I love 'Billy's Balloon' and 'The Animation Show'!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpc5vgi9zbM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZzKAZODy2c
movies What's the last film you watched? And rate it!
- Thread starter GerryLovesU
- Start date
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpc5vgi9zbM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZzKAZODy2c
The War Zone (directed by Tim Roth). Again, one of my favourite films. 9.5/10
Where to begin with this...
This is a stark contrast to other films dealing with the subject matter (incest/abuse) or for that matter any taboo family subjects. It really speaks from an emotional stance rather than a judgemental one. To simply label it "disturbing" is to underestimates its power. It speaks loudly, and doesn't flinch in its narrative. It also speaks as a film about the bonds of family, and how relationships complicate matters. Tom isn't one who discovers what it happening and immediately blackmails or goes running and telling. There is definitely a deep look into family dynamics and how that clouds our responses and decisions in light of distressing revelations.
Anyway, without being more of a bore about it:
Acting is astounding, as is the direction. Roth (I believe this was his first feature) does a superb job. Cinematography is spot on for the desolate feel of the film, mirroring the wanton desperation of the characters. I can't find anything to really dislike about this film (but I never give anything a 10/10 other than the mrs
... not even Katy Perry.)
Where to begin with this...
This is a stark contrast to other films dealing with the subject matter (incest/abuse) or for that matter any taboo family subjects. It really speaks from an emotional stance rather than a judgemental one. To simply label it "disturbing" is to underestimates its power. It speaks loudly, and doesn't flinch in its narrative. It also speaks as a film about the bonds of family, and how relationships complicate matters. Tom isn't one who discovers what it happening and immediately blackmails or goes running and telling. There is definitely a deep look into family dynamics and how that clouds our responses and decisions in light of distressing revelations.
Anyway, without being more of a bore about it:
Acting is astounding, as is the direction. Roth (I believe this was his first feature) does a superb job. Cinematography is spot on for the desolate feel of the film, mirroring the wanton desperation of the characters. I can't find anything to really dislike about this film (but I never give anything a 10/10 other than the mrs
... not even Katy Perry.)
Locke - 6.5/10
It's alright - but you kinda gotta be in the mood to watch this kind of story.
Looks good, acted well, fair enough story.
Lotta hate for it, which if I paid money to watch this in the theater I also woulda hated, but for free from the public library and watching it from the slouchy comfort of my livingroom couch and nothing better to watch - it was fairly decent.
Mostly I wanted to see what could be done with one on-screen actor and a single location. The story benefits from a lot of "implied" action by merely taking place in a moving vehicle down the highway. Try to do this with a guy at his office desk and... it might not turn out so well.
American Horror Story: Season One, Two, & Three - 10/10
Incredible story telling.
The consistency of quality story construct and twists has my respect. I almost want to give up ever writing/producing anything because I can't write as good as this.
How the actors are re-roled in different seasons is fantastic. Love it.
Definitely a must see series - and I've given up on both the much ballyhooed Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones series for too much drama and not enough story. Not with AHS.
Looking forward to the current season going to DVD.
It's alright - but you kinda gotta be in the mood to watch this kind of story.
Looks good, acted well, fair enough story.
Lotta hate for it, which if I paid money to watch this in the theater I also woulda hated, but for free from the public library and watching it from the slouchy comfort of my livingroom couch and nothing better to watch - it was fairly decent.
Mostly I wanted to see what could be done with one on-screen actor and a single location. The story benefits from a lot of "implied" action by merely taking place in a moving vehicle down the highway. Try to do this with a guy at his office desk and... it might not turn out so well.
American Horror Story: Season One, Two, & Three - 10/10
Incredible story telling.
The consistency of quality story construct and twists has my respect. I almost want to give up ever writing/producing anything because I can't write as good as this.
How the actors are re-roled in different seasons is fantastic. Love it.
Definitely a must see series - and I've given up on both the much ballyhooed Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones series for too much drama and not enough story. Not with AHS.
Looking forward to the current season going to DVD.
Please watch The Wire.
Rio Bravo - 3.5/5
Apparently Dean Martin was the Dude long before Lebowski came along.
The Immitation Game - 4/5
Harvey - 3.5/5
So the rabbit was...real?
Sgt. Bilko - 3.5/5
Not sure why this film got such bad reviews. It's pretty funny.
Hot Tub Time Machine - 4/5
For some reason this comedy really works for me. The Crispin Glover nearly losing his arm gag was funny.
Apparently Dean Martin was the Dude long before Lebowski came along.
The Immitation Game - 4/5
Harvey - 3.5/5
So the rabbit was...real?
Sgt. Bilko - 3.5/5
Not sure why this film got such bad reviews. It's pretty funny.
Hot Tub Time Machine - 4/5
For some reason this comedy really works for me. The Crispin Glover nearly losing his arm gag was funny.
The Bagman. I liked it.
The Interview. It starts out quite strong, then looses some of that in quality. But I thought it was fairly amusing.
I watched a string of scary movies. Fortunately, none of them turned out to be too terribly scary.
The Possession. It was okay.
At the Devil's Door. Not too bad.
Haunt. So-so.
Contracted. On the downside, it plays rather like an Evangelical PSA. On the upside, it's quite a good premise:
I would have liked it better if we saw
....I think. But then again, it might have been the best choice not to show that. Not sure. We could presume that
. And the lead was well cast. I thought about giving up on the film at times due to the usual sort of silliness almost inevitable in the genre. But I kept watching because she's quite good, and, quite lovely to look at and watch.
And hey...come on. If you're gonna do it, do it right.
Geesss. 
Entity. Fairly decent for what it is. Reminded me quite a bit of Devil's Pass, which I liked a bit better. They're quite comparable.
Z Nation. I liked it quite a bit. I think it's better than Walking Dead. More entertaining, anyway. More action. Better acting. Or perhaps writing. I don't know. I only wish there were more than one season to watch (on Netflix).
Up. Finally bought the Blu-ray. Hadn't seen it again all these years. It really is a gem from Pixar. I only wish I had a 3D set-up so I could enjoy it to its fullest. I remember the 3D being quite excellent when I saw it in the theater.
The Interview. It starts out quite strong, then looses some of that in quality. But I thought it was fairly amusing.
I watched a string of scary movies. Fortunately, none of them turned out to be too terribly scary.
The Possession. It was okay.
At the Devil's Door. Not too bad.
Haunt. So-so.
Contracted. On the downside, it plays rather like an Evangelical PSA. On the upside, it's quite a good premise:
how a zombie virus (or whatever?) gets loose into the wild, or the general populace.
her victims reanimate
they did reanimate later on
And hey...come on. If you're gonna do it, do it right.
Mealworms? Nuh-ah. Right = maggots.
Entity. Fairly decent for what it is. Reminded me quite a bit of Devil's Pass, which I liked a bit better. They're quite comparable.
Z Nation. I liked it quite a bit. I think it's better than Walking Dead. More entertaining, anyway. More action. Better acting. Or perhaps writing. I don't know. I only wish there were more than one season to watch (on Netflix).
Up. Finally bought the Blu-ray. Hadn't seen it again all these years. It really is a gem from Pixar. I only wish I had a 3D set-up so I could enjoy it to its fullest. I remember the 3D being quite excellent when I saw it in the theater.
Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back!): I hadn't seen this one in years. As a kid, it was my least favorite Charlie Brown movie and it still is, but it was better than I remembered. It's a shame the four Charlie Brown movies aren't that well known these days as they're all above average, but with any luck, the new one coming out this year will draw attention to them.
Horns - 5/10
Interesting idea with unrealized potential in execution.
Radcliffe was clearly the main draw and only "paid" actor amid a dozen buck-fifty cast members, still missable.
Pretty sure the production budget was considerably above the box-office take, but everyone seems mum about the budget.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=horns.htm
Can't call it rubbish, can't recommend it, either.
Automata - 6.5/10
Another film that fell short of its potential (third act fumble), but is worth seeing.
(Beats the cr@p outta 'The Signal', 'The Machine', 'Europa Report', 'The Last days on Mars', or 'Transcendence.')
They certainly did well for either a $7M or $15M budget. No, not in revenue. Total bust there. But it looks great!
First couple of acts really had that 'Blade Runner' vibe going on, but then the writer/director/producer/actors all gang-bang bukakied "humanity" all over the otherwise pretty good premise in an abortive effort to connect with the audience.
Sigh...
SCORE!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIszQyz3EJ0
Interesting idea with unrealized potential in execution.
Radcliffe was clearly the main draw and only "paid" actor amid a dozen buck-fifty cast members, still missable.
Pretty sure the production budget was considerably above the box-office take, but everyone seems mum about the budget.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=horns.htm
Can't call it rubbish, can't recommend it, either.
Automata - 6.5/10
Another film that fell short of its potential (third act fumble), but is worth seeing.
(Beats the cr@p outta 'The Signal', 'The Machine', 'Europa Report', 'The Last days on Mars', or 'Transcendence.')
They certainly did well for either a $7M or $15M budget. No, not in revenue. Total bust there. But it looks great!
First couple of acts really had that 'Blade Runner' vibe going on, but then the writer/director/producer/actors all gang-bang bukakied "humanity" all over the otherwise pretty good premise in an abortive effort to connect with the audience.
Sigh...
SCORE!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIszQyz3EJ0
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What We Do in the Shadows - 9/10
This was absolutely hilarious. I'm not sure why they are doing a Kickstarter right now to get into American theatres... with Funny or Die behind them that shouldn't really be an issue. However, I bought the New Zealand edition of this to watch. Absolutely hilarious "documentary" that I can't recommend enough. It's a true art in terms of lighting and holding the documentary film style even though it's a comedy mockumentary kind of film. Would I back them on KS? No. Rewards are overpriced. Would I recommend buying the digital New Zealand edition? Yes.
This was absolutely hilarious. I'm not sure why they are doing a Kickstarter right now to get into American theatres... with Funny or Die behind them that shouldn't really be an issue. However, I bought the New Zealand edition of this to watch. Absolutely hilarious "documentary" that I can't recommend enough. It's a true art in terms of lighting and holding the documentary film style even though it's a comedy mockumentary kind of film. Would I back them on KS? No. Rewards are overpriced. Would I recommend buying the digital New Zealand edition? Yes.
The last 3 films I watched was...
Big Hero 6 --- 7/10 --- I didn't expect to like this film but I found the design of the location and characters to be very cool, the story was a little predictable (but it's a Disney animation for kids so yeah), but it was entertaining and pretty hilarious at times... a good feel good animation to get out of one's head to (Can't be serious viewing all the time).
Nightcrawler --- 9/10 --- This film was as expected from what I saw from the trailers, great writing, great direction, great acting, great cinematography, great use of music probably and my favourite film of the last year!! I don't want to say too much about it, but I fully recommend watching it!
Gone Girl --- 8.5/10 --- I intentionally stayed away from watching any trailers for this, I hadn't read the novel, I just knew it was Fincher directed so I went in knowing nothing and yeah... a twisted, brutal and often cynical look at relationships, very well written, very well directed, very well shot, great atmosphere and I what I thought was a pretty epic ending.
Big Hero 6 --- 7/10 --- I didn't expect to like this film but I found the design of the location and characters to be very cool, the story was a little predictable (but it's a Disney animation for kids so yeah), but it was entertaining and pretty hilarious at times... a good feel good animation to get out of one's head to (Can't be serious viewing all the time).
Nightcrawler --- 9/10 --- This film was as expected from what I saw from the trailers, great writing, great direction, great acting, great cinematography, great use of music probably and my favourite film of the last year!! I don't want to say too much about it, but I fully recommend watching it!
Gone Girl --- 8.5/10 --- I intentionally stayed away from watching any trailers for this, I hadn't read the novel, I just knew it was Fincher directed so I went in knowing nothing and yeah... a twisted, brutal and often cynical look at relationships, very well written, very well directed, very well shot, great atmosphere and I what I thought was a pretty epic ending.
Turnabout Storm: Quite possibly the greatest and most ambitious fan project I've ever seen, this eight-hour miniseries is a crossover between Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic using the visual novel format of the former to tell its story with the addition of voice acting.
It sounds like a goofy idea, but there's much more here than initially meets the eye. If you can get past the premise, you will find that the creators have crafted a deep, complex, engrossing mystery every bit the equal of anything Capcom came up with for the game series and if you're a fan of either franchise, or both, it's well worth putting in the time to check it out.
8/10
For those interested, it can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL347AD9B9E509804A
It sounds like a goofy idea, but there's much more here than initially meets the eye. If you can get past the premise, you will find that the creators have crafted a deep, complex, engrossing mystery every bit the equal of anything Capcom came up with for the game series and if you're a fan of either franchise, or both, it's well worth putting in the time to check it out.
8/10
For those interested, it can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL347AD9B9E509804A
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The Conjuring - 6/10
Didn't find it great the first go-round:
www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=347802#post347802
Watched it again just before watching its sequel and still don't find it all that interesting.
I remain completely impressed with the rate of return:
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=conjuring.htm
$20M in, >$318M out.
Can't beat it with a stick.
Annabelle - 4/10
Totally missable story. Don't waste your time.
However, again, the marketing team gets all the props:
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=newlinehorror.htm
$6.5M in, >$255 out.
And audiences hated it.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/annabelle/
Beat the story/screenwriter/director with a stick, fluff the marketing team.
Didn't find it great the first go-round:
www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=347802#post347802
Watched it again just before watching its sequel and still don't find it all that interesting.
I remain completely impressed with the rate of return:
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=conjuring.htm
$20M in, >$318M out.
Can't beat it with a stick.
Annabelle - 4/10
Totally missable story. Don't waste your time.
However, again, the marketing team gets all the props:
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=newlinehorror.htm
$6.5M in, >$255 out.
And audiences hated it.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/annabelle/
Beat the story/screenwriter/director with a stick, fluff the marketing team.
The Conjuring - 6/10
Didn't find it great the first go-round:
www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=347802#post347802
Watched it again just before watching its sequel and still don't find it all that interesting.
I remain completely impressed with the rate of return:
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=conjuring.htm
$20M in, >$318M out.
Can't beat it with a stick.
Annabelle - 4/10
Totally missable story. Don't waste your time.
However, again, the marketing team gets all the props:
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=newlinehorror.htm
$6.5M in, >$255 out.
And audiences hated it.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/annabelle/
Beat the story/screenwriter/director with a stick, fluff the marketing team.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, just because something made a lot of money doesn't mean it's good. Frozen is quite possibly the crowning example, being the highest grossing animated film ever despite being incredibly weak by Disney standards with loads of plot holes, annoying characters, half-assed songs, etc. When a show on Disney Junior (Sofia The First if you're curious) is more entertaining and better written than a billion-dollar blockbuster movie, there's a problem somewhere.
