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

[DigDog]

9. Il Buon, Il Brutto e il Cattivo
One of the greatest films ever made (when you copy Kurosawa, this kind of stuff tends to happen), it's somewhat lacking in the pacing department, but otherwise it's just a joy to watch, over and over again. However, as an italiano, i feel that the film can be best appreciated once one has watched more spaghetti westerns, and not just this one.
9.5/10 aaah ... almost perfect

10. Fight Club
Great little film that suffered because it was loved too much and then it became the very thing it hates - conformism.
You met me at a very strange time in my life.
9/10

12. Forrest Gump: the same exact thing as Shawshank redemption, except that it was a bit less mediocre (due to touching some subject matters which require intelligence) and therefore the IMDb score is lower.
Personally i'm in the camp that feels offended in glorifying a person who stumbles through life, accomplishing more than those who try by sheer luck. It would be awesome if someone made a remake, exactly the same, except that it focuses on how life is really a joke.
7/10

 

[DigDog]

13. The Empire Strikes Back: ok, this one is complicated.let's start from the negatives.
I think that Empire is closer to the ewoks of Jedi than to Hope. It's one of the original "fanboy" films, more of the same but with extra raaawwr. Now, the plot twist, the weird ending, undermining the hero, all these things work flawlessly and are now part of the filmmaker's toolkit, but i suspect they arrived there more by sheer luck than by careful storytelling. Thing is, only one man knows the truth, and asking him is a bad idea anyway.
9/10

14. Inception: couldn't stand to watch it. But i should mention it's basically a Paprika ripoff.

16. One Flew Over The Coockoo's Nest: i've never had sympathy for Nicholson, if not in Batman. His performance is the only thing keeping together the film, although the direction and photography are not bad. I can see how this would have been shocking when it first came out. However, the story is a bit forced, and that undermines the film over time. Would not recommend to anyone outside of film school.
6.5/10

17. Goodfellas: a much beloved film that i do not like. I can't relate to the characters, and when Pesci's Tommy gets killed, i know i'm supposed to feel for DeNiro's character, but i just don't.
no vote

 

[DigDog]

18. The Matrix
you have already been down that street neo. You know where it leads.
I think the Matrix is still a much misunderstood film, and when i watched it at the theater i thought "finally someone has made this film, and people who watch it will finally understand the concept of A Prison For Your Mind" but, apparently nobody else did. They did however latch on to the fact that Neo is a badass and he does much kungfu.
10/10 because of the content, 9/10 as a film

19. Shichinin No Samurai
Kurosawa's masterpiece, because, while Rashomon is a ingenuous mixture of theatre (i use the british spelling for stage plays, and the US spelling for cinemas) with innovative filmmaking techniques, once the intial surprise wears off, the film loses a lot of its charm.
Just one of the greatest films ever made.
10/10

20. lol, all the way down to 20. Star Wars AKA A New Hope:
The thing here is, that it's just PERFECT storytelling. There is absolutely nothing that can be changed in this film without making it worse, and the script is absolutely flawless. Visually aside, it's not innovative, but it's the perfect use of various tropes, without making any of them .. well, without making most of them evident.
10/10

 

[DigDog]

21. Citade De Deus: this film stands in its own category, because the filmmakers actually risked by filming it. It's great because it's real, but as such, i cannot vote it. Otherwise i would give it a 9.5/10

22. WHAT'S IN THE BOX
really good, but in the same sense as a really good chinese meal. it's just a pulp film, it doesn't have a point except that it hits you when you least expect it. SAW has more of a point that this very similar film has.
7.5/10`

23. Silence of the Lambs
Some memorable moments from Hopkins, and a pretty solid story, but otherwise forgettable. Some aspects of the interaction between the characters pass for deeply profound when instead are pretty obvious.
7.5/10

24. It's a Wonderful Life: never seen it.

25. Life Is Beautiful
Ugh, again, i have much more familiarity with Benigni and therefore see him in a different ligth than most viewers do, but i really cannot stand this film (or anything else he has ever done, really). It's just desperate to cram down your throat as much guilt-inducing feelings as you can.
4/10

 

[ImpulsE69]

While our likes/dislikes of many of the above movies are similar, I don't try to over analyze them because I LIKE MOVIES. Once you start going down that path of what they are trying to relay, or be, you will just become a jaded viewer who doesn't enjoy anything (read, critics). I live highbrow, I don't need highbrow in my entertainment (most of the time) to be entertained. For the most part, I do not ally myself with any particular director (at least mainstream directors), and honestly...trailers do play a big role in my excitement level for a movie. I am a sucker for trailers (many times much better than the actual movie).

I do agree that the Apes trilogy is mass produced, almost all primary movies these days are, however I disagree on your assessment of them. They outclass the originals, they are a metaphor for the current state of the world, and they could easily have been Michael Bay like, however for the most part they avoid it. (I also really like apes - so maybe that's a bias).

That being said, I am not a fan of Star Wars, never have been. I think not really seeing them when I was young is why.

I think an interesting take would be the recent Arrival. I didn't dislike the movie, but I found it extremely predictable. Maybe it was the hype, but I did not find it nearly as good or inventive as the masses proclaimed. It started out smart, then went down the artsy, gray area ending that it should have avoided.

 

[DigDog]

26. The Usual Suspects
Palminsteri really chokes on his part, but mostly not due to his own fault, but to the script not being able to handle so many characters. Spacey overshadows him so much it actually detracts from the film.
Also the film loses much of its appeal after the first viewing. Still, something everyone should watch... once.
8.5/10

27. Leon:
You will see this film with different eyes if you are a european. Gun Porn, graphic violence, and tastefully made pseudo-paedo sexual innuendo, this film was revolutionary when it came out. It's still good today, but the visuals will probably be lost to most viewers. I'm not sure why they decided to go with the sad ending.
8.5/10

28. Saving Private Ryan:
reminds me of the 1960 epics, in a good way. A truly monumental film, without needing to be brainy . but also with some hidden touches of genius. And an incredible production.
9/10
*2022 edit: probably 8.5/10*

29. Spirited Away: did not watch

 

[DigDog]

i know what you are saying impulse. i went down the path of the jaded viewer many years ago and i sort of made it my own thing. there's no going back, really. it all started when my music teacher introduced me to the music of frank zappa, 27 years ago. i'm the guy who can be watchng a tragic film and there's a weird dolly movement and i just burst out laughing because it's the funnies thing ever and i'm like the only person in the room who has noticed.aaand also it's the scene where the good guy died.

 

[DigDog]

30 American History X
i have a rather foggy memory of this film, the first time i watched it i hated it. The second time around, i thought that edward norton's character was really well built, with a truly excellent character arc. however, i do not see how this could be transferred to anything outside the film; so, if i am ever a neo nazi, i will be sure to change, and then come here and give this film a vote.

31. C'Era Una Volta Il West
did not watch.

32. Interstellar:
you know what i think about this film if you have been reading this thread. For all the science it has, it builds up to a jumble of pseudoscience the not only makes no sense, but also relies on the most base emotions to carry across its point.
6/10

33. The Green Mile
Shawshank Redemption, but good. I think this film has that sense of marvel that comes with films such as Miracle On 34th Street and Goonies, and if it wasnt so damn dark it could well be a Christmas film. Sure, it's got a lot of easy emotions, but for once i do feel captured. Don't put me in the dark boss.
8/10

34. Psycho
i have never "got" this film. And while i liked Rear View Window, to me Psycho is just a really lame slasher film with bad production values.
6.5/10 for historical reasons.

35. Casablanca
just too many classic lines to even start. Ricky Blaine is the epitome of the man in this film, a trait later inherited by Clint Eastwood.
My father (who worked in cinema as a distributor, and was born in 1918) told me this film was hugely panned when it came out, because it was a cheap film with cheap thrills made to amuse the simple public. Or, at least, it's what it was being said at the time.
9/10 because it's basically all in the same set except that horrible last scene in the "airport".

36. City Lights
never watched a Charlie Chaplin film beginning to end, and never even tried with this one.

37. Intouchables
which probably most of you have missed, a truly amazing film. The two leads each represent a different film reality, and the clash between these two is what makes the film interesting. If you like filmmaking, you must watch this.
9/10
*2022 edit: 8/10*

38. Modern Times
i watched some bits but that's all

 

[DigDog]

39. Raiders Of The Lost Ark
it's true, Indiana Jones is completely irrelevant to the plot of its own film.AND you can still watch it and the film is amazing, because that fact does absolutely nothing in denting the way the story is told and how we are made to care for the main character. He Thinks he is doing something, so we are with him.
9.5/10

check the news, something big's happened

 

[Ichinisan]

Yeah he seems to have better focus with these shorts. Maybe next time he does a full length movie he can bring us something like District 9 again.


____________

I see what you did there.

 

[Zanovar]

39. Raiders Of The Lost Ark
it's true, Indiana Jones is completely irrelevant to the plot of its own film.AND you can still watch it and the film is amazing, because that fact does absolutely nothing in denting the way the story is told and how we are made to care for the main character. He Thinks he is doing something, so we are with him.
9.5/10

check the news, something big's happened

Quite a few to go

 

[DigDog]

well the shooting kinda took the wind out of my sails.

 

[Zanovar]

Indeed.Some effort there though man.*Tips hat*

 

[DigDog]

40. The Pianist
another nope film. i *did* try watching it and just could not stand it, so even if i did give it a vote, it wouldn't be very high.

41 The Departed
because of reasons, i started to watch this and had to stop about 1/3 the way in. It does show that DiCaprio AND Nicholson will give veeery different performances depending on the director they are working with. Was good for what i could watch, but did not finish it. no vote.

42 Rear Window
it's been so many years, all i remember was the last part of the film. however, you really do get dragged in the character, and you feel you have the same broken leg and you can't escape. And like every hitchcock film, shot and edited on five bucks. Not really a film i would recommend to a teenager, but something that every film student needs to know about.
7/10

43 TERMINATOR ... two
i fu.. HATE this film.
it's 1984, one of the greatest years in cinema history. some absolute nobody comes up with the most brutal scifi film ever seen. the terminator rips his own hand open to fix himself. murders a girl by shooting her in da faec. like, not off-camera, or *implied*, he goes BAM BAM and she ded yo.

And then, they come up with this crap. I KNOW YOU LIKE IT, and i like the G&R soundtrack, but when the kid says "don't kill anyone" the film is over for me.
There is literally NO reason for that line to be in the film, if not for "this is a commercial product without any artistic integrity and we just want your money". Ok hollywood.

 

[DigDog]

might as well carry on.

44. Back To The Future
eh, it's ok. I never bought into the "cultural revolution" this film was associated with, for me it's a moderately funny PG-13 comedy with plenty of quotable lines, but that's it.
7.5/10 with half a point for cultural importance.

45. Whiplash
the best film ever made exclusively for an audience of musicians.
9/10

46. Gladiator
this film lost me at giant explosions during roman times. you know .. before we invented explosions. Gladiator is about as historically accurate as Braveheart of The Patriot, i find the story to be too simple, i don't like the speech he gives in the arena, the emperor's armor looks ridiculous, and joaquim phoenix looks like a retard.
6/10

47. The Prestige
i tried TWICE to watch this film and could never make it past the beginning. no vote

48. The Lion King
frankly, one of Disney's weakest films, up to that point. But that's maybe because i grew up with reruns and rereleases of Snowwhite, Pinocchio, Robin Hood, Fantasia, The Rescuers, Winnie The Poo, Sword In The Stone, and so on. Also i'm not big on the musical numbers. Hakuna Matata.

49. Memento
a decent film that is madly in love with itself. not bad, but not something which would come to mind if i was to recommend something. no vote.

50. Apocalypse Now
this film is much better if yo watch it on the big screen. Mostly, because the story is a bit dumb. The characters are .. cute .. but nothing particularly memorable. Made a fortune on the line "i love the smell of napalm in the morning" but it should have been cut to just go directly into "it smells like victory". The film drifts into a different dimension when Martin Sheen goes into the jungle to find Brando's colonel Kurtz, and not for the better, because while the story thinks it's profound, it's actually boring. Kurtz is not an interesting character, even with his existentialist philosophy, it still manages to be unidimensional.
7/10 for cultural significance.

 

[Zanovar]

I loved whiplash.Gf and mates hated it.

 

[DigDog]

51. Alien
aah ... now we' talkin.
This film does everything right. It's got its own story, the characters are believable, the acting is excellent, the direction and pacing are flawless. The only thing that is really missing is a cool ending.
9/10 - i never felt that sigourney weaver was hot, or even bangable, for the matter, and i *do* like skinny butts.

52. The Great Dictator
well, the speech at the end is a classic, but i never actually watched the whole thing. It's just that my "serious film" period and my "comedy film" period never had an overlap. no vote.

53. Sunset Boulevard
never seen it

54. Doctor Strangelove, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Long Titles
MEIN FHURER !! I KAN WALK !
but, aside from that, its a nice but waaaaaaaaaay too long film. The bits with the army guys look like they come from a 1050s Rin Tin Tin serial. The scenes in the War Room (no fighting allowed) instead are brilliant.
8/10

55. Cinema Paradiso
If you like these Italian comedies with a side of melancholy, then rejoice, because 97% of italian film is like that. As such, i'm not exceedingly fond of Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, but it's an ok film.
7.5/10

56. The Lives Of Others
never watched, and if it's as boring as the trailer implies it is, then probably a five-ten.

57. Hotaru No Haka
i'm just not going to get dragged into Studio Ghibli's bullshit.

58. Paths To Glory
hmm.. i'll try to watch this, because i haven't and it looks good.

59. Django Unchained Extended 9-Hour Edition With Extra Murder
when i started watching this film, i liked it. i liked the Doctor, i thought Jamie Foxxxx was decent as Django, and the story was not bad. but, that kinda wore of after the film just goes on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and i expected a little bit more pacing.
still better than Hateful 8

60. The Shining
this is another one of those films i just don't get. i get the story (although it's VERY confusing on the first viewing, because there is no indication whatsoever as to WHY Nicholson is going crazy), but i don't get ANY of the symbolism that other viewers see in the film. no vote.
dont wait up for 2001 Space Odyssey, it's all the way down at #91 ..

 

[DigDog]

my whiplash review from IMDb

I ask you to forgive me if i have taken so long to write a review of Whiplash, but even today i am not sure i can. I do not know how to capture the emotions that build in me when i watch this film.

I will do it the other way around.

I really do not care for the segments of Andrew(Miles Teller)'s personal life. Yes, they do add a bit of character development, but outside the story. The real development is his development as a drummer. And how Fletcher(Simmons) affects it.

I confess that i am a music professional. I went to music school and while the teachers are not like Fletcher, the exaggeration of his character in Whiplash is an expression of the drive that successful musicians truly have.

We have all had bleeding fingers, passed out from practicing too much, and putting music above everything else. All these things are true, and i accept that Whiplash exaggerates it to make you SEE what musicians FEEL.

Now, on to the production. The photography is superb. I love every camera angle, ever light shot. The direction and dialogue are flawless. Teller has his limits as an actor, but he fits perfectly in this role, and Simmons was born to play the part of Fletcher.

I have watched this film 13 times. I decided to give away the DVD because i would have probably watched it many more times again. If you are a musician, you are not complete unless you watch Whiplash.

And for the others .. well, Whiplash is a weird film. It might struggle to get its message across to you, or you might simply not be interested or not realize why Andrew is the real winner in the last scene, or what he has accomplished.

It breaks my heart, but rules are rules.

As this film is aimed at a limited audience, it can only score:

9/10 - a monumental masterpiece for anyone involved in music.

 

[DigDog]

61. Blade Runner 2049
DID NOT WATCH but it's interesting to observe how the IMDb votes have inflated over the years at the same time that quality has gone down.

62. WALL-E
just, the scene with the captain standing up is worth the price of the ticket.
9/10

63. American Beauty
never managed to watch the whole thing, because .. well, Mena Suvari, and .. well i better keep this to myself.
no vote

64. The Dark Knight Rises
is this film a joke?
it's like they made a good film, and then after it was complete they decided to intentionally sabotage it. Bane's voice is just ridiculous, there's plot holes everywhere, bruce wayne fucking heals from being a paraplegic.
i've seen Jodorovsky films that make more sense than this.
6/10 .. barely

65. Princess Mononoke
studio ghibli - no vote

66. Oldboy (the 2003 version)
i liked this film a lot on the first watching, but the more i think about it, the less i like it. there's just too much about the film that's not believable, and i don't mean the gas or the evil plan or the daughter, but the personality of the characters in the final scene.
7/10

67. Aliens
well, when this came out, it was EXACTLY what we wanted. MORE of the same, but MORE BADASS. probably the first example of fanboysm i have experienced, and i loved it.
However, after growing up, i can tell that this film doesn't know how to handle characters. It's still awesome and it's got enough aliens to last a lifetime, but over repeat watchings the marines really grate. And i'm seriously allergic to sigourney weaver's famous line "get away from her you bitch".
8/10

68. Witness For The Prosecution
never seen it

69. Once Upon a Time In America
i do like this film; i like the melancholy that runs through it, and DeNiro really does a fine job here, but so does everyone else. to me, this is the better Goodfellas.
i never had a problem with the ringing phone scene, i got it right away. but i can see why others might feel differently. the direction and production are obviously inferior to the godfather, and the film has not quite a story, but rather a long and complex character arc.
8.5/10

70. Das Boot
never seen it. i've known for years that this was a supposedly very important film, but i always had something better to watch.

 

[ImpulsE69]

T2 is one

I loved whiplash.Gf and mates hated it.

I loved it too, but I'm a musician.

 

[DigDog]

71. Dangal
did not watch

72. Citizen Boring
i've recently decided to get to the bottom of WHY Citizen Kane is considered to be the most important film ever made, and finally i seem to have found an answer.
Apparently, there are a number of revolutionary filmmaking techniques that were never employed beforehand. Also Orson Welles playing the same character at different ages, and the quality of the production.
Aside from this, and from the massive plot hole (nobody is present with him to hear the word Rosebud, therefore there is no reason for anyone to try to find out what it meant) it's a monumentally boring film about nothing .. unless you live in the 1940s, in which case it's a interesting direct attack on a currently living public figure, and (double trouble) also the guy who actually paid for the film to be made (i think, not sure)
no vote. this is really a film i would not recommend to anyone.

73. Vertigo
never seen it

74. North By Northwest
i think i have seen this at some point but i couldn't tell you what it is.

75. Return Of The Jedi

ok, let's get one thing out of the way immediately: i LIKED the Ewoks. I thought they were a believable creature in the Star Wars world. Ok, the fight secnes at the shield generator are a bit comedic, but i was a kid and that did not detract from my enjoyment. On the upside, the scenes in Jabba's palace are awesome.
i did NOT like that Lando returned, and i did not like that they had to blow up the death star again .. wtf, can you not come up with something new? But aside from that, i loved this film maybe even more than Empire .. at the time. Today i would say that Empire's middle part flows better, and there is some genuinely dark shit in there, but Jedi has the end of Luke's character arc which is what we are really watching this trilogy for.
9/10

none of my votes apply to the new editions with fake-ass CGI in them.

76. they can never take .. OUR FREEDOM ! Braveheart
just watch the video for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojBwASARAzo
ok, so Braveheart is about as historically accurate as Meet The Spartans, but i LOVED this film. We all did. Everyone who also was in the theater loved it too. It's awesome. And that's all that counts.
it's a shame they had to stick to a vaguely historical truth at the end and kill Wallace, because the sad ending really bummed me out.
9/10

77. Reservoir Dogs
i applaud Quentin Tarantino for basically putting a theatre show on film, but this film doesn't excite me particularly. I don't like the interaction between the characters, and frankly there's not much else here to watch. The end scene is quite excellent, though.
7/10

78. M
oh god no, this was not good at all.
apparently this is another film that was revolutionary for its time but nowdays i wouldn't want anyone to watch it.
6/10

79. Requiem For A Dream
i cannot even remember what this film is about, but i see i voted it 6/10 on my IMDb

80. Le Fabouleux Destin D'Amelie Poulain
a jolly good film that does in fact leave you happy, as described by the tag line. i cannot remember WHY, or what it is about, but i remember that i felt as if this was a 8/10

 

[Zanovar]

58. path to glory.Great film.woth a peek,

 

[Fishy4004]

District 9

Signs

(that's all I remember)

 

[DigDog]

just watched Damnation (TV) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6106704/reference

mmmm ... it's good.

some time during the volstead act, circa 1930, in a small midwestern town, there is a conflict between striking farmers/miners/workers and a group of bankers who intend to control them in the name of fighting communism. or something.
there's also a preacher (the main character, i would guess, although he doesn't get much screen time) who is not who he appears to be.

a whole bunch of people get killed in cold blood.

vote reserved for now but it's likely to be in the region of 8/10.

 

[clamum]

Man since I got my Moviepass subscription I've only seen one movie. At least that paid for it for the month but damnit I gotta see some more! There's four I'd be willing to see: LBJ, Only the Brave, Thank You For Your Service (sorry I think it's a dumb sounding title), and Geostorm.

Oh and I think I've heard of Westworld here and there on the Internet but I just read the Wikipedia description of it and dang, I gotta check this badboy out too. I like the people involved with it and the basic plot summary sounded interesting. Great, all I need is another show to frickin watch.