What Is The Last Film You Watched?

[JoeinAR 1,949]

no it's just a moment of lucidity.

[Quintus 5,399]

Watched the old Bob Peck Edge of Darkness. Really, really good and classy eco thriller, which of course has a message which is as relevant now as it was back in the early 80s. Things got a bit too complicated in the final couple of episodes (I'm terrible for remembering character names), but I got the general gist...with a little help from Wiki. It seems their are one or two loose ends which I shall probably look into -- I'll watch the remake in the presumption that the streamlined take on the deep plot makes things a bit more understandable, by the end. One thing's certain: the themes the story deals with would've made a truly great novel.

Was interesting to find out that Michael Kamen and Eric Clapton collaborated on the score, which was rather effective and memorable, whilst being more than a little dated.

It is Bob Peck though, who stays in the mind longest. What a cracking good actor he was, the man had a wonderfully expressive and very British face. Such a shame he died so young.

[Morlock 11]

Shutter Island. It grows in memory, but I do not think this is a good movie. In fact, I think it is Scorsese's worst in a long time, the most soulless films he's made since maybe Cape Fear. It kind of works on a plot level (though a lot of it is totally unconvincing), but the main character's plight didn't feel like it was coming from it was inside- it was all some doppelganger impersonating Scorserse's themes, without any real interest. The interest was in the style, and that did not the movie make. Nothing thematically about the movie really stuck, and the ending left little for me to chew on.

The twist itself was disturbingly close to The Machinest, too.

[Bryant Burnette 658]

Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland

[Morlock 11]

Apparantly, it left you speechless.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

I find it funny that the two most anticipated films of the year (Shutter Island and Alice and Wonderland) have not been the best reviewed and that a horror film like the crazies is actually more critically aclaimed.

I can say that I love to see a movie like Alice and Wonderland, or last years UP or Bolt not be afraid of using colors. Too many of todays cinematographers these days are afraid of color.

[Morlock 11]

I don't think it's the cinematographers...Robert Richardson, who did the Scorsese film, also did The Aviator, which was full of color, and just last year he did Inglourious Basterds, which was full of rich colors.

[A24 4,374]

It's not the photographers, it's the color grading or color timing. It was once used to correct the color of a movie, now it's an extra artistic tool, the very last artistic decision in the process of filmmaking. Since modern color grading is digital, it offers many new possibilities and directors are taking advantage of that. Afraid of color?! People are merely using and exploring the latest techniques.

Rambling Rose: A funny movie with extraordinary performances. It's a shame that the film is drowning in sentimentality towards the end.

Alex

[Morlock 11]

It still reflects a certain sensibility. It is not merely that they can do more now- they just have more control.

[A24 4,374]

It still reflects a certain sensibility.

That's assuming that no one uses it for fashion reasons.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Alice In Wonderland

I think this is the worst movie I've seen since The Happening. Tim Burton needs to stop. Elfman's score was much better in the film, sans lyrics. So glad I snuck in and didn't pay. And I've also decided to never see a 3D movie again. Now that we only have Avatar in 2D, I may finally see it.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,799]

Alice In Wonderland

I think this is the worst movie I've seen since The Happening.

Whoa! That bad? I hate The Happening. How bad though?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

This'll give you a gist

[Datameister 2,099]

I haven't seen the film - and probably won't in theaters - but if the film is anywhere near the level of autopilot as the score seems to be at, I'm not interested.

[Bryant Burnette 658]

Alice In Wonderland

I think this is the worst movie I've seen since The Happening. Tim Burton needs to stop. Elfman's score was much better in the film, sans lyrics. So glad I snuck in and didn't pay. And I've also decided to never see a 3D movie again. Now that we only have Avatar in 2D, I may finally see it.

I hated virtually every second of Alice In Wonderland. It is pointless, visually unappealing, an outright betrayal of the source material, and -- worst of all -- boring. Elfman's music might have been great for all I could tell, but probably not; I don't recall a single note of it, it bounced right out of my ears as soon as it got in.

Depp is actually decent, and I also liked Anne Hathaway, but apart from that, I think this is easily one of the most inert big-budget movies I have ever seen. It's even worse than Planet of the Apes, which I would not have believed possible, and makes a fine case for Tim burton being forced into retirement.

That won't happen, though. It's going to make a pile of money, and that makes me a little sad.

As for the 3D element, I think I too am done with it, at least when it comes to movies that were made in 2D and then turned into 3D in post-production. That's the case with this one, at least as far as I understand it. Either way, the 3D is terrible, and adds nothing to the experience except a surcharge on each ticket.

[QMM 4]

As for the 3D element, I think I too am done with it, at least when it comes to movies that were made in 2D and then turned into 3D in post-production. That's the case with this one, at least as far as I understand it.

It is.

Strange since 3D is apparently the big reason why Burton wanted to make this movie.

I still maintain that the best 3D movie I've seen is U2:3D.

[Bryant Burnette 658]

I still maintain that the best 3D movie I've seen is U2:3D.

I think I'd go with Up, personally, but not by much; I loved U23D. Some of the 3D was so persuasive that I literally thought people in the front of the theatre were standing up and waving their arms about.

Some of the best sound I've ever heard in a movie, too.

Doesn't hurt that U2 is also my all-time favorite band.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,765]

Alice In Wonderland

I think this is the worst movie I've seen since The Happening. Tim Burton needs to stop. Elfman's score was much better in the film, sans lyrics. So glad I snuck in and didn't pay. And I've also decided to never see a 3D movie again. Now that we only have Avatar in 2D, I may finally see it.

I hated virtually every second of Alice In Wonderland. It is pointless, visually unappealing, an outright betrayal of the source material, and -- worst of all -- boring. Elfman's music might have been great for all I could tell, but probably not; I don't recall a single note of it, it bounced right out of my ears as soon as it got in.

Depp is actually decent, and I also liked Anne Hathaway, but apart from that, I think this is easily one of the most inert big-budget movies I have ever seen. It's even worse than Planet of the Apes, which I would not have believed possible, and makes a fine case for Tim burton being forced into retirement.

That won't happen, though. It's going to make a pile of money, and that makes me a little sad.

As for the 3D element, I think I too am done with it, at least when it comes to movies that were made in 2D and then turned into 3D in post-production. That's the case with this one, at least as far as I understand it. Either way, the 3D is terrible, and adds nothing to the experience except a surcharge on each ticket.

What Bryant said! It really is terrible, and the 3-D is totally supurflous. Plotless, heartless, and humourless. A travesty, by any standard. I did quite like the score, though, and will seek it out Monday next. Now, back to that borrowed Powell/Pressburger box-set... That's TRUE movie magic!!!

[A24 4,374]

I dunno, that's what they said about Charlie And The Chocolate Factory too and I loved it!

[Richard Penna 3,789]

Wonderland looks bizarre, weird (insert any similar adjectives) and not a movie I'll be seeing, possibly ever. I haven't listened to the whole score yet, but what I've heard doesn't blow me away.

And the trailer I saw on Weds made Depp look like Jack Sparrow.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Alice In Wonderland

I think this is the worst movie I've seen since The Happening. Tim Burton needs to stop. Elfman's score was much better in the film, sans lyrics. So glad I snuck in and didn't pay. And I've also decided to never see a 3D movie again. Now that we only have Avatar in 2D, I may finally see it.

I hated virtually every second of Alice In Wonderland. It is pointless, visually unappealing, an outright betrayal of the source material, and -- worst of all -- boring. Elfman's music might have been great for all I could tell, but probably not; I don't recall a single note of it, it bounced right out of my ears as soon as it got in.

Depp is actually decent, and I also liked Anne Hathaway, but apart from that, I think this is easily one of the most inert big-budget movies I have ever seen. It's even worse than Planet of the Apes, which I would not have believed possible, and makes a fine case for Tim burton being forced into retirement.

That won't happen, though. It's going to make a pile of money, and that makes me a little sad.

As for the 3D element, I think I too am done with it, at least when it comes to movies that were made in 2D and then turned into 3D in post-production. That's the case with this one, at least as far as I understand it. Either way, the 3D is terrible, and adds nothing to the experience except a surcharge on each ticket.

Yes, thank you! I was so bored that I actually started to fall asleep towards the middle. I thought everyone was bad, including Depp and Hathaway. The moment that completely just made me shake my head in embarrassment was when

Depp started to do that stupid dance backed with the Charlie And The Chocolate Factory music. And then they made it worse by making Alice do it.

As for the 3D, every movie I've seen with it has just discomforted me. I personally find it difficult to focus on anything, and it just hurts my eyes after so long. It didn't add anything for Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, A Christmas Carol, and especially Alice In Wonderland.

[publicist 4,643]

Alice In Wonderland

I think this is the worst movie I've seen since The Happening. Tim Burton needs to stop. Elfman's score was much better in the film, sans lyrics. So glad I snuck in and didn't pay. And I've also decided to never see a 3D movie again. Now that we only have Avatar in 2D, I may finally see it.

For me, it was worse. In THE HAPPENING, at least i didn't know what to expect next.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND really is a piss-on-the-grave for Lewis Carroll. What started as a wonderfully bizarre ode to the sometimes weird fantasies of children becomes a filmic hack job channeling LORD OF THE RINGS/NARNIA stuff, complete with "You must wear the golden armour of Golgamesh and lead the sword of Draco to fight some evil dragon named Vernathrix" gobbledygook.

Elfman's score (at least the theme) is by far the best thing about it. 3-D in AVATAR seemed much deeper and invigorating.

[Red 75]

I was afraid that it was just going to be Burton on autopilot. That appears to be the case.

[crocodile 8,113]

I was afraid that it was just going to be Burton on autopilot. That appears to be the case.

I'm wondering if I really need to even bother to watch this. 3D really starts to annoy me. And it's just a beginning. Bring on Inception instead!

Karol

[Morlock 11]

I dunno, that's what they said about Charlie And The Chocolate Factory too and I loved it!

I love Charlie, yet I'm worried about the new one. Something about the trailer felt off to me- and it's not Burton throwing tons of colorful things up there.

Had a fruitful weekend, three films I've been wanting to see for a while:

Lonely are the Brave (1962). Felt like a good black and white movie I hadn't seen before, a noir or a western. I came across this, and knew the title, that Kirk Douglas called it his favorite film, and that Jerry Goldsmith did the score. Damn good end-of-the-west film! Douglas is as good as I've seen him, Walter Matthau is terrific, unlike I've ever seen him before, and Gena Rowlands sure looks fantastic, and holds up her end acting wise. Strange structure, but it pays off. Ending a bit on the blunt side, but I was with it. Jerry did a great job, with a mono-thematic score that never became dull. One theme, played throughout, but it's a good theme, and captured Douglas perfectly. There's a special feature on the DVD about the score, 10 minutes of Robert Townson talking about it. Not the most thrilling of extras, but nice that its there.

Eight Men Out (1988). John Sayles dramatization of the 'Black Sox' scandal. Pretty engrossing, though ultimately unsatisfying. A lot of names and details are thrown in there, a lot of them popping up in the second half without being explained enough. But I enjoyed it as an interesting telling of a tale I was always interested in.

Ugetsu (1954). Not sure what to do with this one. Kenji Mizoguchi's most famous film, the second one of his that I've seen, and although I totally got what was intended, I just didn't connect with the film until the end. Frustrating, since I felt like the connection was on the tip of my tongue. I still got a lot of beauty out of it, and it really made me want to see 'The Legend of the Taira Clan' again, for it's stunning color.

[Bryant Burnette 658]

I dunno, that's what they said about Charlie And The Chocolate Factory too and I loved it!

Alex, I actually liked that movie a lot too. Depp was a little too weird, and not at all like either Dahl's or Wilder's Wonka, but overall I enjoyed it a lot.

Apart from Planet of the Apes and now Alice In Wonderland, I've genuinely liked every movie Burton has made, to a greater (Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands) or lesser (Big Fish, The Corpse Bride) extent. I consider myself a fan.

This movie just did not work for me in any way.

The moment that completely just made me shake my head in embarrassment was when

Depp started to do that stupid dance backed with the Charlie And The Chocolate Factory music. And then they made it worse by making Alice do it.

Damn your eyes, Koray; damn your eyes.

I'd actually managed to forget about that scene, but now, all that work my brain did to make that happen has been undone.

One of the worst, most embarrassing things I've seen in a movie in a long, long time. I'm from the South, and every once in a while, one of my uncles will still tell racist jokes at family reunions, and everyone just kind of shuffles their feet uncomfortably and looks up into the corners of the ceiling while he chortles.

This scene is like that; so ill-conceived that it is pathetic.

And so unnecessary! Why not direct Johnny Depp -- an amusingly weird man -- to just do the strangest dance his warped brain could possibly come up with? You just know that that is going to result in chuckles. Instead, you opt for ultra-lame CGI...?

And you're right; having Alice reprise it is an even worse idea, just unbelievably awful. George Lucas is rumored to have seen this and said, "Gosh, that wasn't a very good idea."

[Brock Lovett 6,507]

Overall I enjoyed Alice, but it was a fairly average movie with some cool visuals and nice moments. A little slow in the middle, and I was hoping for more of a backstory when they started to show flashbacks. I also felt Depp was a bit too weird, the dance was absolutely horrendous, the ending where Alice goes into railroads and takes a boat should have been completely deleted and re-done. Also please stop with the horrible pop songs in the end credits, Mr. Cameron and Burton. Thanks. Still, it was the best I've seen from that hack Burton since Sleepy Hollow. Parts were undeniably vintage Burton. Just that opening shot with the moon and the clouds I was expecting the frickin' Batwing to shoot up in the air.

[Bryant Burnette 658]

Just that opening shot with the moon and the clouds I was expecting the frickin' Batwing to shoot up in the air.

Judged on its own, I guess that's a decent enough shot, but here's the problem: it has nothing to do with the story. A night-time shot of a moon has great relevance to both the plot and themes of movies like Batman and Sleepy Hollow, but what on Earth does it have to do with Alice In Wonderland?

Nothing, that's what. It's irrelevant to Lewis Carroll, and it's even irrelevant to the proceedings of this particular "adaptation" of his work. The movie is filled with meaningless touches like that moon, which serve in no way to further the story and offer a very shallow moviegoing experience indeed. It feels as if Tim Burton had very little idea what he was doing while he was making this movie.

And yet, people are eating the damned thing up. $41 million on Friday alone, which probably means a $100 million opening weekend. Yuck.

[Brock Lovett 6,507]

The IMAX sold out every showing.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

word of mouth will undo it though.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,799]

This'll give you a gist

[publicist 4,643]

This'll give you a gist

And it seems spot on, although roasting Elfman seems unfair. He produced remarkable scores even for lame-o-ramas like PLANET OF THE APES.

What sours me most is that i had to pay 11€ just for the 3-D. The film is unpleasant enough as it is, but to pay almost twice the price for a mostly unrealized gimmick is worse. But there's always something worse: in this case a cavalcade of 3-D trailer schlock. I remember: SHREK No. 549, TOY STORY 3, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON and two more i forgot. All family-geared films which end always up making money here in Germany. Count one laugh for a cute toy antic in TS3, nobody moved an eyebrow throughout the rest of the show. Being a soundtrack fan, i comforted myself by the fact that at least the Powell score will be of potential interest.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,799]

This'll give you a gist

And it seems spot on, although roasting Elfman seems unfair.

It's accurate if you hear Elfman's commentary on POTA!

[crocodile 8,113]

What about this commentary?

This'll give you a gist

So true.

That is exactly the reason why The Wolfman score is better than Alice. Even though I like both.

Karol

[A24 4,374]

Star Wars: I started to watch the 'original' version from the bonus disc but after 5 minutes I switched to the 'restored' version. The image is a lot bigger and the quality is so much better. With today's technology, I find it hard to believe that this is the best possible version of the original (sans CGI). Anyway, I still like the first hour when Luke is still a farm boy on Tatooine. It actually reminds me of Clark Kent's Smallville period. Both share that 'there must be something more out there' feeling. Too bad the slightly saturated colors of the original Star Wars are gone. The color grading of the 'prestine' version looks way too natural. There's an excessive usage of CGI going on during the Mos Eisley scenes, it's simply distracting. You can tell it doesn't belong there. I've always loved the exterior scenes of Mos Eisley (that it rather felt like an 'empty and deserted' place at times) but now I feel they are completely destroyed. Moving forward, I lose all interest from the moment the film takes place on the Death Star. The events don't fascinate me (the trash compactor scene, et cetera), the film itself doesn't look interesting. Things get better again when the rebels take on the Death Star. There's a good sense of drama in the space battle scene. The storytelling is exceptionally clear for a 'dogfight'. Notice how there's no music for a long time and that almost everyone dies, even the mighty Biggs Darklighter.

Alex

[Unlucky Bastard 7,799]

It just doesn't have enough 360 degree shots.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

This'll give you a gist

And it seems spot on, although roasting Elfman seems unfair. He produced remarkable scores even for lame-o-ramas like PLANET OF THE APES.

Roasting Elfman was the best part, because it's true. He's produced perfectly average scores for most of Burton's latest films, hell for most of the scores he's done in the past 10 years.

[crocodile 8,113]

Ironically, it is the Elfman's music of the last 10 years (sans music from Burton films) that made me his big fan. Not the classic late 80's and early 90's Elfman. I think his is more mature now, to the annoyance of most of his fans.

Karol

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,269]

Ironically, it is the Williams of the last 15 years (sans music from the Harry Potter films) that made me his big fan. Not the classic late 70's and early 80's Williams. I think his is more mature now, to the annoyance of most of his fans.

Karol

[crocodile 8,113]

Your point being...?

Karol

[Charlie Brigden 7]

I think he's done the majority of his best work in the last decade.

[Richard Penna 3,789]

Just watched District 9. Uber impressed. It's a nice meld of action and documentary, the central guy's performance is near perfect and the effects didn't look like effects.

It won't, but I'd be happy for it to be awarded BP.

[John Crichton 4]

...the central guy's performance is near perfect...

Easy to do when the whole second half of the movie pretty much just calls for you to shout "F*uck!" at various different cadences and volumes.

[Richard Penna 3,789]

Oh come on, it was much more than that. Especially since the guy had never acted before, there was so much emotion and expression in his performance.

[crocodile 8,113]

Oh come on, it was much more than that. Especially since the guy had never acted before, there was so much emotion and expression in his performance.

I don't think he's talking about the guy and his performance. It's just the film degenerates into a mindless genereic action movie, after quite strong first half. So there's pretty much nothing to act in this segment. Not his fault.

Karol

[Bryant Burnette 658]

"Mindless generic action movie"...?

I don't think so. Definitely not generic, and probably not mindless, either.

[crocodile 8,113]

Why not? I started very well. Funny and disturbing. I was intrigued. But then it all goes wrong. The whole second part consists of the main character running, shouting and blowing things up. All over again. And again, and again. The sardonic tone is gone in favour of one long action scene. Dissappointing. I understand large audience wants explosions. But I can't help feeling a bit... cheated.

Karol

[Charlie Brigden 7]

MASH. Still as fresh, funny and inventive as ever. Love Elliott Gould's performance.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

...the central guy's performance is near perfect...

Easy to do when the whole second half of the movie pretty much just calls for you to shout "F*uck!" at various different cadences and volumes.

I couldn't stand him. I didn't care about his character and it did get old when he utter Fuck over 100 times. His character earned no sympathy. While the film had a certain visual appeal, it was nothing special. I really think it was generic.

[crocodile 8,113]

He was a d*ckhead, basically.

Karol