Author Topic: Write about the last movie you watched (2006-2010)  (Read 5996816 times)

Verite

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29090 on: March 24, 2010, 06:24:54 AM »
I think I did enjoy this enough. Are all Tos like this? Any recommendations?

Haven't seen Vengeance so I don't know if it's like any of my favorite To films which are Election, Election 2, PTU, and Running Out of Time.  I recommend those four.
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CSSCHNEIDER

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29091 on: March 24, 2010, 08:49:56 AM »

The Road (John Hillcoat, 2009)

The stark, delineated narrative of McCarthy's novel gets smudged, its unconventionality is rendered in disappointingly conventional ways, and the singular intimacy between the father and son - especially the way they communicate - becomes detached, makeshift. As a study of parenthood, of sacrifice and all that guff, it follows the book, but the conventionality of the narrative aesthetic, and its amazing lack of philosophic heft makes it paler, more commonplace. The backstory was not unpleasant, or insulting, but it did tend to sap the focus from the dynamics of what really, really mattered. It's not about the wife, it really isn't, but it teeters a little too far that way, which is a pity.

The stop-points along the way - those explosive moments of unease, terror, and the quick, mournful moments of reflection - become the centrepieces of the story, but gave me little, either in the way of the scariness, or in the drab, pathetic reality of the last scramblings for life. The house, the vending machine, the shelter were as nothing, really, with only the impressive ruination of the cities or the freeways giving me pause for thought. That's not really a good thing, as this grand-scale wreckage is the least important aspect of the whole piece.

It's that intimacy that is sorely lacking. The carrying of the fire, or knowing that they were the good guys, is given amazingly short shrift, and the subtleties of the drift of the father is rendered with little grace and large daubs of unnecessary obviousness. The chemistry between Mortensen and Smit-McPhee is there, and it's great, but it seems to pass by, almost grasped, almost nailed, but no, it always passes bt. Again, the conventionality, or something, has hamstrung such interest. There was nothing that made me shift, made me sit-up and go "Yes! Now that's a post-apocalyptic moment!" It just wandered, in a bad way, and seemed to squander what it came upon.

It might be a problem when the book is so much more effectively cinematic than the film it inspires. When the set-pieces make my draw drop when reading in bed, but make me scratch my head, and shift position on my seat in the cinema. The book comes across as lean, and it grabs you by the throat, or socks you in the gut, but the film misses, repeatedly. Didn't do much for me, not today.


I couldn't have said it better myself.  And the kid was annoying.
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jdc

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29092 on: March 24, 2010, 09:04:07 AM »
Echelon Conspiracy

Lets see, the government builds a computer system that is suppose to spy on everyday communications.  This system becomes aware and starts to do things on its own.  The good guys have to try to stop it by making it learn what freedom really means. 

This steals stories from many other movies and even some dialog from War Games...

I had already packed up all my BD and DVDs and had almost nothing around to watch except this which was passed to me.  It will go back to the true owner soon...
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smirnoff

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29093 on: March 24, 2010, 09:34:19 AM »

The Road (John Hillcoat, 2009)

When I read the book the father son relationship did not emotionally engage me. It was their situation that I was interested in. Because of that, my experience was merely good. Watching the film, I didn't feel the difference in their relationship from the book was any great loss, whereas everything else really came alive. I ended up enjoy the film much more.

How did you feel about the performances? It's surprising to me that Viggo didn't even get a mention in the FYC filmspot thread. I forgot about him myself. I thought the son was mediocre on average.

jbissell

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29094 on: March 24, 2010, 10:11:08 AM »
Speed Racer

It has a monkey, which is always a sign of greatness.
Have you seen Aguirre, The Wrath of God?  Because that has tons of monkeys.
so did Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Top 10 Monkey Movies according to IGN.com (By virtue of their monkeyness they must be the top 10 greatest movies ever made) ;)

10: Project X
9. Curious Gerorge
8. Bedtime for Bonzo
7: Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan
6: Every which way but Loose
5: Monkey Shines
4: Gorillas in the Mist
3: Mighty Joe Young
2: Planet of the Apes
1: King Kong

Sounds like a good filmspotting Top 5!

The lack of Babe: Pig in the City automatically invalidates this list.

wnducms

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29095 on: March 24, 2010, 10:38:26 AM »
I just saw Paul Greengrass' new film Green Zone. Despite what people think it is NOT "Bourne in Iraq" if anything it feels more like The Kingdom. Without giving to much away I feel it was a very well put together film, being the fan of Mr Greengrass that I am.  It definently had me thinking about why we are fighting in Iraq and if this could really be happening. Damon puts forth a much better job acting in this film then he did in last years Invictus, which i'm not sure really even deserved a supporting actor nod. The visual style was amazing. There were times I thought to myself "how did they pull that off?" not to mention shooting in Morroco for Baghdad.
3 1/2 out of 5
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smirnoff

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29096 on: March 24, 2010, 10:48:26 AM »
Tango and Cash (Andrei Konchalovsky, 1989)

There's a lot of guns in this movie but none more memorable (and stupid/awesome) than Cash's Ruger GP100 with THE BIGGEST LASER SIGHT ATTACHMENT I'VE EVER SEEN!

It's almost as large and ungainly as his ferocious mullet.

This movie is good because it makes use of it's R rating with swearing, boobs and violence. Somehow though it still manages to feel wholesome. I think that's because it takes place in the 80's... a time when people still high-fived each other and the heroes called bad guys dirtbags.

I enjoyed watching Russell and Stallone play off each other. There's a lot of back and forth banter between them that, while cheesy, was still kinda fun to watch. They mainly criticize each other's police work or accuse each other of having small penises. I wouldn't say there's a ton of chemistry, but both have a lot of natural charisma so that makes up for it.

I feel I got my money's worth. It's has a lot of memorable scenes and characters, some good (cheesy) lines, and decent action. It's pretty much what I expected it to be, and that's ok.

Also, Robert Z'Dar is in this movie. I'd never heard of him before, but I'll never forget him now. Look at that chin!




IMDB link

worm@work

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29097 on: March 24, 2010, 11:17:07 AM »

Afterschool (Antonio Campos, 2008)

Despite faceboy's rave reviews of this film, I was a little skeptical about the film at the start. For one thing, it seems to have it's arthouse cred written all over it in the way it's framed and shot and so on. Secondly, it's set in this elite school and I braced myself for the usual cliches about rich kids whose self-absorbed parents have no time for them. But the film eventually won me over.

It reminded me of Paranoid Park in the way it gives us this impressionistic view of high school as a cold, isolating experience for our protagonist but while Gus Van Sant's film feels almost poetic to me, there's something terribly sterile (almost literally) and documentary-like about this one. I also found the issues that the film explores really interesting. How the ubiquity of internet and youtube impacts our worldview. The fact that there are cameras everywhere and the way this affects our behavior. It also simultaneously seems to be examining questions about the film-making process itself like the ethicality of capturing something on video and staying behind the camera when a certain act is taking place.

There's also something really assured about the filmmaking here. I found this especially true of the scenes where we see Rob interacting with Amy. These are the scenes where we get a glimpse of the fundamental identity crisis that Rob is experiencing.

I think my one criticism of the film is that while the dialogue-free scenes (of which there are quite a few if I remember correctly) work really well, some of the lines seem trite and heavy-handed. This is particularly true of Rob's telephone conversation with his mom early in the film and the school principal's monologues which make him sound particularly clueless. But there're enough scenes where the film feels a lot more nuanced and interesting.

Two other things that really stood out for me are Ezra Miller's performance which is really great and the incredible sound design in the film.

Someone should tell me if this film is still eligible for the Filmspots this year.

Grade: B

roujin

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29098 on: March 24, 2010, 11:18:02 AM »
It is.

CSSCHNEIDER

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29099 on: March 24, 2010, 11:23:12 AM »
Tango and Cash (Andrei Konchalovsky, 1989)

There's a lot of guns in this movie but none more memorable (and stupid/awesome) than Cash's Ruger GP100 with THE BIGGEST LASER SIGHT ATTACHMENT I'VE EVER SEEN!

It's almost as large and ungainly as his ferocious mullet.

This movie is good because it makes use of it's R rating with swearing, boobs and violence. Somehow though it still manages to feel wholesome. I think that's because it takes place in the 80's... a time when people still high-fived each other and the heroes called bad guys dirtbags.

I enjoyed watching Russell and Stallone play off each other. There's a lot of back and forth banter between them that, while cheesy, was still kinda fun to watch. They mainly criticize each other's police work or accuse each other of having small penises. I wouldn't say there's a ton of chemistry, but both have a lot of natural charisma so that makes up for it.

I feel I got my money's worth. It's has a lot of memorable scenes and characters, some good (cheesy) lines, and decent action. It's pretty much what I expected it to be, and that's ok.

Also, Robert Z'Dar is in this movie. I'd never heard of him before, but I'll never forget him now. Look at that chin!




IMDB link

The Rambo reference at the beginning is what really hooked me and told me what I was in for.  Its an awesome action flick!

And Z'dar was in Cherry 2000 from my Post-Apocalyptic marathon.
Taste is discerning, not all encompassing.

It's Not What You're Like, It's What You Like

Know the Difference Between Arts and Crafts

"Pain is Temporary, Film is Forever..." --John Milius

Winner! BFCS Iconoclast Award 2007