Author Topic: Write about the last movie you watched (2006-2010)  (Read 5998295 times)

FLYmeatwad

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #20990 on: October 16, 2009, 09:02:32 PM »
Nothing makes me happy.

LeosAxe

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #20991 on: October 16, 2009, 09:35:10 PM »
Where the Wild Things Are
Dir. Spike Jonze

Magnificent.  This film is childhood.  Beautiful, terrifying, confusing, irrational and wild.  There is so much I want to say, but the film left me in such a strange place.  Instead of shouting from the hills and using fifty cent words to describe it, I just wanted to set.  Be still.  I wanted to reflect on what is surely the best movie I've seen this year, and what is the boldest movie I've seen in a while.

What I will say is this.  I have yet to find anything I didn't like about the film.  I can't call it perfect, but I can't find fault either.  The music/score is really magical and fits the action and emotion like a glove or maybe a well fitted bra, as it supports and lifts as well.  And the photography?  Lance Accord better get nominated, he's my current front runner.  

Grade A

As a side note, I did set for a while.  I sat and thought on it for over 2 hours.  Lots of reflection time needed for it but I do love it.

I just got back from it. I'm actually kind of conflicted as to how much I liked it. Certainly a positive experience, but I'm not sure how positive. But I do agree completely on the music and photography.

worm@work

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #20992 on: October 17, 2009, 09:05:37 AM »

Code 46 (Michael Winterbottom, 2003)

Argh, what a heartbreaking mess of a movie this is! It's slow and plodding and while there are a whole bunch of ideas in it that are all interesting in and of themselves (loss of memory, alienation, genetic manipulation, globalization, loss of freedom, mega-corporations controlling human lives), none of these get explored in any sort of depth. There's just this surfeit of issues that get picked up and just as we get invested in them, they get abandoned in favor or something else.

Then again, I am reluctant to criticize these too much because they pretty much just serve as a backdrop to this really intense and heartwrenching love story at the center of the film. Thankfully, the film throws us right into this love story without much exposition or explanation and while these make the plot itself less interesting and compelling (lack of clear motivation etc.), the love story itself is depicted with such starkness and intensity and beauty that the plot really didn't matter that much to me. One of the things I loved about the film was the way this love story is shot. It's all handheld camera and saturated neon colors and the love story has the appearance of existing somewhere between dream and reality which really works perfectly in the context of the film.

But the other major reason this otherwise not-really-all-that-original love story holds such emotional weight and power is really Samantha Morton's performance. We are required to see her from William's perspective throughout the film and the camera spends a lot of time just following her movements, caressing her face, showing us the texture of her skin and somehow she exudes such a combination of loveliness and vulnerability and intensity throughout that I never tired of watching her. And every time she stares into the camera and whispers something, I too found myself falling hopelessly in love with her and that was sufficient to make the whole thing worthwhile for me. Yeah, I do have a crush on her.

Grade: B

BlueVoid

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #20993 on: October 17, 2009, 10:50:13 AM »

Drag Me To Hell[2009]
,
After the buzz I decided to give this a try hoping that it might redeem the horror genre for me.  Ultimately, I see where people had a good time with it, but its far from making me any more appreciative of the genre.  The story was painfully rudimentary.  I like that Rami took the time to put in a backstory, but ultimately, what's the point when its so cliched?  I don't mind camp, but the film seems to swivel between the awful and interesting too quickly for me.  I wanted to like it as being so bad its good, but it seemed like Rami was trying to hard for this, and in the end I didn't want to give it to him.  The acting by Alison Lohman is comparable to kitten trying to be lion, its just not a role she could ever pull off.   There is some fantastic camera work and inspired editing, but these moments were to sporadic to make an impact.  Sure, its a fun movie.  It plays for laughs and cheap jumps and does this type of film very well, its just that these type of movies don't work for me.
Rating: 2.5/5
« Last Edit: October 17, 2009, 10:53:37 AM by BlueVoid »
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philip918

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #20994 on: October 17, 2009, 10:52:37 AM »
Splinter

A nice little horror film where character takes precedent while still managing to be quite unnerving.  Splinter features one of the more unique "monster" designs I've seen recently and it's really effective.  The look of the film is gorgeous thanks to fantastic shooting by Nelson Cragg.  The scenario is really clever - a couple is taken hostage by a couple fugitives only to find themselves trapped in an isolated gas station by the gas station attendant who has been infected by a killer mold.  The pacing is really good.  The last half hour doesn't quite live up to the suspense and thrills of the first 50 minutes with a very hokey escape plan, but in the end I found myself really sympathizing with the characters and genuinely creeped out by a couple of the earlier scenes.  Definitely worth a look.

B

THATguy

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #20995 on: October 17, 2009, 12:17:35 PM »
The Dark Knight

Second viewing, first since in the theater last year.  The film still definitely has it's flaws, but I'm not as down on it as I had been walking away from the first viewing and the time afterwards.  I still feel like it felt like two films, where only the first got enough time.  I probably still stand by my initial *** 1/2 rating, but I'd put it closer to **** than I did the first time.

NedMeier

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #20996 on: October 17, 2009, 12:31:05 PM »
Where the Wild Things Are

Brilliant! I think... This one will definitely polarize filmspotters. I advise to go in with no expectations and judge it for what it is not what you want it to be. I need to take a little while before I write my review and ponder. I may even go see it again (they didn't turn the lights off and a classroom of children came with their teacher!!!, not the best movie going experience), then I will write my review and rank it.
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maņana

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #20997 on: October 17, 2009, 01:33:13 PM »
The Informant! (Steven Soderbergh, 2009)

Conceptually it's a terrific handling of this material; I'm totally into a stylish dark comedy about the corporate whistle blower story. Adam and Matty indicated they would have preferred a straight version of this, I kinda disagree in that I love that this isn't another Michael Clayton, however the film falls short in its execution. Particularly in the last 40 minutes, there are a lot of pacing problems and the sluggish energy kind of sucks the funny out of the film. Anyway, it's pretty amusing and I liked Damon, but it's something of a missed opportunity.
Grade: B

Bull Durham (Ron Shelton, 1988)

Ron Shelton tries so hard to make the writing smart and literate but much of it feels really forced and awkward. This is especially the case when Costner is given these long zippy speeches. The love triangle kind of makes it a screwball comedy but with an 80s music soundtrack (synth and John Fogery). On the bright side Tim Robbins is pretty darn funny and all the on-field stuff is pretty great. I don't really understand why it's remembered as something of a modern classic, maybe 'cause most sports movies stink. The best of my mini baseball movie marathon.
Grade: C+
« Last Edit: October 19, 2009, 12:44:36 AM by matt the movie watcher »
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FLYmeatwad

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #20998 on: October 17, 2009, 02:00:39 PM »
Where the Wild Things Are - Definitely better than the trailers. Quite an odd film.

Melvil

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #20999 on: October 17, 2009, 02:24:05 PM »
Playing a bit of catch up...

Night of the Living Dead (George Romero, 1968)

Enjoyable enough, and fun to see it set the standards for zombie movies to come. It feels a little dated, but I think it still works very well. Not as much with the scares, but with showing people dealing with the situation, which is always the most interesting part of a zombie movie anyways. I thought the end was pretty great.

The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973)

Pop culture did this movie no favors for me. I couldn't help but have a mental checklist as I watched it. Crucifix, check. Vomit, check. Head spin, check...Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised, but knowing pretty much the entire movie secondhand made it a very ineffective experience. From a film making perspective I can admire it, but I think I just missed the boat on it.

The Abyss (Special Edition) (James Cameron, 1989)

I might equate watching this to watching A.I., both are very ambitious movies that contain a lot I loved, but ultimately fail because of that ambition. The difference being a spectacular failure with A.I. vs. a more nuanced failure in The Abyss. Really, I'm not sure I can point at anything in particular and say, "This is why The Abyss didn't work." Individually, most of it did. I loved the setting, the mystery, the action, the characters, and even the whole end segment (although, like A.I., the last 20 minutes or so felt like a different movie). But when put together those things didn't all work together how they needed to. I'm curious if the theatrical cut mitigates this problem, because I think it just does too much.

But even so, I'm staying pretty positive on it. Some of the things it does it does so well that it really is magical in the "I've never seen this before" sense. I also spent a lot of time just in awe of the technical achievement.

Drag Me To Hell (Sam Raimi, 2009)

I had a great time with this. Raimi's technical skill at shooting horror is exceptional, he is very creative, and it's effective without using all those horror conventions that I get annoyed at. The camp and humor are exactly what I wanted from it, it's over-the-top just the right amount, and I was impressed with how it can take simple scenes and build them into something really fun. At the same time, there is some truly creepy material (mostly atmospheric) that got to me more than a lot of the serious straight-up horror I've been watching lately.