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

[Childs]

World War Z - 5/10

This wasn't very good. One of those movies where the best scenes were in the trailers. I never read the books, but a big budget movie starring Brad Pitt thats about zombies should be better. It doesnt really stand out in any way, other than how mediocre it was. Maybe all the late buzz about how good it was made my expectations unrealistic.

 

[RaistlinZ]

This is the End - 7/10

This movie had crazy good reviews, but I was expecting it to be a bit funnier. It had some good parts, but it wasn't all that.

 

[MetalMat]

V/H/S/ - 7/10

I was very surprised with how much I liked the movie. Yeah there are some cheesy parts and some of the stories are better than others ("Second Honeymoon" was the worst) but it was solid. If you are a fan of the whole "found footage" horror genre like myself then I recommend this, I am looking forward to seeing the second one.

 

[Zeze]

Jack Reacher 8/10: Why do you guys hate this movie so much? You all gave it 3 or 5. I read some initial reviews on RT. Some compared it to a lesser Bourne. I watched it out of boredom with low expectations. Boy was I surprised.

This movie is not Bourne-like at all. I was pleased to see it's a gritty thriller detective story between a pair of lawyer & lone hero, with a bit of action thrown in. I liked another pairing in the end. It even had a better car chase than that overrated movie Drive.

Spoiler

It kept me wondering what's going on guessing whether it was her father or the cop.

It was solidly written when it can genuinely make me guess what's going to happen. You can't bash this movie for having a 'dumb plot' or lots of plot holes, especially compared to outrageously extravagant series like Mission Impossible or Bourne. This movie is one thriller case, one town, and far more grounded & believable story.

I suggest you check it out, you won't be disappointed.

 

[velillen]

Jack Reacher 8/10: Why do you guys hate this movie so much? You all gave it 3 or 5. I read some initial reviews on RT. Some compared it to a lesser Bourne. I watched it out of boredom with low expectations. Boy was I surprised.

This movie is not Bourne-like at all. I was pleased to see it's a gritty thriller detective story between a pair of lawyer & lone hero, with a bit of action thrown in. I liked another pairing in the end. It even had a better car chase than that overrated movie Drive.

Spoiler

It kept me wondering what's going on guessing whether it was her father or the cop.

It was solidly written when it can genuinely make me guess what's going to happen. You can't bash this movie for having a 'dumb plot' or lots of plot holes, especially compared to outrageously extravagant series like Mission Impossible or Bourne. This movie is one thriller case, one town, and far more grounded & believable story.

I suggest you check it out, you won't be disappointed.

I tried it but didnt finish it. I could could not get into it. It was one of those movies that I just lost interest 30 minutes or in and it never sucked me back in. I watched like 3/4 quarters of it and turned it off for the night and just returned the netlfix disk without caring ot finish it. I dunno why exactly. It was just one of those weird movies (like Drive...) that just had nothing that appealed to me or drew me in and made me want ot watch it

 

[Childs]

Jack Reacher 8/10: Why do you guys hate this movie so much?

It wasn't great, but it was bad either. It was a somewhat sterile by the numbers action movie. A more recent Tom Cruise movie that was much better was Knight and Day.

 

[CZroe]

Jack Reacher 8/10: Why do you guys hate this movie so much? You all gave it 3 or 5. I read some initial reviews on RT. Some compared it to a lesser Bourne. I watched it out of boredom with low expectations. Boy was I surprised.

This movie is not Bourne-like at all. I was pleased to see it's a gritty thriller detective story between a pair of lawyer & lone hero, with a bit of action thrown in. I liked another pairing in the end. It even had a better car chase than that overrated movie Drive.

Spoiler

It kept me wondering what's going on guessing whether it was her father or the cop.

It was solidly written when it can genuinely make me guess what's going to happen. You can't bash this movie for having a 'dumb plot' or lots of plot holes, especially compared to outrageously extravagant series like Mission Impossible or Bourne. This movie is one thriller case, one town, and far more grounded & believable story.

I suggest you check it out, you won't be disappointed.

I am one of the few who don't like the Bourne movies either.
And if you didn't guess about

Spoiler

her father

from near the very beginning then you must not watch much of this kind of thing.

The character is too perfect. They act like we are in awe of all of his amazing attributes when we, the viewer, know that it's fiction. It's bad enough that he's so perfect in every way (why I called him a "Mary Sue" earlier) but then they have to go through groan-worthy exposition to demonstrate it for us. "ZOMG! He remembered all that about the gun?!" It that the reaction they were expecting from their viewers?

What really gets me are the stupid risks that no one like him would ever take. You know: Things like throwing the weapon down and putting up his fists right after making a promise that he's now putting in jeopardy.

Mission: Impossible 4 Ghost Protocol may take similar diversions from believability but it never leaves you wondering why and is an example of EXCELLENT film-making. The movie never takes itself more seriously than it should because it knows exactly what it is: An over-the-top action spy thriller. Brad Bird knows the craft even if it's his first live-action film. Jack Reacher is just a "Let's make our character super-awesome and great at everything (as if the audience cares)" movie.

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

I'd give The Lone Ranger 8 out of 10 stars

It's a quirky Western with action, not much romance, and more of a focus on Tonto. If you like Westerns, but don't feel like they have to adhere to the same old "formula" used by the old ones, then you'll probably like this.

 

[Zeze]

I am one of the few who don't like the Bourne movies either.
And if you didn't guess about

Spoiler

her father

from near the very beginning then you must not watch much of this kind of thing.

The character is too perfect. They act like we are in awe of all of his amazing attributes when we, the viewer, know that it's fiction. It's bad enough that he's so perfect in every way (why I called him a "Mary Sue" earlier) but then they have to go through groan-worthy exposition to demonstrate it for us. "ZOMG! He remembered all that about the gun?!" It that the reaction they were expecting from their viewers?

What really gets me are the stupid risks that no one like him would ever take. You know: Things like throwing the weapon down and putting up his fists right after making a promise that he's now putting in jeopardy.

Mission: Impossible 4 Ghost Protocol may take similar diversions from believability but it never leaves you wondering why and is an example of EXCELLENT film-making. The movie never takes itself more seriously than it should because it knows exactly what it is: An over-the-top action spy thriller. Brad Bird knows the craft even if it's his first live-action film. Jack Reacher is just a "Let's make our character super-awesome and great at everything (as if the audience cares)" movie.

I liked MI4 & Jack Reacher. I'm not particularly defending Jack Reacher, but come on.

You excuse MI4's over-the-top non-sense action because that's what the movie is supposed to be, then Jack Reacher is bad because he decided to melee fight the guy in the end?

That was justified enough- he made it clear on the phone that it was personal and he would beat his ass down. It was a man-to-man fight. Jack Reacher was a simple and grounded movie from start to finish. It had its glorified hero, but he didn't freakin' retrieve a SD card by rappelling down & swinging around the the god damn Burj Khalifa.

If you were to objectively judge two movies for believability, then MI4 is full of silliness and 'why the hell why?'s.

 

[MotionMan]

Grown Ups (2010) 5/10

It stars Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider, so you should not expect great filmmaking.

It also has Salma Hayek and Maria Bello, but they are fully-dressed for most of the movie and they would never be confused with great actresses.

It was not a very good movie, with many movie clichés and obvious plot "twists", but it did have a couple funny moments (I laughed out loud twice).

Be in the right mood and do not spend a lot of money on it, and it will not be a complete waste of time to watch.

MotionMan

 

[purbeast0]

the hills have eyes unrated (newer one) - 5/5

had seen it before but never on the big screen. such an awesome movie. it's one of the very few movies that can actually make me feel uncomfortable watching a scene in it. the trailer scene is just very uncomfortable to watch.

 

[Zeze]

Man of Steel (2013) 7/10: Quite frankly I'm conflicted. I don't know what to think of this movie.

Most top-shelf comic book movies like Iron Man & X-Men are fun because their powers are... relatively weak and the resulting plot is grounded. This makes for an engaging story where the heroes struggle through societal and political issues. X-Men First Class was amazingly fun & wholesome because you get to see everyone's upbringing embedded in our very history. Same goes for Iron Man- a refreshing egotistical man who thrives in the attention from the society.

How do you address Superman with the same grit and 'realism' as they intended similar to Nolan's Batman? It's a contradictory dilemma. His powers are straight up godlike. And his foes must be equally so.

In Man of Steel, it just turned into a huge world-crushing duke out. The whole human society is near irrelevant, they're just trading blows through the mountains, sky, and the space. And quite frankly, it just ended up quite boring. If the action were to be subpar, then the movie must present a valid engaging plot- be it a complex character development, solving mystery, or overcoming a complicated issue. It presented none.

Take a look at Watchmen. Despite similar godlike power and casualty (Dr Manhattan), the movie is fun because the plot is deep and engaging. Man of Steel, despite its serious tone, was a simple movie. It hardly had more depth than The Avengers- kill bad aliens, save the world, work with 3 human military officials, and sprinkle some predictable childhood past.

I guess as I'm writing this, I realized Man of Steel isn't boring because Superman is too strong. The movie is boring because it is a subpar movie. I thought it had a good score on RT. It's 56% currently and it's quite accurate.

All that being said, I was also annoyed at silly inconsistencies and coincidences. These are quite embarrassing when the movie professes to be serious. Superman just flew through the Earth's core without a scratch- that's 6000 degrees, similar to the Sun's surface. Then why isn't he simply batting an eye at every single blows and rockets thrown at him? Why does every world event take place in NYC- 10th largest city in the world? That's god awful absorbed. How do you launch into space and just happen to hit a satellite- what are the chances? Then you fall down and you're right in Manhattan again. Come on now.

 

[Childs]

Man of Steel (2013) 7.5/10:

Most top-shelf comic book movies like Iron Man & X-Men are fun because their powers are... relatively weak and the resulting plot is grounded. This makes for an engaging story where the heroes struggle through societal and political issues. X-Men First Class was amazingly fun & wholesome because you get to see everyone's upbringing embedded in our very history. Same goes for Iron Man- a refreshing egotistical man who thrives in the attention from the society.

There is nothing realistic about Iron Man's suit, but if you dont accept that it does what it does, there is no movie. Just like Batman jumping from a building and gliding down using his cape, or swinging between buildings using a grappling hook. These are comic book movies, so you kinda know going in this stuff isnt supposed to be grounded in realism. One thing I like about this Superman movie is that his powers are the reason he helps people. He doesn't do it to avenge the death of his parents or to feed his ego. He is Superman because to him thats the only thing he should be doing with his powers.

Superman just flew through the Earth's core without a scratch- that's 6000 degrees, similar to the Sun's surface. Then why isn't he simply batting an eye at every single blows and rockets thrown at him?

He didnt fly through the core. He flew around the world to stop the one machine, then flew back to stop Zod's ship. He did fly up the gravity beam thing, but that was after he was knocked into it.

It definitely seems to be a polarizing movie.

 

[Zeze]

There is nothing realistic about Iron Man's suit, but if you dont accept that it does what it does, there is no movie. Just like Batman jumping from a building and gliding down using his cape, or swinging between buildings using a grappling hook. These are comic book movies, so you kinda know going in this stuff isnt supposed to be grounded in realism.

My whole point is that the recent top-shelf comic book movies (X-men, Watchmen, Iron Man) keep the rest of the society & plot development relatively grounded aside from their titular superpowers. That's what makes the movie fun.

There's a difference between a movie that understands that and makes it fun vs everything being unrealistic because it's a 'comic book movie'. Then why don't we have unicorns flying around giving birth to Jesus Christ and resurrecting George Washington shooting barf beams? It's a comic book movie, yes?

 

[BUTCH1]

Flight, 8/10, nice work by Denzel, rightly criticized by the flying community that inverted flight in an airliner is next to impossible.

 

[mistercrabby]

Despicable Me 2 4/5 Funnier than the original

 

[Zeze]

Side Effects (2013) 8/10:

Wow, what a clever little fvcker of a movie. This was so so refreshing after watching many mediocre predictable genre-cast movies lately (WWZ, Man of Steel).

I don't want to spoil anything. The movie opens up as a nice little pharmaceutical trial drama. But it's so much more.

Spoiler

The movie kept me wondering wtf was going on right til the end. It did a GREAT job of keeping me guessing if the Jude Law was going crazy or not.

Great movie. Pick this one up!

 

[Svnla]

Only saw one movie this weekend.

Lone Ranger - 6/10. It was not serious drama western as Unforgiven but not comedy buddy either. I think the Director and Producers were trying to make another Pirate of Caribbean in western theme and on land. I watched all of the Pirates and did enjoy them but not this movie. Disney will lose a bunch of money on this, not as bad as "Carter".

 

[Printer Bandit]

Side Effects (2013) 8/10:

Wow, what a clever little fvcker of a movie. This was so so refreshing after watching many mediocre predictable genre-cast movies lately (WWZ, Man of Steel).

I don't want to spoil anything. The movie opens up as a nice little pharmaceutical trial drama. But it's so much more.

Spoiler

The movie kept me wondering wtf was going on right til the end. It did a GREAT job of keeping me guessing if the Jude Law was going crazy or not.

Great movie. Pick this one up!

we get to see rooney topless !

 

[n7]

we get to see rooney topless !

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo


I liked Side Effects too.
Not sure i'd do 8/10...probably a 7/10 for me.

 

[rh71]

End of Watch - 9/10

This movie came outta nowhere and really surprised me. It is one of the best cop movies I have ever seen. I am surprised people did not talk more about this movie last year. Highly recommended

The premise sounded interesting so I gave it a go and it captured my attention immediately. I don't see THAT many movies and the style in which it was done relative to the subject matter - it was something new and exciting because you don't know what happens next (and you know something will) - you feel like you're there with them. Nothing like watching Cops on Fox since most of the time absolutely nothing happens. It was very gripping and you really cared a lot for the lead characters. I gave it a 5/5 on Netflix.

 

[Zeze]

End of Watch was still generic as a buddy cop flick with a cliche ending.

It was enjoyable because such movie was long overdue and they did it right. Amazing chemistry between the two. I've always loved that Hispanic actor- I knew he knew his shit when I saw his amazing performance in Crash.

That whole scene is just PERFECT. Music was amazingly done. So powerful and still gets me.

Another great scene

I don't know why Crash got so much hate. It's an amazing movie that addressed racism (how most aren't real 'racists', everyone is a racist to a degree).

 

[rh71]

^ as long as we're talking about movies dealing with racism, Higher Learning was one of my favs.

 

[Zeze]

What movies do you reserve 10/10 for? I'm not super stingy with perfect scores. There are lots and lots of movies in cinema. But there are quite a few gems that leave me stunned when credits roll.

Terminator II: Judgement Day 10/10: James Cameron's best work. You never see an action flick that also has heart, emotion, and a solid plot. This is my adolescence gem. The movie is timeless and hasn't aged one bit 22 years later.

Shawshank Redemption 10/10: A masterful storytelling. Morgan Freeman's narration is unmatched in cinematic history. Tell me another movie that can make a grown man's heart fill with warmth when they both meet on the beach in the end.

Something About Mary 10/10: I have to include a comedy genre in this. This is Ben Stiller & Cameron Diaz' finest work, but the true hilarity comes from Matt Dillon's gut-busting sleazy performance. Farrelly brothers did an amazing job with the writing. It's just as silly Dumb & Dumber, but Mary has quite a smart plot and situational humor.

Gladiator 10/10: Ridley Scott's finest. An epic tale of a general who turned into slave then rose to become a general again. Scott perfectly captured the love the general has for his for family and vengeance. This is Russell Crowe's finest performance, and Joaquin Phoenix played the best villain of recent cinema history- with fully realized backstory and character development. The soundtrack is an unmatched work as well.

Forrest Gump 10/10: A true character study of two people going through life. It's a classic folk of a good old All-American southern average joe. That Jenny's grave scene is can make me shed a tear every time I watch it.

 

[Childs]

My whole point is that the recent top-shelf comic book movies (X-men, Watchmen, Iron Man) keep the rest of the society & plot development relatively grounded aside from their titular superpowers. That's what makes the movie fun.

There's a difference between a movie that understands that and makes it fun vs everything being unrealistic because it's a 'comic book movie'. Then why don't we have unicorns flying around giving birth to Jesus Christ and resurrecting George Washington shooting barf beams? It's a comic book movie, yes?

Batman Begins or Dark Knight Rises? Xmen? Iron Man? How are any of those movies societies and plots more grounded? In Batman Begins a psychoactive drug is released into city causing most of it to go insane. DKR Bane locks every cop in a subway tunnel takes over Gotham with thugs, not to mention blowing up a stadium. In Iron Man...Stark builds the MK I and its power source out of spare parts. In Iron Man 2 Stark and Warmachine battle a battalion of Iron Man drones during a tech expo, which spans across the city. Didn't see number 3 yet, but I'm sure there are things just as fantastic. Xmen...a mutant rebellion? So how is Man of Steel any different? He is battling Kryptonians who are using super advanced technology. Its basically Superman fighting guys just as tough as he is...you expect the battles to take place in a 7-11 parking lot? Its like saying Independence Day wasn't grounded in reality....well, yeah, its a sci fi movie about aliens with ships the size of cities invading earth.

Comic books have been depicting these kinds of stories for more than 50 years. I dunno, but when I see a comic book movie, this is what I expect. Superman saving cats from trees or battling Lux Luthor: real estate mogul, can be left in the Donner movies.