Author Topic: Movies you've seen lately (Read 946,030 times)

Renegade · « **Reply #275 on:** May 25, 2014, 02:22 PM »

Quote from: 40hz on April 03, 2014, 05:56 PM

Apollo 18.
(see attachment in previous post)
Finally got to see it all the way thorough.

It's...not bad actually. Some pretty good low-key acting on the part of the astronaut characters in a few scenes. It could have been a lot better however. And all this "found footage" schtick is getting pretty old. But Apollo-18 is nowhere near as badly done as some reviewers would have you think.

So, for a cheap no-brainer bit of sci-fi inspired throw-away horror, it's moderately entertaining - even if you can guess the ending from about 20 minutes into the movie. After that, the final "big reveal" is pretty ho-hum. And it's also one that's been used before.

Possibly worth a watch if you don't have anything better to do (I'll admit to a little web surfing while watching it after about 45 minutes in) - or there's nothing else on.

That was a fun flick!

In the morbid vein...

Oculus

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A woman tries to exonerate her brother, who was convicted of murder, by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon.

It stars a few people you'll know, and... c'mon... Who doesn't love Amy Pond?

A lot of horrors are pretty bad, but this was really good. If you like horror films, this is worth a watch.

40hz · « **Reply #276 on:** May 25, 2014, 07:44 PM »

+1 with Ren on Oculus. Very eerie and nicely paced.

Quote from: Renegade on May 25, 2014, 02:22 PM

c'mon... Who doesn't love Amy Pond?

What's not to love? Seriously.

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Deozaan · « **Reply #277 on:** May 26, 2014, 06:27 PM »

I recently saw (the last half or so of) War of the Buttons on Netflix. It's a French flick with sometimes humorous/confusing errors in the subtitles. The story takes place in France during the WW2 Nazi era and is about some kids from two small, neighboring villages who essentially have a relatively harmless "turf war" in which each gang of kids tries to prove the superiority of their village over the other by outwitting the rival gang.

There's also a deeper theme about the adults dealing with the German occupation of France and the anti-semitic behavior (even among the French), with Jews being hauled away or going into hiding. I wasn't aware that even the French were involved in hauling the Jews away, so that aspect of the history told in this story was new to me.

But it's actually somewhat of a heartwarming/endearing story by the end of it, with a slightly bittersweet ending.

I guess maybe IMDB is better at summarizing it than I am:

Quote from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1837587/

In occupied France, Lebrac leads a play war between two rival kid gangs, but his feelings for Violette, a Jewish girl in danger of being discovered by the Nazis, encourage Lebrac to face the reality of what's happening around him.

Renegade · « **Reply #278 on:** May 29, 2014, 01:55 PM »

Just saw Melancholia...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1527186/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Don't.

It's painful.

2 hours of boredom.

Use a player that can speed up the video if you watch it.

Spoilers, if you can call it that, & commentary

This is a "drama/sci-fi" that is an uber sappy chick-flick.

Nothing happens. And then the world ends.

The beginning of the movie shows the entire thing in a couple minutes, and even that's boring as watching a large log being flushed. But that's actually more entertaining and not a waste of time like this.

Really. Nothing happens. Then the world ends. That's the movie.

It has a 7.1 rating at IMDB... There are a lot of bizarre people rating movies.

It will bore you to tears, then the world ends. A planet crashes into Earth. Nothing of any interest happens during the 2 hours of the movie except for that.

You will want to jump into the movie part way through and stab everyone in the neck and watch them bleed to death so that the movie can end. If you're a pacifist.

You can COMPLETELY skip the first hour of the movie. Only the last 20 seconds are worth watching. Seriously.

Then there's a dramatic black screen that drags on like the movie before they roll the credits.

You'll want to stab the director in the neck at this point.

Then in the credits the "Danish Film Institute" is cited for support... You'll want to kill every Dane on the planet for that. And the Swedish Film Institute. Don't forget to kill the Swedes for it.

The people that rated this movie highly are seriously evil bastards.

The music in the film absolutely adds to the homicidal rage that this movie breeds.

If you check the credits further, you'll see France and Germany mentioned... You'll want to nuke them for this kind of atrocity.

You'll hate Tom Cruz forever. The director's list of thanks lists Penelope Cruz at the top.

And that is as kind as I can possibly be about this abomination.

40hz · « **Reply #279 on:** May 29, 2014, 04:00 PM »

Quote from: Renegade on May 29, 2014, 01:55 PM

And that is as kind as I can possibly be about this abomination.

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Renegade · « **Reply #280 on:** May 29, 2014, 06:08 PM »

Quote from: 40hz on May 29, 2014, 04:00 PM

I tried to get through it on three separate occasions. My GF and I both fell asleep each time.

You're lucky... I think I read about a few suicides of people trying to watch it more than once...

40hz · « **Reply #281 on:** May 29, 2014, 06:12 PM »

Quote from: Renegade on May 29, 2014, 06:08 PM

Quote from: 40hz on May 29, 2014, 04:00 PM
I tried to get through it on three separate occasions. My GF and I both fell asleep each time.

You're lucky... I think I read about a few suicides of people trying to watch it more than once...

Thank goodness it wasn't an updated version of Polydeus.

Renegade · « **Reply #282 on:** May 30, 2014, 02:39 AM »

Quote from: 40hz on May 29, 2014, 06:12 PM

Quote from: Renegade on May 29, 2014, 06:08 PM
Quote from: 40hz on May 29, 2014, 04:00 PM
I tried to get through it on three separate occasions. My GF and I both fell asleep each time.

You're lucky... I think I read about a few suicides of people trying to watch it more than once...

Thank goodness it wasn't an updated version of Polydeus.

At least that was short. (And a lot better.)

This is short:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHttM2pzWPY

And funny!

In a dark way...

Edvard · « **Reply #283 on:** June 01, 2014, 01:48 AM »

I watched Maleficent yesterday. I have to say I quite liked it. Not the best movie I've ever seen, but not half bad, better than most folk story "re-tellings" I've seen. Angelina Jolie does a laudable job as Maleficent, and fits the character as she creates. I would have liked to have seen more character development of King Stefan, as he has a fairly big role without a whole lot of support. Also insert your standard complaints about CG ruining good filmmaking, etc. Not the worst I've seen, though. Any more said, and I'd be spoiling it. Go see it if you have nothing else to do, and the PG-age children in your life are up for some decent theater entertainment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-XO4XiRop0

wraith808 · « **Reply #284 on:** June 01, 2014, 05:24 PM »

Sam Greenlee just died... and in honor of that, I looked around for The Spook Who Sat By The Door.

Quote

Based on Sam Greenlee's controversial novel, THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR is a hard-hitting shocker that depicts a world in which the long-suppressed black man fights back with a vengeance. Director Ivan Dixon's uncompromising adaptation was relegated to bottom-rung status upon its release, and it subsequently slipped into oblivion for decades until the film was rediscovered and released on DVD in 2004. Lawrence Cook plays Dan Freeman, a head-nodding, smiling African-American who impresses his CIA cohorts with his winning demeanor. What they don't realize is that Freeman's friendly facade is nothing more than a mask for a deep seated hatred of white people. When he returns to his Chicago hometown, Freeman uses his newly acquired knowledge to organize an underground militant movement that revolts against the very army that trained him.

Dixon's matter-of-fact approach to the material makes the film an even more powerful experience. It also manages to transcend the Blaxploitation genre by making a broader statement about the devastating effects of death and war. Featuring an impassioned performance from Cook (COLORS, POSSE), THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR is a frightening, but important, cautionary tale.

A must see and read in my opinion (the book is titled the same as the movie).

Available on Youtube also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIDuryDLEFA

Quote

“The Spook Who Sat by the Door,” directed by Ivan Dixon and starring Lawrence Cook — with a score by Herbie Hancock, an old Chicago friend of Mr. Greenlee — was selected in 2012 for inclusion in the National Film Registry, a catalog of American movies of “enduring cultural or historical significance.” In a citation accompanying the announcement, the Library said that the film reflected a dimension of “who we are as a nation.”

After a successful three-week run in the fall of 1973 in Chicago and several other cities, the film disappeared from movie theaters, presumably because of its subject matter. The distributor, United Artists, never offered an explanation. Mr. Greenlee said that several theater owners had told him they were contacted by men who identified themselves as F.B.I. agents and ordered them to stop showing the film. The F.B.I. never addressed that accusation.

MilesAhead · « **Reply #285 on:** June 01, 2014, 06:16 PM »

^^^ Just for the title alone Miami Dade Library should have a copy. I love those plays on words. According to their search though, he only has one short story in a compendium of African American Authors(wonder if they help out if you're stuck on the road?) But seriously I think I saw this back in the day. But likely edited for television.

He must have seen quite a bit the years he was stationed abroad. Back in the old days when they installed governments to get the oil.

Renegade · « **Reply #286 on:** June 08, 2014, 02:20 AM »

Quote from: MilesAhead on June 01, 2014, 06:16 PM

Back in the old days when they installed governments to get the oil.

Oh man... I remember those days fondly... 2014... What a year!

40hz · « **Reply #287 on:** June 08, 2014, 03:14 AM »

Monsters

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From the opening title cards:

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Six years ago... NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A space probe was launched to collect samples but broke up during re-entry over Mexico. Soon after new life forms began to appear and half of the country was quarantined as an INFECTED ZONE. Today... The Mexican & US military still struggle to contain 'the creatures'...

I was pleasantly surprised to discover just how good a minimalist and mostly improvised movie shot on a "zero" budget ($800k est.) could be. Some details about the production of picture from IMDB:

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Gareth Edwards created all the films visual effects himself using only his home computer and store bought visual effects programs. Edwards claimed that advancements in computer technology is what made it possible for him to create the films visual effects on such a low budget, saying; "You can go in the shop now and you can buy a laptop that's faster than the computers they made Jurassic Park (1993) on."

The film was shot opportunistically, with little to no outline of scenes and their direction. The two actors were given a general outline of scenes and simply interacted with one another and the other cast members, all whom are not actors. All the scenes and shots were opportunistic as well.

The film was shot entirely on location: any settings featured in the film were real locations often used without advanced permission, and all the films extras were just people who happened to be there at the time.

The film was shot using prosumer level recording equipment, with an on set crew of only seven people: director and camera operator Gareth Edwards, sound operator Ian Maclagan, line producer Jim Spencer, production manager Verity Oswin, a driver, and the two stars (dating each other at the time, now a real-life married couple) Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able. Because they were such a small crew using so simple equipment, the entire production team could fit into one van.

Especially impressive performance by Whitney Able as the character Samantha Wynden.

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Renegade · « **Reply #288 on:** June 08, 2014, 04:21 AM »

Quote from: 40hz on June 08, 2014, 03:14 AM

Monsters
...
Reccomended.

+1 -- It's a fun flick.

Renegade · « **Reply #289 on:** June 08, 2014, 05:21 AM »

Quote from: MilesAhead on June 01, 2014, 06:16 PM

I love those plays on words.

I am such an idiot sometimes. I started downloading it a while ago when I read Wraith's & your posts. I was wondering what you meant there, but shrugged it off. I just went back to check to see if the download was done and... DOH! And now I have this going through my head...

nosh · « **Reply #290 on:** June 08, 2014, 06:25 PM »

I'm in the minority here.

I didn't think too badly of 'Melancholia' - don't remember it too well... viewed it quite a while back but I've rated it a 7 on IMDB. I'm smitten with Kirsten "Fangs" Dunst, so that may have had something to do with it.
And I didn't think 'Oculus' was particularly interesting. 'The Conjuring' was the only horror that did it for me this year, had some seriously creepy bits.

My recommendations:

[attachimg=#]
Wes Anderson's 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' - Not his best but it has Anderson's characteristic quirky feel and is an out-and-out visual masterpiece.

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O Som Ao Redor (Neighboring Sounds) - I adore Brazilian flicks, love their realism. The plot is mostly easygoing but kept me engrossed throughout. And there just might be something more going on than appears on the surface.

40hz · « **Reply #291 on:** June 08, 2014, 06:37 PM »

+1 for Grand Budapest Hotel.

MilesAhead · « **Reply #292 on:** June 08, 2014, 07:23 PM »

Quote from: Renegade on June 08, 2014, 04:21 AM

Quote from: 40hz on June 08, 2014, 03:14 AM
Monsters
...
Reccomended.

+1 -- It's a fun flick.

I enjoyed it also. +1

superboyac · « **Reply #293 on:** June 08, 2014, 09:26 PM »

Quote from: nosh on June 08, 2014, 06:25 PM

I'm in the minority here. I didn't think too badly of 'Melancholia' - don't remember it too well... viewed it quite a while back but I've rated it a 7 on IMDB. I'm smitten with Kirsten "Fangs" Dunst, so that may have had something to do with it.
And I didn't think 'Oculus' was particularly interesting. 'The Conjuring' was the only horror that did it for me this year, had some seriously creepy bits.

My recommendations:
(see attachment in previous post)Wes Anderson's 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' - Not his best but it has Anderson's characteristic quirky feel and is an out-and-out visual masterpiece.
(see attachment in previous post)O Som Ao Redor (Neighboring Sounds) - I adore Brazilian flicks, love their realism. The plot is mostly easygoing but kept me engrossed throughout. And there just might be something more going on than appears on the surface.

yes for grand budapest! freaking loved that movie, i had a great time! I know the wes anderson style is becoming a bit familiar, but I don't mind one bit so far. keep them coming, i love these movies.

Did you guys see the SNL spoof on wes anderson? So accurate! lolol!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSEzGDzZ1dY

nosh · « **Reply #294 on:** June 08, 2014, 09:56 PM »

Hahaha! Hadn't seen that.

40hz · « **Reply #295 on:** June 08, 2014, 11:12 PM »

Quote from: superboyac on June 08, 2014, 09:26 PM

Did you guys see the SNL spoof on wes anderson? So accurate! lolol!

Awesome! And spot on the sugar.

Woulda missed that if you hadn't shared it. Thx!

40hz · « **Reply #296 on:** June 08, 2014, 11:41 PM »

The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box

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Not bad. But also a good example of what happens when you have a real budget ($25M est.) and a talented "name" cast - but not enough story to make it memorable. This is sort of an Indiana Jones in the Victorian Era attempt.

Although they toss the trigger word "steam" into the promotional copy, this is definitely NOT a Steampunk tale. Either the marketing people have no idea what Steampunk actually is - or they hoped to piggyback on it in hopes it would generate some buzz with the Neo-Victorian sci-fi crowd.

Excellent but far too brief performances by Michael Sheen, Sam Neil, and the ever intriguing Ms. Leana Headley. And an entirely lackluster and stilted performance by Welsh heart-throb Aneurin Barnard as the chief protagonist Mariah Mundi. Maybe it's just me, but something about the look and costuming of his character made me think of something out of a vampire movie:

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I mean seriously...doesn't he look like something out of a 19th century Twilight episode?

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Renegade · « **Reply #297 on:** June 09, 2014, 01:51 AM »

Minuscule Valley of the Lost Ants

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There is NO talking in this film, which makes it perfect for long international flights, like Mr. Bean.

The story is easy to follow. A ladybug breaks a wing and then goes on a long adventure with some ants.

I watched this with my wife, and while I didn't particularly like it all that much, it was certainly better watching it with her than it would be watching alone. She rather enjoyed it though.

Also, you can talk all the way through the movie as there's no talking in it to interrupt. This actually made the movie better for me as we chatted during it. I suppose that I'd say watch this with someone or you might risk ruining the movie for yourself.

If you like things that are different, then chances are you'll enjoy this.

40hz · « **Reply #298 on:** June 11, 2014, 12:56 AM »

More 'found footage' inspired thrills and chills.

This one is set in Siberia - and unlike many movies that take advantage of the "found" gimmick, Entity is actually a decent little scifi-horror flick.

Entity (2012)

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In 1998, thirty four unidentified bodies were found in shallow graves in a remote Siberian forest. After subsequent investigations, no official explanation by the Russian authorities was ever offered about the circumstances of the deaths. The case was closed.

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Renegade · « **Reply #299 on:** June 11, 2014, 02:26 PM »

Regarding Entity, one complaint...

The sound guys.

Creepy sound effects 20~30 dB above the speaking level doesn't work well. We actually want to hear what the people say.

But, that goes for a LOT of films. This is by no means unique to Entity.

I often wonder if the sound guys' conversations go something like this:

A) What level you have the background track at?
B) Standard 140 dB jet engine levels. Why?
A) Oh, just checking.
B) What levels you got the voice tracks at?
A) I jacked them all up a few dB to around 70.
B) Sounds good. That's normal speech levels. We're going for realism here.

I would recommend setting the volume for this LOUD as at lower volumes it's hard to hear what is being said. You may need to mitigate the time of day you watch at, as well as whether others are sleeping in order to get a comfortable level where you can hear the dialog easily.

Otherwise, a decent horror flick.