Intent marathon).

Toxic Skies - 5/10
This is your basic Government conspiracy + pharmaceutical companies are evil = chemtrails movie. Anne Heche must've needed a mortgage payment or something to take this one. Anyway, people start showing up (and eventually die) in an ER with a combo of weakened immune systems and an exotic virus. The ER doctor (Anne Heche) starts researching causes and, of course, chemtrails. The government comes in and quarantines the town to prevent outbreak. The doctor falls in with a conspiracy theory group, and they

Spoiler

team up to save the day by breaking into and stealing the antidote from the pharmaceutical company that's creating chemtrails at the behest of the government

.

Tornado! - 7/10
This was basically Twister, but a lot more tongue-in-cheek with Bruce Campbell and Ernie Hudson. The only difference here is the two guys are trying to get their tornado recording machine to work before they lose their funding.

Spoiler

Of course, it works! This is a movie, after all.

L.Q. Jones is also in this as Grandpa, whose Tornado Sense tingles better than any NOAA equipment could dream.

Devil Winds - 2/10
The only reason I give this higher than a 1 is because of Nicole Eggert. Otherwise, this was pretty terrible. A CDC office is constructed smack in the middle of Tornado Alley (why?), was built by a shoddy local construction worker (what?), and of course, a tornado threatens to tear the building apart spreading a super-plague across the world (how?). Oh, and there's some unnecessary "angsty teen reconciles with her father" thrown in. None of this movie made any sense.

Fire From Below - 5/10
Kevin Sorbo stars in this one. Miners are digging up an unusual vein of pure lithium that seeks and destroys water. I mean, like an angry fire snake seeks and destroys water in all forms - people, lakes, outhouse, some dude peeing in a marsh (my favorite 2nd scene in this movie, btw).
My favorite scene in this is where Dr. Denning (Sorbo) is illustrating how lithium reacts with water, creating fire. He cuts open a Duracell coppertop (an ALKALINE battery) and drops it in a drinking glass full of water. It nearly blows a hole in the conference table. So wrong on so many levels.

The Final Storm - 1/10
This gets a 1 purely because of Lauren Holly's sideboob. The rest of this movie is crap. There is no storm, just some heavy rain and a fallen tree branch. Then some weirdo named Silas (Luke Perry) shows up, some townspeople disappear, the rest of the town goes The Crazies, the father (Telemachus from Andromeda) gets drunk - a lot, Silas turns out to be

Spoiler

the prior owner of the house who killed his own family and tries to kill this one, too. The family kills Silas first

and then

Spoiler

the universe ends. Yeah, the ENTIRE universe

. Just awful.

Organism - 7/10
Thank God I ended my sci-fi night with this one. At least this one made sense (well compared to the rest). A military base is being swept for any danger before being handed over to a Native American settlement. In doing so, a non-military person (Frank) is triggered to warn them of a horrible danger. They find a floating body infected with an indestructible organism that of course, escapes and feeds off any kind of energy it finds (solar, heat, fire, etc. Bullets apparently are energy now, too.) It spreads like kudzu across the area, killing everyone in it's path. Eventually, Frank finds out that

Spoiler

his father was the one in the tank, created this organism, and incubated it inside himself. Frank's blood can kill it, so he travels to the center of the organism & bleeds on it

, saving the day.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Haha! I've only watched a few episodes of this, but it was terrible. Almost as bad as The Big Bang Theory. Almost.

KT

Gah! HIMYM is horrible. It is on par with "According to Jim." Seriously god awful. My wife forces me to watch that show and I swear I would rather be waterboarded in Guantanimo.

While I was once a big fan of BBT, it has fallen off significantly the last season or so. But it is still FAR better than HIMYM.

Last two movies I watched were Pixar's flicks:

Cars (1) - 8.5/10. Good animation. Good wholesome story. Exceptional voice acting by larry the cable guy. Wish the the main character was voiced by anyone other than Owen Wilson, who is perhaps the douchiest actor in hollywood.

Cars (2) - 4.5/10 - My son loves this movie, but I cannot get into it. Where is the wholesome story that is at the heart of (almost) all Pixar flicks? Why is there (implied) torture in a kids movie? What a let down.

 

[AstroManLuca]

The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick / 10

Fixed that for ya. It seems that Terrence Malick's films are either loved or loathed by those that watch them. Either they're the deepest, most meaningful and beautiful pieces of artistic expression, or they're pretentious incomprehensible crap.

I watched The Thin Red Line a few years ago and couldn't even stay awake so I just avoid all of his movies now; they're not for me.

 

[shortylickens]

I now have a new record: 3 minutes.

Disaster Movie.


Can anyone tell me if I missed some tits or ass?

 

[Anubis]

The Borrower Arrietty (The Secret World of Arrietty) - 8/10 (i watched the orig not the US Dub)

Another fantistic anime out of Studio Ghibli - thos one was not directed by Miyazaki but he wrote the screenplay. Very similar to the other greats from the studio (mononoke, spirited away,...) The story of a girl and her family who are tiny and live under the floor of a house and (borrow) things from humans. Animation quality is top notch as always, the story is simple but extreamly well done. If you are an anime fan and or a fan of Ghibli you will like this. if you have kids they will like it as well.

It was just released in the US on the 17th, i cant comment on the dub but Disney generally does a good job with the dubs for Ghibli

 

[shortylickens]

DAMN!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213644/

24th worst movie EVER!

Wish I'd known that before I put it in my queue.

 

[slayer202]

In the Loop - 8/10:
British political black comedy/satire. I'm pretty sure this has been reviewed a number of times here, and I believe it's well liked. I was tempted to turn it off during the first five minutes, I didn't like how it started. It seemed like the humor was based on the ranting obscene insults that weren't funny at all, with a couple lame sarcastic remarks. There were a few of these "jokes" throughout the movie, but there were also some real funny scenarios as well. The movie has a nice large cast and some good characters. Maybe a bit too many, but still solid.


Hud - 8.5/10:
Paul Newman stars as heavily drinking, sleeps with married women, Hud. The story revolves around Hud, his father, and his nephew who work on their cattle ranch. Sick cows force them to work together and Hud clashes with his father.

It's not Newman's best movie, but it is a pretty great and somewhat different performance for him. Patricia Neal is beautifully wonderful


One, Two, Three - 9/10:
Billy Wilder directed, James Cagney starring. It's a story of a Coca-Cola executive in West Berlin near the border of East Berlin. He is soon given the task of looking after the daughter of his boss who comes to visit. This is a comedy of the screwball variety, mostly based on East/West capitalist/communist humor. It's a friggin riot. More than a laugh a minute. Very funny stuff