Last Movie Watched

[LetTigerIn]

Anton Corbijn. 'Nuff said.

 

[orpheus]

I Saw the Devil

Wasn't this a pick me upper?

Anyways, I rather liked it, but I was in a psychotic mood last night. evil:


I should update my movie watching more here, but lazybones often wins. *shrugs*

 

[LetTigerIn]

I saw you saw I Saw the Devil.

 

[adgy-san]

Cinema Paradiso - I remember Mr Irreverent/Pagliacci saying once that this was his favorite movie of all time, so I decided to give it a shot when I saw it on TV in HD. It was pretty good. I really enjoyed the first 1/3 of the film when the main character is a kid especially.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon - Got this cheap on eBay and felt like it'd been too long since I'd seen a Miike movie. It's sort of bland for a Miike flick, but it has it's moments. Wouldn't recommend it unless you're a hardcore Miike fan or a fan of the game it's based on.

Late Spring - Turner Classics has showed a bunch of Yasujiro Ozu movies lately and I've recorded them all. This is great because I've only seen a couple of his flicks and now I can watch them without paying a lot of the Criterion releases. This movie is about a widowed father living with his 20-something daughter. Everyone wants her to get married, but she doesn't want to. The father then sets up a fake marriage for himself so his daughter will get married. It's a pretty good movie, but there is some seriously disconcerting **** going on, specifically with lead actress Setsuko Hara. She smiles through so much of her dialogue, even when hearing or saying things people don't smile about. It's very weird. The film is really slow, but if you stick with it, the final scene is ****ing incredible. Sad as hell and worth all the build up, I thought. But Ozu's movies are slow and not for everyone.

Sword Of The Beast - Just another great samurai flick by Hideo Gosha. Loved this movie. Loved the themes, loved the idea. The swordfighting choreography was better than a lot of the films of the time, too. Great ****in' movie.

 

[jerseydevil]

So, the original Payback has been on cable...a lot...lately. Love the movie. Gregg Henry dripping sleaze(hubba hubba hubba), Lucy Liu just looking white hot, Mel pre-meltdown, great casting(Coburn/Devane/Kristofferson/John Glover/Bill Duke/David Paymer), lots of other cool stuff to love too including great tough guy dialogue. Really, on the scale of Gibson flicks one of my faves. Dirty dirty little movie.

So I had the 'Director's Cut' on the shelf forever and always wanted to see the difference. Man...I don't usually side with studios over talent...but the did the right thing. First off, I am not adverse to a bummer/vague ending, but the contrast between the original/DC is startling. Gone is Kristofferson, Glover and in their place the voice of Sally Kellerman. No thanks. They do flesh out the scene between Mel and his wife who screws him over, but that's about the only tolerable difference. The music(whish is awesome in the original) is tampered with and the pre-Len Wiseman saturated blue tone is removed for an orange/reddish tone overall. NOT good changes. the real beauty is in the special features. You get some pre MELtdown Mel(with giant Jehovah beard) discussing the scene where he beats his ex-wife. Some uncomfy moments where he says 'nobody advocates beating women' and it rings as honest as 'some of my best friends are _____'.

So yeah. Sorry to go on, but if you are into movies and you want to see a clear case of studio interference done right, check the two versions out.

 

[orpheus]

I really like the Yasujiro Ozu films I have seen so far including that one. Ozu films are well acted, but yeah, slow paced, but so have
other Japanese films from that era that I have watched. Kurosawa's more action oriented pace seems to be somewhat unique in that
era.

 

[adgy-san]

So, the original Payback has been on cable...a lot...lately. Love the movie. Gregg Henry dripping sleaze(hubba hubba hubba), Lucy Liu just looking white hot, Mel pre-meltdown, great casting(Coburn/Devane/Kristofferson/John Glover/Bill Duke/David Paymer), lots of other cool stuff to love too including great tough guy dialogue. Really, on the scale of Gibson flicks one of my faves. Dirty dirty little movie.

So I had the 'Director's Cut' on the shelf forever and always wanted to see the difference. Man...I don't usually side with studios over talent...but the did the right thing. First off, I am not adverse to a bummer/vague ending, but the contrast between the original/DC is startling. Gone is Kristofferson, Glover and in their place the voice of Sally Kellerman. No thanks. They do flesh out the scene between Mel and his wife who screws him over, but that's about the only tolerable difference. The music(whish is awesome in the original) is tampered with and the pre-Len Wiseman saturated blue tone is removed for an orange/reddish tone overall. NOT good changes. the real beauty is in the special features. You get some pre MELtdown Mel(with giant Jehovah beard) discussing the scene where he beats his ex-wife. Some uncomfy moments where he says 'nobody advocates beating women' and it rings as honest as 'some of my best friends are _____'.

So yeah. Sorry to go on, but if you are into movies and you want to see a clear case of studio interference done right, check the two versions out.

Couldn't agree more. Can't believe that studio interference actually helped a movie.

I really like the Yasujiro Ozu films I have seen so far including that one. Ozu films are well acted, but yeah, slow paced, but so have
other Japanese films from that era that I have watched. Kurosawa's more action oriented pace seems to be somewhat unique in that
era.

No doubt. Guys like Ozu, Naruse and Mizoguchi are ****ing amazing, but they require a certain temperament that some people don't have. Like, for example, BoobyTrap.

 

[ketel&tonic]

FINALLY saw Zero Dark Thirty. Jessica Chastain is a damn good actor. I personally loved Bigelow's decision on how to film the actual raid - dark, sound only, bits of night vision. Created a lot of tension. IMO, quite brilliant. She's good.

 

[jerseydevil]

Saw this last week. REALLY suspenseful through the use of quiet. Quiet which was RUINED by the worst audience I have ever suffered. Maybe this is a tad out of line, but I almost welcomed an appearance from the nutjob who showed up during the Batman movie in Colorado. If ever an audience deserved it. Anyway, back to the movie...solid acting for the most part and just enough unexpected bits to differentiate this from all the other movies you have seen like it(the Strangers mostly). Wait to watch it at home, where you can control the noise and get caught up in the almost hypnotizing silent moments.



Solidly funny movie. And they didn't use the Apocalypse just as a setup. Legit jump scares and some good seriousness for a movie that was basically 90 minutes of dick jokes. Sometimes it was obvious that 'improv' was going on, but for the most part, a movie that seems so self indulgent really wasn't. Danny McBride STEALS the movie. From his entrance to, well...I don't want to spoil it. If you don't catch it in the theater it is CERTAINLY prime for home viewing. Oh...and my quota for Demon penii is now fulfilled.

Oh, and there is a cameo in this that rivals Bill Murray in Zombieland. See it before someone ruins it for you.

 

[KingInTheWest]

Decided to clear a movie off my DVR.

Solid comedy, funny throughout and didn't wander in an attempt to pad the length. Jason Bateman plays Jason Bateman, Charlie Day plays Charlie Day, Jennifer Aniston plays an actress going through a midlife crisis between this an her upcoming movie and we are all better off for it even if her character in this would make more sense if she were less attractive, Jamie Foxx steals his scenes even though it is weird seeing freaking Django in a minor supporting role. Also, wetwork.

B+, maybe even an A-

 

[IceDogsFan]

 

[IceDogsFan]

Anton Corbijn. 'Nuff said.

Re-Watched 'The American' just the other day

 

[LetTigerIn]

Re-Watched 'The American' just the other day

My favorite movie of that year.

 

[adgy-san]

Aswang - I am actively wanting to watch every single title that Mondo Macabro releases and I got a copy of this DVD cheap on eBay. It's a super low budget horror flick about a rich couple who wants to buy a pregnant teen's unwanted baby. After documents are signed, the husband and the pregnant teen drive out to his secluded estate where his old, ailing mother and her assistant live. And then the teen finds out she should have read the fine print. Pretty solid. For a no budget movie, they do a decent job with effects and the movie manages to be surprising and even intense some times. I was a little disappointed in it initially after some of the reviews I read built it up, but after thinking about it, I decided I liked it. Worth a rent, at least.

Hick - I watched this despite the lukewarm reviews solely because a lot of those same reviews praised Chloe Moretz's performance highly. I honestly think she's one of the best, if not the best, young actress in Hollywood today, so I gave it a shot and felt pretty much the same as most reviewers. The script/plot is kinda ho-hum, but the performances elevate the movie to slightly better than average. I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone, unless you are also fascinated watching Moretz continue to impress.

Heavyweights - The lady likes this movie and wanted me to watch it with her, so I did. It was co-written by Judd Apatow and had Ben Stiller doing a role very similar to the one he played in Dodgeball, so why not? It was good for what it was. I don't really care if I never see it again, but I wouldn't be bothered if I did.

The Yakuza - Robert Mitchum and Ken Takakura vs the Japanese underworld. What's not to like? I saw this on a list of the 25 best Yakuza movies ever made recently, which is what made me decide to bump it up on the priority list. It was good, enjoyable and Ken Takakura was awesome, but I don't think it belongs anywhere near any Top 25 yakuza movies list. MAYBE Top 50.

The Virgin Spring - The main inspiration for The Last House On The Left (not sure if it qualifies as an actual remake), I've been wanting to see this for ****ing ever and it finally showed up on Turner Classics. And it was great. Obviously not going to please all fans of Craven's excellent interpretation, but if you've got the patience to sit through the slow build up, the climax and ending are fantastic. Max Von Sydow plays the dad, too, so that was cool. I would consider buying this if Criterion ever gets around to releasing it on Blu.

The Campaign - Moderately funny, mostly when the two of them were clearly ad-libbing. Worth a rent, maybe, but otherwise fairly forgettable. Though I did like Dylan McDermott a lot in it.

Battleship - ****ing hell, this movie blew. It was awesome that Tadanobu Asano, one of my favorite actors, got such a big part as the captain of the Japanese vessel, but... goddamn, this movie sucked. I hope Rhianna's finished with her "acting" experiment and I hope she takes Brooklyn Decker into "acting" retirement with her. The film gets some points for the stuff with the naval veterans that was a nice nod, but... that's about it.

Magic Mike - Yep. The lady wanted to watch it, and because it's a Soderbergh movie and because Olivia Munn is topless in it, we gave it a try. it may surprise you to learn that she actually turned it off after about an hour, complaining of boredom. She really does not care for Soderbergh at all. I think he's hit and miss. I was fine with the movie up until she decided it was over, but I didn't care enough to want to finish it without her. I got to see what I wanted to see (in the first scene!) and it was kind of all downhill from there as far as that goes.

Brave - As far as Pixar movies goes, this was nowhere near as epic, funny or emotional as you'd expect, but it was still pretty enjoyable.

Premium Rush - Can you tell there was a free HBO/Starz/Cinemax preview weekend? This one was fun. JGL and Michael Shannon were both pretty great and the stunt work was damn impressive. Nothing spectacular, but better than I would have expected. Definitely worth a rent.

Prince Of Darkness - What in the name of **** do people have against this movie? i thought it was ****ing awesome and worthy of John Carpenter's reputation. Maybe it doesn't quite belong with the top tier of his flicks like Halloween and The Thing, but it most certainly stands alongside, if not above, stuff like They Live and In The Mouth Of Madness. It was creepy, it was gross, it was suspenseful and I thought the idea of it all was ****ing great. I WILL own the upcoming Blu-ray.

 

[IceDogsFan]

 

[adgy-san]

...and what did you think of it, IDF?

 

[orpheus]

Red State

It started out with promise, but really didn't go anywhere, like a bad Masters of Horror episode. Haha. Easily the worst Smith movie I've seen, but I haven't seen Jersey Girl or Cop Out so there's that.

The Raven

Because I am a huge Poe fan there were some things that I liked about the film and Cusak's performance was solid enough, but I wasn't completely satisfied with the plot and ending.

Tucker & Dale vs Evil

Now this was a pleasant surprise. One of the best horror comedies I've seen.

X-Men First Class

You know, this is the first X-men movie that I've seen from beginning to end. *shrugs* It was really good, actually, and now I want to watch the sequel.

Hereafter

I thought this was okay, but it could've been better.

The Tempest

I like parts of it and the loved the visuals, but it left me cold as a whole. Not as good as Taymor's adaptation of Titus. :/

 

[jerseydevil]

Attaboy Orph.

 

[jerseydevil]

Wow. What a WASTED opportunity.
And folks, that trite joke is a gazillion times more funny/entertaining than this movie. Good lord I feel so bad for Lara Flynn Boyle. Plastic surgery is a killer. Carey Elwes is unrecognizable in a cameo...god I want my $10 back.

 

[BigBrown]

Europa Report

I had high hopes for this one after seeing the trailer jd posted in the sci-fi thread. A bunch of scientists travel to the ice-moon Europa in search of life, and things start going wrong. Not exactly the most original of premises but I love that stuff if well executed. Unfortunately this movie doesn't quite reach that desired level. It's a bit uneventful and lacking in drama when it comes to the day to day stuff. Space travel can be incredibly compelling even when very little is happening but it just falls a bit flat. I think the movie suffers a bit from having unnecessarily chopped up the timeline. But at the same time it had some refreshing angles to the movie, like the crew not losing their **** and keeping their eyes on the bigger picture when bad things happen. None of that "we should have never come here" horror cliche. If you're a fan of space exploration movies with a dab of horror check it out, if not don't worry about it.

Jack the Giant Slayer

I was expecting something big, dumb and mildly entertaining and for better or worse, that's exactly what I got. I wouldn't recommend it.