What is the last film you watched?

[QMM 4]

The Bank Job was a solid flick.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Snatch is the only Jason Statham movie I like, unless you count Collateral.

[Bryant Burnette 654]

The Bank Job was a solid flick.

Yeah, it was.

I chose poorly when I went with "Jason Statham" in my joke, since I actually like the guy. That's what trying to be witty at five in the morning will get me, I guess.

[A24 4,338]

Noise: Feels more like a social protest than a movie.

[QMM 4]

I liked the premise and the trailer looked promising

[Morlock 11]

Saw Tropic Thunder. Like many have said, the opening trailers are the best part of the film. For some reason, even though the film is funny in it's satire, the funny doesn't get translated into laughs nearly enough of the time. Mostly, the film gave me sporadic belly-laughs, but very few regular ones. I was dissaponted in how little development there was in the humor of the characters. Downey does a great job...but the role is not particularly well-structured. Jack Black is the only exception- I couldn't stand his character in the begining, but him running in his underwear holding a gun to little kid's head yelling 'DON'T JUDGE ME!' had me on the floor.

Matthew McConaughey never found his place, Bill Hader had little to do, Steve Coogan was surprisingly square and unexciting. Jay Bruchel, though, was terrific, and I loved Nick Nolte. Nolte with a flame-thrower is the stuff nightmares are made from. While I didn't find Cruise so funny, the idea of Cruise in the role was quite good.

I think the movie is too smart by half. It mixes it's relatively subtle satire with such belabored and heavy handed comedy, that I was constantly having to recalibrate my expectations for the humor, leaving me fewer laugh points than it could have had. Oh well. What could have been a noteworthy entry in it's genre ends up as just an occaisionally better than average summer comedy.

[A24 4,338]

Matthew McConaughey never found his place ...

His place is to take off his shirt to show off his chest muscles to female and gay audiences.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Saw Tropic Thunder. Like many have said, the opening trailers are the best part of the film. For some reason, even though the film is funny in it's satire, the funny doesn't get translated into laughs nearly enough of the time. Mostly, the film gave me sporadic belly-laughs, but very few regular ones. I was dissaponted in how little development there was in the humor of the characters. Downey does a great job...but the role is not particularly well-structured. Jack Black is the only exception- I couldn't stand his character in the begining, but him running in his underwear holding a gun to little kid's head yelling 'DON'T JUDGE ME!' had me on the floor.

Matthew McConaughey never found his place, Bill Hader had little to do, Steve Coogan was surprisingly square and unexciting. Jay Bruchel, though, was terrific, and I loved Nick Nolte. Nolte with a flame-thrower is the stuff nightmares are made from. While I didn't find Cruise so funny, the idea of Cruise in the role was quite good.

I think the movie is too smart by half. It mixes it's relatively subtle satire with such belabored and heavy handed comedy, that I was constantly having to recalibrate my expectations for the humor, leaving me fewer laugh points than it could have had. Oh well. What could have been a noteworthy entry in it's genre ends up as just an occaisionally better than average summer comedy.

I loved all of it.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Saw Tropic Thunder. Like many have said, the opening trailers are the best part of the film. For some reason, even though the film is funny in it's satire, the funny doesn't get translated into laughs nearly enough of the time. Mostly, the film gave me sporadic belly-laughs, but very few regular ones. I was dissaponted in how little development there was in the humor of the characters. Downey does a great job...but the role is not particularly well-structured. Jack Black is the only exception- I couldn't stand his character in the begining, but him running in his underwear holding a gun to little kid's head yelling 'DON'T JUDGE ME!' had me on the floor.

Matthew McConaughey never found his place, Bill Hader had little to do, Steve Coogan was surprisingly square and unexciting. Jay Bruchel, though, was terrific, and I loved Nick Nolte. Nolte with a flame-thrower is the stuff nightmares are made from. While I didn't find Cruise so funny, the idea of Cruise in the role was quite good.

I think the movie is too smart by half. It mixes it's relatively subtle satire with such belabored and heavy handed comedy, that I was constantly having to recalibrate my expectations for the humor, leaving me fewer laugh points than it could have had. Oh well. What could have been a noteworthy entry in it's genre ends up as just an occaisionally better than average summer comedy.

McConaughey was the moral grounding of the film, he was the one true good guy. Once again Morlock you don't get it.

He was both a hoot and smart in this silly fun movie.

[QMM 4]

Moral grounding, what?

Being concerned the whole movie as to whether his client is getting TiVo and being relegated to a gag at the end didn't pop that idea in my mind

[crocodile 8,017]

Star War - The third gathers - Backstroke of the West

This slightly rewritten version of ROTS is considerably more layered and mature drama. In between chronicling the final days of "the Presbyterian church" and the rise of the "empire of the first choice" lies the tragic love story between three men, a frog-like creature and the astromech. There is a woman to be found there too ("Is that baby on the hoof?"). All of these characters make their choices and some of them are overwhelmed by despair on their quest for power "strong and big". Some will do everything to attain it, just to ensure safety for their cuckoldry. In the context of this version the final tragic delivery of the Darth's line "Do not want" is truly heartbreaking.

Palpatine to Anakin: "You make out quite good".

"He big in nothing important in good elephant".

"Superior, they have escaped a day after the fair".

Who said nothing can be done with Lucas' dialogue?

It made my day already.

Karol - thinking it is the only version of this film that can be truly enjoyed and rewatched endlessly.

[Maglorfin 196]

Carpenter's The Thing. Slimy and repulsive, but great, gave me a lot of nightmares as a kid. A perfect score by Morricone, I got a fleeting feeling that Carpenter's been ripping that score off for every future score he wrote himself.

[Quintus 5,399]

^ Absolutely brilliant movie.

[Bryant Burnette 654]

The Thing is a terrific film, and it's the best kind of terrific film: one that seems to never get old. I watch it at least once a year, around Halloween.

Some of the creature effects are amongst THE best effects ever put on film. Take that, CGI!

The behind-the-scenes doc on the DVD is also excellent.

[Morlock 11]

Moral grounding, what?

Being concerned the whole movie as to whether his client is getting TiVo and being relegated to a gag at the end didn't pop that idea in my mind

Indeed.

Saw Family Guy: Blue Harvest again. Still funny.

Saw Iron Man for the second time. Still utterly pedestrian and unimaginative with some nice high-points.

Saw Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Not nearly as good as the first, a lot more dead spots. Still, some very funny stuff. Rob Cordry is great, as is Ed Helms in his one (hillarious) scene. A bit too much of Neil Patrick Harris, but still...he's great.

[Maglorfin 196]

The Thing is a terrific film, and it's the best kind of terrific film: one that seems to never get old. I watch it at least once a year, around Halloween.

Some of the creature effects are amongst THE best effects ever put on film. Take that, CGI!

Yes indeed!

[Red 75]

The Thing is a terrific film, and it's the best kind of terrific film: one that seems to never get old. I watch it at least once a year, around Halloween.

Some of the creature effects are amongst THE best effects ever put on film. Take that, CGI!

The behind-the-scenes doc on the DVD is also excellent.

That's probably my favorite John Carpenter movie.

[Bryant Burnette 654]

The Thing is a terrific film, and it's the best kind of terrific film: one that seems to never get old. I watch it at least once a year, around Halloween.

Some of the creature effects are amongst THE best effects ever put on film. Take that, CGI!

The behind-the-scenes doc on the DVD is also excellent.

That's probably my favorite John Carpenter movie.

I wish Carpenter's talents hadn't petered out shortly thereafter. For a while there, he was on quite a roll, and made several movies that can reasonably be called classics today: Halloween, The Fog, Escape from New York, The Thing, Starman . . . Those are pretty doggone solid entertainments. Even several of his lesser movies have their selling points: Big Trouble In Little China, Christine, and Vampires are all guilty pleasures. And his Elvis with Kurt Russell is one I remember liking a lot, although since it's not available on video (as far as I know, at least), I only saw it the one time, fifteen years or so ago. Maybe it'll get a release one of these days.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Big Trouble in Little China isn't a lesser film, its a wonderful film, a terrific blend of many genre's, a pleasure either way guilty or not

[Nick Parker 3,040]

I stopped respecting Mr. Carpenter after I saw "Wishmaster" (perhaps the easiest film to ever poke fun at).

[JoeinAR 1,949]

I stopped respecting Mr. Carpenter after I saw "Wishmaster" (perhaps the easiest film to ever poke fun at).

Carpenter wasn't the director of Wishmaster, he had no involvement in that film. Try again.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

I seem to recall Mr. Carpenter's name somewhere on the film marquee. Are you sure he did not direct it?

[Wojo 2,453]

I believe you mean Wes Craven, another filmmaker who often places his name as a possessive adjective before the film title. That would earn his name a spot on the marquee as "Wes Craven's Wishmaster" or "Wes Craven Presents Wishmaster."

[JoeinAR 1,949]

I wouldn't have corrected you if you were correct, but you're not correct, you're quite wrong, try again.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

Ah. So I am mistaken. Regardless, I still think that that film is terrible.

[Wojo 2,453]

However, six carpenters did work on Wishmaster.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

Really? It looked more like twelve.

[Wojo 2,453]

I'm sure that it was six. Count again, and this time, don't count each carpenter twice.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Ah. So I am mistaken. Regardless, I still think that that film is terrible.

its not good thats true, but its ok to like a bad film everynow and then.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

I would rather watch "1941".

[Bryant Burnette 654]

I would rather watch "1941".

1941 is a fine movie; even if I thought it was bad -- I don't -- I'd think it was nowhere near as bad as some people make it out to be.

Big Trouble in Little China isn't a lesser film, its a wonderful film, a terrific blend of many genre's, a pleasure either way guilty or not

You know, for once, I really can't argue with that.

Ah. So I am mistaken. Regardless, I still think that that film is terrible.

its not good thats true, but its ok to like a bad film everynow and then.

My inexplicable tolerance for any movie with the words "Children of the Corn" in the title is proof of this.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Nothing can be worse than Open Water 2: Adrift. But wait! There was that time I decided to watch a movie with a peculiar title... Clawed: The Legend Of Sasquatch. Also known as the worst movie ever made in the history of film.

It's got stellar dialogue... "We may be dumb sheriff, but we're not stupid." (Yes, it was said seriously in a serious context.)

[indy4 155]

Also known as the worst movie ever made in the history of film.

I thought that title belonged to Plan 9 from Outer Space?

indy4 - who really wants to see Plan 9

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Plan 9 is uber-bad, but I mean, well... err, this is a tough one. The title is Clawed: The Legend Of Sasquatch, and it has Sasquatch vision, which is just the camera in black and white shaking around... which must mean big foot can't keep his head still, not to mention his 20x zoom eyeballs.

[Bryant Burnette 654]

Also known as the worst movie ever made in the history of film.

I thought that title belonged to Plan 9 from Outer Space?

indy4 - who really wants to see Plan 9

Plan 9 From Outer Space is a terrible, terrible movie, there's no doubt about it. However, it's SO terrible, so inept, that it's genuinely entertaining; even, in a way, thrilling. Tim Burton's Ed Wood understands this and is able to make something great out of it.

The only other Wood movie I've seen is Glen or Glenda, which, against all odds, is even worse than Plan 9. I swear to God, it can only be watched at an event horizon, because it does some strange things to one's perception of time's passage.

I maintain that these were movies which never had any chance of being good, and that they therefore deserve to have some slack cut. I think the worst movies I've ever seen that had enough money spent on them that they can be considered "professional" (and ought therefore to have been at least okay) are as follows, in no particular order:

(1) Battlefield Earth: Stupendously horrible in every regard.

(2) Ultraviolet: See above comments, but add in an obvious conviction on the part of the filmmakers that they were doing something cutting-edge and awesome.

(3) Star Wars Holiday Special: I've seen it three times, and I still don't believe it actually exists. I mean that literally. It's so bad that I've convinced myself that it is some sort of mass delusion I've somehow fallen into. You guys think Ewoks and Jake Lloyd and the two-headed pod race announcer and Jar Jar and Boss Nass and "Nooooooo!!!" and Ziro the Hutt and "Skyguy" and whatever else you hate about the movies sucks...? That stuff is Shakespeare compared to this thing. The best part of my bootleg VHS is BY FAR the vintage commercials; you might think I'm exaggerating, but I am not, not even a little bit.

I'll take Plan 9 From Outer Space over any of those turds, and I'll be happy to do so.

[Morlock 11]

I think it takes a special amount of talent to create a film of unique awful-ness. A lot of movies on all-time worst lists were never real movies to begin with. No real budgets, actors, or filmmakers. It takes the work of someone I take seriously to make me truely regard a film as terrible. For instance, this year, I saw two films that were terrible- The Happening and Righteous Kill. Now, the latter had a joke of a script (even if it came from a very capable screenwriter), boring characters, insipid direction by a director with no personality, but most of all- it was a stunt film, buitl around it's casting. So I don't really regard that as a truely awful film, because it wasn't a real film to begin with. The Happening, however, was a film made by an extremely talented bunch of people. Looking through the cast and crew, I've loved work by just about every name I recognize. The film consistantly and thouroughly laughable. Just about every single scene in it was ill-executed, and every single performance was entirely miscalibrated in any given scene. This is not a film that was doomed to failure, but it was terrible because of consistant mis-direction at every stage. This is a truely terrible film (and, like a truely terrible film should be in my book, is utterly fascinating in how so much went so wrong with such a talented group of people involved).

P.S.- this not at all meant as a response to any of the above choices (most of which I've never seen), just to offer my own two cents.

[Bryant Burnette 654]

This is a truely terrible film (and, like a truely terrible film should be in my book, is utterly fascinating in how so much went so wrong with such a talented group of people involved).

You may be on to something here.

I can't honestly say that The Happening is a good movie -- it isn't -- but I can honestly say that it is a movie I enjoyed.

Some of that was definitely due to amusement at how badly wrong some of the scenes went. However, I found some of it to be extremely effective. Most of the death scenes were well-staged (with the notable exception of the lion attack, which was laughable enough to be in a Toxic Avenger movie), and I found at least a few of the scenes between Wahlberg and Deschanel to have some feeling to them. Many people may disagree with me on all of these points, of course.

But I think you're right to note that there is a fascination to this movie; it's a grim fascination, maybe, but I'll happily take that over a film that simply bores me. Shyamalan is obviously a filmmaker who has great talent; maybe he'll get back to being able to use it with his next movie.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Shyamalan is obviously a filmmaker who has great talent; maybe he'll get back to being able to use it with his next movie.

His next movie is Avatar: The Last Airbender. Another fail for him, I predict. I don't understand how you can go from Signs to films like these.

[QMM 4]

I just wanted to say I picked up the complete series of Dinner for Five and I am so excited to start watching it

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Shyamalan is obviously a filmmaker who has great talent; maybe he'll get back to being able to use it with his next movie.

His next movie is Avatar: The Last Airbender. Another fail for him, I predict. I don't understand how you can go from Signs to films like these.

Its just going to be called The Last Airbender, you wont see the word Avatar on the title, not with James Cameron's Avatar do out before it.

it wont be his fault this time that the source material sucks rotten eggs.

as for me I've been watching old black and white Universal Horror movies, movies that are probably beyond the reach of the hyper edit kids here

The Incredible Shrinking Man, and Tarantula last night, and Monster on Campus tonight, basically a Jack Arnold scifi/horror fest

[indy4 155]

This is a truely terrible film (and, like a truely terrible film should be in my book, is utterly fascinating in how so much went so wrong with such a talented group of people involved).

You may be on to something here.

I can't honestly say that The Happening is a good movie -- it isn't -- but I can honestly say that it is a movie I enjoyed.

I would actually disagree with that.

Its biggest problem is cheesiness--be it in acting, dialouge, staging, or actual scene (eg the lion scene you mentioned). But despite all of this it still comes off as a good film to me, because there are so many elements of it that are fantastic (story, music, most of the horror, suspense, etc.) I would consider it to be a great but flawed film.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

[Henry B 50]

This is a truely terrible film (and, like a truely terrible film should be in my book, is utterly fascinating in how so much went so wrong with such a talented group of people involved).

You may be on to something here.

I can't honestly say that The Happening is a good movie -- it isn't -- but I can honestly say that it is a movie I enjoyed.

I would actually disagree with that.

Its biggest problem is cheesiness--be it in acting, dialouge, staging, or actual scene (eg the lion scene you mentioned). But despite all of this it still comes off as a good film to me, because there are so many elements of it that are fantastic (story, music, most of the horror, suspense, etc.) I would consider it to be a great but flawed film.

A masterpiece, you might say.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

indy4 would love reading Mr. Cranky's reviews of his favourite movies.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

"Twelve Angry Men", starring Henry Fonda. This is one of my absolutely favorite films. Watch it.

"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" Another excellent film. Watch it.

[Bryant Burnette 654]

as for me I've been watching old black and white Universal Horror movies, movies that are probably beyond the reach of the hyper edit kids here

The Incredible Shrinking Man, and Tarantula last night, and Monster on Campus tonight, basically a Jack Arnold scifi/horror fest

I haven't seen nearly enough of those. I love that era's sci-fi/horror, though.

I've got a couple of friends with whom I try to watch lots of horror films around Halloween every year. This year, inspired by True Blood, we're going to watch several of the major versions of Dracula: the awesome Nosferatu, Bela Lugosi's version, the first Christopher Lee Hammer Dracula film (which none of us has seen), the Frank Langella version, and Bram Stoker's Dracula (a perennial fave).

I also like to try and squeeze in as many Stephen King movies as possible, although it never ends up being as many as I'd like. Damned job...

"Twelve Angry Men", starring Henry Fonda. This is one of my absolutely favorite films. Watch it.

"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" Another excellent film. Watch it.

Those are both terrific.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

I know. That is why I recommended them. Here is another one: "The Man Who Came to Dinner".

[Bryant Burnette 654]

This is a truely terrible film (and, like a truely terrible film should be in my book, is utterly fascinating in how so much went so wrong with such a talented group of people involved).

You may be on to something here.

I can't honestly say that The Happening is a good movie -- it isn't -- but I can honestly say that it is a movie I enjoyed.

I would actually disagree with that.

Its biggest problem is cheesiness--be it in acting, dialouge, staging, or actual scene (eg the lion scene you mentioned). But despite all of this it still comes off as a good film to me, because there are so many elements of it that are fantastic (story, music, most of the horror, suspense, etc.) I would consider it to be a great but flawed film.

Well, I do like the movie, despite its many flaws, so I've got no problem with most of this. I can forsee the movie becoming some strange kind of cult classic; it smells like one, somehow.

One of my favorite bits in the movie is the scene in which the car full of people crashes into a tree. Like the best death scenes in the rest of the movie, it's just so cold and matter-of-fact; very creepy. Shyamalan contructs his movies so deliberately, on a scene-by-scene basis, that I wonder if he was simply nervous about being so grim in so many of the scenes that he felt the need to lighten the mood in other scenes, and ended up going overboard (with some of Wahlberg's scenes, for example, or the hot dog guy).

The lion scene is one that just plain got away from him conceptually. What he obviousy wants is for the footage to be of a guy walking into a lion's den and simply standing there while the big cat tears him to pieces. Well, there's nothing wrong with that on paper . . . until you realize that the only way you can really achieve that effect is with CGI. But Shyamalan seems to want to avoid CGI whenever possible (a good instinct, and one I applaud in most cases), and hit on the idea of having a fake arm be torn off by a real cat. Well, it looks ridiculous, and goes a good long way toward destroying any tension that's built up to that point. And it's not helped a bit by the incredibly poor acting by the lady whose phone we're seeing the footage on; "My God, what kind of terrorists are thse?" Give me a f---ing break, lady.

But yes, a lot of the film's imagery is disturbing and memorable, and will help the movie maintain some sort of a shelf life. It did reasonably good box office for such a poorly reviewed movie, and will probably sell and rent well, also. I'm sure many children will con their way into seeing it, will be freaked out, and will grow up with fondly horrible memories of it. There are worse things that can be said about a movie. I wish we weren't saying it about a movie directed by the guy who directed The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable and Signs and one of my favorite movies, The Village (yeah, I said it!), but so be it.

[Morlock 11]

Hey, I personally have come around from my very negative initial reaction to The Village to appreciating significant chunks of it. I still think it's all over the place and conceptually messy, but some of the ideas it throws out do stick with me, and it's got a wonderful and unique feel to it (it's the Shyamalan film most enhanced by his collaborators work. The cinematography, production design, costume design, and score are quite breathtaking in their quality).

About The Happening....I think almost nothing comes out of the film with it's dignity intact. No image, performance, or shot sticks in my minds and not being tinged with the failure of the product. Early on, I thought that the image of the construction workers dying was going to stick with me...but then it got terribly absurd, he was observing them first as ballet, than as splatter film. The car crashing into the tree just looked totally fake, and contrived in the worst way (it felt like he was painfully trying to underline his lack of underlining of the crash). I don't see his last two movies expanding their fan-base beyond those who saw them when they were first released, not even in cult circles. I wouldn't terribly mind it, as I still have enourmous good-will pent up from his previous four films...but I just don't see it.

"Twelve Angry Men", starring Henry Fonda. This is one of my absolutely favorite films. Watch it.

"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" Another excellent film. Watch it.

The first is an absolute favorite of mine as well. The second...not so much. I liked it, but I don't think it deserves to be put on the pedestal nearly as high as other Capra films.

Saw Pierrot Le Fou. I never thought this day would come...but I find myself kind of getting into Godard. Freaky. Strangely, this is the first film of his I've seen that actually made me want to enthusiastically explore his filmography, even though I've liked other films of his (Breathless, Alphaville) much more.

[A24 4,338]

His next movie is Avatar: The Last Airbender. Another fail for him, I predict. I don't understand how you can go from Signs to films like these.

Some of us are not surprised. Signs was also a very, very bad movie. Together with Alien3, it's in my top 10 worst movies of all time.

Brokeback Mountain: Started really good but gets weaker as they (the two lead characters) get older. All in all, it feels like a commercial Ang Lee.