movies What's the last film you watched? And rate it!
- Thread starter GerryLovesU
- Start date
The Devil Inside - 3/10
Technical execution is fine for the found footage genre but poor for the documentary style it's supposed to be.
Of little consolation to note is how well the audio was collected and processed, especially in many tight echoic spaces. If the film can be given any nods that'd be it.
If you google the title with the word "marketing" you'll see laurels of appreciation for the film's marketing.
Many fools were separated from their money.
Many, many, many fools. An astonishing amount, honestly.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days 4/10
I ran across this title on an unrelated search, noting that it received the 2007 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or - so it must be good, right?!
No.
Not really.
Couple of really stupid women/girls have a stupid day.
Yay.
How gripping.
The War Within 4/10
An overly complicated variant of what Day Night Day Night achieved with less effort to greater effect.
Black Death 5/10
Surprising application of docucam to a historic work of fiction.
This could have been a better film by adding some genuine hocus pocus, but the directors let history get in the way of entertainment.
Shame.
This had better potential, but it's a good foundation piece.
Technical execution is fine for the found footage genre but poor for the documentary style it's supposed to be.
Of little consolation to note is how well the audio was collected and processed, especially in many tight echoic spaces. If the film can be given any nods that'd be it.
If you google the title with the word "marketing" you'll see laurels of appreciation for the film's marketing.
Many fools were separated from their money.
Many, many, many fools. An astonishing amount, honestly.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days 4/10
I ran across this title on an unrelated search, noting that it received the 2007 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or - so it must be good, right?!
No.
Not really.
Couple of really stupid women/girls have a stupid day.
Yay.
How gripping.
The War Within 4/10
An overly complicated variant of what Day Night Day Night achieved with less effort to greater effect.
Black Death 5/10
Surprising application of docucam to a historic work of fiction.
This could have been a better film by adding some genuine hocus pocus, but the directors let history get in the way of entertainment.
Shame.
This had better potential, but it's a good foundation piece.
Kabluey 8/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816545/combined
Stars Lisa Kudrow, Terri Garr shows up as her mom
I have no idea how this got on our Netflix queue, but we liked it much more than a lot of things that we've seen lately.
Simple enough story - husband is off fighting in Iraq, wife w/2 out of control kids brings in loser brother in law to help out while she's at work. But a good little story with some funky recession/unemployment/dot com bust visuals.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816545/combined
Stars Lisa Kudrow, Terri Garr shows up as her mom
I have no idea how this got on our Netflix queue, but we liked it much more than a lot of things that we've seen lately.
Simple enough story - husband is off fighting in Iraq, wife w/2 out of control kids brings in loser brother in law to help out while she's at work. But a good little story with some funky recession/unemployment/dot com bust visuals.
Chernobyl Diaries - This was just okay. I thought the first half was pretty good (for the genre) and the last half was meh. The theater I was at had a very rowdy / loud crowd that was not enjoying the movie. That may have affected my opinion of the 2nd half. I'd say this is more of a dollar theater watch.
The Omega Man. Still good. Maybe a 6. It holds up pretty well. I didn't care much for I am Legend. What I did like about I am Legend is that the plague victims are unequivocally mad-dog vampire thingies. In Omega Man, they're more like lepers who have been brainwashed by the Moral Majority. Well, that's fine.
Man, gone are those days of wonder when you might glimpse the bare breasts of lovely young women in PG rated movies.
The times have changed. For the worse. Now, the most you can hope for is a teasing glimpse of the underside of Angelina Jolie's breast in a PG-13 film...and even that feels scandalous. Goes to show where the Moral Majority's and the Politically Corrects' values are. No naked breasts, but bucket loads of violence. Bare breasts are now a rarity even in R rated films. But of course, R rated films are themselves a rarity.
Barton Fink. Wow. My second screening, I think. The number 4 definition of Cinema should read: The Coen Brothers. They're a national treasure.
Man, gone are those days of wonder when you might glimpse the bare breasts of lovely young women in PG rated movies.
The times have changed. For the worse. Now, the most you can hope for is a teasing glimpse of the underside of Angelina Jolie's breast in a PG-13 film...and even that feels scandalous. Goes to show where the Moral Majority's and the Politically Corrects' values are. No naked breasts, but bucket loads of violence. Bare breasts are now a rarity even in R rated films. But of course, R rated films are themselves a rarity.
Barton Fink. Wow. My second screening, I think. The number 4 definition of Cinema should read: The Coen Brothers. They're a national treasure.
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The Last Broadcast - 7/10
Gripping film until the last ten minutes. Best known as a predecessor/influence of Blair Witch, although it's really quite different in a lot of ways. Very, very atmospheric, creepy mock-doc that did a very good job of building tension and suspense...until the end, which was just bad. Not going to spoil it but it simply was a poorly executed, lazy ending. Still highly recommend watching if you're into horror/sci fi/mock doc/found footage stuff. If you like true crime tv (I love it) you'll probably enjoy the movie overall. If only the ending wasn't so poor.
Gripping film until the last ten minutes. Best known as a predecessor/influence of Blair Witch, although it's really quite different in a lot of ways. Very, very atmospheric, creepy mock-doc that did a very good job of building tension and suspense...until the end, which was just bad. Not going to spoil it but it simply was a poorly executed, lazy ending. Still highly recommend watching if you're into horror/sci fi/mock doc/found footage stuff. If you like true crime tv (I love it) you'll probably enjoy the movie overall. If only the ending wasn't so poor.
Wrath of the Titans - Expected much more, seeing as how I'd actually enjoyed the Clash of the Titans remake. This one was just terrible.
Worst of all, the theater has taken to showing the 2D versions of 3D films at really inconvenient times, so I had to see this steamer in all its useless three dimensional lack-o-splendour. At least it was only $4 tix, at the second-run.
Worst of all, the theater has taken to showing the 2D versions of 3D films at really inconvenient times, so I had to see this steamer in all its useless three dimensional lack-o-splendour. At least it was only $4 tix, at the second-run.
I Spit on your Grave - 2/10
one word - terrible
Hesher 8/10
Loved it. Great actors (Joseph Gordon-Levity, Natalie Portman) Good story, very indie-esque, and good cinematography. Highly recommend.
one word - terrible
Hesher 8/10
Loved it. Great actors (Joseph Gordon-Levity, Natalie Portman) Good story, very indie-esque, and good cinematography. Highly recommend.
Get the Gringo - 7/10 - Nice, entertaining. Some good action and story but lacked something. Some parts are a bit boring and predictable. I hadn't seen a movie with Mel Gibson for a long time.
The Grey - 2/10 - One of the worst movies I've seen lately... where to start? Obvious CG wolves, poor vfx, the crashed plane in the snow looks fake. Boring boring until the end... the end is stupid. I almost fell asleep.
The Grey - 2/10 - One of the worst movies I've seen lately... where to start? Obvious CG wolves, poor vfx, the crashed plane in the snow looks fake. Boring boring until the end... the end is stupid. I almost fell asleep.
Men in Black III (in 3D). So'kay. Maybe a 7. Fairly entertaining.
Wow that was a reeeeeally long Spider Man trailer. I usually hate it when they show too much in trailers. But in this case, for me, their gamble (if that's what it is) may have paid off. Before the reeeeeally long trailer I was barely interested. But I feel like the reeeeeally long trailer piqued my interest. Now I'm sorta looking forward to it.
And they showed The Great Gatsby trailer in 3D as well. Gotta say it looks pretty cool in 3D. But don't know how that'll be for watching the whole feature. Cool looking or not in the trailer, it does also look unreal, unworldly. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Wow that was a reeeeeally long Spider Man trailer. I usually hate it when they show too much in trailers. But in this case, for me, their gamble (if that's what it is) may have paid off. Before the reeeeeally long trailer I was barely interested. But I feel like the reeeeeally long trailer piqued my interest. Now I'm sorta looking forward to it.
And they showed The Great Gatsby trailer in 3D as well. Gotta say it looks pretty cool in 3D. But don't know how that'll be for watching the whole feature. Cool looking or not in the trailer, it does also look unreal, unworldly. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Avengers 6/10
Pretty disappointed actually. The first third was glacial. When it finally got going it had moments. Downey is great of course, new Bruce Banner a quantum leap forward from Ed Norton, but overall eh... it was OK.
I was forced to see the 3D version because of the timing of the showings, so that probably didn't help either.
Pretty disappointed actually. The first third was glacial. When it finally got going it had moments. Downey is great of course, new Bruce Banner a quantum leap forward from Ed Norton, but overall eh... it was OK.
I was forced to see the 3D version because of the timing of the showings, so that probably didn't help either.
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives - 5/10
Eh... This is the third Palme d'Or winner I've seen recently and them Frenchies sure like 'em odd.
Last year they chose 'The Tree of Life'. And it was weird. I liked it, but it wasn't for everyone.
In '07 they chose '4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days' which I watched last week. I didn't care for it much at all, but... whatever. There's something for everyone.
Well, with 'Uncle Boonmee' it's another fruit-fest.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get the catfish thing (not surprisingly), but the overall story is... just odd in pace and intent.
Certainly a long haul from even what AMPAS chooses for their "Best Picture".
It's probably healthy to broaden my appreciation for other cultures, French, not Thai, in case.
Probably.
(Can't wait to start hunting down Golden Bear winners. Yay. Sigh... )
Let me say that when you hear that American films are re-titled for foreign markets, want soundtracks separated for redubbing for their own indigenous tunes, that probably means they'll want to make their own trailer, too.
This LOOKS like a trailer for an Americanized audience - but it sure as heck doesn't represent the film's story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlPRe9peigI
It's a self-naveling review of a man's last few days - and there's some culturally acceptable supernatural sh!t going on that's perfectly kosher and otherwise unremarkable to them.
This ain't a John Carpenter or M. Night Shyamalan gig.
If you're gonna watch it - then "I told you so."
REC 2 or [●REC]² - 3/10
I liked [REC]. (I even liked the Americanized version 'Quarantine', although not as much.)
If there hadn't been such a few clever tie-ins with the first film I would have given this a 2/10
Too much random running around, whereas in the original there was a logical development or progression of events.
And the whole 'demon' thing was too cheezy for me.
Just retarded.
If you saw the first one you can skip this one, basically. It adds nothing great, really. You're just supporting the franchise at this point.
Oh, and as chaotic as [●REC]² was, it was still better than 'The Devil Inside'.
[●REC]² Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $27,766 0.2%
+ Foreign: $18,469,680 99.8%
= Worldwide: $18,497,446
The Devil Inside Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $53,261,944 52.5%
+ Foreign: $48,124,152 47.5%
= Worldwide: $101,386,096
Complete horsesh!t.
Proof that marketing is more important than content, and that US consumers suck for obviously being prejudiced against foreign films.
Diary of the Dead - 4/10
My appreciation for the film exclusively is pretty low.
However, my appreciation for George A. Romero slightly increases.
Like with John Carpenter, Eli Roth, even Woody Allen, a somewhat knowledgeable viewer knows kinda what to expect from these directors content-wise.
Sure, there'll be some wriggling about a familiar thematic or environmental territory, and that's what the viewers kinda come to expect, but it's different than the cult following of a Kevin Smith, Robert Rodriguez or Stephen Spielberg film where some identifiable elements may chronically reappear but the films' content is widely different.
There's following the director as a charismatic person - and then there's following the theme that director tends to adhere to.
George A. Romero is a director of the latter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Dead#George_A._Romero.27s_Dead_series
This film ain't all that great.
The best part about it is watching the DVD extra features and seeing how many people in the industry are welcome to lend a hand (or telephone voice over, actually) to follow an industry legend.
It's kinda nice to watch what a guy with some street cred will spend that plus a relatively small amount of money and make a somewhat daring departure from traditional filmmaking approaches that he certainly has financial access to but chooses not to utilize.
I appreciate that.
The film's still lame, but I like the approach.
He's old, but he's brave.
He does what he wants not through disrespect but through active conscious thought.
I like that.
Lotta long stage play-like shots.
A lot of 'em.
Very well thought out and rehearsed.
Nice.
I wouldn't recommend it for any other reason than to note the approach and process.
It did not entertain me (But I didn't turn it off, and only FF through a quarter of it.)
Hot Fuzz - 9/10
I apologize.
I just love this quick witty sh!t.
I love the script, the casting, the acting, the settings, the editing, everything.
I obviously have brain damage for dying for the third of the 'The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy' to finally be available. (Yes, I love 'Shaun of the Dead' as well.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayTnvVpj9t4
Too
D@mn
Funny.
Eh... This is the third Palme d'Or winner I've seen recently and them Frenchies sure like 'em odd.
Last year they chose 'The Tree of Life'. And it was weird. I liked it, but it wasn't for everyone.
In '07 they chose '4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days' which I watched last week. I didn't care for it much at all, but... whatever. There's something for everyone.
Well, with 'Uncle Boonmee' it's another fruit-fest.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get the catfish thing (not surprisingly), but the overall story is... just odd in pace and intent.
Certainly a long haul from even what AMPAS chooses for their "Best Picture".
It's probably healthy to broaden my appreciation for other cultures, French, not Thai, in case.
Probably.
(Can't wait to start hunting down Golden Bear winners. Yay. Sigh... )
Let me say that when you hear that American films are re-titled for foreign markets, want soundtracks separated for redubbing for their own indigenous tunes, that probably means they'll want to make their own trailer, too.
This LOOKS like a trailer for an Americanized audience - but it sure as heck doesn't represent the film's story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlPRe9peigI
It's a self-naveling review of a man's last few days - and there's some culturally acceptable supernatural sh!t going on that's perfectly kosher and otherwise unremarkable to them.
This ain't a John Carpenter or M. Night Shyamalan gig.
If you're gonna watch it - then "I told you so."
REC 2 or [●REC]² - 3/10
I liked [REC]. (I even liked the Americanized version 'Quarantine', although not as much.)
If there hadn't been such a few clever tie-ins with the first film I would have given this a 2/10
Too much random running around, whereas in the original there was a logical development or progression of events.
And the whole 'demon' thing was too cheezy for me.
Just retarded.
If you saw the first one you can skip this one, basically. It adds nothing great, really. You're just supporting the franchise at this point.
Oh, and as chaotic as [●REC]² was, it was still better than 'The Devil Inside'.
[●REC]² Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $27,766 0.2%
+ Foreign: $18,469,680 99.8%
= Worldwide: $18,497,446
The Devil Inside Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $53,261,944 52.5%
+ Foreign: $48,124,152 47.5%
= Worldwide: $101,386,096
Complete horsesh!t.
Proof that marketing is more important than content, and that US consumers suck for obviously being prejudiced against foreign films.
Diary of the Dead - 4/10
My appreciation for the film exclusively is pretty low.
However, my appreciation for George A. Romero slightly increases.
Like with John Carpenter, Eli Roth, even Woody Allen, a somewhat knowledgeable viewer knows kinda what to expect from these directors content-wise.
Sure, there'll be some wriggling about a familiar thematic or environmental territory, and that's what the viewers kinda come to expect, but it's different than the cult following of a Kevin Smith, Robert Rodriguez or Stephen Spielberg film where some identifiable elements may chronically reappear but the films' content is widely different.
There's following the director as a charismatic person - and then there's following the theme that director tends to adhere to.
George A. Romero is a director of the latter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Dead#George_A._Romero.27s_Dead_series
This film ain't all that great.
The best part about it is watching the DVD extra features and seeing how many people in the industry are welcome to lend a hand (or telephone voice over, actually) to follow an industry legend.
It's kinda nice to watch what a guy with some street cred will spend that plus a relatively small amount of money and make a somewhat daring departure from traditional filmmaking approaches that he certainly has financial access to but chooses not to utilize.
I appreciate that.
The film's still lame, but I like the approach.
He's old, but he's brave.
He does what he wants not through disrespect but through active conscious thought.
I like that.
Lotta long stage play-like shots.
A lot of 'em.
Very well thought out and rehearsed.
Nice.
I wouldn't recommend it for any other reason than to note the approach and process.
It did not entertain me (But I didn't turn it off, and only FF through a quarter of it.)
Hot Fuzz - 9/10
I apologize.
I just love this quick witty sh!t.
I love the script, the casting, the acting, the settings, the editing, everything.
I obviously have brain damage for dying for the third of the 'The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy' to finally be available. (Yes, I love 'Shaun of the Dead' as well.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayTnvVpj9t4
Too
D@mn
Funny.
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Ray -- funny coincidence, I actually watched "Hot Fuzz" on the same night (I presume) you did, and I also loved it. I was hesitant, because I'm not as crazy about "Shaun of the Dead" as many others seem to be. Anyway, I liked "Hot Fuzz", and would give it a solid "B+".
Richy -- that 13 Assassins climactic finale is pretty wild, no? I had some criticisms for this movie in my very short-lived Movie of the Month Club, but the last 1/3 of the movie is pretty fantasic!
Zensteve -- agreed. That movie is lethargic.
Anyway, my most recent viewing (I don't care what y'all say), I went to the midnight premiere of "Snow White and the Huntsman". And I kinda digged it.
Kristen Stewart needs to learn to do something other than brood (or maybe her directors need to allow her to do something other than brood). There were a couple of brief moments in this movie that made me think there might actually be a much better actress in her, and that she's kind of being held back (or holding herself back, I obviously wouldn't know).
The narrative is kinda stilted at times. There isn't always a clear forward motion in the story.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed that the filmmakers weren't afraid to go full-bore fantasy in this one. It was fun to see the magical forests come to life, and watch the magical evil army do battle. The advertising campaign keeps saying that this ain't no fairytale. That's false advertising -- it is absolutely a fairytale, and it sticks fairly close to the familiar story we all know, before ending with an epic swords-and-sandals battle.
I'd say I enjoyed this one enough to give it a "B-" in my book.
Richy -- that 13 Assassins climactic finale is pretty wild, no? I had some criticisms for this movie in my very short-lived Movie of the Month Club, but the last 1/3 of the movie is pretty fantasic!
Zensteve -- agreed. That movie is lethargic.
Anyway, my most recent viewing (I don't care what y'all say), I went to the midnight premiere of "Snow White and the Huntsman". And I kinda digged it.
Kristen Stewart needs to learn to do something other than brood (or maybe her directors need to allow her to do something other than brood). There were a couple of brief moments in this movie that made me think there might actually be a much better actress in her, and that she's kind of being held back (or holding herself back, I obviously wouldn't know).
The narrative is kinda stilted at times. There isn't always a clear forward motion in the story.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed that the filmmakers weren't afraid to go full-bore fantasy in this one. It was fun to see the magical forests come to life, and watch the magical evil army do battle. The advertising campaign keeps saying that this ain't no fairytale. That's false advertising -- it is absolutely a fairytale, and it sticks fairly close to the familiar story we all know, before ending with an epic swords-and-sandals battle.
I'd say I enjoyed this one enough to give it a "B-" in my book.