Jump to content

What Is The Last Film You Watched?


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 6k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I still rather like the different side of Superman shown in RETURNS. It's not a perfect movie by any means, but I like it a lot more than most. And it's not the worst DC movie by far.

MY BLOODY VALENTINE. In 3-D. An atrocious bundle of cliches made interesting by a pair of plastic and card glasses. It'll be interesting to see how this medium will be used by anyone with any talent, and whether it'll go beyond a gimmick to actually serving the story.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

some oldies I haven't posted

Fringe: Season 1

Had I not had the box set and was instead watching this on tv, I would've stopped probably halfway through the season. It's a great premise, and I kept going because I was waiting for them to do more with it. The writing really holds back the show, both in the stories and the characters. Walter is a deux ex machina machine, but John Noble makes it work, as opposed to Peter who's mishandled in writing and acting most of the time. That being said, it does get interesting in the end and I'm once again curious. Score-wise, it varies from being forgettable to interesting but nothing close to LOST.

Pandorum

Great for about 10 minutes until the monsters show up and then it becomes horrendous. I'm glad Foster's getting some more leading roles but he's wasted here.

Knowing

Still an interesting misfire. The movie works best for me around the middle where you can't tell where it's going, but the writing holds it back. Cage isn't terrible here, just not right for the character. I've heard there was a lot of studio meddling here and it's a shame because there's some great ideas here. Love the main titles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are they making a sequel to Superman Returns? Or are they rebooting the franchise entirely, to purge the feeling of trying to stay in the Richard Donner-mode to fit in with Supes I and II? That would mean another origin movie.

What Superman movie?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Passenger (1975). My first Antonioni. Kinda really liked it, kinda wasn't really on its wavelength. I was half bored, half enthralled with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are they making a sequel to Superman Returns? Or are they rebooting the franchise entirely, to purge the feeling of trying to stay in the Richard Donner-mode to fit in with Supes I and II?

No, no, Wojo, the plan is to reboot it entirely. Supes Return was a so-called homage to the original Donner film but that approach didn't pay off. The ol' supes ain't cool enough for today's youth.

No you're wrong.

At the current moment with the ownership rights back to the original creators, Superman is now in limbo, complete limbo.

It may be years before we see another Superman movie. Thank goodness we won't have to see a Dark Superman.

I see tom beat me to it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No you're wrong.

So there's a problem? It doesn't mean that they weren't planning a reboot.

It may be years before we see another Superman movie.

Reboot or not, I wonder if the world is really waiting for another Supes.

The Passenger (1975). My first Antonioni. Kinda really liked it, kinda wasn't really on its wavelength. I was half bored, half enthralled with it.

I was very bored and pressed the stop button.

[quote name=Morlock' date='20 October 2009

- 01:37 AM' timestamp='1255995463' post='604030]

My first Antonioni.

Really? Then I would recommend Blowup instead.

Alex

Link to comment
Share on other sites

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE

It was ok. It felt weirdly mismatched, like a vaguely decent character piece spliced with scenes from Michael Bay movies. Every time I got into the characters, some dumb, incoherent fight or explosion happened. Much of the film is dumb dumb dumb, and the score follows that. It explains too much, throws too many terrible characters in and ends up not really telling us anything fascinating at all. The adamantium process scene is probably the most successful, that had a decent bit of tension and grit to it. But do we really need to know where Wolverine got his jacket from? Awful CGI, too.

Schrieber was good, but the real saving grace was Jackman. Not since Chris Reeve has an actor so perfectly embodied a comic book hero. I guess I was looking for a more gritty, 70s esque piece that really focused on the character, something really stripped down. Oh well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where The Wild Things Are

Not as good as I expected. The costume and production design are amazing, and probably the most interesting aspects of this film. To me the whole thing felt unfinished, like there was more to this story that hasn't been told.

The movie begins, he goes to the wild place, he comes back.

That's all that happens.

Does Max learn something from his imaginative ventures? If so, it isn't clear enough.

Burwell's score is good, and Karen O must have had a lot of songs omitted from the final film. I can only recall two different songs, the rest of what could be called songs seemed more like Burwell's score with O's vocals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hook (1991). You know, I don't think there's another nostalgia film that is as nostalgic as this one. As much as I grasp that a lot of this doesn't work, on some level, I just love it. As usual, Hoffman & Hoskins are wonderful, but this time I around, I liked just about everyone. Score is still an absolute marvel. It makes so much of the movie. Just the way it synchs up is thrilling.

To atone, I sandwiched this viewing in between two serious and acclaimed films- Murnau's Nosferatu (1922), which I saw last night, and Resnais' Night and Fog (1956), which I plan on seeing tomorrow. The DVD I rented of Nosferatu is a horrendous print (due to the film entering public domain in the US), which significantly lessened the impact of the film. Still, that's one insinuatingly creepy vampire.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hook (1991). You know, I don't think there's another nostalgia film that is as nostalgic as this one. As much as I grasp that a lot of this doesn't work, on some level, I just love it. As usual, Hoffman & Hoskins are wonderful, but this time I around, I liked just about everyone. Score is still an absolute marvel. It makes so much of the movie. Just the way it synchs up is thrilling.

Even....*gasp* Ru-fi-ooooo???

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Watchmen. As someone who was more or less unfamiliar with the source material, I found the film to be utterly perplexing. It's visually captivating, of course, but I could not make sense of the plot at all. When the villain was revealed, I had no idea who he was, or that there was even a villain. Characters were introduced as if I already knew who they were, what made them tick, and then backstories were slathered on while I still had no reason to care about them.

I was also disappointed with Dr. Manhattan. Any given frame with him in it would look compelling, but in motion, he lost any credibility. Yet another unconvincing CGI human. They would have been better off shooting a real actor with blue makeup all over his nude body and then augmenting it as necessary with CG.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can't wait to get my hands on the blu-ray of Watchmen. I had hoped that I would've found it in the secondhand stores by now, but no, everyone is holding on to their copy. ;)

Alex

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have no doubt that Snyder is a fan of the comic, but unfortunately he was never the right man to make a movie out of it. His music video directorial sensibilities just don't match up with that of Watchmen. He was too caught up in showing the minutia of the book that he forgot about telling the actual story. Plus Malin Akerman is one of the worst actresses working today.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So out of pure frustration I bought the blu-rays of Zack And Miri Make A Porno, JCVD, Seven Pounds, Revolutionary Roads, The Librarian III (hey, the kid wanted to see it!), Babylon A.D. and Australia instead. God damnit! All I wanted was Watchmen!

Alex ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

District 9. One of few movies that I have seen that really use SFX to it's best effect. Good story, grasps you from the start. They could have done a bit more with regard to the character development, and this transformation is pretty ridiculous, but it's a tense and exciting movie to see. I bet they will come up with e sequel in a few years,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have no doubt that Snyder is a fan of the comic, but unfortunately he was never the right man to make a movie out of it. His music video directorial sensibilities just don't match up with that of Watchmen. He was too caught up in showing the minutia of the book that he forgot about telling the actual story. Plus Malin Akerman is one of the worst actresses working today.

The "hallelujah" is one of the worse scenes I have ever seen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can't wait to get my hands on the blu-ray of Watchmen. I had hoped that I would've found it in the secondhand stores by now, but no, everyone is holding on to their copy. :)

Alex

really, its so easy to find here. You can have David's regular copy, what a piece of crap movie.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So out of pure frustration I bought the blu-rays of Zack And Miri Make A Porno, JCVD, Seven Pounds, Revolutionary Roads, The Librarian III (hey, the kid wanted to see it!), Babylon A.D. and Australia instead. God damnit! All I wanted was Watchmen!

Alex :)

The only movie I would even consider buying is Revolutionary Road, and I did get it. I haven't seen JCVD but it got good reviews, so that could be a worthy purchase. Why on Earth would you buy Babylon A.D. and Australia?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I kind of liked JCVD. Weird, but interesting. Of the rest, I've seen the Smith and the Mendes. The former sucks, the latter isn't bad, but it's nihilism is something I was fine with experiencing once, but never again (it doesn't have much on its mind).

I bought The Bourne Identity (2002) a couple of months back (bargain bin). I was really hoping to love it, so that my frustration with Greengrass' films would be more righteous. Alas, it's still not terribly memorable. I saw it when it came out, didn't remember it. Saw it last week, and I enjoyed it...but it's a slight thriller. It's decent, not much more. The scores are the best thing to come out of the series.

I hope to finally get back to watching The Wire this week (I'm in the middle of season 3...it's been a busy month). Been checking out some of the new comedies...I'm really enjoying Community and Modern Family (though I bailed on Bored to death after the pilot).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I liked absolutely nothing about it, aside from the idea of Ted Dansen in that role. Two new comedies are enough for me, and Ed O'Neil and Chevy Chase are more than enough in the elder statemen category.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only movie I would even consider buying is Revolutionary Road, and I did get it. I haven't seen JCVD but it got good reviews, so that could be a worthy purchase. Why on Earth would you buy Babylon A.D. and Australia?

I bought them because they were cheaper than ordinary DVDs. My local videostore is shutting down its doors and so everything must go. I know that I've bought nothing special but I just couldn't resist, blu-rays are usally very expensive. That's why I didn't buy Watchmen yet (a film I must definitely own on blu-ray).

BTW, I probably sell them again.

I bought The Bourne Identity (2002) a couple of months back (bargain bin). I was really hoping to love it, so that my frustration with Greengrass' films would be more righteous. Alas, it's still not terribly memorable. I saw it when it came out, didn't remember it. Saw it last week, and I enjoyed it...but it's a slight thriller. It's decent, not much more. The scores are the best thing to come out of the series.

Both successors are fun action movies but they seem only interested in certain aspects of the Bourne concept, namely 'tension' and nervous camera movements, almost to the point of becoming parody. That's why I find the Greengrass films get somewhat boring during revisits. Identity is a richer film, it offers more diversity in mood. In my view, it's the best of the series because of its strange, almost lyrical European atmosphere, the relationship Bourne has with the girl which gives more character development, their trip together in the little car. As a movie, Identity has a greater dynamic between action and quite moments.

Alex

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I must admit, I was being a bit too dismissive...I really did enjoy the exotic thriller aspect of it. The fight scenes, however, were quite bad. The choreography was only a bit sub-par, but the sound effects were horrendous!

@Alex: Have you seen Watchmen yet? Your obsession with it on Blu-Ray is a bit strange...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I must admit, I was being a bit too dismissive...I really did enjoy the exotic thriller aspect of it. The fight scenes, however, were quite bad. The choreography was only a bit sub-par, but the sound effects were horrendous!

@Alex: Have you seen Watchmen yet? Your obsession with it on Blu-Ray is a bit strange...

Never noticed the sound effects of Identity but I consider that a good thing.

No, I haven't seen Watchmen yet. I'm waiting for that moment when I have it on Blu-ray. I hope I'm going to love the aesthetic aspect of it. I did see one scene (a gruesome scene in an alley) and I was kinda impressed with that. I remember thinking, aha, now this looks a lot more intriguing than Iron Man or The Incredible Hulk.

Alex

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, I haven't seen Watchmen yet.

Same with me. I'm kinda miffed that the ultimate director's cut is only available on BR, not DVD (at least, not that I've seen). However, this is not a strong enough catalyst to compel me to go out and actually buy a BR player. Go figure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never noticed the sound effects of Identity but I consider that a good thing.

It's not something I'm generally mindfull of, but I found it to be glaringly bad here. The right combination of choreography, editing and sound effects sell a fight scene, and all the ones here were just off. The sound didn't sell the punches.

@Elmo: I haven't heard much about Parks and Recreation...but I do like Amy Poehler. I'll try out the pilot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, I haven't seen Watchmen yet. I'm waiting for that moment when I have it on Blu-ray. I hope I'm going to love the aesthetic aspect of it. I did see one scene (a gruesome scene in an alley) and I was kinda impressed with that. I remember thinking, aha, now this looks a lot more intriguing than Iron Man or The Incredible Hulk.

Alex

Keep up the search Alex. I'd be very surprised if you didn't like Watchmen.

It's highly stylized, and has a distinctly Blade Runner feel to it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keep up the search Alex. I'd be very surprised if you didn't like Watchmen.

It's highly stylized, and has a distinctly Blade Runner feel to it.

That doesn't surpise me, Zack Snyder is a big Blade Runner fan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It surprises me when he's directed shit like 300.

I liked it very much. The story wasn't anything special, it's more like one single event that gets highlighted, but I thought the telling of it was pretty good. The thing that surprised me the most was how good it looked and how much I got from the fascinating images. And images is still what movies ought to be about. I could watch this movie without sound and still be captivated. 300 might be not much more than an exercise in style but Zack Snyder showed me something that I haven't seen before and I was highly entertained for the whole duration.

Alex

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Night and Fog (1955). Alain Resnais' short film about the concentration camps. This 30 minute feature, the first serious examination of the holocaust to be widely seen, is also probably the most singularly effective. It is also (as is said in the booklet of the DVD), totally unassailable on moral grounds, which is something that can hardly be said for the vast majority of films on the subject. It has been cheapened through over-exposure in cinema over the years, but this film brings back the horror and the inability to explain. It's painful and righteous cinema.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're looking for comedies, Morlock, you should give Parks and Recreationsa shot.

I love that show, though I really can't put on my finger why. The great cast also helps, of course (hmmmmmm, Rashida Jones)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

300 might be not much more than an exercise in style but Zack Snyder showed me something that I haven't seen before and I was highly entertained for the whole duration.

If you saw Sin City you've seen it before.

I wasn't talking about the technique.

Revolutionary Roads: Good, but I sometimes had the feeling it was a stage play. Kate Winslet gave a praiseworthy performance. I thought the photography was very stylish (Ah, Roger Deakins, that's why it was so good). I don't know why, and I'm not sure if anyone else noticed this, but the shots that showed walking people or a walking crowd (people going to work) looked kinda 'surreal'.

Alex

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.