List some movies you've watched recently. Theatre, rental, TV...

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Sep 29, 2004
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Original enough. I keep hearing people harp on this, just makes me wonder what an Original Story is? Every basic Plot has been told before, what's different from Story to Story is Setting mostly.

As an example, I watched K-Pax last night. Not perfect but pretty darned close to an original story. Also watched Let The Right One In. Now that is an orignal story! Let The Right One In is about a 12 year old that befriends a 12 year old vampire. It is a must see!

Movies like Avatar are OK for younger people. They like the shiny lights and the story IS new to them. At 34 (my age), I just have a hard time finding interesting stories. And special effects mean nothing to me unless they add to the story.

The issue with Avatar is that it is a story that has been told many times. It's forgetable.



Let The Right One In: 9/10 - everyone should see this unelss you don't like the sight of blood.
from wikpiedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_the_Right_One_In
Let the Right One In (Swedish: Låt den rätte komma in), also known as Let Me In, is a 2004 vampire fiction novel by Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist. The story centers on the relationship between a 12-year-old boy, Oskar, and a centuries-old vampire child, Eli. It takes place in Blackeberg, a working class suburb of Stockholm, in the early 1980s. The book focuses on the darker side of humanity, dealing with issues such as bullying, drugs, theft, pedophilia, prostitution and murder as well as the obvious supernatural themes.
 
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DesiPower

Lifer
Nov 22, 2008
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21 - 3.5/5

Not sure why, but really liked the movie, good story and fast paced, end was kinda not so good...
 

KeithTalent

Elite Member | Administrator | No Lifer
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Nov 30, 2005
50,231
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Smart People - 5.5/10: Usually I like this type of film, with a dysfunctional family and asshole, quirky characters (particularly when those characters are played by Dennis Quaid and Thomas Hayden Church), but this one kind of fell flat for me. I guess I can only really blame the writing and maybe the directing to a degree, since I never really found the dialogue to be that clever, which is paramount for me in a film like this, plus many of the scenarios felt contrived. I didn't hate it and I even chuckled here and there (manily when Church was on screen) but I'd rather just watch The Squid and the Whale, which does this sort of thing much, much better.

KT
 

Loop2kil

Platinum Member
Mar 28, 2004
2,605
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Grown Ups - 5/10 - Does Hollywood even try anymore?? While there were a couple of funny parts that actually kept me from walking out, the movie sucked as a whole. It felt like every cut scene was done in 1 take regardless of the acting quality. Multi-star comedies usually suck and this one lives up to the trend. It's like they spend all the budget getting the actors to commit to doing the movie which leaves no budget left for actually creating a good movie and they rush through it to arrive at a final product.
 

Beev

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2006
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Watched Spartacus for the first time. 10/10 is all I can say. It's terrific. :)
 

Gigantopithecus

Diamond Member
Dec 14, 2004
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Dog Soldiers: 5/10. Perfectly entertaining and disposable movie about a small military unit's run in with werewolves during a training exercise. Some amusingly over the top gore.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
The Sorcerer's Apprentice - 7.5/10: While it didn't do too great in the reviews, I thought it wasn't too bad. The only complaint you could probably make is that Bruschel plays the exact same character... that he's played in every single movie. I mean, it fits and all, but one act wonders get a bit stale after seeing them constantly. Cage wasn't too bad in the film... it actually felt like a zany version of his Big Daddy character from Kick Ass.
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,241
5,810
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Feardotcom 6/10--Not bad. I seem to recall a bunch of hate for this movie when it first came out, but that's probably just IT Guys over reacting. As a Horror-Mystery type movie it's ok. Acting was alright, Story so-so, not really Scary, perhaps a little freaky, at least once I wanted to slap a Character for being stupid. Had a resemblance to House on Haunted Hill, likely made by the same guys, but I didn't check.
 

Regs

Lifer
Aug 9, 2002
16,665
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Knight and Day - 1/5


It was a little over the top on ridiculousness. The movie got so cheesy by the end I just picked up and left the movie theater. The movie did not engage the audience with any type of story, and the plot actually took a dive after the first 30 minutes of the movie instead of rising.
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
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Harry Potter:
OK, Sorcerers Stone was alright, but over the past week I've watched all 6 and I have to say they get less impressive as they go on.
Just finished the Half Blood Prince and it seemed to be the weakest in terms of plot and story telling. Aside from the visuals I cant understand why these movies are so insanely popular.

I sincerely hope the new movies are much better.
 

Nerva

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Jul 26, 2005
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Started watching the HBO series Rome. Pretty intriguing and faithful to history. My only complaint so far: should have picked someone hotter to play Cleopatra, though I suppose how hot she is historically is in debate
 

KeithTalent

Elite Member | Administrator | No Lifer
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Nov 30, 2005
50,231
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116
Started watching the HBO series Rome. Pretty intriguing and faithful to history. My only complaint so far: should have picked someone hotter to play Cleopatra, though I suppose how hot she is historically is in debate

I saw the Blu-ray box used the other day and was seriously considering getting it, but I don't really know anybody that has actually watched it, so not sure how good it was.

KT
 

ZOOYUKA

Platinum Member
Jan 24, 2005
2,460
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Avatar 1/10-- Wow! What a turd! I had high expectations for this movie, but was terribly disappointed.

While the effects were cool, they got stale very quickly. Pandora looked like someone turned a black light on. I kept expecting to see a Grateful Dead poster hanging on one of the trees.

The plot was completely unoriginal. The only thing I can truly say I've never seen before is the genitalia they had in their pony tails. Those blue people will stick their hair dicks in anything. lol
 

CoinOperatedBoy

Golden Member
Dec 11, 2008
1,809
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I saw the Blu-ray box used the other day and was seriously considering getting it, but I don't really know anybody that has actually watched it, so not sure how good it was.

KT

It's good, but I would not purchase the box set. It's an entertaining show that's better than most, but I don't see much reason to give it a second watch. The extras were a bit underwhelming as well.
 

KeithTalent

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Nov 30, 2005
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It's good, but I would not purchase the box set. It's an entertaining show that's better than most, but I don't see much reason to give it a second watch. The extras were a bit underwhelming as well.

Ahh, ok, good to know. Thanks. I was really just interested to see what I believe is the most expensive show ever made.

KT
 

CoinOperatedBoy

Golden Member
Dec 11, 2008
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Ahh, ok, good to know. Thanks. I was really just interested to see what I believe is the most expensive show ever made.

KT

Is it? I didn't realize that. They did build a pretty amazing set, which the extras do cover in some detail. I wish they could have stretched things out a bit more; season 2 felt rushed (and it was, due to their impending cancellation). Still a good show, definitely worth a watch.
 

KeithTalent

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Nov 30, 2005
50,231
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RiP: A Remix Manifesto - 7/10: An interesting documentary on copyright and intellectual property, that unfortunately is pretty much completely one-sided and self-serving. That does not make it less interesting, it just seems to be a missed opportunity and makes me downgrade the film a bit. The doc stems from the filmmaker's interest in a guy/artis named Girl Talk, who essentially mashes together a bunch of popular songs into a new piece of music. It delves into the legality of all that and the various areas of IP and copyright and how they came to be and are being used, or not, throughout the world (it's pretty US-centric though) since that is where it is the biggest issue. Anyway, it is very well presented and interesting, I just wish he would have taken a bit more time to show a counter-argument. You can watch the whole thing on Youtube if you are interested.

The Celebration (Festen) - 9.5/10: This was just amazing. A Danish film from 1998 made following the Dogme 95 principles (camera must be handheld, no special lighting, etc. they are all here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogme_95#Goals_and_rules ) that is not only a fascinating exercise in filmmaking, but an awesome, though somewhat disturbing, story. It follows a large, wealthy family get-together, with some skeletons in the closet. All of the characters were fascinating and did such an excellent job; there was humour, sadness, horror, I mean it really had everything. I was absolutely fascinated by this film and it is something I want to re-watch very soon. There are definitely times where it looks like absolute shit, which is understandable, particularly given there are night scenes without being able to use any additional light, but it did not matter, I loved it.

KT
 

KeithTalent

Elite Member | Administrator | No Lifer
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Nov 30, 2005
50,231
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116
Is it? I didn't realize that. They did build a pretty amazing set, which the extras do cover in some detail. I wish they could have stretched things out a bit more; season 2 felt rushed (and it was, due to their impending cancellation). Still a good show, definitely worth a watch.

Yeah I remember reading it was insanely expensive at the time, but I may be wrong. It sounds like something I would like, but I guess I'll just rent it.

KT
 

Locut0s

Lifer
Nov 28, 2001
22,205
43
91
The Celebration (Festen) - 9.5/10: This was just amazing. A Danish film from 1998 made following the Dogme 95 principles (camera must be handheld, no special lighting, etc. they are all here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogme_95#Goals_and_rules ) that is not only a fascinating exercise in filmmaking, but an awesome, though somewhat disturbing, story. It follows a large, wealthy family get-together, with some skeletons in the closet. All of the characters were fascinating and did such an excellent job; there was humour, sadness, horror, I mean it really had everything. I was absolutely fascinated by this film and it is something I want to re-watch very soon. There are definitely times where it looks like absolute shit, which is understandable, particularly given there are night scenes without being able to use any additional light, but it did not matter, I loved it.

KT

Yes this is a wonderful film! Been a LONG time since I've seen it and reading your post makes me want to re-watch it. Just ziped it.
 

KeithTalent

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Nov 30, 2005
50,231
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Yes this is a wonderful film! Been a LONG time since I've seen it and reading your post makes me want to re-watch it. Just ziped it.

Awesome. Glad to hear someone else has seen and enjoyed this. :thumbsup:

KT
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,804
46
91
The Sorcerer's Apprentice - 7.5/10: While it didn't do too great in the reviews, I thought it wasn't too bad. The only complaint you could probably make is that Bruschel plays the exact same character... that he's played in every single movie. I mean, it fits and all, but one act wonders get a bit stale after seeing them constantly. Cage wasn't too bad in the film... it actually felt like a zany version of his Big Daddy character from Kick Ass.

Just got back from seeing this... I was ok. I was going to rate it about a 7. It's just the same old cliched story though.

Nerdy/dorky/loser kid finds out he has magical powers/special abilities/etc and learns to use them and goofy/funny things happen to him while learning. Meanwhile there's generic bad guy out there trying to stop him and there's the hot chick the nerdy/dorky/loser kids loves and never could get, but then all of a sudden is able to get her. Kid gets frustrated and quits learning, loses the girl, but then something happens and he comes back and saves the world and the girl loves him again.

I'm surprised that Michael Cera didn't get the role of the apprentice though.
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,804
46
91
Avatar 1/10-- Wow! What a turd! I had high expectations for this movie, but was terribly disappointed.

While the effects were cool, they got stale very quickly. Pandora looked like someone turned a black light on. I kept expecting to see a Grateful Dead poster hanging on one of the trees.

The plot was completely unoriginal. The only thing I can truly say I've never seen before is the genitalia they had in their pony tails. Those blue people will stick their hair dicks in anything. lol

Just like an atoter! :awe:
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
Just got back from seeing this... I was ok. I was going to rate it about a 7. It's just the same old cliched story though.

Nerdy/dorky/loser kid finds out he has magical powers/special abilities/etc and learns to use them and goofy/funny things happen to him while learning. Meanwhile there's generic bad guy out there trying to stop him and there's the hot chick the nerdy/dorky/loser kids loves and never could get, but then all of a sudden is able to get her. Kid gets frustrated and quits learning, loses the girl, but then something happens and he comes back and saves the world and the girl loves him again.

I'm surprised that Michael Cera didn't get the role of the apprentice though.

About a 7 sounds right. But the thing is, ponty, that clichéd story works so well, because it lets people connect to the character. I mean, who hasn't wished that they could have some interesting power? :p

Michael Cera probably didn't get it because he's in the upcoming movie Scott Pilgrim vs The World.
 
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