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Author Topic: Write about the last movie you watched (2006-2010)  (Read 5996039 times)

zarodinu

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31930 on: June 04, 2010, 09:59:48 PM »
Well at heart King is a good ol' 60s hippie type liberal and all those tropes are very evident not only in The Mist novella, which was published slap in the middle of the Reagan era, but also in most of his early work.  Carrie has the religious paranoia; distrust of the military in The Stand and Firestarter, and bunches of short stories in Night Shift; ditto the government being up to something horrible in all those books plus The Dead Zone; The Stand also touches on overwhelming environmental catastrophe/human negligence, and the terror of being one of a few rational people surrounded by lunatics (although that isn't just a liberal fear, that's a basic human fear that is expressed by both the zombie mythos and the visions of torch and pitchfork waving villagers in Frankenstein).  And he was smack in the middle of the zeitgeist of the time, with all the fiction thrillers about nefarious government projects and all the horror movies that were based on fears of polution and "ecology" (a word that just seems dipped in earth tone nostalgia now).

Yeah I agree Colleen.  Huge fan of King and he is definetly a child of the sixties.  All those things often pop up in sci-fi in general, but this movie just piles them on.  I haven't though about Reagan, yeah it makes sense the novella was published with the gipper in office. 

The one thing that King doesn't always have is a fear of rural Americans, as the level headed rational types just as often come from the rural areas as the drooling idiots do.

I would disagree there.  I wouldn't say that he has a negative view of rednecks per say, but he seems to associate evil with small towns and rural areas.  I mean how many of his books (especially the classics) take place in a small town?  I think IT is a classic example of this, you have a small serene little town where something absolutely terrible is hiding beneath the surface.  If you look closer you find all kinds of crime and abuse taking place in the town, and if you look at its history you uncover unimaginable evil, oh and there is a clown living in the sewer and eating people.  Seems like a pretty consistent theme in King's writings.
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tjwells

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31931 on: June 04, 2010, 10:13:55 PM »
Well at heart King is a good ol' 60s hippie type liberal and all those tropes are very evident not only in The Mist novella, which was published slap in the middle of the Reagan era, but also in most of his early work.  Carrie has the religious paranoia; distrust of the military in The Stand and Firestarter, and bunches of short stories in Night Shift; ditto the government being up to something horrible in all those books plus The Dead Zone; The Stand also touches on overwhelming environmental catastrophe/human negligence, and the terror of being one of a few rational people surrounded by lunatics (although that isn't just a liberal fear, that's a basic human fear that is expressed by both the zombie mythos and the visions of torch and pitchfork waving villagers in Frankenstein).  And he was smack in the middle of the zeitgeist of the time, with all the fiction thrillers about nefarious government projects and all the horror movies that were based on fears of polution and "ecology" (a word that just seems dipped in earth tone nostalgia now).

Yeah I agree Colleen.  Huge fan of King and he is definetly a child of the sixties.  All those things often pop up in sci-fi in general, but this movie just piles them on.  I haven't though about Reagan, yeah it makes sense the novella was published with the gipper in office. 

The one thing that King doesn't always have is a fear of rural Americans, as the level headed rational types just as often come from the rural areas as the drooling idiots do.

I would disagree there.  I wouldn't say that he has a negative view of rednecks per say, but he seems to associate evil with small towns and rural areas.  I mean how many of his books (especially the classics) take place in a small town?  I think IT is a classic example of this, you have a small serene little town where something absolutely terrible is hiding beneath the surface.  If you look closer you find all kinds of crime and abuse taking place in the town, and if you look at its history you uncover unimaginable evil, oh and there is a clown living in the sewer and eating people.  Seems like a pretty consistent theme in King's writings.

But at the same time, a lot of his heroes are small-town people.

FLYmeatwad

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31932 on: June 04, 2010, 10:22:28 PM »
Are people surprised that Get Him to the Greek is being received positively because Forgetting Sarah Marshall was so mediocre? Even so, Brand and Hill were easily the best part about that film, particularly Brand, and many times they were the only guys getting laughs. I've been looking forward to it since I first heard about the film a while after FSM dropped or something. Love Brand's character. Hope to see this during the weekend, if not then definitely my next non-work day.

I liked Brand in FSM, but I'm not sure a whole movie of that character excites me. Same with Hill as a lead (despite liking him in Superbad, I think he works best in small doses).
Dana Stevens and her guest host on Slate's Spoiler Specials made much the same point, jbizz. They didn't much care for the film overall. 

I'd be curious to hear your response to their complaints, tjwells.

I can't comment on the things they said specifically, but as far as Brand goes, I think he proves here (just as he did in Sarah Marshall) his ability to bring a lot of depth to a character who should be incredibly one-dimensional. You can see why so many people like him, regardless of his douchebaggery. And I don't know what else they could've disliked about it; funny's funny. The LPM quotient here is definitely higher than anything else released this year.

The real question still remains: Is it really this year's The Hangover?

BlueVoid

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31933 on: June 04, 2010, 11:14:49 PM »


The Cove [2009]

'The Cove' is a compelling documentary on the whale hunts in Japan and the cruelty to Dolphins in general.  It opened my eyes to the plight of the Dolphins, and beyond that was a thrilling viewing experience.  It combined high tech technology and middle of the night raids which is good fun no matter what your concern for the Dolphins are.  Armed with high tech equipment and enough passion, the group is out to film the cruelty at any cost.  This is why it is such a well made documentary.  It lays out its agenda, gives you the facts and it entertains you in the process.
Rating: 3/5





Burma VJ[2009]

'Burma VJ' is a thrilling documentary about the violence in Burma.  The video taken was all done by video journalists who took the footage illegally on hand held cameras, risking their lives for the footage.  The footage they did obtain is gripping, and it makes you wonder how the violence doesn't make bigger news.  The documentary never comes across as manipulative, but  rather shows events as they happen. With politicaly charged documentaries it is so often the case that it feels like watching propganda.  This is not the case with Burma VJ.  It may not be the best produced documentary, but the videos speak for themselves.
Rating: 4/5




How to Train Your Dragon[2010]

'How to Train Your Dragon' is absolute entertainment.  It takes a simple premise - Dragons are cool - and manages to create a simple, heartfelt and thoroughly entertaining movie.  There are no cheesy winks at the audience, pop culture references, or any of the other troupes that make so many CG animated movies lay limp on the screen.  It envelopes us in a world that is full of imagination and doesn't shy away from inundating us with its own reality.  It brilliantly plays on the near universal appeal of pets and ups the ante by creating the coolest pets imaginable: Dragons.  The entire experience was a welcome reprieve and delivered wall to wall fun with just the right amount of heart mixed in.
Rating: 4/5
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Melvil

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31934 on: June 04, 2010, 11:45:26 PM »
Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay, 2002)

There are many things I love about this: The way we're dropped into the story, the beautiful cinematography, Samantha Morton's amazing embodiment of Morvern, and the plot-light character study it all creates. Unfortunately for whatever reason I wasn't drawn into any of it nearly as much as I should have been. I enjoyed all those aspects on a superficial level, but I didn't connect emotionally enough to call this a movie I really liked. :-\

StarCarly

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31935 on: June 04, 2010, 11:53:00 PM »
Get Him To The Greek

Seriously, guys, go see it. I haven't laughed that hard in a theater since Borat. I wasn't expecting it to work either, but it does. I can't over-state how funny it is.

Are people surprised that Get Him to the Greek is being received positively because Forgetting Sarah Marshall was so mediocre? Even so, Brand and Hill were easily the best part about that film, particularly Brand, and many times they were the only guys getting laughs. I've been looking forward to it since I first heard about the film a while after FSM dropped or something. Love Brand's character. Hope to see this during the weekend, if not then definitely my next non-work day.

I liked Brand in FSM, but I'm not sure a whole movie of that character excites me. Same with Hill as a lead (despite liking him in Superbad, I think he works best in small doses).
Dana Stevens and her guest host on Slate's Spoiler Specials made much the same point, jbizz. They didn't much care for the film overall.  

I'd be curious to hear your response to their complaints, tjwells.

I can't comment on the things they said specifically, but as far as Brand goes, I think he proves here (just as he did in Sarah Marshall) his ability to bring a lot of depth to a character who should be incredibly one-dimensional. You can see why so many people like him, regardless of his douchebaggery. And I don't know what else they could've disliked about it; funny's funny. The LPM quotient here is definitely higher than anything else released this year.

The real question still remains: Is it really this year's The Hangover?

It is so much more consistently funny than The Hangover. Plus: No Ken Jeong to ruin everything!

Grade: A
« Last Edit: June 04, 2010, 11:54:44 PM by StarCarly »
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Melvil

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31936 on: June 04, 2010, 11:54:20 PM »
12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957)

This was my second viewing, loved it even more than the first. It's such a great character drama, full of great performances and a story that manages to be really compelling all the way through despite the sparse framework it has to work within. There's a lot of ideas and questions raised about stuff involving the justice system and human nature that I really enjoy, and resulted in a great discussion afterward with the friend I showed this to. This will definitely be making my next top 100.

Bondo

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31937 on: June 04, 2010, 11:57:10 PM »
This will definitely be making my next top 100.

Woohoo!

BlueVoid

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31938 on: June 04, 2010, 11:58:22 PM »
12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957)

This was my second viewing, loved it even more than the first. It's such a great character drama, full of great performances and a story that manages to be really compelling all the way through despite the sparse framework it has to work within. There's a lot of ideas and questions raised about stuff involving the justice system and human nature that I really enjoy, and resulted in a great discussion afterward with the friend I showed this to. This will definitely be making my next top 100.

Yay!  It's just one of those films I could watch every month and it would hold up every time.

And I never rewatch movies.
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zarodinu

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31939 on: June 05, 2010, 12:16:38 AM »
12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957)

This was my second viewing, loved it even more than the first. It's such a great character drama, full of great performances and a story that manages to be really compelling all the way through despite the sparse framework it has to work within. There's a lot of ideas and questions raised about stuff involving the justice system and human nature that I really enjoy, and resulted in a great discussion afterward with the friend I showed this to. This will definitely be making my next top 100.

Yay!  It's just one of those films I could watch every month and it would hold up every time.

And I never rewatch movies.

I love that movie, especially the performances of all involved.  The remake is even better.
I’ve lied to men who wear belts. I’ve lied to men who wear suspenders. But I’d never be so stupid as to lie to a man who wears both a belt and suspenders.