Author Topic: Respond to the last movie you watched (2013-2016)  (Read 973667 times)

ses

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Respond to the last movie you watched (2013-2016)
« on: November 04, 2013, 09:43:55 AM »
The old "Respond to the last movie you watched" is now locked, new reviews will now go here.  1SO has brought it to our attention there are problems when using Google search, most likely to the thread being too long, and it's no wonder after 20,000 posts!  You guys are quite prolific!

So, since I was the last one to post a review on the old thread, I will repost it here.

The Counselor (Ridley Scott, 2013)

My six word review describing what the film really needed would be  "More Brad Pitt, less Cameron Diaz"

I think I liked about 60% of this movie.  There really needed to be some serious editing of the script and the film in my opinion.   There are some scenes that should've been cut completely, and some of the dialogue was just horrendous and unfortunately, they gave a lot of it to Diaz, who just can't handle it.  She is supposed to be this kingpin femme fatale, and she just can't deliver.  I felt like McCarthy was trying to make some conversations like the ending of No Country for Old Men, full of abstract meaning, and it just fell flat for me.

I did like the scenes between Brad Pitt and Fassbender, they played really well off each other, and the main storyline is good, I just wish someone else would've been cast instead of Diaz and that the script would've been a bit tighter with less jumping from scene to scene (some of which were unnecessary).
« Last Edit: January 02, 2017, 12:21:58 AM by pixote »
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Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched (Originating November 2013)
« Reply #1 on: November 04, 2013, 12:29:16 PM »
Looking forward to following along with the reviews here.

Super Mario Brothers

I watched this on YouTube. What a mess, bizarre plot jumps, just not very good. 

Lobby

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched (Originating November 2013)
« Reply #2 on: November 04, 2013, 04:25:23 PM »
A movie for days when all you want to do is to embed your soul in milk chocolate


I’ve never been entirely on board with the chocolate trend. Chocolate isn’t what it used to be. Nowadays it seems to get more praise the darker, bitterer and less accessible it is. The highest level of appraisal is when your immediate impulse is to spit it out. All I can say is that some PR person must have done a terrific job to talk us into this.

Personally I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m still a sucker for plain, traditional milk chocolate, old fashioned as it may be. It’s smooth, sweet and yet aromatic and it makes me relax unlike any other kind of food. Whenever I eat it I feel safe, protected and loved. It’s the adult equivalence of breast feeding I guess.

If we move into the world of movies, it also offers various types of chocolate, ranging from the overly sweet to the one that is so bitter that you only can digest it in smaller pieces. To me it’s not way or the other. I embrace both – the sweet and the bitter – depending on my current mood.

There are days when the very thought of a milk chocolate movie is sickening, days when all I want is to rub my skin against raw, miserable reality. And then there are other days when I use the film as a soft, warm blanket where I can take cover, reassured that life is good, there’s hope for mankind and nothing can harm me for real.

About Time is definitely a milk chocolate movie, intended to be devoured on occasions when all you want to do is to hide under a blanket and comfort yourself with huge amounts of TV and sweets. It’s a movie to keep in the first aid box. In case of emergency: put it into the DVD player and it will distract you from all sorts of troubles including illness, computer breakdown and toothache.

The poster announces in large letters: “from the creator of Love Actually, Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral”. Usually I’m not a huge fan of this kind of marketing. Just because person X made movie Z, it doesn’t necessarily mean that movie Y will be more of the same. It can give a misleading impression.

But this is not the case with About Time. This is what I’d call a WYIIWYG movie: What You Imagine Is What You Get.

Your opinion about Love Actually Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral matters to whether you should see it or not. If you:

-   Are a fan of the movies mentioned above
-   Can accept and enjoy time travelling in movies, when it’s closer to a fairy tale than to science (think Groundhog Day)
-   Use milk chocolate once in a while as a remedy for the burdens of life

… this film was made for you.

If you on the other hand think that milk chocolate is just for kids and you cringe at the thought of watching yet another quirky wedding - well, then you should probably move on. This film is not for you. You should stick to the dark side of life and the bitter chocolate, 85 per cent or more.

As for me, the choice is simple. Milk chocolate is an essential part of my movie diet. And so is Richard Curtis. I don’t usually buy movies, but I might very well get a copy of About Time once it comes out on DVD, just so I can keep it ready in the First Aid Kit. You never know when you’ll need it.

About Time (Richard Curtis, UK 2013) My rating: 4/5
« Last Edit: November 04, 2013, 04:29:12 PM by Lobby »
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1SO

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched (Originating November 2013)
« Reply #3 on: November 04, 2013, 04:39:52 PM »
Quote from: Martinteller
Wreck-It Ralph - Some humor is just reference humor.  Typified by shows I can't stand like "Family Guy" and "The Big Bang Theory", it basically consists of "blah blah blah pop culture reference" and that's supposed to be the big laugh.  As if the mere fact of bringing to mind some thing you recognize is funny in itself.  Wreck-It Ralph isn't quite that simplistic, but in general I felt like references to things I enjoyed in my youth -- videogames like "Tapper" or "Metal Gear Solid" or the famous Konami code -- were being tossed out willy-nilly, just for the sake of the adults in the audience to go "heh, yeah I recognize that."  A few were used cleverly rather than merely shoehorned in, but for the most part it felt like nostalgia abuse.

As for the story of the film, it's still formulaic children's fare.  With John Lasseter in the Executive Producer chair, it's little surprise that the movie feels like a hodge-podge of Pixar movies... a little bit of Toy Story, a little bit of Monsters Inc, and nothing very original despite the videogame setting. It's the same journey with the same characters, the same predictable beats.  There are some arbitrary universe rules invented to create the requisite obstacles that build to a somewhat tedious, adrenaline-goosing climax.

Still, there is at least one honestly moving moment, formulaic or no.  And Sarah Silverman's characterization of Vanellope is undeniably adorable.  I had just hoped for a film that broke the mold a little more, rather than coating it in slightly different colors.  Rating: Fair (65)

Been letting this review set for a couple of days. Though I love Wreck-It Ralph, it's tough to reply because Martin makes a solid case. However, I do think he's underselling the world, which goes much further than its pop culture references. For example, there are the representations of power strips as a Game central terminal. Also, the three main game worlds - Fix it Felix Jr., Hero's Duty and Sugar Rush - are not taken from an actual game but give a great representation of the kind of games people enjoyed then and like to play now.

Strip the characters and the beats and the journey down and yes, you're looking at a film that breaks no new ground, but much like Gravity, I think the visualization of this world is exciting and breathtaking. And I think the character dynamics, those predictable beats are struck in new and interesting ways, thanks to vocal chemistry between John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman.

Junior

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched (Originating November 2013)
« Reply #4 on: November 04, 2013, 04:49:21 PM »
A movie for days when all you want to do is to embed your soul in milk chocolate
About Time (Richard Curtis, UK 2013) My rating: 4/5

The trailer for this movie really worked for me. Might hold off for Netflix, but I'm excited to check it out. Love the idea of a milk chocolate movie.
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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched (Originating November 2013)
« Reply #5 on: November 04, 2013, 04:52:57 PM »
A movie for days when all you want to do is to embed your soul in milk chocolate
About Time (Richard Curtis, UK 2013) My rating: 4/5

The trailer for this movie really worked for me. Might hold off for Netflix, but I'm excited to check it out. Love the idea of a milk chocolate movie.

I left it with a smile on my face. I think you'll like it. As will some other forum members, such as Sandy and a few more. You know who you are. Then again others will not care for it very much. My impression from the letters sent to the Kermode show is that the audience is split on this. I can see why.
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Sandy

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched (Originating November 2013)
« Reply #6 on: November 04, 2013, 06:26:00 PM »
I'm sure you're right, Lobby. So many of my top 100 are the milk chocolate variety and are in my first aid kit. (It's a very large kit. :) )

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched (Originating November 2013)
« Reply #7 on: November 04, 2013, 09:01:24 PM »
The Counselor (Ridley Scott, 2013)

I'm still trying to figure out what even makes this story worth telling. :-\

roujin

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched (Originating November 2013)
« Reply #8 on: November 04, 2013, 09:02:25 PM »
films are more than their stories.

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched (Originating November 2013)
« Reply #9 on: November 04, 2013, 09:02:58 PM »
Catfish, 'noff.
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