The "What Film(s) Did You Watch Today" Thread

[godthedog 0]

rented kiarostami's 'ten' today. it was pretty good, and there were some damn fine moments. one of those movies that isn't necessarily compelling all the way through, but very solid. i'm starting to warm up to kiarostami's style in general, and i think he makes it work quite well, but i fucking HATE how he guards himself from criticism by claiming that whenever his movies are considered boring, it's because they're going "deeper" than those "lesser" movies that actually try to keep your attention.

 

after watching his master class, '10 on ten', he seems like a bit of an elitist prick. his way is a valid way to make movies, but i can't stand how he thinks it's somehow more valid than other ways.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

 

5 / 10

 

Not the best Marvel has come with, but I liked it. I even thought it was better than DareDevil (due to Elktra having more action) although keep in mind I have yet to check out the Director's Cut.

[Jingus 0]

Picnic At Hanging Rock: 9/10

One of those beautiful, haunting, dreamlike movies that they only seemed to get right during the 70s. Slow as hell and a wee bit pretentious, but highly rewarding to a viewer who doesn't mind a challenge.

[Mole 0]

Van Helsing - D+

 

I gave it a C after the first viewing, boy was I wrong. Sommers has a bigger hard on for CGI than Lucas.

[ArkhamGlobe 0]

Yesterday I rented these:

 

Bronco Billy - kind of an interesting companion piece to The Outlaw Josey Wales, even though it's certainly not as great. On a plot level it's pretty predictable, conventional stuff, but then again, the plot is not the point, it's the characters and their interaction, and Eastwood succeeds spendidly in making those compelling. And HOLY SHIT, Sondra Locke wasn't horrible in this! That must be some kind of record.

 

Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle - this was pretty interesting, as it felt less like a conventional written movie, and more like a loosely knit improvisation centred around art and artifice. Don't know if it was any good or not, but it was an interesting, and rather enjoyable, experience.

 

Black Widow - this was enjoyable and competent, but also rather obvious.

[DCMaximo 0]

Alexander- Really felt obliged to see it after doing an entire module on Alexander during my degree, plus, since seeing "Daredevil", my housemate finds Colin Farrell utterly hilarious. Nowhere near as bad as everyone say, and perversely entertaining in places, although not in the way you imagine Oliver Stone wanted it to be. A bit too long and you kinda wish that Stone hadn't decided to make Alexander's death more glamourous than his actual died-of-pneumonia death really was, but still decent enough

 

5.5/10

[BlackFlagg 0]

 

Open Water - 5/10

[Guest Mikey2Dope]

Open Water - 4/10

Enter...Zombie King - 2/10 - Who would have thought that Luchadore Wrestlers,Zombies & Jim The Anvil Neidhart would all combine to make a bad movie?

[BlackFlagg 0]

 

Leon The Professional - 9/10

[BlackFlagg 0]

 

Finding Neverland - 9/10

[DCMaximo 0]

Reality Bites- Good, but flawed in many respects. Ethan Hawke is pretty unlikeable as Troy and Ben Stiller, who we're supposed to be rooting against, actually comes across as a decent guy. The dance scene in the petrol station is still pretty funny and Janeane Garofalo is great as usual, but it could have been better

 

6/10

[Si82 0]

For Your Eyes Only (7/10)

 

The Majestic (5/10)

 

Octopussy (6/10)

[Guest Ray]

Matchstick Men

 

I loved this. Really nice blend of comedy and drama. Cage was excellent.

[BlackFlagg 0]

 

The Shining - 8/10

[BlackFlagg 0]

 

Friday the 13th Part IV - 8/10

[Si82 0]

Collateral (9/10)

A must see thriller with strong performances from both Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx.

[BlackFlagg 0]

 

Reality Bites - 8/10

[Jingus 0]

The Village: 7/10

Beautiful cinematography and nice acting highlight Shyamalan's 4th film, although even though I'd chugged an entire bottle of Robitussin and drunk a couple beers (no, I'm not exagerrating, and I'm still fucked up) I STILL saw the "big plot twists" coming a mile ahead.

[Jingus 0]

House of 1,000 Corpses: 6/10

This is the kind of movie I feel guilty about liking. I thoroughly enjoyed Rob Zombie's work for what it was (one long tribute to horror films, especially Texas Chainsaw Massacre), but at the same time recognized that it wasn't what it could've been (an actual coherent movie). It's kinda hard to take Stifler's Mom seriously as a serial killer. But I can't bring myself to hate any movie that shamelessly riffs on everything from Bergman films to Updike novels. In the end, it beats the hell outta the TCM remake.

[Mole 0]

Well if I ever see that movie, I know who the killer is Jingus. Thanks.

 

Braveheart - A

[Jingus 0]

Well if I ever see that movie, I know who the killer is Jingus. Thanks.

 

Braveheart - A

She's not the only one, there's a zillion maniacs running around in that movie, and within 5 seconds of her showing up you know she's crazy.

[Si82 0]

Walking Tall (7/10)

A good, solid, entertaining action film.

[Jingus 0]

The Missing: 3/10

Strictly by-the-numbers Western, both star Tommy Lee Jones and director Ron Howard completely phone it in. However, the film is almost (ALMOST) saved by the wonderful Cate Blanchett; apparently nobody told her that this was a crappy little B-movie, so she brought her usual Oscar-level game.

[godthedog 0]

sherlock jr (buster keaton) - holy shit did this blow me away. fucking pitch PERFECT comedy that seems to be harmless and fluffy but is about a lot more than it appears to be. all kinds of funny, inventive, energetic, and very touching. keaton brought his usual A-game for the jokes, but there's an added human dimension that really makes it come alive.

[BlackFlagg 0]

 

Maria Full of Grace - 8/10

[Jingus 0]

Gothika: 5/10

Standard-issue ghost movie/whodunit (but it does manage to hide Who Dun It better than most). Halle Berry gives her usual not-bad-enough-to-bitch-about performance, and she's surrounded by a fine supporting cast: it's especially nice to know that Charles S. Dutton is still pulling down a paycheck.

 

HOWever, this movie was a shining example of three specific annoying trends I've noticed more and more often recently:

 

1. The Perpetually Underlit Official Buildings. Whether it's a hospital, a police station, a prison, or an office building, it seems like all the architects who built the locations in today's thrillers just forgot to put in enough light bulbs, casting dramatic-looking but highly implausible shadows over the actors' tense faces.

 

2. Wall-To-Wall Background Music. I guess the editor feels like they need to justify the score writer's paycheck, cuz it seems like every damn scene is filled with unnecessarily overdramatic music. There's several different varieties: the Chase Down A Dark Hallway (ripped off Bernard Herman), the Exciting Swashbuckling Adventure (John Williams), the Epic Journey Thru Big-Sky-Country (James Horner), the Something Magical & Wondrous Is Occuring (Danny Elfman), and the most irritating of all, Attention Audience: Get Out Your Hankerchiefs (generic strings-n-horns crap). Music is most effective when it's used sparingly: see Schindler's List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Body for good examples.

 

3. Okay, I'm a male feminist at heart, and I agree that gratuitous female nudity in movies is often exploitive and sexist. However, I've noticed there are a lot of hypocritical-as-hell movies out there that have random unknown extras bare their bodies, while the stars get to keep covered up. In Gothika, there's a shower scene in which you see nothing but the faces of Halle Berry and Penelope Cruz, while various poor struggling extra actresses are completely exposed all around them. This strikes me as being elitist and double-standardy as all hell. (Plus, if you're a man and you're directing Gothika, what the fuck is wrong with you when you've got Berry and Cruz in a shower scene, and don't show the goods of either?)

[Mole 0]

Saving Private Ryan - A-

[Mole 0]

My Girl - B-

 

The only movie that ever made me cry.

[Jingus 0]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: 10/10

Brilliant, deep, emotional flick that's a meditation on human relationships, the frailty of memory, and everyone's dream of having a second chance with that one special person. Easily the best thing Jim Carrey's ever done, and the rest of the cast matches him with uniformly flawless performances. Charlie Kaufman finally makes good on his earlier potential with a movie that's a lot more satisfying than his first two efforts. Can't recommend it enough for shy guys who've ever been in love with a crazy female.

[Jingus 0]

You've Got Mail: 5/10

I liked this movie a lot more once I realized what it so desperately wanted to be: one of those screwball romantic comedies from the 30's and 40's, and every once in a while it succeeds (check out Ryan and Kinnear's hilarious breakup scene). Problem is, the whole thing is sabotaged by a horribly generic script, which contains so many plotholes that Kevin Williamson would start cursing at the screen (why wouldn't asshole millionare Hanks just close down his own store's children section?), and it brutally cuts short the "happy" ending. It's given a much-needed shot in the arm by the bizarro-world supporting cast: what other movie has Dave Chappelle, Parker Posey, Steve Zahn, Dabney Coleman, and Michael Badalucco all hanging around stealing the stars' spotlight?